Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
I don't know if it's the best, but adjacent ally seems to come up a lot in my game. And the Tasha's Steady Aim feature.
Do you get advantage for having elevation? I hadn't heard of that. Put that together with flying, and it would really make races with flight (even more) OP.
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
it is by far the best way.
I'm always confused when I see people playing Rogue who don't just end every turn with a Hide attempt. There are times when it's not really an option... maybe you had to use your bonus action to disengage, or dash, or to do something else. Maybe there's no viable hiding places on the battlefield. But if you're a Rogue and you've got the option, there's very few reasons to not at least attempt to hide every single round.
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
it is by far the best way.
I'm always confused when I see people playing Rogue who don't just end every turn with a Hide attempt. There are times when it's not really an option... maybe you had to use your bonus action to disengage, or dash, or to do something else. Maybe there's no viable hiding places on the battlefield. But if you're a Rogue and you've got the option, there's very few reasons to not at least attempt to hide every single round.
Ok, playing a wood elf or halfling would help with that
also wouldn’t being invisible give you advantage?
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Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
Yes, being invisible is helpful as well, but it's difficult to become invisible as a Rogue without multiclassing or taking feats to accomplish it. Also, most effects to become invisible dispel the moment you make an attack... at that point, it provides no greater benefit than just hiding. Still, if you've got someone in your party who knows Greater Invisibility, The Rogue is one of the better allies to cast it on.
A familiar can give you sneak attack in a few ways too, like using the help action to distract the enemy, or using the flanking rules for advantage, or having it be within 5 feet of the enemy.
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
it is by far the best way.
I'm always confused when I see people playing Rogue who don't just end every turn with a Hide attempt. There are times when it's not really an option... maybe you had to use your bonus action to disengage, or dash, or to do something else. Maybe there's no viable hiding places on the battlefield. But if you're a Rogue and you've got the option, there's very few reasons to not at least attempt to hide every single round.
Exactly. Hiding at the end of your turn should almost always be the default unless there is some reason you can’t.
If you have a safe elevated position you can climb to, Steady Aim is another good option. But even then if you can Hide on the rooftop or tower, or whatever, that’s still a better option.
That’s why I think the “Steady Aim is OP” crowd is wrong.
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
it is by far the best way.
I'm always confused when I see people playing Rogue who don't just end every turn with a Hide attempt. There are times when it's not really an option... maybe you had to use your bonus action to disengage, or dash, or to do something else. Maybe there's no viable hiding places on the battlefield. But if you're a Rogue and you've got the option, there's very few reasons to not at least attempt to hide every single round.
Exactly. Hiding at the end of your turn should almost always be the default unless there is some reason you can’t.
If you have a safe elevated position you can climb to, Steady Aim is another good option. But even then if you can Hide on the rooftop or tower, or whatever, that’s still a better option.
That’s why I think the “Steady Aim is OP” crowd is wrong.
Hiding after every attack is definitely the most “rogue” option, and also the best. Ranger weapons in general are really good for sneak attacking but it’s important to use steady aim sparingly because the enemy can dash up to you if you use it too often.
then again, this is why having the height advantage is so good. Either they can’t reach you or have to spend extra time climbing up to you. And if I were a DM I would rule that if an enemy is within five feet of you but has their hands occupied with climbing or hanging onto something then you don’t get disadvantage.
Exactly. Hiding at the end of your turn should almost always be the default unless there is some reason you can’t.
Unless you go out of your way to engineer things so that this is extra feasible (e.g. Lightfoot Halfling, Wood Elf, Skulker feat), 95% of the time there will be a reason you can't, which is not having anything you can legally hide behind, unless you have an incredibly generous DM. For examples of what I'm talking about, go look at pretty much any map from any official WOTC content - total cover is incredibly scarce. That's why all Rogue subclasses are judged by their ability to engineer Sneak Attack legality, although that's less true now that all Rogues can Steady Aim.
I'm playing a Rogue right now, and I tripled down on making sure I could always Sneak Attack, which is the primary reason I have so much fun playing it - I'm an old hand at DMs never letting you Hide. My DM let me have any magic item I wanted of Uncommon or less rarity, so I have a Broom of Flying to help ensure I can always afford to Steady Aim (a living mount would both be better, allowing be to move while shooting, and worse, as it would be independently murderable), I'm an Arcane Trickster with an owl, and I have the Skulker feat.
From Tasha's the best way to get sneak attack is with steady aim.
For melee rogues, collaborating with a partner is probably the best option. Both attack the same enemy and you'll get your sneak attack. There are also subclasses like the Swashbuckler that allow you to sneak attack alone. Or the Arcane Trisckter who can get advantage with his bonus action.
A two level dip into Barbarian gives you Reckless Attack (granting yourself advantage at will). You can then use your BA to Disengage and run away so they have to move (and hopefully provoke OAs) to get their attacks at advantage.
