I know it's possible to do more than one sneak attack in a round via reactions, or readied actions with an extra attack from haste, or from the sentinel feat. How often do you use or see people use this in game and does it unbalance the game?
At best you can Sneak Attack twice on a Round. 1) When you take your Action on your Turn, in a Round, you can attack an opponent for Sneak Attack. 2) If someone else's action or movement gives you a Reaction you can spend your Reaction on their Turn, inside the same Round, to attack an opponent with Sneak Attack.
As Atomic_Robo points out Haste is "gains an additional action on each of its turns". So it's still the Rogue's Turn inside the same Round so you would only get Sneak Attack if your first attack misses.
Haste only grants an additional action on your turn, not an additional attack for Reaction (on anyone's turn.)
You can get one Sneak Attack using the action from Haste and use your normal action to Ready an attack on another creature's turn for a second Sneak Attack.
Getting two Sneak Attacks in one round always requires spending resources (e.g. the Haste spell, Battle Master's Commander's Strike maneuver) or meeting specific criteria (e.g. the reaction from the Sentinel feat) and always uses up your reaction. It doesn't break anything.
If a way to attack on someone else's turn without using a reaction got published, then I'd worry.
Sentinel uses the character's reaction to pull off their extra attack, so you have to make the choice of that or an Opportunity Attack.
Thief archetype can get a extra sneak attack in there, at higher levels (17th+ level), with use of their Thief's Reflexes (Two turns during the first round of combat, first at normal imitative second at initiative minus 10)
Then there is also the UA fighting style Tunnel Fighter, which is a touch ridiculous;
You excel at defending narrow passages, doorways, and other tight spaces. As a bonus action, you can enter a defensive stance that lasts until the start of your next turn. While in your defensive stance, you can make opportunity attacks without using your reaction, and you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against a creature that moves more than 5 feet while within your reach.
If you're a 17th-level Scout, you can Sneak Attack up to three times per round: once with your action, once with your 17th-level Scout feature (which specifies that you can use Sneak Attack with the bonus action attack), and once with your reaction (if you can find a way to attack with your reaction, which isn't really all that hard).
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
The key thing to note there is once per TURN (not round).
I've never seen a rogue gain more than two sneak attacks in a round in practice, though theorycrafting you can get up to 4 or 5 I think.
Most common is getting to use reaction for a sneak attack on a target that has incurred an attack of opportunity (note that the attack still needs to qualify as being valid for a sneak attack).
Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
The key thing to note there is once per TURN (not round).
I've never seen a rogue gain more than two sneak attacks in a round in practice, though theorycrafting you can get up to 4 or 5 I think.
Most common is getting to use reaction for a sneak attack on a target that has incurred an attack of opportunity (note that the attack still needs to qualify as being valid for a sneak attack).
How do you get 4 or 5? You'd get one on your turn, and once on someone else's turn which takes up your reaction, which you wouldn't get back until your turn comes around again. And then a 3rd as a Bonus Action if you're a 17th-level Scout. Where are you getting the 4th and 5th from?
This is interesting and can potentially allow for even more battle strategy and placement if I understand it correctly. So we can use our Reaction to Sneak Attack an enemy that passes by us via Opportunity Attack as long as the Sneak Attack criteria is met.
I'm in a campaign right now where combat has initiated very rapidly and I haven't had a chance to use my Assassinate by surprising an enemy for critical damage in a long time. With that, it would be nice to start thinking about double sneak attacks as a way to boost my damage output even more.
The problem to me is 1) I've rarely seen Monsters draw AoO on a regular basis 2) Trying to "build" around it is that it requires by-in from your teammates.
Rogues generally have lower ACs then Fighters, so if a Rogue has Sentinel many Monsters will happily target the lower AC/lower HP Rogue who deals Sneak Attack with Sentinel. This just draws more aggro to you. You could try to get around this by using a whip, but the whip is the one weapon Rogues should be proficient in, but aren't. This means you either need to MClass or take Weapon Master. If your Fighter has the Protection Fighting Style he can give DisAdv on a single attack.
