Can you threaten witha melee weapon? Sneak Attack?

[Storm Raven]

Re: Ranged attacks ARE possible!!

And since Rogues can do it at range there can be two kobolds attacking and they would both get their sneak attack bonuses. The rogue is the only class that gets ranged flanking. Everyone else has to go into melee to get that flanking bonus.

First, your assertion that "only rogues can sneak attack at range" is wrong. The sneak attack mechanic works exactly the same for every class unless there is specific limitation written into the class description.

Second, you really should read the definition of flanking:

If a character is making a melee attack against an opponent, and an ally directly opposite the character is threatening the opponent, the character and the character's ally flank the opponent. A character gains a +2 flanking bonus on the attack roll. A rogue in this position can also sneak attack the target. The ally must be on the other side of the opponent, so that the opponent is directly between the character and the ally.

Emphasis added. Flanking only works if you are making a melee attack. Plus an ally has to be "threatening" the target. Under the deifnition for "threatened area" the rules state:

A character threatens the area into which it can make a melee attack, even when it is not a character's action. An enemy that takes certain actions while in a threatened area may provoke an attack of opportunity from a character. A small or medium sized character normally has a 5-foot threat radius. "Reach weapons" and "natural reach" can change the threatened area.

This means your ally who is helping you flank, must also be in melee range of your target for you to get the flanking bonuses.

So the answer, when you read the rules, is, no. Two rogues cannot work together and flank an enemy using ranged weapon, both individuals flanking a target must be capable of making melee attacks against the target to be able to flank that target.

 

[Hamlin]

Foot in Mouth

After I posted my message I reread the book and yes I DID miss that part about melee. The thing was our group had been doing it wrong from the getgo and now we're correcting it. So I take my big halfing foot out of my mouth! Thanks for reading for me!

 

[RandomNPC]

I've always allowed rogues to sneak attack if someone is in melee and they are attacking with a ranged weapon from directly across from that person. I do not aloow the +2 for flanking but my rational is that the defender cannot properly defend arrows flying into their back while trying to avoid sword blows.

 

[Darklone]

I've always allowed rogues to sneak attack if someone is in melee and they are attacking with a ranged weapon from directly across from that person. I do not aloow the +2 for flanking but my rational is that the defender cannot properly defend arrows flying into their back while trying to avoid sword blows.

And if you start to apply this houserule logic to battle.... what do you do with arrows that miss the target? Do they hit your friend ?

 

[RandomNPC]

When you miss I roll a d8 and do the same thing when you miss with a grenade-like weapon. Also I don't apply sneak attack damage to the friend, in case you were wondering, the logic there is you don't do damage when you screw up, the extra damage is based on accuracy.