I built this character as a "scout/sniper type"
Go human for the bonus feat, this is a must if you want to use a crossbow. If you want to use a heavy crossbow you will want to go 4 levels of fighter (or 3 ranger/1 fighter/the rest ranger) to ensure that you can reload that heavy crossbow very quickly. Necessary items are a set of bracers of falcons aim because a 19-20x3 crit range on a d10 weapon (2d8 with gravity bow, 2d10/4d8 with vital strike) is AMAZING. Improved Critical or a keen heavy crossbow will make it a 17-20 crit range. Max out your ranks in stealth, get a cloak of elvenkind, favored terrain etc. There you go, sniper.
This is a good concept for a solo game, but with a party, having dead turns in which you simply go into stealth again is generally a waste of time.
I am currently working on a magus Myrmidarch. Started human I took point blank, precise shot. Dex is obviously prim stat, but well balanced stats help with arcane pool and added damage from strength on a compound bow. Concept is to add damage to the bow from your arcane pool. I dipped 2 levels of rogue sniper to open up skills and evasion. Will also eventual add a few levels of arcane archer to further enchant the arrows coming out of the bow. So using a magical composite long bow I’m currently looking at 1d8+2 from strength , +1 point blank, +1 enchantment from bow, +xd6 enchantment from bow, + xd6 elemental damage from arcane pool, + xd6 elemental damage from arcane archer arrow enchantment, and possibly 1d6 percision if target is flatfooted, then you can also imbue the shot with say scorching ray. I’m sure there is a lot more you can stack on top of that. I’m going to give this one a shot and see how it turns out.
No one mentioned the Slayer.
No one mentioned the Slayer.
Only problem I see with slayer, is the fact it relies a lot on sneak damage. With everyone arguing about the fact that stealth doesn’t allow you to apply sneak damage, kind of makes that class a possible debate every game.
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No one mentioned the Slayer.Only problem I see with slayer, is the fact it relies a lot on sneak damage. With everyone arguing about the fact that stealth doesn’t allow you to apply sneak damage, kind of makes that class a possible debate every game.
What? Slayer would do just fine if had no sneak attack damage at all. Studied Target is enough to make them viable, Sneak attack is just a nice bonus.
Take one level in Hunter (as you now have access at level 1 to Gravity Bow), and then go straight Inquisitor. Inquisitor can add a lot of extra damage to your shots, and with a Distance enchant on your crossbow/longbow, you can deal that damage at ludicrous distance. Gravity Bow on top of that is better.
Also, Inquisitors can use Invisibility. Since you want to snipe and stealth, this should work perfectly.
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He doesn't need to be supportive of it, it's fairly self-sufficient since you get the weapons as part of the class abilities.
If neither he nor you like that idea, see if you can convince him to allow the class but to change its specializations towards Crossbows instead of Firearms. Tell him you won't get the 'touch attack within the first range increment' bit and will accept the '1 is a misfire' rule anyway. That should be more than enough to push him over the edge. (Note that this doesn't completely screw you--Crossbows have a higher threat range than Guns and thus can get you more Grit back faster.) Try and get the Pistolero and Musketeer Archetypes to apply to the Hand Crossbow and the Heavy Crossbow respectively (So you can be close-range bursty with the former and heavy-hitting long distance with the latter--which is obviously what you are going to snipe with).
As to the complaints about 'stealth sniping' being a poor option, the way I see it is this... there are two kinds of combat: The optimizied, everyone-does-everything-exactly-right kind (you know, where everyone uses every action to its fullest, gets high rolls, flanks, and otherwise magically has perfect tactics) that lasts 3-4 rounds and the multiple-bungled moves with crappy rolls now and then kind (aka: everything else) that lasts longer. The former exists only in optimization boards or among gaming groups where everyone has been playing for eons. The latter exists everywhere else.
I'm going to tell you it's possible in both games, but a LOT more effective in the latter one. You see, even in 'tweaked' games, you should have maxed Perception and Stealth, both of which work great with your class and its focus on Dex/Wis. It's not too hard to sneak up on foes, get a surprise round, tag some poor schmo with a Vital Strike+Deadly Aim shot for 2D10+8 or more for the first attack and then beat the enemies on the initiative to get another full round worth of attacks against flat-footed foes (attack penalty? Psssh, easy against no-Dex). Stealth Sniping isn't just going into Hide Mode every other round, it's also starting the fight with a huge advantage, which you will. This works well in both sets of games, the only difference is that in the latter you CAN actually re-Stealth, move, and attack from hidden again later in the battle. You will just have to pick your targets carefully and decide which ones need to be dropped early, be sure to provide yourself with cover/concealment, make sure the enemy's path to you is impeded by difficult terrain... you know, kind of like an actual sniper.
If your DM won't let you do this, though, then follow the above posts. Slayer is your next best choice by far, and you may want to get in it anyway after either 5th or 7th in Crossbowslinger.
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If you took 10 levels of rogue, you could take:
"Stealthy Sniper (Ex): When a rogue with this talent uses the Stealth skill to snipe, she only suffers a –10 penalty on the Stealth check, instead of –20."
...which stacks with Swift as Shadows.
You could also take Improved Eldritch Heritage to get Shadow Well.