Flanking and Ranged Sneak Attacks

[GrayIguana]

This may be a dumb question, but. . . .

For some reason, I thought a Rogue could gain a ranged sneak attack if he was within 30' and flanking an opponent. However, my DM pointed out that flanking bonuses on ly apply when adjacent to a foe.

We typically do not have rogues in our group, and I can not find a definative answer on this, unless I'm just overlooking it.

Please point me in the right direction.

 

[Xath]

A rogue can sneak attack from up to 30 ft away if his opponent is flat-footed. This can happen in a variety of ways.

- The opponent does not know the rogue is there.
- The opponent has not acted in combat yet.
- The opponent is flanked.

You can't flank from a distance, but if you have Precise Shot, you can fire at an opponent who is flanked by other party members.

 

[RangerWickett]

A rogue can sneak attack from up to 30 ft away if his opponent is flat-footed. This can happen in a variety of ways.

- The opponent does not know the rogue is there.
- The opponent has not acted in combat yet.
- The opponent is flanked.

You can't flank from a distance, but if you have Precise Shot, you can fire at an opponent who is flanked by other party members.

I don't think that's the actual rule (though it sounds fair to me). Officially you aren't flat-footed when you're flanked. You keep your Dex bonus, for instance. It's just that if you are a rogue and are flanking a foe (in melee, which is the only way you can flank), you're able to sneak attack. The justification is that you wait for your opponent to look at the person on the opposite side, and then attack where he's weakest.

So normally the only way to sneak attack from range is to attack when your opponent can't see you, or when he hasn't acted yet. There are other situations which will deny him his Dex bonus, allowing you to flank from range, but these are rare. Like if he's balancing. Or apparently if he's running (though why it's easier to hit a running opponent I don't understand).

 

[irdeggman]

A rogue can sneak attack from up to 30 ft away if his opponent is flat-footed. This can happen in a variety of ways.

- The opponent does not know the rogue is there.
- The opponent has not acted in combat yet.
- The opponent is flanked.

You can't flank from a distance, but if you have Precise Shot, you can fire at an opponent who is flanked by other party members.

Actually this is incorrect.

The rogue’s attack deals extra damage any time her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the rogue flanks her target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and it increases by 1d6 every two rogue levels thereafter. Should the rogue score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.

Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.

The Rules of the Game also clarified that you can't flank with a ranged weapon.
Defender Flanked

Creatures become susceptible to sneak attacks when flanked because they must divide their attention between two or more opponents whose relative positions make it difficult to block or dodge their attacks. The situation is something like dealing with an unseen foe, but isn't quite as severe.

To flank an opponent, two allies must be on opposite sides of that opponent, and they both must threaten the opponent (Chapter 8 in the Player's Handbook has some handy diagrams that explain flanking). You threaten an opponent when you can make an armed melee attack against that opponent. You're "armed" when you use a manufactured weapon, natural weapon, the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, or the monk's unarmed strike ability. You don't actually have to have a weapon that can hurt an opponent to threaten that opponent. If you and your buddy have no silver weapons but find yourselves on opposites sides of a werewolf, you still flank the werewolf (but see the final section of this article series).

You can flank with any melee weapon, including a reach weapon, but you cannot flank with a ranged weapon

 

[GrayIguana]

Thank you.

I think that helps.

My character is an archer type, and will hopefully get to follow the Order of the Bow PRC. What I am trying to accomplish is setting up sneak attacks once combat has started. If I'm understanding this correctly, I can't flank at 30' (and gain the sneak attack). However, if two of my comrades flank an opponent, since that opponent is distracted on both side, I can then gain the sneak attack at 30'.

 

[shilsen]

I think that helps.

My character is an archer type, and will hopefully get to follow the Order of the Bow PRC. What I am trying to accomplish is setting up sneak attacks once combat has started. If I'm understanding this correctly, I can't flank at 30' (and gain the sneak attack). However, if two of my comrades flank an opponent, since that opponent is distracted on both side, I can then gain the sneak attack at 30'.

Incorrect. You can only benefit from the enemy being flanked if you're one of the people doing the flanking. Since you can't flank with a ranged weapon, you can't sneak attack at 30' even if your enemy is flanked by two of your allies.

 

[entr0py]

From 30' away, you can Sneak Attack if your opponent is denied Dex bonus period.

Which is not the case when he is simply flanked.

 

[Will]

I've been an archer rogue.

You either need a ring of invisibility, a friend with greater invisibility, really good Bluff and Hide so you can duck into cover and snipe over and over, or just hope for early shots and friends who can land Hold spells.

 

[Khuxan]

I think that helps.

My character is an archer type, and will hopefully get to follow the Order of the Bow PRC. What I am trying to accomplish is setting up sneak attacks once combat has started. If I'm understanding this correctly, I can't flank at 30' (and gain the sneak attack). However, if two of my comrades flank an opponent, since that opponent is distracted on both side, I can then gain the sneak attack at 30'.

Have you considered playing a scout? They do extra damage after moving, which allows them to remain effective ranged attackers.

 

[GrayIguana]

Thanks again

I don't know where I got it in my head that I could do ranged flanking, so thanks for getting me back on path

The scout's not a bad idea. I'll look into it, but it may not jive with the character concept I'm going for.