Vanishing trick, finesse, TWF, Main stats DEX and CHA. Fast stealth can be really handy too. UMD for wands of Invisibility, alter self, grease, barkskin, etc.
Vanishing trick is great and only gets better (swift action invisible to get free ff sneak attack when you attack next), dual Wakizashis (better if you are finesse rogue) agile then keen if you can (Ninjas have a hard time hitting for a martial class), and invest in cheap poisons for low levels as poison DC's stack if applied in the same round as with TWF.
Tanglefoot bags are great for rogues and ninjas with high DEX (-dex, 1/2 speed, caster concentration, -attack).
Put at least a few ranks into KNOW (Make checks to find an enemies weaknesses and share with the party or to help you with scouting).
Rely on hit and run tactics, Ninjas are squishy but they can hit hard for Sneak, use Vanishing trick to set yourself up for TWF flanked sneak attacks, Spring loaded wrist sheath can be really useful for Shuriken, or daggers (counts as quick-drawn).
Later levels a cloak of the hedge wizard (prestigitation, 1 cantrip unlimited, and 2 1/day lvl 1's of the same school, I suggest Illusion), sleeves of many garments can be handy as well for disguises (200gp is cheap) are all handy. Hat of disguise for later levels.
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Minor Magic definitely isn't worth it for a Ninja.
What Guardianlord said is all very true (though the Realistic Likeness feat, if you choose to take it, removes the need for a Hat of Disguise), but I'd also like to recommend the Scout archetype (which can be used with Ninja), and then, at 14th or 15th level (if you get that high) Vulpine Pounce, which is just phenomenal when combined with Scout and TWF.
Vulpine Pounce is an AWESOME feat for ninja's. The ability to go from stealth to Pouncing sneak attack and back into (greater) Invisibility is NASTY strong. Not to mention it just makes you look bad ass lol.
Aside from the other excellent advice in this thread I would highly recommend taking advantage of the race's alternate favored class bonus of 1/6 for a rogue talent. At level 6 you will be able to get two rogue talents. If you are worried about this cutting into you HP total then you can take the toughness feat. This feat definitely wont go to waste for levels 1-6 and then for all levels after that you are better off with continuing to get rogue talents. 3 extra rogue talents by level 18 is WAY too good to pass up.
If you are ever content with the amount of sneak attack damage that you do and want to add some versatility and flavor I would recommend taking a look at gaining a 3+ levels in Horizon Walker for several interesting options. Forest for +4 stealth, swamp for +4 to perception, underground for blind fight, urban for +4 to diplomacy are all good for this type of character. Astral plane for dimension door 3+Wis mod/day is great. Work with you GM to see if they will let you base it off Charisma instead as Horizon walker when written was intended more for rangers who are wis based and ninja came out after that. This would open up the option of the dimensional agility line of feats as being a great choice.
Horizon Walker offers some other interesting options as well that can add a bunch of flavor. With an investment in Combat Reflexes, Dodge and Mobility (feats that would compliment the build anyway) you could also get into Shadowdancer which has some interesting options for the build as well.
I also would second (third?) the suggestion to go Scout. If you go with Shadowdancer you wont even be giving up uncanny dodge... just delaying it. A lot.
One other suggestion... consider this a strong suggestion if you are going with a weapon finesse build is the Pirahna Strike feat. Its the Dex character's Power Attack.
I am appreciating the advice I get. Does the favored class bonus count for ninja?
Still trying to figure out what would be a nice trait for her. I may grab Weapon Finesse, but I don't think I want to mess with Two Weapon Fighting. I don't think I'd have enough feats, since I want to dip into the kitsune racial feats. (Fox Shape for sure, Swift Shapechange is very likely, Realistic Likeness is a maybe.)
Yes, rogue favored class bonuses apply to Ninjas (and other archetypes), just be careful that the bonus applies to the class (It does for Kitsune).
Finesse is a good choice as your STR is likely to be very low compared to your DEX and the Ninja is not a Full BAB class, so any help with hitting is needed, it also makes the Ninja less MAD.
I would suggest talking with your GM and the party about what your role will be. Ninjas are limited in feats and equipment so specialization is often better than generalization (unlike fighters or sorcerers who can do it all), choose a role and become excellent at it.
With high CHA you can add a single swift action KI attack to any full round attack without the TWF penalties, but this does mean one less use of Vanish, so TWF depends on the game and the Party.
By Trait do you mean Feat? Because Weapon Finesse is a Feat, not a Trait.
For sneak attackers to remain viable in mid-late game it is recommended that they go two weapon fighting. This is because there will be several ways - especially with the build options suggested by all those above - to deliver sneak attacks on each and every attack. So, obviously, the more attacks the better. TWF by itself is great. Improved TWF is less so and Greater TWF can likely be left out as you will not likely be hitting with that attack anyway.
I should also mention that with a high Dex build like this that TWF dovetails nicely. Basically Str builds typically go with a two handed weapon and power attack and Dex builds typically go with two weapon fighting.
If you are not considering doing this then another option might be to pick up Crane Style (and improved unarmed strike) and go with one hand free. If you are considering this then dipping a level into Master of Many Styles Monk would be a good way to pick it up. It does lower your BAB by 1 point overall but what you gain in feats, saves and abilities may make up for it. If you go for one level, you may as well go for two. Also, depending on your stat array if you have a decent Int then Duelist may work well for this as well.
From a combat effectiveness standpoint, though, I would recommend either the TWF option or the Crane Style/free hand/Duelist approach.
Weird. XmorsX, whom I normally agree with I find I disagree with here. The highest DPR sneak attack builds all use TWF. His scimitar + dervish dance suggestion goes along with my crane style/duelist suggestion, though.
