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So I was letting my mind wander at work and came up with an interesting idea for a rework of sneak attack that would really up the rogue in combat. The general gist is this:
Sneak Attack: Rouges have learned how to fight by exploiting their enemies weaknesses and finding vulnerable spots in armor. Because of this knowledge whenever the rogue exceeds the AC of their opponent by more than five with their attack roll they score a sneak attack, doing an additional d6 of damage. A sneak attack also triggers whenever a critical hit is confirmed, however it's damage is not doubled. As the rogue advances they learn new ways of inflicting sneak attack damage, starting at fifth level and every five levels after that the damage of sneak attack increases one step (d8 at level 5, d10 at level 10, d12 at level 15, and 2d6 at level 20). At level 10, the rogue auto sneak attacks if the attack roll indicates a threat, no longer needing a confirmed critical, and starting at level 15 sneak attack damage is also multiplied if a critical hit is confirmed.
Granted this is just ground work and probably will just stay as speculation but I thought it was interesting. Thoughts?
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The problem I see here is that rogues have much lower attack rolls because of their inferior BAB. Requiring them to exceed a person's AC by a large amount seems like they will only get sneak attack against weaker enemies that have lower AC's. I think that this would actually lower the power of the rogue's sneak attack because not only is the extra dice of damage significantly lower, the conditions rely on pure numbers rather than smart playing, so the only rogue that will get sneak attack on the enemies that matter will be the completely min-maxing one with insane attack rolls.
Also, compare that the 20th level rogue under this will sneak attack for as much damage as a 3rd level rogue under the old system... And he has to exceed his opponents (most likely) sky-high AC with his 3/4 BAB
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I think this is not a good idea.
What is the goal you're working toward? I don't see how this could possibly "up" the Rogue in combat. It's less damage at a slower progression. The fact that it doubles on a crit doesn't come close to mitigating the fact that it will be harder for the Rogue to trigger a Sneak Attack.
-Skeld
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Not all ideas are good unfortunately and as I mention it was purely speculation with no other goal than to present a new concept. It was one of those late night 3 AM ephianies, which until someone actually takes a look at it realizing marshmellow peanutbutter sandwiches will not save the world, you think it's a pretty niffty idea. That said I will keep this tid bit on the back burner as there are truly no bad ideas in gaming, only bad application of ideas.