The Stealth rules seems to be kind of a sore point in DnD/Pathfinder systems. What I'm getting at requires two separate questions I haven't been able to find an answer to:
I'm mostly a Dex characters player, and thus have experimented with a few builds (mainly Rogues. Strange, I know), one of which was a Sniper inspired from this thread. Its major draws are that Stealth protects you effectively from most attack (most Dex builds I've made being squishy but having insane Reflex saves to escape AoE) and allows a Rogue to Sneak Attack and deal massive amounts of damage.
I couldn't locate the rule about the enchanted weapon used there, so I settled for a crouched crossbow and a bunch of feats to alleviate the -20 to Stealth check after firing.
- The main drawback to this approach is that it's really hard to hide again once you've been spotted, and things tend to get ugly when a close range character manages to reach your vincinity (Hello, big mean DR regenerating barbarian wielding a huge axe).
- The fact that you need to be lying down to reduce the Stealth penalty means you need to get up before beginning to run, causing mobility problem. And the build requires a crossbow or a firearm - the former being incredibly inferior to longbow and the latter rarely allowed.
I was looking into interactions between Shadowdancers and Rogue Snipers for obvious reasons: the Shadowdancers have the Hide in Plain Sight feat, which allows you to make a Stealth check once you've been spotted (and strangely does not indicate any kind of malus to your check regarding the fact you're in sight) and the Shadow Jump, for quick relocation/escape.
A teleporting sneaky sniper seems an interesting prospect, but I have two questions (other one here):
The Shadow Jump ability works as the Dimension Door spell. It is, as far as I understand, a relocation at the cost of a standard action which does not allow any further action this turn.
Is there any combination of feats/class feature that would allow someone to relocate with a lesser cost of actions and allows attack on the same turn? (Preferably while keeping Stealth - using only Paizo materials).