Help in getting a second sneak attack

[Syntallah]

Nobody's interested in sharing the spotlight. This is a fierce competition to be on top.

But you are onto something - any suggestions for 5E or 3E magic items that - crudely put - allows the Rogue to grant himself a Commander's Strike would do the trick.

Assuming this happens off the rogue's turn, since I'm not interested in violating the core premises here (the rule about only one sneak per turn).

This thread is about applying decades of system mastery in finding a solution that appears simpler than it might be

For example - I'm looking at something called "Kyton armor" from 3e. Maybe I can create a thingy that makes an attack on somebody else's turn, and allow the Rogue a second sneak attempt that way.

Another idea is to upgrade the parry (allowed by the feat he's got, maybe Defensive Duelist) into a riposte.

That is, using your reaction to make a counterattack on a miss. That should enable sneaking, right?

Rather than alter the feat, simply create a magic item that accomplishes this.

Say, Bracers of Backlash, that allow him use his Reaction to make an OA when hit (you might even go so far as to say attacked, that precedent has been set by the Mobility feat). That should greatly increase his chances of getting his two sneak attacks in the round...

Bracers of Backlash
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
While wearing these bracers, you may use your reaction to make an Opportunity Attack against any opponent that attacks you, regardless of whether the attack hits or misses.

 

[mellored]

Could I ask you to explain a bit more? Where's the added damage in here? How does replacing a sword sneak attack with cantrips help?

It doesn't replace sneak atttack, it adds to sneak attack. You get both.

A level 11 rogue can do 6d6+5 damage. (26 damage, * whatever accuracy is).

A level 11 rogue with the green flameblade can do 6d6+5+2d8, (35, or 30% more damage)
Plus a not-to-difficult situational bonus of 2d8+5 to a second target (+14, or 49 damage total, or 88% more than the normal rogue).

And if that isn't enough.
"Fire and Thunder: When wielding both these daggers, you can cast both booming blade and green flameblade as part of the same action. You can move between attacks."
= +4d8 damage minimum, +9d8+5 max, and an extra chance to land land sneak attack.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Another Item (I love writing magic item stuff)

Boots of the Mouse-Guard
Wondrous item (boots), Very rare, require attunement
''The Mouse-Guard was an order knights who really favored the ''better part of valor'' over the ''last man standing'' strategy of their fellow Knights. It is said that the head of the order, a devout were-possum paladin named Lord Algernon Graytail, asked a cabal of mage-enchanters to create a special boots for his men that would allow them to shrink their size and effectively enter the defenses (be it castle or armor!) of their opponents and give them an easy (if cowardly) way out of tough encounters. Rumors tell us that he order was dismantled after it came to light that the the real power behind the order was a large swarm of Cranium Rats posing as an angelic presence guiding the Order.''

- Once per long rest, you can shrink your build to Tiny size for 1 minute. In such state you gain +2 AC bonus, but your melee weapons deal 1d4 less damage. While Tiny, you can crawl in the armor of an enemy, sharing its space and moving with it until it succeed at a Athletic test against your Acrobatics roll or you device to let it go. While in the armor of an opponent you gain Advantage against it and every enemy has Disadvantage when attacking you.
- You can be understood by rodents but dont understand their response.
- Once per long rest you can use Feign Death as per the spell description as an action without any component.

 

[BookBarbarian]

I am sorry but that simply is not helpful.

If you want to help, I need you to offer specific suggestions.

You're right. I should have been more helpful.

One route would be to double the sneak attack dice, rather than trying to get another sneak attack. An expanded crit range is an easy way to do that and supported by existing items.

 

[Tony Vargas]

My goal is specifically to open up the window of a second helping of sneak damage.

This is because I believe that would gel with my player's preferred playing style, which is very straight-forward.

Any other item or effect I could use?

You could just make one up, it's entirely w/in your purview as DM.

EX:

Riposte Rapier: A rogue wielding this +1 rapier can make an opportunity attack with Advantage any time an enemy adjacent to him makes an attack roll or casts a spell.

Dagger of Deadly Surprises: A rogue wielding this +1 dagger who completes his turn without inflicting Sneak Attack damage can make an immediate attack with Advantage against an enemy in range (melee or throwing range). This attack does not receive disadvantage for being thrown in melee nor for range.

Shortsword of Flanking: When an ally makes a melee attack against an enemy you are adjacent to, you can use your Reaction to attack that enemy with Advantage.

 

[Zardnaar]

If a rogue uses the Shield Master feat, can they gain Sneak Attack after pushing the opponent prone?

OP, are your PCs mainly fighting solo monsters or large mobs? Because in the latter case your rogue should be getting multiple Sneak Attacks as a matter of course, simply from other enemies being nearby.

Yes it's the 5E brutal rogue build. Start as human fighter w/ shield master mc into Rogue expertise on athletics and thieves tools use rapier full plate.

Or splash rogue level as shield master fighter.

 

[CTurbo]

Anything that expands crit range to 19-20 or even 18-20 if you're generous would be great.

Have him find a way to cultivate some poison and use it with his weapon attacks for extra damage or to give the poisoned condition. It fits the class.

Give him a +2 or +3 whip. Give it an additional feature if you want like the expanded crit range or reroll 1s or something, but he could get sneak attack almost every round from 10ft away, and then get out of there. rerolling 1s would slow the game down so you could just say treat all 1s as a 2 like Elemental Adept.

In one campaign, I gave my Rogue player a +2 Karambit that allowed him to make 2 attacks with 1 attack action. He still only got to use sneak attack once per round, but it did add an extra 1d4+7 every round if he did hit. If you know how the Karambit is used, it kind of make sense that you could make two quick attacks with it. https://www.google.com/search?q=kar...rZAhUS7FMKHed8DLoQ_AUI6gEoAQ&biw=1920&bih=974

Magic Initiate feat - take Minor Illusion, Booming Blade, and Find Familiar. Get an owl. It has darkvision and the flyby feature allows it to swoop in, give you advantage on your next attack, and then it can fly away without giving up AoO. Minor Illusion lets you distract and hide.

 

[Quartz]

Yes it's the 5E brutal rogue build. Start as human fighter w/ shield master mc into Rogue expertise on athletics and thieves tools use rapier full plate.

Why bother with fighter levels? Just choose dwarf as a race for the medium armour.

 

[Quartz]

Give him a +2 or +3 whip.

Why does the whip need to be magical?

 

[Zardnaar]

Why bother with fighter levels? Just choose dwarf as a race for the medium armour.

Better saves and heavy armor proficiency, basically you do not care about stealth. You also need to be human to get the shield master feat at level 1 which feeds you advantage and more or less functions as your 2nd attack since you are not dual wielding.

The fighter splash level is also good for the dex based rogue for the TWF style and dex to damage with your off hand is roughly equivalent to an extra d6 sneak attack.

Alot of rogues mess around with bows, greenflame blade or running around the battlefield using their manoeuvrability to achieve not much. The Rogue MCs well with Rangers and fighter. A level 8 rogue for example gets a lot from 5 levels of ranger ove level 9-13 of the Rogue class (two attacks, dual wielding style, hunters quarry, hordebreaker, 2 attacks etc).

A 13th level Rogue/Ranger can get 3 attacks a round, situationally 4 attacks a round and each of those attacks are better than an extra 1d6 sneak attack since each one is 1d8+5 damage minimum.