Sniper

Snipers specialize in making single, deadly shots, often over great distances. Practitioners of the Sniper sphere can shoot or throw ranged weapons at a creature engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on their attack roll. Associated Feat: Precise Shot.

All practitioners of the Sniper sphere gain the following ability:

Deadly Shot

As a special attack action, you may make an attack with a ranged weapon. You may add any one (snipe) talent you know to this attack.

In addition, you may expend your martial focus to increase the damage dealt by the attack by 1d10, or 1d6 if the attack targets touch AC or is made with a scatter weapon. You must choose whether or not to use this ability before making your attack roll. These extra damage dice are not multiplied on a critical hit, but are added to the total. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, you deal an additional 1d10 damage, or an additional 1d6 if the attack targets touch AC or is made with a scatter weapon.

Some talents are marked (snipe). These talents add additional effects when you perform a deadly shot. You may only apply the effects of one (snipe) talent to each deadly shot.

Sniper Talents

Breaking Blast

Your ranged attack deals full damage to objects.

Covering Fire

As a standard action, you may choose an area with a 5-ft. radius. This area must be within your first range increment. You threaten this area until the beginning of your next turn, and may make attacks of opportunity using a ranged weapon that you are wielding against any creature in this area that provokes them. If the weapon uses ammunition, it must either be loaded or you must be able to load it as a free action and thrown weapons must be in hand or able to be drawn as a free action to make these attacks of opportunity. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, this radius increases by 5 ft.

Focusing Reload

You may regain martial focus whenever you use a move, standard, or full-round action to reload a weapon you are wielding (including nocking an arrow to a bow). If you can normally reload your weapon faster than a move action, you may choose to reload as a move action to gain this benefit.

Perfect Shot

As long as you have martial focus, whenever you would suffer a miss chance due to concealment, roll the miss chance twice and take the most favorable result. In addition, as long as you have martial focus, you no longer automatically miss when rolling a natural 1 on a ranged attack roll; your attack must still hit the target’s AC as normal. At +10 base attack bonus, you can reroll a result of 1 on a ranged attack roll once per round.

Sniper Shot

You may increase the time required to use deadly shot to a full-round action to apply two (snipe) talents to it. This attack still counts as an attack action.

Targeted Assault

Whenever you make a successful ranged attack against a creature or object as an attack action, the target’s damage reduction, energy resistance, or hardness is reduced by an amount equal to 1/2 your base attack bonus (minimum 1) against that attack.

Unblockable

Your ranged attacks are launched with devastating accuracy; whenever you make a ranged attack using the attack action and a spell or ability (such as wind wall or the Deflect Arrows feat) would allow a creature to prevent or deflect it, that creature must succeed at a caster level check (if the blocking effect is a spell or supernatural ability) or a combat maneuver check against your attack roll. Failure on this check means that your attack is not impeded by the ability.

Snipe Talents

Bouncing Shot (snipe)

You gain the ability to bounce your attack off of the ceiling, floor, or wall to attack a protected target. You may target a 5-ft. square of a solid surface, then treat that spot as your new point of origin when attacking a target. This can allow you to attack around corners, or possibly ignore the cover on a target. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, you may bounce your shot 1 additional time, but you suffer a -2 penalty to the attack roll per surface used to bounce in this fashion. A bounced surface does not take damage, and you use the total distance traveled (including to and between bounced surfaces) when determining range penalties.

Head Shot (snipe)

If your deadly shot deals damage equal to at least 50% of the target’s current hit points, the target must make a successful Fortitude saving throw or die. Constructs, elementals, swarms, and oozes are immune to this ability. This is a death effect.

Hindering Projectiles (snipe)

Your successful deadly shot leaves the weapon or ammunition used for the attack lodged in the wound, making it difficult for the target to move and react. The target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls, AC, and CMD; multiple uses of this ability stack, increasing the penalty by an additional -2 per projectile lodged in the target. The target may remove a single projectile as a move action, or may remove multiple as a full-round action.

Piercing Shot (snipe)

Your deadly shot pierces the target and can strike another creature in line behind it. You must be able to trace a line starting at your space and passing through both targets to make this additional attack. The secondary attack is made at a –4 penalty, in addition to any modifiers for added range; additional targets cannot be outside your normal maximum range. If the secondary attack also successfully damages its target, the projectile can continue to hit another target, but the -4 penalties for each additional target continue to stack.