Subclasses like the Swashbuckler will never take advantage of this as they are built around not finishing their turn in combat.
Spells like Haste are an interesting idea, but it requires either A) an ally willing to cast it on you B) be a 13th lvl Arcane Trickster C) have a magic item.
Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
The key thing to note there is once per TURN (not round).
I've never seen a rogue gain more than two sneak attacks in a round in practice, though theorycrafting you can get up to 4 or 5 I think.
Most common is getting to use reaction for a sneak attack on a target that has incurred an attack of opportunity (note that the attack still needs to qualify as being valid for a sneak attack).
Isn't TURN and ROUND the same thing? Every Round you get 1 Action, 1 Bonus Action, 1 Interaction, 1 Free Action and 1 Reaction. During your turn you can spend everything but a reaction unless something allow you to do it on your turn. Once per Turn and Once per Round is the same exact thing since there is nothing that allow you to jump to the next round before anyone else are there, the only difference is when in the round you get your time to act. When I DM I will not allow Sneak Attack to apply twice in the same round. When you spent your Sneak Attack you have to wait until it is your turn again, and using a reaction does not make it your turn.
they are not the same. from PHB:
A typical combat encounter is a clash between two sides, a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and spellcasting. The game organizes the chaos of combat into a cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents about 6 seconds in the game world. During a round, each participant in a battle takes a turn. The order of turns is determined at the beginning of a combat encounter, when everyone rolls initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next round if neither side has defeated the other.
The definition of sneak attack says “once per turn” not “once on your turn”
You use your reaction on the turn of another combatant, so therefore you can use sneak attack if other criteria are met even if you used sneak attack on your turn
Since your ability to make a reaction resets at the start of your turn, you could use one before your turn and one after your turn in the same round, so 3 sneak attacks in the same round max, 4 with 17th level scout. In the next round, you couldn’t use a reaction before your turn because you used it already
A Reaction happens "outside" of each players Turn, and, as such, can allow Sneak Attack damage. Some feats only allow for more reactions...
No, a reaction happens on whomever's turn it was when the reaction's trigger occurred. Normally that's someone else's turn, but if for whatever reason an enemy were to provoke an opportunity attack on the Rogue's turn and they had already used Sneak Attack, they wouldn't be able to get a second one.
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Hello,
I know it's possible to do more than one sneak attack in a round via reactions, or readied actions with an extra attack from haste, or from the sentinel feat. How often do you use or see people use this in game and does it unbalance the game?
Haste only grants an additional action on your turn, not an additional attack for Reaction (on anyone's turn.)
In general, I've found no issues with a rogue being able to sneak attack up to twice a round: once on the rogue's turn, and another with a reaction.
At best you can Sneak Attack twice on a Round.
1) When you take your Action on your Turn, in a Round, you can attack an opponent for Sneak Attack.
2) If someone else's action or movement gives you a Reaction you can spend your Reaction on their Turn, inside the same Round, to attack an opponent with Sneak Attack.
As Atomic_Robo points out Haste is "gains an additional action on each of its turns". So it's still the Rogue's Turn inside the same Round so you would only get Sneak Attack if your first attack misses.
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Ah I misunderstood what the OP was saying.
Sentinel uses the character's reaction to pull off their extra attack, so you have to make the choice of that or an Opportunity Attack.
Thief archetype can get a extra sneak attack in there, at higher levels (17th+ level), with use of their Thief's Reflexes (Two turns during the first round of combat, first at normal imitative second at initiative minus 10)
Then there is also the UA fighting style Tunnel Fighter, which is a touch ridiculous;
You excel at defending narrow passages, doorways, and other tight spaces. As a bonus action, you can enter a defensive stance that lasts until the start of your next turn. While in your defensive stance, you can make opportunity attacks without using your reaction, and you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against a creature that moves more than 5 feet while within your reach.
