You have developed cunning ways to use your Sneak Attack (Your DM may reccomend you starting with more or less Cunning Strikes depending on the level you take this feat). When you deal Sneak Attack damage, you can add one of the following Cunning Strike effects. Each effect has a die cost, which is the number of Sneak Attack damage dice you must forego to add the effect. You remove the die before rolling, and the effect occurs immediately after the attack’s damage is dealt. For example, if you add the Poison effect, remove 1d6 from the Sneak Attack’s damage before rolling. If a Cunning Strike effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your Proficiency Bonus + your Dexterity modifier or your Strength modifier.
If you score a critical hit the dice asociated with the cost are removed before doubling the number of dice rolled, and the initial saving throw is made at disadvantage. If scoring a critical hit would allow for you to have enough dice to apply a Cunning Strike for which you cannot ordinarily afford, you can forego all sneak attack damage and use this Cunning Strike, the saving throw is made as normal. Some Cunning Strikes may grant additional affects on critical hits, additionally some may be considered magical for the purpose of magical resistance.
[EXAMPLE: If your sneak attack damage is 3d6 at this level, and you make an attack that would qualify for sneak attack and roll a critical hit and then wish to use the Disarm Cunning Strike. You would deal 2d(weapon damage)+modifer + 4d6 sneak attack damage, and the creature will make a Strength saving throw at disadvantage. As apposed to 2d(weapon damage)+modifer + 6d6 sneak attack damage if the Cunning Strike was not used. Alternitively this creature upon scoring a critical hit could deal 2d(weapon damage)+modifer and apply the Weaken Cunning Strike, the target makes a charisma saving throw without disadvantage]
Disarm (Cost: 1d6). The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw, or it drops one item of your choice that it’s holding.
Distract (Cost: 1d6). The target makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, if you were hidden when this attack was made you are not revealed by making the attack, additionally until the end of your next turn the creature has disadvantage on perception checks and the next attack roll against the creature has advantage.
Poison (Cost: 1d6). You add a toxin to your strike, forcing the target to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target has the Poisoned condition for 1 minute. At the end of each of its turns, the Poisoned target can repeat the save, ending the effect on itself on a success. To use this effect, you must have a Poisoner’s Kit on your person.
Trip (Cost: 1d6). If the target is Large or smaller, it must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked Prone. When using a meele weapon an additional d6 can be added to the cost to increase the size restriction by 1, Huge creatures make save at advantage and Gargantuan creatures additionally can elect to use strength instead e.g. [2d6 for Huge, 3d6 for Gargantuan] (This cannot be applied to flying creatures)
Withdraw (Cost: 1d6). Immediately after the attack, you move up to half your Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Slow (Cost: 2d6). The target's speed is reduced by half until the end of your next turn.
Ground (Cost: 2d6). The target makes a Dexterity saving throw, on a success the target falls 15ft or lands harmlessly on the ground, on a failure it begins to fall at a speed of 60ft per round as per the featherfall spell, it can attempt to save at the start of it's next turn, while falling the creature looses it's flying speed however can direct itself horizontally a distance equal to half it's speed. If a critical hit is scored, you can choose to grant the target advantage on their saving throw, on a failure the target is knocked prone and falls as per normal falling rules.
Learn More Strikes & Higher Level Abilities
Your character can train or learn more Cunning Strikes, these could potentially be granted by a magic item, learnt during downtime, or developed over time during normal adventuring encounters. These do not neccecarily have to follow the theme, cost or, power-level of those shown above. Certain restrictions may be added to Cunning Strikes such as type of weapon, or possesion of an item, such as the Poison Cunning Strike, this may not disallow using the Cunning Strike but increase cost or reduce effectiveness as per the Trip Cunning Strike. Certain Cunning Strikes could be given limited uses, consume additional resources such as spell slots, or require additional rolls like applicable skill checks. Higher level story rewards may reduce costs or allow multiple Cunning Strikes to be applied to a single attack.
When training a cunning strike, especially through normal adventuring gameplay, the intent of the Cunning Strike should be defined before beginning training but not neccecarily every detail, if you are developing the strike yourself or with your DM, this will give time to balance the cost to the abilities. You cannot begin training for a Cunning Strike that you do not have enough sneak attack dice to use.
It is suggested that when training, have a cumulative DC (e.g. 150, or 10 successful uses), a single success DC (e.g. 15), and an appropriate skill check (e.g. DEX or arcana). You can attempt to use the Cunning Strike you are training any time you could normally use a Cunning Strike you know, and pay the appropriate cost, deal damage and then roll the associated skill check, applying the effect on a success. You may consider having cascading successes on either the cumulative DC, or single success DC, with effects improving towards the full abilities of the Cunning Strike, as you either get more comfortable with the skill, or have a better induvidual performance.
These can be from the list below or developed with your DM to suit your character.
Cunning Strikes to Learn:
Wedge(Cost: 2d6). You force your bolt deep into an important muscle structure. If the target attempts to make more than one attack before the end of your next turn it must make a Wisdom saving throw, on a failure the creature is unable to make the attack, if it succeeds it can make the attack however will suffer 1d8 necrotic damage for doing so. Once a creature has succeeded on the save they are no longer affected. A creature attempts the saving thow each time it could attack while affected.
Weaken (Cost: 4d6). You strike at a nerve center in a creature, you force it to make a Charisma saving throw, on a failure bludgeoning, peircing and slashing damage dealt by the creature using Strength is halved, a creature can repeat it's saving throw at the end of each of it's turns, it gains a +1 bonus to the save for each time it has attempted to make the save, the bonus remains until the creature takes a long rest.(This will primarily be limited to attacks, however features such as a dragons "wing attack", or a shambling mounds "engulf" are also affected by this ability)
Confuse (Cost: ?d6 [Maximum of half your dice]). Your attack plays with the mind of the target, if the target is concentraiting on a spell, you can reduce their saving throw to maintain concentraiton by the number rolled on the dice you reduced your sneak attack by.
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