So what feats should I be looking at to trigger a sneak attack from a reaction? I'm lvl 9 currently and will be looking at the next level up to look into being able to attempt to do another sneak attack. Any help would be appreciated :)
Anything that makes it more likely to trigger an attack on enemy turns will work, pole arm master is DM dependent, but sentinel and mage slayer both give you extra chances to attack under certain circumstances.
Alternatively, if you can get access to haste, you can attack with the hasted action and ready your normal action to attack using your reaction. If you can get a Scimitar of Speed in the future, you can use your feat for proficiency, use your bonus action to attack on your turn and ready an attack with your reaction.
Sounds like you're looking for a feat that either a) adds extra conditions for making an Attack Of Opportunity, or b) some other ability that lets you make an attack using your reaction. Far as I know, there are only three possible feats, one of which will be useless to you.
1) Polearm Master - lets you make an AoO when someone enters your reach, not just when they leave it. Trouble is, it only applies when using certain weapons, none of which have the Finesse or Ranged properties and therefore cannot get Sneak Attack.
2) Mage Slayer - lets you use your reaction to attack someone who casts a spell while they're within 5 feet of you. Very situational, but in those situations is can be awesome.
3) Sentinel - increases your chance of being able to get SA with your reaction in two different ways. First, it lets you make an AoO against someone who backs away even if they Disengage. Second, if someone next to you attacks someone other than you who doesn't have Sentinel, you can use your reaction to make an AoO.
Whether you should take Sentinel or Mage Slayer will depend on your party makeup and the types of enemies you're likely to face. If you come up against a lot of spellcasters, Mage Slayer makes more sense. If you tend to fight up close with one of your friends nearby, Sentinel starts to look better. Also, if you have a Battle Master or Purple Dragon Knight in your group, they each can get abilities to let you use your reaction and make an attack on their turn(Inspiring Surge at Level 10 for the PDK, and the Commander's Strike maneuver for the Battle Master).
Great suggestions, being a swashbuckler I'm at times alone facing an enemy 1 on 1 and also fighting with a ally so not sure if sentinel would work for me, I guess I could take both sent and mage slayer as I am done with getting ASI's.
Great suggestions, being a swashbuckler I'm at times alone facing an enemy 1 on 1 and also fighting with a ally so not sure if sentinel would work for me, I guess I could take both sent and mage slayer as I am done with getting ASI's.
If you're a Swashbuckler who hasn't maxed Dexterity, Charisma and Constitution, there's always room for another ASI :)
Great suggestions, being a swashbuckler I'm at times alone facing an enemy 1 on 1 and also fighting with a ally so not sure if sentinel would work for me, I guess I could take both sent and mage slayer as I am done with getting ASI's.
If you're a Swashbuckler who hasn't maxed Dexterity, Charisma and Constitution, there's always room for another ASI :)
Well I've already maxed DEX but I don't want to come off as a "super" hero with everything maxed I think having a 16 in CON and 14 in CHA is decent I may up CHA to match CON later as well.
I don't think there are any feats that really help with this. You van already sneak attack with an OA, so you just need more ways to trigger it.
There are some shenanigans with Pole Arm Master that you could exploit (requires dual wielding a quarterstaff and finesse weapon).
You can use sentinel to prevent the enemy from retreating after hitting with OA (potentially causing them to try again?).
Those are the best I've got. You might just want to find ways to make being in CQC more favorable for you by raising AC (moderately armored maybe).
Polearm master doesn't work like that. You have to use the polearm to make the attack when someone enters your reach. Crawford has confirmed several times that is how it is supposed to work. Allowing that would just be the cheesiest thing ever.
Sentinel is probably your best bet. If someone attacks someone that isn't you but you're in range, you'll almost always get sneak attack damage on your opportunity attack. If you're the one attacked, it's net positive because you can halve the damage with your reaction.
Polearm master doesn't work like that. You have to use the polearm to make the attack when someone enters your reach. Crawford has confirmed several times that is how it is supposed to work. Allowing that would just be the cheesiest thing ever.
He's confirmed several times that it isn't supposed to work like that, but that's not the RAW. The feat grants you an opportunity attack when someone enters your reach while you are wielding one of the listed weapons.
