D&D 5E Do I Understand Rogue Features Correctly?

[ren1999]

Tell me what is wrong with my reading comprehension?

Cunning Action

Hide
The rogue takes a bonus action and rolls Stealth. 1 enemy with the highest Perception rolls an opposing check? If the rouge wins, the rogue is not attacked by anyone and has Cover +5, +2. The rogue can then lose the cover but attack at advantage and do sneak attack damage. If the rogue can assassinate, he does critical regular + sneak attack damage on 1 target for that one time until he hides and shows again?

http://dnd5.weebly.com

 

[Evhelm]

Technically speaking, that all sounds correct. In theory a Rogue can do this, but a close reading of the relevant passage from p.60 of the PBR may yield very different results in practice. (Note, I'm definitely not saying will yield a different result, but it does seem less likely when given the context of the Hide skill!)

"You can’t hide from a creature that can see you, and if you make noise (such as shouting a warning or knocking over a vase), you give away your position...In combat, most creatures stay alert for signs of danger all around, so if you come out of hiding and approach a creature, it usually sees you. However, under certain circumstances, the Dungeon Master might allow you to stay hidden as you approach a creature that is distracted, allowing you to gain advantage on an attack before you are seen."

I'd read that as "there are certain circumstances where, while still in initiative, a Rogue who had been in combat with some enemies may take the Hide action successfully." Off the cuff, I'd say those are probably times when there are two groups of enemies; perhaps you can hide from one but not another, or the round you finish one set of enemies you might duck into the shadows before others perceive you.

The key seems to be that "You can’t hide from a creature that can see you" and "In combat, most creatures stay alert for signs of danger all around," both of which mean that you have to have both (A) something to hide behind and (B) a good reason that the enemy doesn't just follow his/her eyesight and see where you went.

All of this is (ultimately) up to DM jurisdiction/adjudication.

 

[fjw70]

Not sure why you only have one enemy roll a perception check. The stealth check is contested by all enemies he is hiding from (perception rolls if they are actively searching and passive perception if not). Also the rogue needs some way to not be seen.

 

[Erik42]

The ability to move quickly, hide in the shadows, and backstab have been the hallmark of the thief since its inception. 5E tries to replicate this ability. Based on the historical thief archetype, I think one must assume that a thief, using her bonus action, can move quickly enough to hide during combat - provided there is somewhere where one could conceivably hide. They are subject to being perceived of course, though I wouldn't say that they automatically have cover bonuses, depending on where they are hiding. If they are not perceived they should then be able to break cover and attack quickly enough to get advantage and thus the sneak attack bonuses.

 

[Joe Liker]

If the rogue can assassinate, he does critical regular + sneak attack damage on 1 target for that one time until he hides and shows again?

I would never allow assassinate against enemies that are already in combat, especially not if the assassin had already hit them. Surprise only applies at the very beginning of combat.

 

[Tanaka Chris]

I'd say if the rogue was in melee, then he'd use a Cunnin Action Disengage to escape without an AOpp

If the rogue was doing a ranged sneak attack from the shadows, then Cunning Action to Hide in shadows, behind bookshelf or whatever to try and Sneak Attack again next turn.

Obviously stabbing someone then crouching down and pretending to be a harmless rock COULD be attempted, but I'd say the DM would need serious suspension of belief or INT negative creatures for that to work

 

[Celtavian]

Assassinate only works in the Surprise Round I believe.

In the right circumstances with sufficient cover or obscureness, you could hide on a round by round basis making it very hard to attack you.

 

[Nebulous]

Our rogue is worried that he's doing too much sneak attack damage, and i feel like he's getting advantage simply too much and thus stacking on SA. I think he's been adding SA damage if an ally is engaged with an enemy, and then the thief fires an arrow.

Does he need to be able to hide to even try this? What if the enemy already saw him, is it a moot point?

 

[Thyrwyn]

Our rogue is worried that he's doing too much sneak attack damage, and i feel like he's getting advantage simply too much and thus stacking on SA. I think he's been adding SA damage if an ally is engaged with an enemy, and then the thief fires an arrow.

Does he need to be able to hide to even try this? What if the enemy already saw him, is it a moot point?

Nope. Sneak Attack also works when your target is adjacent to an ally.

 

[GameOgre]

Most of the rogue combat abilities work VERY well if the rogue has allies to use as distractions. Note that Halfling's can use med size creatures to hide behind(unlike most other races) so they can get off sneak attack/assassinate much more often.

Our rogues do good damage with these abilities but even with them there damage output is not excessive when compared to other damage dealers like the Barbarian and fighter.