If a rogue were to attack a creature with DR, but his/her weapon damage did not penetrate the DR, would their sneak attack damage still apply? The rules don't directly address damage reduction's effects on sneak attack, so can anyone help clear this up?
Sneak attack adds damage to the existing attack. It's all one bundle of damage.
1d4+1+5d6 all together vs the DR.
I see where you're coming from, but by the rules (as I understand them), I'd have to agree with Grick. The extra damage from sneak attack isn't dependent upon dealing damage by the initial weapon damage - it all happens at the same time.
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If a rogue were to attack a creature with DR, but his/her weapon damage did not penetrate the DR, would their sneak attack damage still apply? The rules don't directly address damage reduction's effects on sneak attack, so can anyone help clear this up?
Yes. Sneak attacks are a great way to get through DR that normally you wouldn't be able to get through.
If you sneak attack a gargoyle with a normal dagger and do 1d4+1d6 points of damage for a total of 4 points of damage... you don't get through its DR and do no damage. But if you sneak attack it again with the same weapon and roll 1d4+1d6 and get 8 points of damage, you DO get through and do a total of 3 points of damage once you subtract the gargoyle's DR 5/magic.
If the weapon doesn't penetrate the armor/skin of the target (either because the roll to hit was too low or the DR too high), then you cannot strike a vital area to do the excess (sneak) damage. True, there are areas where you can hit and do a lot of damage without penetrating the skin, but Pathfinder doesn't cover things like that, since it is an abstract damage system.
If a rogue were to attack a creature with DR, but his/her weapon damage did not penetrate the DR, would their sneak attack damage still apply? The rules don't directly address damage reduction's effects on sneak attack, so can anyone help clear this up?Yes. Sneak attacks are a great way to get through DR that normally you wouldn't be able to get through.
If you sneak attack a gargoyle with a normal dagger and do 1d4+1d6 points of damage for a total of 4 points of damage... you don't get through its DR and do no damage. But if you sneak attack it again with the same weapon and roll 1d4+1d6 and get 8 points of damage, you DO get through and do a total of 3 points of damage once you subtract the gargoyle's DR 5/magic.
Thanks for the answer. I hope this gets posted to the FAQ, as I've seen it cause quite a few long threads of late.
It's all part of the same damage roll, so the total is used to bypass DR.
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If a rogue were to attack a creature with DR, but his/her weapon damage did not penetrate the DR, would their sneak attack damage still apply? The rules don't directly address damage reduction's effects on sneak attack, so can anyone help clear this up?Yes. Sneak attacks are a great way to get through DR that normally you wouldn't be able to get through.
If you sneak attack a gargoyle with a normal dagger and do 1d4+1d6 points of damage for a total of 4 points of damage... you don't get through its DR and do no damage. But if you sneak attack it again with the same weapon and roll 1d4+1d6 and get 8 points of damage, you DO get through and do a total of 3 points of damage once you subtract the gargoyle's DR 5/magic.
SPOILER! Gargoyles have DR/Magic!
;)