Pinning Shot (snipe)

On a successful deadly shot, the target of your attack gains the grappled condition. A target grappled by a projectile can break free by destroying the weapon or ammo used in the attack (hardness 5, hit points 1, break DC 13 for arrows and bolts) or with an Escape Artist or combat maneuver check made as a move action against your CMD -4.

Push Shot (snipe)

On a successful deadly shot, you may make a free ranged bull rush attempt against the target, using your original attack roll for the deadly shot as your combat maneuver check. You do not need to move to push the target, nor do you provoke an attack of opportunity for this combat maneuver, except as usual when making ranged attacks.

Shattering Shot (snipe)

You may use deadly shot to make a ranged sunder attempt, using your Dexterity bonus in place of your Strength bonus when determining your combat maneuver bonus. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity for this combat maneuver, except as usual when making ranged attacks.

Shield Shot (snipe)

If you hit a shield-using creature with your deadly shot, the target loses the AC bonuses from that shield until they take a standard action to pry the remnants of the shot from their shield.

Steady Shot (snipe)

When performing a deadly shot, you may ignore the cover bonus to AC granted to targets by anything less than total cover, and the miss chance granted to targets by anything less than total concealment. Total cover and total concealment provide their normal benefits against your ranged attacks. At +10 base attack bonus, you also ignore total concealment.

Tangling Shot (snipe)

On a successful deadly shot, you give the target the entangled condition. The target may spend a standard action to end this effect.

Thread the Needle (snipe)

On a successful deadly shot, you aim for the target’s eyes, seeking to take away their vision. The first time you hit a target while using this ability, they are dazzled for 1d4 rounds; if you successfully use this ability against a target already suffering from the dazzled condition, they are instead blinded for 1 minute. The blind condition can be removed with a DC 20 Heal check, or when the target receives at least 1 hit point of healing. If your base attack bonus is +10 or higher, you may use the blinding option of this ability even if the target is not dazzled.

Trap Technician (snipe)

On a successful deadly shot against an object, you can attempt a Disable Device check substituting your attack roll for the results, although you deal damage equal to your weapon’s damage die to the object being disabled (this can be used with traps, but takes a -5 penalty). You can also use this check to instead activate a trap upon making a successful Disable Device check. You can also jam a lock with this talent, requiring a Disable Device check equal to your attack roll to open it.

Trip Shot (snipe)

On a successful deadly shot, you may make a free ranged trip attempt against the target, using your original attack roll for the deadly shot as your combat maneuver check. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity for this combat maneuver, except as usual when making ranged attacks.

Weapon Shot (snipe)

On a successful deadly shot, you may make a free ranged disarm attempt against the target, using your original attack roll for the deadly shot as your combat maneuver check. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity for this combat maneuver, except as usual when making ranged attacks.

Legendary Talents

Fragmenting Shot

Prerequisite(s): Sniper sphere, base attack bonus +7.

If you attack a creature or object with a deadly shot and reduce it to 0 or fewer hit points, it is instantly killed as its head (or equivalent body part) explodes in a shower of gore. Each creature within 10 ft. of the target takes an amount of bludgeoning and piercing damage equal to your weapon’s base damage die plus your base attack bonus (Reflex half).

Phasic Shot

Prerequisite(s): Sniper sphere, Perfect Shot, base attack bonus +15.

Your shot is fired with such force and deadly accuracy that it cuts through the very bonds of reality, bypassing any obstacle between it and its target. Targets gain no benefit from cover, even total cover, against your attacks. If you possess the Star Scraper advanced talent, you may attack a target anywhere within its advanced range, even if they are completely enclosed by protective surfaces, though you must still have a reliable means of ascertaining your target’s exact location. This is a supernatural effect.

Star Scraper (snipe)

Prerequisite(s): Sniper sphere, Perfect Shot, base attack bonus +10.

As a full-round action, you may perform a deadly shot with a -5 penalty that increases your weapon’s base range increment to 1 mile. You can attack a target without having line of sight or line of effect to them, ignoring any cover or concealment they possess, provided there is at least some form of straight open path between you and them, even if that path must go over a mountain or some other sort of large obstacle. However, you must have an accurate idea of the target’s location, such as by being signaled by a flying ally or informed of the target’s location and movements via a spell cast by an ally who currently has line of sight to the opponent. Creatures who are completely enclosed by protective surfaces, such as creatures inside a castle room with no windows, cannot be targeted by this effect.