Polearm master doesn't work like that. You have to use the polearm to make the attack when someone enters your reach. Crawford has confirmed several times that is how it is supposed to work. Allowing that would just be the cheesiest thing ever.
He's confirmed several times that it isn't supposed to work like that, but that's not the RAW. The feat grants you an opportunity attack when someone enters your reach while you are wielding one of the listed weapons.
RAW sometimes let's you do stupid stuff. It's not RAI. Crawford literally wrote the book and if you are going against what he says, fine. However, it's not RAI and it's super cheesy.
Polearm master doesn't work like that. You have to use the polearm to make the attack when someone enters your reach. Crawford has confirmed several times that is how it is supposed to work. Allowing that would just be the cheesiest thing ever.
He's confirmed several times that it isn't supposed to work like that, but that's not the RAW. The feat grants you an opportunity attack when someone enters your reach while you are wielding one of the listed weapons.
If you're going to hold a quarterstaff in one hand just so you can swing a finesse weapon in the other hand to try and get Sneak Attack from the PAM "approach attack" feature, you're going to need the Dual Wielder feat since a quarterstaff isn't a Light weapon. Doesn't matter if the other one is, without the feat they both have to be Light. Also, don't be That Guy.
Polearm master doesn't work like that. You have to use the polearm to make the attack when someone enters your reach. Crawford has confirmed several times that is how it is supposed to work. Allowing that would just be the cheesiest thing ever.
He's confirmed several times that it isn't supposed to work like that, but that's not the RAW. The feat grants you an opportunity attack when someone enters your reach while you are wielding one of the listed weapons.
If you're going to hold a quarterstaff in one hand just so you can swing a finesse weapon in the other hand to try and get Sneak Attack from the PAM "approach attack" feature, you're going to need the Dual Wielder feat since a quarterstaff isn't a Light weapon. Doesn't matter if the other one is, without the feat they both have to be Light. Also, don't be That Guy.
You only need them to be light if you want to get a bonus action attack, you can wield them both at the same time without the feat. If you have extra attack, you can divide your attacks between them.
Polearm master doesn't work like that. You have to use the polearm to make the attack when someone enters your reach. Crawford has confirmed several times that is how it is supposed to work. Allowing that would just be the cheesiest thing ever.
He's confirmed several times that it isn't supposed to work like that, but that's not the RAW. The feat grants you an opportunity attack when someone enters your reach while you are wielding one of the listed weapons.
If you're going to hold a quarterstaff in one hand just so you can swing a finesse weapon in the other hand to try and get Sneak Attack from the PAM "approach attack" feature, you're going to need the Dual Wielder feat since a quarterstaff isn't a Light weapon. Doesn't matter if the other one is, without the feat they both have to be Light. Also, don't be That Guy.
You only need them to be light if you want to get a bonus action attack, you can wield them both at the same time without the feat. If you have extra attack, you can divide your attacks between them.
That's even cheesier, and if I were a DM looking at a Rogue holding a quarterstaff in one hand just so they can abuse the text of the Polearm Master feat, I'd shut that down right quick. At that point, you're not even trying to pretend it's anything but a rules exploit.
That's even cheesier, and if I were a DM looking at a Rogue holding a quarterstaff in one hand just so they can abuse the text of the Polearm Master feat, I'd shut that down right quick. At that point, you're not even trying to pretend it's anything but a rules exploit.
Oh yes, it is absolutely cheesy and blatantly exploiting the rules, which is why my first comment on it was that it is DM dependent. It is, however, the way the current RAW work.
By RAW the only time your off hand weapon gets to make an attack is when you use a bonus action to attack with it AFTER you've made your attack action attacks with your mainhand weapon. To trigger pole arm master it would have to be your mainhand weapon which means your off hand weapon is the finesse weapon and it's useless.
There is nothing by RAW that actually changes this little detail out of existance and let's you pick and choose. That's something you and your DM have entirely decided to do on your own. And there are written limitations by RAW as to what you can hold in both hands with and without certain features.
