Hiding and AC Dex Bonus

[Quidam]

If someone is successfully hiding and attacks a target from range, first, does that target get its Dex bonus to AC? ie, can it be sneak attacked?

Secondly, if you're attacking with a spell that has only a somatic component (silent sound), would it be possible to remain hidden? There are rules for sniping, but it's meant more for weapons- a -20 to your hide check seems a bit excessive.

 

[Crothian]

If your target is unaware of you, it's a sneak attack (assuming your with in that 30ft range).

You can remain hidden if you cast a spell that way, it really depends on the spell and if it come from you.

 

[kreynolds]

a -20 to your hide check seems a bit excessive.

Well, getting popped with one ranged sneak attack from a hidden rogue is bad enough, but getting popped with one Ray of Frost sneak attack just downright sucks, which is why I think they made it difficult to pull off.

EDIT: Changed the spell to something that actually makes sense.

 

[Quidam]

ray of frost vs silent sound

True, but I was considering the case of Silent Sound, where the beam is ultra-high sonics, so it's invisible and silent- plus since it's a vibration and not an impact, you don't can't trace back the force's vector to help you pin down the sniper.

 

[kreynolds]

The general rule, as I understand it, is that you know the general direction an attack came from, whether you could see it, hear it, or not. Remember, there is no facing in 3rd edition, so there is no such thing as being "shot in the back", which is why you have a general idea of where the attack came from. In other words, vectors are never a factor because you are facing in every direction at once. The combat system in 3rd edition is too abstract to handle more than that. If you try to apply precision mechanics to it, it falls apart.