Nothing about the Martial Arts feature of Monks changes the rules for Sneak Attack. Your Martial Arts die replaces the weapon's damage die, not Sneak Attack's. And it doesn't change the properties of the weapon you're using. You still need to be making the attack with a Finesse or Ranged weapon. Unarmed Strikes wouldn't qualify, not by the rules as written.
If you're a Rogue/Monk, daggers are your friend since they're monk weapons with the Finesse property. However, your Martial Arts/Flurry of Blows Bonus Action attack(s) each round are Unarmed Strikes, so if you're interested in having a Bonus Action attack eligible for sneak attack you'll need to dual wield two daggers and use Two Weapon Fighting.
If you're a Rogue/Monk, daggers are your friend since they're monk weapons with the Finesse property. However, your Martial Arts/Flurry of Blows Bonus Action attack(s) each round are Unarmed Strikes, so if you're interested in having a Bonus Action attack eligible for sneak attack you'll need to dual wield two daggers and use Two Weapon Fighting.
Monks also get short swords and a Kensai could pick up scimitar or rapier. These are both monk weapons and have the finesse property which makes them suitable for both the Martial arts and sneak attack abilities.
This means that when taking the attack action you could use the weapon and get your sneak attack plus a regular unarmed strike (kick, punch, elbow, headbutt etc). I'm not sure where making a second weapon attack as a bonus action comes from though as the ability specifies an unarmed strike and doesn't include the monk weapon rider.
When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.
This doesn't change the type of dice you roll though, you use the martial arts dice as your damage for the attack and you use d6's for the sneak attack damage.
The Bonus Action weapon attack would come from using two daggers and Two Weapon Fighting as Chicken_Champ said. Being a Monk doesn't stop you being able to Dual Wield.
If using a monk weapon yes. Basically just use shortsword to trigger your sneak attack then your extra attack/bonus attack use unarmed strikes. Or talk to your DM and if they're cool they'll allow you to sneak attack with your unnarmed strikes because really why not.
If using a monk weapon yes. Basically just use shortsword to trigger your sneak attack then your extra attack/bonus attack use unarmed strikes. Or talk to your DM and if they're cool they'll allow you to sneak attack with your unnarmed strikes because really why not.
The "why not" is because it gives you more opportunities to pull off your Sneak Attack than you're supposed to have. If you miss with your Attack action attack(s) with your weapon, you then have to use your bonus action to use Two-Weapon Fighting with your off-hand if you still want to get your Sneak Attack damage. If you were able to get Sneak Attacks off unarmed strikes, you could instead use Flurry of Blows and get an extra chance for Sneak Attack to trigger.
You don't have to dual-wield Finesse weapons for this. Monks get Extra Attack--you can can make both of your attacks with the finesse weapon (hopefully landing Sneak Attack on one), and that fulfills the prerequisite for the Martial Arts bonus action.
For what it's worth, dual-wielding Finesse weapons still qualifies for taking the Martial Arts bonus action... you can always headbutt, kick, elbow, or attack with whatever other appendage you want... Unarmed Strike is very open in what qualifies.
The only thing that is forbidden is making a Sneak Attack with your Unarmed Strike.
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@Jaysburn and I don't see an issue with proccing it off of flurry of blows either. You'll still only going to be able to sneak attack once per turn regardless. I get that it's not RAW I've just played and DM'd for a few monks and this is how we've ruled it and it's not been a problem.
Well the only real issue is that you get more damage potential. If you miss with your attack(s) from the Attack action, then the only way to get your Sneak Attack is to use Two-Weapon Fighting to attempt to land an attack with your offhand weapon, which is only one attack and is just your martial arts die; you don't get to add your modifier to the damage unless you have the Two-Weapon Fighting Style from the Fighter or Ranger classes.
Normally, you can have a total of 3 chances to land your Sneak Attack (Attack with Extra Attack, then TWF off-hand attack), and if you miss your first two and land your third (TWF) you only get your martial arts die + sneak attack die, with no bonus' added. If you allow Sneak Attacks to land on unarmed strikes, you can get 4 total attempts (Extra Attack + Flurry of Blows), and all of those chances get your modifier damage added on top if you hit.
Essentially there should be an internal debate - if you miss your first attack(s) with your weapon - over whether you want to try for Sneak Attack again by using your Two-Weapon fighting, or if you want to just make an unarmed strike/Flurry of Blows to be able to add your damage modifier to the attack(s).
To each their own, of course. If you don't feel like this is a big deal, so be it. Just trying to clarify the situation.
TWF also requires... two weapons, placing limitations on your ability to be grappling or carrying other objects. Just letting Unarmed Strikes do sneak attack is a pretty big deal... though I do think there should a “knife hands style” subclass or feat that enables it, fingers crossed for the upcoming sourcebook :)
I completely understand the other side of it, and in no way mean to devalue your point of view.
Normally I'm the rules lawyer in our group and bring up situations where our play conflicts with a rule and the 3 DMs I game with have a group discussion on how we want to rule on it so we're consistent. Flanking, diagonal movement to name just a few others we've conferred on. I'm just speaking from what we've done in my playgroup and it has worked fine with no real negative side effects.