While his sap master suggestion is good that kinda pidgeon holes you into a single combat style where you are dependant on non-lethal precision sneak attack damage. All of which have several types of foes who are immune.
Paladin adding Cha to saves is really good. Thematically, though, I can definitely understand not taking it. Also, classically, ninjas were not the disciplined warriors of the time. That was the samurai. Samurai I can much more easily see being a paladin. Espionage, infiltration, assassination, etc. ... these are what ninja specialized in. They don't seem overly paladinlike, IMO. But, all that being said, sap master is one fairly effective way to go and paladin would bring a lot to a high Cha character. *shrug*
If you want to be a naruto ninja, you can be a magus with the vanish spell. Shocking grasp is basically chidori.
kBro the Kitsune Trickster archetype doesn't work because it requires the replacement of Rogue class abilities that the Ninja doesn't get. Scout still works great...
As for your first two feats TaliaKirana, I recommend Realistic Likeness & Weapon Finesse. The order you take them based on how you expect to earn the XP for third level.
Mostly fighting go with Finesse first, mostly sneaky/talky Realistic will be more help.
Depending on the magnanimity of your GM Realistic Likeness with Sleeves of Many Garments ranges from look like any human to look like any Humanoid.
Either end of the spectrum the Sleeves are an excellent investment.
Pretty much everything else has been covered, so recap.
High Dex/Cha, Vanish Trick, Sleeves. Everything else to taste.
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Personally, I prefer Vital Strike + Feint over Two-Weapon Fighting for rogues. Two-Weapon has better potential damage, but Vital Strike has better average damage because the rogue does not get any bonuses to its attack rolls from class features on top of being a Medium attack bonus class. If you go Vital Strike + Feint, you need Combat Expertise and Improved Feint, plus Vital Strike at 6th level. Grab Combat Expertise at 1st level, Weapon Finesse as your first rogue talent, and then by 3rd level you'll be set when you select Improved Feint. Greater Feint is an unnecessary feat, so all you'll rally be itching to take is Devastating Strike at some point and Improved Vital Strike when your base attack bonus reaches +11.
As others have said, you can combine Scout with the ninja class. At 4th level, this effectively allows you to sneak attack when you can't feint by charging. At 8th level, the archetype allows you to sneak attack whenever you have to move, charge, or when you can stand still and feint. You basically don't need allies to sneak attack anymore, which is a huge draw over Two-Weapon Fighting. This also means that the invisibility rogue talents are much less mandatory then they would otherwise be and since you won't be making full attacks all that often, you don't have to burn your ki every turn getting a free attack in. It's a different style of play that allows you to focus more of your resources to the more enjoyable aspects of the ninja mythos, like super-speed climbing or poison use.
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The ninja as an alternate class is an elaborate archetype of the rogue class. It replaces Trapfinding with Poison Use and replaces Trap Sense with No Trace. With this relation, you can take the Kitsune Trickster archetype by replacing Poison Use with Kitsune's Guile and replacing No Trace with Kitsune's Charm. You're effectively replacing the equivalent rogue class abilities in this way.
To quote:
A character can take more than one archetype and garner additional alternate class features, but none of the alternate class features can replace or alter the same class feature from the core class as another alternate class feature. For example, a paladin could not be both a hospitaler and an undead scourge since they both modify the smite evil class feature and both replace the aura of justice class feature. A paladin could, however, be both an undead scourge and a warrior of the holy light, since none of their new class features replace the same core class feature.
The same can be said for the Anti-paladin alternate class and Paladin archetypes, and the Samurai alternate class and Cavalier archetypes. As long as the alternate class has abilities that have a class equivalent, you can reasonably take an archetype.
This is true, they are just big archetypes...but as listed above, you can't take two archetypes that modify the same class feature (such as two that replace Trapfinding). So...no Ninja Knife Masters.
Now, you wouldn't be able to take an archetype that swaps out Evasion on a ninja because the ninja class has no Evasion equivalent. But you can take an archetype that swaps out Trapfinding because the ninja's equivalent is Poison Use.
Once again, this does not work.
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The Ninja is like an archetype, but it is not an archetype. It's an alternate class, and a separate thing from the rogue. You could easily replace a Ninja's Poison Use and No Trace with Trapfinding and Trap Sense with a little house ruling, but this is because they are parallel features. You can apply any Rogue archetype to the Ninja so long as you can replace the appropriate features.
Okay, here's the thing, mechanically, there are two ways this can work:
#1: Ninja is basically an archetype, and thus follows the rules for one (at least a couple of devs, plus logic say this is the case).
#2: Ninja is an entirely new class, for archetype purposes.
In neither case does what you're talking about work, due to the paragraph I cite above in the case of #1, and because it can't use Rogue Archetypes at all in the case of #2.
Can you House Rule it to work? Yes, easily. Does that mean it works that way? No, it means you made a House Rule...and suggesting builds that rely on house rules without noting that that's what you're doing is bad policy, since you're effectively telling people the game works a different way from how it really does.
What Deadmanwalker is saying is correct. Without house rules Ninjas can not be Kitsune Trixters.
I'd say take the tail feats till you get a second level spell then dip one level of sorcerer, then go arcane trickster
Can spell-likes qualify you for PrC? Otherwise there are probably better things to use feats on, honestly. Vulpine Pounce springs to mind, as well as dodge, weapon finesse, critical focus, or anything to improve sneak attacking or feinting. Ninja's bread and butter is in the Sneak Attack, anything to make that easier or more dangerous is nice.
Though the jumping tricks are worth looking at. With any kind of decent Acrobatics rank and Dex modifier, it'll give a whole new meaning to 'Ain't no mountain high enough...".