Ninja has the talents unarmed combat training and weapon training to help out.
Pressure points and bleeding attack would stack more on top of the sneak attack.
Flanking and flatfooted would help you get the grapple off.
Combat maneuvers says "Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver. The DC of this maneuver is your target's Combat Maneuver Defense. Combat maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll."
Grapple takes a standard action, so with flat-footed or flanked opponents, you're giving up the initial sneak attack for grapple then adding sneak attack damage.
Possibly the build would work with a later level focus on grappling- waiting till you build up acrobatics to get past the front line to focus on casters? Vanish trick would also help with this.
edit: maybe a set of ninja twins with teamwork feats to help them get the grapples off?
Using a Garrote would allow you to use your enhancement bonus on grapple checks. A thing it was recently clarified an AoMF can't do.
Brawling Armor would give you a +2 Enhancement bonus to your grapple checks when unarmed.
Vishkanya Rogues get a +1 CMD vs. Grapple as a FCB.
ARMOR: Titanic (Count as one size larger for special abilities)
BELT: Anaconda's Coil (+2 Str, +2 Competence to grapple, Constrict)
FEET: Earth Root Boots (Growing Circumstance bonus to CMD)
HANDS: Gloves of the Skilled Maneuver (+2 Untyped bonus to CMB for 1 maneuver)
SHOULDERS: Pauldrons of the Serpent (+2 untyped to Grapple CMD)
WRISTS: Armbands of the Brawler (+1 competence to Grapple CMB)
SLOTLESS: Slotted Dusty Rose Ioun Stone (+2 Insight Bonus to CMB)
That's just some stuff I've gathered while considering a similar build.
This type of rogue shouldn't be using 14 Str as his CMB stat. Either dump Str and go all Dex with agile maneuvers, or my choice would be to drop dex, pump Str, and take a level or two in armored hulk barbarian for heavy armor and rage.
Edit: Brutal Pugilist barbarian is more thematic and gets more bonuses to grapple. If you did took this archetype instead I'd take another level dip in fighter or something for free heavy armor and a bonus feat. More efficient than buying heavy armor proficiency through your limited feat slots. Alternatively you wear a mithral breastplate and keep your evasion.
At level 12 something like Rogue 7, Brutal Pugilist 5 looks pretty good.
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Why not take a level or two in Tetori monk? 1 level of Tetori Monk gets you Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Grapple for free. I would actually suggest maybe taking a couple of levels of the Tetori Monk prior to taking levels in Rogue because it sets up a strong foundation, netting you huge bonuses to grapple checks and some pretty nifty abilities.
Also, do note that being grappled does not deny your target their Dexterity and therefore, you can not sneak attack a grappled target, even if you can maintain the grapple as a move action.
The big draw to this build (and any grappler build, really) is that you can basically lock down a target. The bonus sneak attack damage would just be icing on the cake.
@TLO3, I see the attraction of the brutal pugilist, but the point is to build around the strangler feat. Dipping a level or two of something, okay. Dipping five levels... well, at 12th level doing 4d6 damage is nothing special. The character might as well grab a battleaxe and start hacking.
Nothing wrong with sneak attacking with an axe.
Two levels of brutal pugilist reduces your grapple penalties by half, let's you AoO on people that have improved grapple, gets you medium armor proficiency (Mithral breastplate) and you get the standard barbarian 2 benefits of rage + rage power.
If you're going with strength-based grappler, having rage is nothing to sneeze at.
The thing with grapplers is you need to squeeze out every bonus to your CMB you possibly can. If you try and balance Str and Dex for a traditional balanced rogue, you're not going to succeed at grappling very often. Decide whether you're going Dex or Str and focus on that. I prefer strength because it makes it easier to be good outside of just grappling.
How about starting as rogue or ninja and then going Vivisectionist. That way you keep your Sneak attack, but gain Mutagen(and maybe Grab if you are a beastmorph Vivisectionist.)
If 3.5 stuff is allowed, you could use a Garrote (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Garrote_%283.5e_Equipment%29) and combine it with the Sap Master Feats.
Garrote is actually a PF item. It's statted out in the Adventurer's Armory on page 3 and the rear cover.
Keep in mind that even with Greater Grapple, you only get one swift action, so no double sneak damage. I'd go with a garrote (in the Adventurer's Armory). Pump Stealth and UMD (for scrolls of silence), and jump out at people. With Greater Grapple, you can do sneak damage AND use the special choke option each turn. Could be a super-fun assassin NPC.
@Skaldi, great list of bonus items! Thank you! How did you put that together?
I was planning on plyaing a PC that was a Daemon Spawn tiefling that was the descendant of a Suspiridaemon. I was looking everywhere for grapple help.
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Also, if you have a Belt of Ananconda's Coils or a two level dip in in White Haired witch, you have Constrict. This allows you to take the Final Embrace feat for Grab and a Constrict attack using your normal grapple, not just the belt/hair.
Grab gives +4 untyped bonus to grapple checks and constrict will allow you to do damage on every grapple check.
Thug archetype lets you apply sickened for a few rounds when dealing sneak attack damage by giving up 1d6... could be useful to do on an initial sneak attack before the grapple to lower an opponent's CMB/CMD, or on the first Strangler use.
Snapping Turtle Style and Snapping Turtle Clutch would let you initiate a grapple as an immediate action whenever missed by a melee attack. Tying up your next round's swift action means it delays your use of Strangler by a round, however, which is where most of your grapple damage is coming from.
Befuddling Strike rogue talent lets you apply a -2 attack roll (CMB) debuff for 1d4 rounds, making it easier to maintain a grapple. Offensive Defense is usually better, but it requires you to be dealing sneak attack damage with a melee attack and Strangler is dealing stand-alone sneak attack damage as a swift action.
Avoid the Rapid Grappler feat. You will be using the swift action while grappling to deal sneak attack damage, so it's got minimal use.
A wand of resinous skin or an ally capable of casting it on you could be useful.
The biggest challenge with using Strangler is action economy. You can only take the swift action to deal sneak attack after spending a standard action (or move action if you have Greater Grapple) to maintain the grapple and deal damage.
Vivisectionist just seems right. You've got mutagens to boost your strength or dexterity score.
And while this may sound odd, you have enlarge person. This incredibly non-rogue power grants you an additional +2 to your grapples AND increases your reach, a surprisingly useful grappling skill.
Savage maw gives you a bite attack while grappling.
Animal Aspect (gorilla) gives you a +4 to grapple checks.
You can always grapple with access to "defensive shock".
There are plenty of polymorph spells that will aid your grappling. Alter self and giant form I will allow you to carry a weapon still for that grapple bonus. Form of the beast has some obvious forms of up to huge size.
beastmorph vivisectionist. You will get grab and constrict and potentially pounce and rake. Ad two lvls of hybrid Brawler-strangler. And get two ekstra sneak attack dice and no penalties for being grappled, and martial flexibilty so you could also trip and what not.