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Could one use their Martial Arts hit dice for sneak attack when multi-classing?
Nothing about the Martial Arts feature of Monks changes the rules for Sneak Attack. Your Martial Arts die replaces the weapon's damage die, not Sneak Attack's. And it doesn't change the properties of the weapon you're using. You still need to be making the attack with a Finesse or Ranged weapon. Unarmed Strikes wouldn't qualify, not by the rules as written.
If you're a Rogue/Monk, daggers are your friend since they're monk weapons with the Finesse property. However, your Martial Arts/Flurry of Blows Bonus Action attack(s) each round are Unarmed Strikes, so if you're interested in having a Bonus Action attack eligible for sneak attack you'll need to dual wield two daggers and use Two Weapon Fighting.
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Monks also get short swords and a Kensai could pick up scimitar or rapier. These are both monk weapons and have the finesse property which makes them suitable for both the Martial arts and sneak attack abilities.
This means that when taking the attack action you could use the weapon and get your sneak attack plus a regular unarmed strike (kick, punch, elbow, headbutt etc). I'm not sure where making a second weapon attack as a bonus action comes from though as the ability specifies an unarmed strike and doesn't include the monk weapon rider.
When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action.
This doesn't change the type of dice you roll though, you use the martial arts dice as your damage for the attack and you use d6's for the sneak attack damage.
The Bonus Action weapon attack would come from using two daggers and Two Weapon Fighting as Chicken_Champ said. Being a Monk doesn't stop you being able to Dual Wield.
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I see, but then in that case you wouldn't be using the martial arts rule, so wouldn't be able to substitute your martial arts dice surely?
If using a monk weapon yes. Basically just use shortsword to trigger your sneak attack then your extra attack/bonus attack use unarmed strikes. Or talk to your DM and if they're cool they'll allow you to sneak attack with your unnarmed strikes because really why not.
You can use your Martial Arts die for the damage die of Monk Weapon attacks, too. Not just for unarmed strikes.
The "why not" is because it gives you more opportunities to pull off your Sneak Attack than you're supposed to have. If you miss with your Attack action attack(s) with your weapon, you then have to use your bonus action to use Two-Weapon Fighting with your off-hand if you still want to get your Sneak Attack damage. If you were able to get Sneak Attacks off unarmed strikes, you could instead use Flurry of Blows and get an extra chance for Sneak Attack to trigger.
You don't have to dual-wield Finesse weapons for this. Monks get Extra Attack--you can can make both of your attacks with the finesse weapon (hopefully landing Sneak Attack on one), and that fulfills the prerequisite for the Martial Arts bonus action.
For what it's worth, dual-wielding Finesse weapons still qualifies for taking the Martial Arts bonus action... you can always headbutt, kick, elbow, or attack with whatever other appendage you want... Unarmed Strike is very open in what qualifies.
The only thing that is forbidden is making a Sneak Attack with your Unarmed Strike.
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.
@Jaysburn and I don't see an issue with proccing it off of flurry of blows either. You'll still only going to be able to sneak attack once per turn regardless. I get that it's not RAW I've just played and DM'd for a few monks and this is how we've ruled it and it's not been a problem.
Well the only real issue is that you get more damage potential. If you miss with your attack(s) from the Attack action, then the only way to get your Sneak Attack is to use Two-Weapon Fighting to attempt to land an attack with your offhand weapon, which is only one attack and is just your martial arts die; you don't get to add your modifier to the damage unless you have the Two-Weapon Fighting Style from the Fighter or Ranger classes.
Normally, you can have a total of 3 chances to land your Sneak Attack (Attack with Extra Attack, then TWF off-hand attack), and if you miss your first two and land your third (TWF) you only get your martial arts die + sneak attack die, with no bonus' added. If you allow Sneak Attacks to land on unarmed strikes, you can get 4 total attempts (Extra Attack + Flurry of Blows), and all of those chances get your modifier damage added on top if you hit.
Essentially there should be an internal debate - if you miss your first attack(s) with your weapon - over whether you want to try for Sneak Attack again by using your Two-Weapon fighting, or if you want to just make an unarmed strike/Flurry of Blows to be able to add your damage modifier to the attack(s).
To each their own, of course. If you don't feel like this is a big deal, so be it. Just trying to clarify the situation.
TWF also requires... two weapons, placing limitations on your ability to be grappling or carrying other objects. Just letting Unarmed Strikes do sneak attack is a pretty big deal... though I do think there should a “knife hands style” subclass or feat that enables it, fingers crossed for the upcoming sourcebook :)
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
I completely understand the other side of it, and in no way mean to devalue your point of view.
Normally I'm the rules lawyer in our group and bring up situations where our play conflicts with a rule and the 3 DMs I game with have a group discussion on how we want to rule on it so we're consistent. Flanking, diagonal movement to name just a few others we've conferred on. I'm just speaking from what we've done in my playgroup and it has worked fine with no real negative side effects.