D&D 5E Halfling rogue sniping from the the second rank

[Nikosandros]

If I'm reading the rules correctly, this tactic that the halfling rogue in my party has been using is legal. Basically, he uses his cunning action to hide behind one of the human characters and then attacks with advantage (with -2 for cover) and sneak attacks with his bow. I'm not complaining that is broken, but I just want to make sure that the interpretation is correct.

 

[gyor]

It is.

 

[ExploderWizard]

If I'm reading the rules correctly, this tactic that the halfling rouge in my party has been using is legal. Basically, he uses his cunning action to hide behind one of the human characters and then attacks with advantage (with -2 for cover) and sneak attacks with his bow. I'm not complaining that is broken, but I just want to make sure that the interpretation is correct.

That is a viable tactic to START the combat. Once the rogue takes a shot, he/she becomes visible and cannot then hide under direct observation. So popping out to shoot then trying to hide again isn't going to work unless the attempt to hide is performed out of the view of any enemies. (see Hiding on page 60)

 

[TDarien]

That is a viable tactic to START the combat. Once the rogue takes a shot, he/she becomes visible and cannot then hide under direct observation. So popping out to shoot then trying to hide again isn't going to work unless the attempt to hide is performed out of the view of any enemies. (see Hiding on page 60)

Lightfoot Halflings can attempt to hide behind creatures one size larger than them ("Naturally Stealthy" pg. 17), so yes, I think they can keep doing this every turn.

Attack, Cunning action to hide behind the fighter.

 

[Jake Johnson]

That is a viable tactic to START the combat. Once the rogue takes a shot, he/she becomes visible and cannot then hide under direct observation. So popping out to shoot then trying to hide again isn't going to work unless the attempt to hide is performed out of the view of any enemies. (see Hiding on page 60)

I've handled it the same way. He gets to do it on the first turn, and then the monsters know about him. Even if he ducks out of sight, the monsters can still surmise his whereabouts if he tries to hide someplace obvious (behind a tree they just saw him running toward).

 

[Plaguescarred]

Its the correct interpetration yes. This halfling did his homework and knows Hide and Snipe 101.

Naturally Stealthy is fairly easy to counter since the obscurement comes from a creature which can easily be countered by movement (from either enemies or the covering ally) to a location that leave the halfling in plain view. So it is best used to hide for short duration, such as during Hide and Snipe tactics.

 

[TDarien]

I've handled it the same way. He gets to do it on the first turn, and then the monsters know about him. Even if he ducks out of sight, the monsters can still surmise his whereabouts if he tries to hide someplace obvious (behind a tree they just saw him running toward).

Knowing where a creature is and being able to see it are two different things. If a creature can't see you, you can hide, even if it knows where you are. If it move to where it can see you, however (or if you make a noise), you're no longer hidden.

Its the correct interpetration yes. This halfling did his homework and knows Hide and Snipe 101.

Naturally Stealthy is fairly easy to counter since the obscurement comes from a creature which can easily be countered by movement (from either enemies or the covering ally) to a location that leave the halfling in plain view. So it is best used to hide for short duration, such as during Hide and Snipe tactics.

How about this. Lightfoot halfling moves behind the fighter, then hides with cunning action, then uses the bow to attack with advantage (target has cover from the fighter). That should be good, yes? Obviously though that means halfling is no longer hidden.


Also, OP, It should be pointed out that if the fighter is adjacent to the target, the rogue gets to use sneak attack with the bow even if he doesn't have advantage, so this whole discussion might be moot.

 

[Plaguescarred]

TDarien, it is basically the the tactics for this feature yes.

The discussion is not moot because one of the two tactics involve having advantage on the attack roll, which is significant.

 

[Jake Johnson]

Knowing where a creature is and being able to see it are two different things. If a creature can't see you, you can hide, even if it knows where you are. If it move to where it can see you, however (or if you make a noise), you're no longer hidden.

My interpretation is that the benefit from hiding is predicated on the fact that the creature doesn't know you're there. If it does, it seems like you shouldn't get the benefit of hiding. I can even imagine a scenario in which the creature anticipates the actions of a character who tries to hide while under direct observation. That creature could then take action in response based on what it knows, rather than what it sees. For example, it could aim an attack at the location it believe the character will emerge from.

 

[Ritorix]

Also, OP, It should be pointed out that if the fighter is adjacent to the target, the rogue gets to use sneak attack with the bow even if he doesn't have advantage, so this whole discussion might be moot.

It's still better to attack with advantage even if you have a -2 cover penalty.

If a fighter is in melee and the halfling is hiding behind it, I would say that halfling is in danger! With the way OAs work now, a monster could just walk around the fighter to where he thinks the halfling is, see him, and attack.

Depending on the situation, getting advantage might still be worth it. And the halfling can break up his movement, so he can hide, fire, then move away to relative safety.