By RAW the only time your off hand weapon gets to make an attack is when you use a bonus action to attack with it AFTER you've made your attack action attacks with your mainhand weapon. To trigger pole arm master it would have to be your mainhand weapon which means your off hand weapon is the finesse weapon and it's useless.
There is nothing by RAW that actually changes this little detail out of existance and let's you pick and choose. That's something you and your DM have entirely decided to do on your own. And there are written limitations by RAW as to what you can hold in both hands with and without certain features.
By RAW there is no difference between your hands, the only rule on it is that if you attack with a light weapon in one hand, you can make an attack with a different light weapon in the other hand as a bonus action. If you have the feat, the restriction on light weapons goes away.
This means that you can wield a quarterstaff and a rapier at the same time, no matter what feats you have. If you have dual wielder, and you attack with one of them using your action, you can attack with the other using your bonus action.
If you have PAM, as long as you are wielding a quarterstaff, any time someone enters your reach with any weapon, you can make an attack against them with that weapon using your reaction. For an odd example, if you are using a quarterstaff and a whip, if someone moves 10' from you, you can sneak attack with the whip, if they move from 10' to 5' from you, you can only make a non-sneak attack with the quarterstaff.
That's even cheesier, and if I were a DM looking at a Rogue holding a quarterstaff in one hand just so they can abuse the text of the Polearm Master feat, I'd shut that down right quick. At that point, you're not even trying to pretend it's anything but a rules exploit.
Oh yes, it is absolutely cheesy and blatantly exploiting the rules, which is why my first comment on it was that it is DM dependent. It is, however, the way the current RAW work.
Sorta like folks that abuse War Caster to provoke an AoO from their "unarmed reach", and then cast Booming Blade using a 10ft Reach weapon instead. Absurdly cheesy nonsense.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Thats the beauty of RAW and RAI, seeing exactly what a DM will let you get away with can sometimes yield insane crap that teaches them how creatively destructibe their players can be.
Thats the beauty of RAW and RAI, seeing exactly what a DM will let you get away with can sometimes yield insane crap that teaches them how creatively destructibe their players can be.
And the GM is always capable of changing the rules if he thinks something is abusive or over/underpowered anyway, doesn't matter what the book says.
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So what feats should I be looking at to trigger a sneak attack from a reaction? I'm lvl 9 currently and will be looking at the next level up to look into being able to attempt to do another sneak attack. Any help would be appreciated :)
I don't think there are any feats that really help with this. You van already sneak attack with an OA, so you just need more ways to trigger it.
There are some shenanigans with Pole Arm Master that you could exploit (requires dual wielding a quarterstaff and finesse weapon).
You can use sentinel to prevent the enemy from retreating after hitting with OA (potentially causing them to try again?).
Those are the best I've got. You might just want to find ways to make being in CQC more favorable for you by raising AC (moderately armored maybe).
Anything that makes it more likely to trigger an attack on enemy turns will work, pole arm master is DM dependent, but sentinel and mage slayer both give you extra chances to attack under certain circumstances.
Alternatively, if you can get access to haste, you can attack with the hasted action and ready your normal action to attack using your reaction. If you can get a Scimitar of Speed in the future, you can use your feat for proficiency, use your bonus action to attack on your turn and ready an attack with your reaction.
Sounds like you're looking for a feat that either a) adds extra conditions for making an Attack Of Opportunity, or b) some other ability that lets you make an attack using your reaction. Far as I know, there are only three possible feats, one of which will be useless to you.
1) Polearm Master - lets you make an AoO when someone enters your reach, not just when they leave it. Trouble is, it only applies when using certain weapons, none of which have the Finesse or Ranged properties and therefore cannot get Sneak Attack.
2) Mage Slayer - lets you use your reaction to attack someone who casts a spell while they're within 5 feet of you. Very situational, but in those situations is can be awesome.
3) Sentinel - increases your chance of being able to get SA with your reaction in two different ways. First, it lets you make an AoO against someone who backs away even if they Disengage. Second, if someone next to you attacks someone other than you who doesn't have Sentinel, you can use your reaction to make an AoO.