You can even take advantage of Rage if you use a Rapier and attack with Str. You would still get Sneak Attack RAW because it only requires using a Finesse or Ranged weapon, it does NOT require you to attack with Dex.
If you couple this with the Swashbuckler, you will have get SA anytime you are alone with your target or you have an enemy of your enemy beside your target.
Reckless only works in str based attacks. Sneak attack only works with a finesse weapon. In theory, you can use str with a finesse weapon, so I guess that’s ok. But in practice, rogues dump str, so it won’t be very effective. Maybe having advantage will cancel out using a weaker stat, but still the combo of reckless and sneak attack isn’t exactly chocolate and peanut butter. It might work, but you’re giving up 2 levels of rogue, so a bigger SA die pool, for a trick that doesn’t quite synergize.
Relying on STR as a Rogue isn't inherently a bad idea... many Rogue features key off of DEX (such as Stealth for taking the Hide Action), but you don't need to have better DEX than STR just to be a Rogue... I mean, aside from multiclassing requirements. That said... usually when I see someone go for a Rogue/Barbarian multiclass they tend to be more Barbarian that gets a sneak attack boost rather than a Rogue who attacks with strength, if that makes any sense.
You attack with a Rapier which is a 1d8 and you can have a shield equipped to bolster your AC. You can focus on Str, Dex, and Con (which you're going to do Dex and Con for a Rogue anyway). And you get access to Medium Armor.
I’m not saying it doesn’t work. Its certainly can happen by RAW. It might even be fun to play. And the idea of attacking recklessly with a rapier is kind of hilarious. It’s just a lot of hoops to jump through to get access to sneak attack (which is the OP’s question), when there’s easier ways.
I didn’t realise a ladies face powder got to make sneak attacks. Rogues on the other hand can get it easily.
1. Advantage - from a familiar, invisibility, reckless attack, being in heavy obscurement with blindsight, magical darkness with devils sight, steady aim or being hidden.
2. Flanking or fighting alongside an ally.
3. Solo fighting an opponent as a swashbuckler.
A swashbuckler gets it more regularly than anything without multiclassing, but a 1 level fighter dip could pick up blindsight (need friends to cast obscuring spells such as fog cloud or darkness), a 2 level barbarian dip for reckless attack, or a 3 level warlock dip for blindsight and darkness.
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
it is by far the best way.
I'm always confused when I see people playing Rogue who don't just end every turn with a Hide attempt. There are times when it's not really an option... maybe you had to use your bonus action to disengage, or dash, or to do something else. Maybe there's no viable hiding places on the battlefield. But if you're a Rogue and you've got the option, there's very few reasons to not at least attempt to hide every single round.
A lot of GMs don't allow you to hide while being actively observed by enemies unless you've got a special ability like the Lightfoot halfling's Naturally Stealthy. It's not RAW for 5E, but it's a common house rule.
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
it is by far the best way.
I'm always confused when I see people playing Rogue who don't just end every turn with a Hide attempt. There are times when it's not really an option... maybe you had to use your bonus action to disengage, or dash, or to do something else. Maybe there's no viable hiding places on the battlefield. But if you're a Rogue and you've got the option, there's very few reasons to not at least attempt to hide every single round.
A lot of GMs don't allow you to hide while being actively observed by enemies unless you've got a special ability like the Lightfoot halfling's Naturally Stealthy. It's not RAW for 5E, but it's a common house rule.
It's a common house rule? That's pretty disappointing... why would Rogues be able to hide as a bonus action if they can't do it in combat?
Just like the title, what are some of the best ways rouges can get sneak attack? Here are a few I know:
height advantage (I have the high ground)
help action (familiars can do this well)
flanking
Edit: height advantage might be a house rule in my campaign
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
I don't know if it's the best, but adjacent ally seems to come up a lot in my game. And the Tasha's Steady Aim feature.
Do you get advantage for having elevation? I hadn't heard of that. Put that together with flying, and it would really make races with flight (even more) OP.
By far it is taking the hide action, unless you have a DM who is very unfriendly toward Rogues.
Attack, move to some kind of cover, take the hide action. In between your turns attacks against you would be at disadvantage. Your attacks now have advantage, and sneak attack applies.
it is by far the best way.
I'm always confused when I see people playing Rogue who don't just end every turn with a Hide attempt. There are times when it's not really an option... maybe you had to use your bonus action to disengage, or dash, or to do something else. Maybe there's no viable hiding places on the battlefield. But if you're a Rogue and you've got the option, there's very few reasons to not at least attempt to hide every single round.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Ok, playing a wood elf or halfling would help with that
also wouldn’t being invisible give you advantage?
