Rogue Sneak Attack

[Thomas Long 175]

So I've been looking at it and while I can understand why they made it not multiply on a critical, it seems to me that in real life it would. You aim for a vital spot and hit just right. Your mallet connect just the right way on the knee crushing it or you catch the jugular aiming for the throat.

Furthermore from what I've heard the Rogue needs a little love and this doesn't seem that game breaking. With either a +1 enhancement or a feat they can choose a specific weapon and crit 30% of the time with it. Most things they'll still only crit 10-20% of the time but the 10% crits chances will have bigger damage as per normal.

I'm just wondering honestly how game breaking do people think the would be? Level 11 you've got 6d6 extra damage that only goes off under certain circumstances, some enemies are immune to, but you can get it multiple times per round. It just doesn't seem like allowing this to crit would be that game breaking.

[Rhavin]

It's high fantasy, realism doesn't play much part. Comparing any attack made in a hit point system to reality is comparing apples and oranges.

That said, I don't think that rogues need the extra damage. A well built rogue should have numerous attacks that all sneak attack and stack with other sources of damage.

Rogues aren't broken, they're balanced, the answer is not to keep bloat going by continuously raising the power level on all classes.

[Thomas Long 175]

Rhavin wrote:

It's high fantasy, realism doesn't play much part. Comparing any attack made in a hit point system to reality is comparing apples and oranges.

That said, I don't think that rogues need the extra damage. A well built rogue should have numerous attacks that all sneak attack and stack with other sources of damage.

Rogues aren't broken, they're balanced, the answer is not to keep bloat going by continuously raising the power level on all classes.

How are rogues balanced. They're nowhere near as tanky as many other classes, and while they do get a tad bit more damage, its situational. It shouldn't be where a single feat from a fighter adds nearly as much damage as an entire class feature that is situational and subpar damage.

I know how to build a rogue but honestly can you say a rogue can keep up with sorcerers? barbarians? fighters? Where exactly do they stand up to other classes? They're squishier, with medium BAB and are entirely reliant on hitting as many times as possible, which means TWF which lowers their to hit even further.

I wouldn't say they're even close to unplayable but I've built barbarians of equal level to rogues that could solo bosses in a single round with average rolls that rogues couldn't even take solo. Honestly high damage fighter types are strong at low levels. Casters are strong at high levels. I challenge you to show me an area where the rogue specifically shines. They have pretty dang good utility but the only reason I ever consider taking a level of rogue is for trapfinding and right now I'm finding archetypes that give it instead.

[mdt]

It makes sense if you think of it like this.

Sneak Attack is hitting a vital spot on purpose, and it does consistent damage. As you get higher in level, you get better at picking out more and more vital vital spots.

A critical is basically hitting a vital spot on accident. You did it on accident, you hit a vital spot.

When you crit on a sneak attack, you didn't just hit a vital spot, you hit two of them. You don't double the sneak attack damage because that's calculated in already in hitting the first one. You can't cut an artery in half any better than you already have, but you may have also caught a tendon in the same stab or slash, and did something by accident you could have tried with the sneak attack for example.

[Cheapy]

If you go to my profile, I have a link to my attempt to fix sneak attack.

I think if SA was crittable, it would make everyone use falcatas. Keen merciful falcatas that somehow do bludgeoning.

[voska66]

Rhavin wrote:

It's high fantasy, realism doesn't play much part. Comparing any attack made in a hit point system to reality is comparing apples and oranges.

That said, I don't think that rogues need the extra damage. A well built rogue should have numerous attacks that all sneak attack and stack with other sources of damage.

Rogues aren't broken, they're balanced, the answer is not to keep bloat going by continuously raising the power level on all classes.

The rogues isn't broken but it's hardly balanced. Where I find the rogue lacking is the ability to hit and in the ability to avoid damage. They have little in terms of defense but have to put themselves at risk to get the sneak attack in. Then once in place to make sneak attack they may have multiple attacks but will be lucky to land 1 maybe 2 before they get knocked out of the combat session.

Now this doesn't mean the rogue in combat isn't capable just not balanced vs all the other classes when you compare them to an Inquisitor, Bard (Detective or Acheologist), or Alchemist (Vivesectionist). And honestly the Urban Ranger makes a better rogue than the rogue in my opinion.