Hiding & Sniping

[billd91]

Sniping, from the point of view of the rules, is pretty much just shooting someone from range and still hiding. And yes, with far shot and some distance, sniping works nicely... for normal damage. Sneak attack is not a necessary part of sniping, but it sure is useful if you're close enough (or have the other powers) to get it.

 

[dirkformica]

It just allows you to "sneak attack regardless of the distance between you and your target."
It's a swift action spell... lasting 1 round.

Mike

I wouldn't downplay the spell with "just" here. A wand of Extended Sniper's Shot gives you a pretty good chance to sneak attack snipe from hundreds of feet away with a pretty high chance of not being spotted every other round. The round you lose can also be used to change your position in case someone does make a spot check. Sure it's situational, but it can be powerful for a lone ambusher (and really ugly with a group of ambushers using focus fire techniques.)

Hell, it's a 1st level Wiz/Sorc spell so 1 level dip into Sorcerer gets you a minimum of 3 of these a day (4 assuming you have a 12+ cha.) Your other spell could be something like True Strike if you really want to be a sniper.

Edit: A Cragtop Archer from Races of Stone might be interesting with all of its increased range and spotting abilities. Half the range increment penalties and 15 range increments instead of 10 along with Sniper's Shot means sneak attacks from a LONG way away.

 

[Felix]

When you fire from 200 feet away the penalty to Hide is completely off-set by the -20 penalty to Spot. Considering that most people (humanoids) only have 1HD, a one-shot kill without Sneak Attack is perfectly possible.

 

[Yair]

Thanks all for your comments.

I'm afraid I still haven't decided how best to approach things - change the sniping rules, or change the "hiding while attacking" rule. I'll try to get a hold of Complete Adventurer and read up what he says on the subject.

 

[Li Shenron]

I use the 3.0 rules: no penalties when trying to re-hide after sniping, although I do require to make a new Hide roll opposed to Spot.

 

[Kestrel]

Have your wizard memorize Greater Invisibility. Problem solved

 

[Felix]

Thanks all for your comments.

I'm afraid I still haven't decided how best to approach things - change the sniping rules, or change the "hiding while attacking" rule. I'll try to get a hold of Complete Adventurer and read up what he says on the subject.

The rules only present a problem when you want to simultaneously:

Attack from hiding without impairing the ability to re-hide.
Attack from within 30' to apply Sneak Attack dice.
Attack without the assistance of magic.​

You can do any combination of two of these without issue as the rules stand. Doing all three is not possible.

Is it reasonable that the rules work in this fashion? Find out how short a distance 30' really is; it's 10 yards, or approximately 10 strides. If someone were to pop out from behind a rock that close to me without the assistance of magic, I'm fairly sure I'd be able to see him try to duck behind that rock to re-hide, thus the -20 to Hiding.

If he were 200' away, he'd have some time before his arrow hit me to get back behind cover, and the distance itself would hamper my ability to see him clearly. Thus the -1/10' of distance on Spot checks.

Magic does make sniping possible however, though it is not the best tactic for a good reason: D&D combat is a close-range combat system. Rarely have I seen fights start at more than 100 feet away; melee will begin in a short 12 seconds at most; there isn't much time for a PC sniper to use his bailiwick.

The exception is for when the PCs get attacked by snipers and have to smoke them out. Usually the snipers will be attacking from the cover of darkness, employing some form of magic to conceal themselves or enhance their shooting abilities, and eschew Sneak Attack dice to maintain their own safety.

So consider what the enemy would be able to do to PCs were the rules to shift such that an enemy could apply Sneak Attack damage to flat-footed PCs from only 10 yards away without having much trouble and immediately becoming undetectable. No, it doesn't make sense too often for a PC to be a sniper; that does not mean that sniping doesn't have its place in the campaign world, or that there are no snipers anywhere. The combat life of a PC simply isn't suited to it.