Whether you should take Sentinel or Mage Slayer will depend on your party makeup and the types of enemies you're likely to face. If you come up against a lot of spellcasters, Mage Slayer makes more sense. If you tend to fight up close with one of your friends nearby, Sentinel starts to look better. Also, if you have a Battle Master or Purple Dragon Knight in your group, they each can get abilities to let you use your reaction and make an attack on their turn(Inspiring Surge at Level 10 for the PDK, and the Commander's Strike maneuver for the Battle Master).
Great suggestions, being a swashbuckler I'm at times alone facing an enemy 1 on 1 and also fighting with a ally so not sure if sentinel would work for me, I guess I could take both sent and mage slayer as I am done with getting ASI's.
If you're a Swashbuckler who hasn't maxed Dexterity, Charisma and Constitution, there's always room for another ASI :)
Well I've already maxed DEX but I don't want to come off as a "super" hero with everything maxed I think having a 16 in CON and 14 in CHA is decent I may up CHA to match CON later as well.
Polearm master doesn't work like that. You have to use the polearm to make the attack when someone enters your reach. Crawford has confirmed several times that is how it is supposed to work. Allowing that would just be the cheesiest thing ever.
Sentinel is probably your best bet. If someone attacks someone that isn't you but you're in range, you'll almost always get sneak attack damage on your opportunity attack. If you're the one attacked, it's net positive because you can halve the damage with your reaction.
He's confirmed several times that it isn't supposed to work like that, but that's not the RAW. The feat grants you an opportunity attack when someone enters your reach while you are wielding one of the listed weapons.
RAW sometimes let's you do stupid stuff. It's not RAI. Crawford literally wrote the book and if you are going against what he says, fine. However, it's not RAI and it's super cheesy.
If you're going to hold a quarterstaff in one hand just so you can swing a finesse weapon in the other hand to try and get Sneak Attack from the PAM "approach attack" feature, you're going to need the Dual Wielder feat since a quarterstaff isn't a Light weapon. Doesn't matter if the other one is, without the feat they both have to be Light. Also, don't be That Guy.
You only need them to be light if you want to get a bonus action attack, you can wield them both at the same time without the feat. If you have extra attack, you can divide your attacks between them.
That's even cheesier, and if I were a DM looking at a Rogue holding a quarterstaff in one hand just so they can abuse the text of the Polearm Master feat, I'd shut that down right quick. At that point, you're not even trying to pretend it's anything but a rules exploit.
Oh yes, it is absolutely cheesy and blatantly exploiting the rules, which is why my first comment on it was that it is DM dependent. It is, however, the way the current RAW work.
Yes that is the cheesiest idea ever! I'm glad other's are seeing it as well.
By RAW the only time your off hand weapon gets to make an attack is when you use a bonus action to attack with it AFTER you've made your attack action attacks with your mainhand weapon. To trigger pole arm master it would have to be your mainhand weapon which means your off hand weapon is the finesse weapon and it's useless.
There is nothing by RAW that actually changes this little detail out of existance and let's you pick and choose. That's something you and your DM have entirely decided to do on your own. And there are written limitations by RAW as to what you can hold in both hands with and without certain features.
By RAW there is no difference between your hands, the only rule on it is that if you attack with a light weapon in one hand, you can make an attack with a different light weapon in the other hand as a bonus action. If you have the feat, the restriction on light weapons goes away.
This means that you can wield a quarterstaff and a rapier at the same time, no matter what feats you have. If you have dual wielder, and you attack with one of them using your action, you can attack with the other using your bonus action.
If you have PAM, as long as you are wielding a quarterstaff, any time someone enters your reach with any weapon, you can make an attack against them with that weapon using your reaction. For an odd example, if you are using a quarterstaff and a whip, if someone moves 10' from you, you can sneak attack with the whip, if they move from 10' to 5' from you, you can only make a non-sneak attack with the quarterstaff.
Sorta like folks that abuse War Caster to provoke an AoO from their "unarmed reach", and then cast Booming Blade using a 10ft Reach weapon instead. Absurdly cheesy nonsense.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Thats the beauty of RAW and RAI, seeing exactly what a DM will let you get away with can sometimes yield insane crap that teaches them how creatively destructibe their players can be.
And the GM is always capable of changing the rules if he thinks something is abusive or over/underpowered anyway, doesn't matter what the book says.