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
Yes, being invisible is helpful as well, but it's difficult to become invisible as a Rogue without multiclassing or taking feats to accomplish it. Also, most effects to become invisible dispel the moment you make an attack... at that point, it provides no greater benefit than just hiding. Still, if you've got someone in your party who knows Greater Invisibility, The Rogue is one of the better allies to cast it on.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
A familiar can give you sneak attack in a few ways too, like using the help action to distract the enemy, or using the flanking rules for advantage, or having it be within 5 feet of the enemy.
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
The best way is to have friends standing next to your target.
For a rouge, good friends might be eyeshadow and lipstick. :-)
Exactly. Hiding at the end of your turn should almost always be the default unless there is some reason you can’t.
If you have a safe elevated position you can climb to, Steady Aim is another good option. But even then if you can Hide on the rooftop or tower, or whatever, that’s still a better option.
That’s why I think the “Steady Aim is OP” crowd is wrong.
Hiding after every attack is definitely the most “rogue” option, and also the best. Ranger weapons in general are really good for sneak attacking but it’s important to use steady aim sparingly because the enemy can dash up to you if you use it too often.
then again, this is why having the height advantage is so good. Either they can’t reach you or have to spend extra time climbing up to you. And if I were a DM I would rule that if an enemy is within five feet of you but has their hands occupied with climbing or hanging onto something then you don’t get disadvantage.
Unless you go out of your way to engineer things so that this is extra feasible (e.g. Lightfoot Halfling, Wood Elf, Skulker feat), 95% of the time there will be a reason you can't, which is not having anything you can legally hide behind, unless you have an incredibly generous DM. For examples of what I'm talking about, go look at pretty much any map from any official WOTC content - total cover is incredibly scarce. That's why all Rogue subclasses are judged by their ability to engineer Sneak Attack legality, although that's less true now that all Rogues can Steady Aim.
I'm playing a Rogue right now, and I tripled down on making sure I could always Sneak Attack, which is the primary reason I have so much fun playing it - I'm an old hand at DMs never letting you Hide. My DM let me have any magic item I wanted of Uncommon or less rarity, so I have a Broom of Flying to help ensure I can always afford to Steady Aim (a living mount would both be better, allowing be to move while shooting, and worse, as it would be independently murderable), I'm an Arcane Trickster with an owl, and I have the Skulker feat.
From Tasha's the best way to get sneak attack is with steady aim.
For melee rogues, collaborating with a partner is probably the best option. Both attack the same enemy and you'll get your sneak attack. There are also subclasses like the Swashbuckler that allow you to sneak attack alone. Or the Arcane Trisckter who can get advantage with his bonus action.
The easiest way to use Sneak Attack is when another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it but the best way is when having avantage on the attack.
Reckless only works in str based attacks. Sneak attack only works with a finesse weapon. In theory, you can use str with a finesse weapon, so I guess that’s ok. But in practice, rogues dump str, so it won’t be very effective. Maybe having advantage will cancel out using a weaker stat, but still the combo of reckless and sneak attack isn’t exactly chocolate and peanut butter. It might work, but you’re giving up 2 levels of rogue, so a bigger SA die pool, for a trick that doesn’t quite synergize.
Relying on STR as a Rogue isn't inherently a bad idea... many Rogue features key off of DEX (such as Stealth for taking the Hide Action), but you don't need to have better DEX than STR just to be a Rogue... I mean, aside from multiclassing requirements. That said... usually when I see someone go for a Rogue/Barbarian multiclass they tend to be more Barbarian that gets a sneak attack boost rather than a Rogue who attacks with strength, if that makes any sense.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I’m not saying it doesn’t work. Its certainly can happen by RAW. It might even be fun to play. And the idea of attacking recklessly with a rapier is kind of hilarious. It’s just a lot of hoops to jump through to get access to sneak attack (which is the OP’s question), when there’s easier ways.
I didn’t realise a ladies face powder got to make sneak attacks. Rogues on the other hand can get it easily.
1. Advantage - from a familiar, invisibility, reckless attack, being in heavy obscurement with blindsight, magical darkness with devils sight, steady aim or being hidden.
2. Flanking or fighting alongside an ally.
3. Solo fighting an opponent as a swashbuckler.
A swashbuckler gets it more regularly than anything without multiclassing, but a 1 level fighter dip could pick up blindsight (need friends to cast obscuring spells such as fog cloud or darkness), a 2 level barbarian dip for reckless attack, or a 3 level warlock dip for blindsight and darkness.
A lot of GMs don't allow you to hide while being actively observed by enemies unless you've got a special ability like the Lightfoot halfling's Naturally Stealthy. It's not RAW for 5E, but it's a common house rule.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
It's a common house rule? That's pretty disappointing... why would Rogues be able to hide as a bonus action if they can't do it in combat?
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Beats me. Probably as a holdover from 3.5 rules. I've noticed a lot of GMs who try to run 5E exactly like 3.5.
Of course, the one time I played a rogue, the game didn't last long enough to get to 2nd level.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.