Improved Precise Shot

[Dandu]

True Strike also allows you to ignore the miss chance from concealment, but I do not believe it allows you to sneak attack someone in a Fog Cloud. It might be because there is a difference between being able to hit someone well enough to strike a vital organ, and being able to hit someone.

That interpretation does make life a little difficult for rogues, as it makes getting off sneak attacks much harder. Which, come to think of it, is probably the source of some of the complaints regarding the rogue's class design.

 

[Jhaelen]

To be fair, he's just quoting what the exact RAW is, something until yesterday I wasn't even aware of. Probably due to the sheer stupidity of interpreting the words that way, it just never registered before he spelled it out. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he doesn't actually think running a game with that ruling is a good idea, though.

I don't think so either, but it would have been nice if irdeggman had mentioned that in his post.

Because the thing is: The OP's question was "How do you play it?" The question was not "How do you interpret it using RAW?"

Then again, irdeggman didn't really reply to the OP, so I guess my response came over a bit too aggressive - my apologies!

As you can maybe tell from my signature/quote, I feel quite strongly about RAW/RAI issues.

 

[Giorin]

In the spell description of the Assassin 1 spell Critical Strike, published 2006 in Complete Mage (actually an update to the 2005 version in the Spell Compendium) it says:



Quote:
[TABLE="width: 100%"] [TR] [TD="class: alt2"] CRITICAL STRIKE

Divination
Level: Assassin 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: One attack

As you complete this spell, you sense the blood
rushing through your target's veins

This spell guides your next attack to
your foe's vital spots. Your next single
attack roll (if it is made before the end
of the next round) ignores any miss
chance due to concealment. (In the
case of a foe that has total concealment,
you must still attack the correct
square.) This even allows you to deliver
a sneak attack against a foe that has
concealment.

Complete Mage, p. 100 [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
The last sentence is crucial: "This [i.e. ignoring any miss chance due to concealment] even allows you to deliver a sneak attack against a foe that has concealment." It does not say "This spell even allows you...". Instead it refers to the fact that the miss chance can be ignored.

Admittedly this is not a premium source for core rules (spell description in an optional rule book), but at least it is official material. So I'd say: Sneak attack on concealed opponents with Improved Precise Shot is RAW.

 

[Starfox]

Side comment: The "no precision damage with concealment" rule is one of the most stupid rules in the game and a very early rule-zero with me. It basically means the last place a rogue wants to be is in a dark alley, because his sneak attack won't work there.