Yikes lol
If you're a 17th-level Scout, you can Sneak Attack up to three times per round: once with your action, once with your 17th-level Scout feature (which specifies that you can use Sneak Attack with the bonus action attack), and once with your reaction (if you can find a way to attack with your reaction, which isn't really all that hard).
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Sneak Attack
Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
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D&D Beyond FoundersThe key thing to note there is once per TURN (not round).
I've never seen a rogue gain more than two sneak attacks in a round in practice, though theorycrafting you can get up to 4 or 5 I think.
Most common is getting to use reaction for a sneak attack on a target that has incurred an attack of opportunity (note that the attack still needs to qualify as being valid for a sneak attack).
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How do you get 4 or 5? You'd get one on your turn, and once on someone else's turn which takes up your reaction, which you wouldn't get back until your turn comes around again. And then a 3rd as a Bonus Action if you're a 17th-level Scout. Where are you getting the 4th and 5th from?
This is interesting and can potentially allow for even more battle strategy and placement if I understand it correctly. So we can use our Reaction to Sneak Attack an enemy that passes by us via Opportunity Attack as long as the Sneak Attack criteria is met.
I'm in a campaign right now where combat has initiated very rapidly and I haven't had a chance to use my Assassinate by surprising an enemy for critical damage in a long time. With that, it would be nice to start thinking about double sneak attacks as a way to boost my damage output even more.
The problem to me is 1) I've rarely seen Monsters draw AoO on a regular basis 2) Trying to "build" around it is that it requires by-in from your teammates.
Rogues generally have lower ACs then Fighters, so if a Rogue has Sentinel many Monsters will happily target the lower AC/lower HP Rogue who deals Sneak Attack with Sentinel. This just draws more aggro to you.
You could try to get around this by using a whip, but the whip is the one weapon Rogues should be proficient in, but aren't. This means you either need to MClass or take Weapon Master.
If your Fighter has the Protection Fighting Style he can give DisAdv on a single attack.
Subclasses like the Swashbuckler will never take advantage of this as they are built around not finishing their turn in combat.
Spells like Haste are an interesting idea, but it requires either A) an ally willing to cast it on you B) be a 13th lvl Arcane Trickster C) have a magic item.
they are not the same. from PHB:
A typical combat encounter is a clash between two sides, a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and spellcasting. The game organizes the chaos of combat into a cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents about 6 seconds in the game world. During a round, each participant in a battle takes a turn. The order of turns is determined at the beginning of a combat encounter, when everyone rolls initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next round if neither side has defeated the other.
for a reaction (not your turn pretty much by definition) you do still need advantage or they have to have an enemy within 5’, though.
See the Sage Advice column for distinguishing between turns and rounds. https://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/06/18/sneak-once-per-turn/
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The definition of sneak attack says “once per turn” not “once on your turn”
You use your reaction on the turn of another combatant, so therefore you can use sneak attack if other criteria are met even if you used sneak attack on your turn
Since your ability to make a reaction resets at the start of your turn, you could use one before your turn and one after your turn in the same round, so 3 sneak attacks in the same round max, 4 with 17th level scout. In the next round, you couldn’t use a reaction before your turn because you used it already
Round and Turn are NOT interchangable.
A Turn is an Action a PC, NPC or enemy does. Inclusive of movement, attack, casting, readying, etc.
A Round is the total of turns by all entities.
A Reaction happens "outside" of each players Turn, and, as such, can allow Sneak Attack damage. Some feats only allow for more reactions...
No, a reaction happens on whomever's turn it was when the reaction's trigger occurred. Normally that's someone else's turn, but if for whatever reason an enemy were to provoke an opportunity attack on the Rogue's turn and they had already used Sneak Attack, they wouldn't be able to get a second one.
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