D&D 5E Q&A -- Dec 20: Puzzle monsters and spell points.

[Mistwell]

Sneak Attack:

...doesn't work on elementals. They are swirling energy beings. They might have a "humanoid" shape, but they are NOT humanoid. The compsition of thier bodies is the element they are created from/a part of. If you slice a wave or a landslide or a breeze or a flame in half, does it care?

If it is immune to weapon damage, then sure I agree. But if it is not immune to weapon damage, then yes it cares, you can sneak attack it, because you can attack it harder or faster or more often because you caught it when it was distracted.

Is it weakened? Does your blow do more damage than that guy with a sword's blow? No. It doesn't. Rationalize all you want. Take physics into account if you want (I guess you could for earth or water, but that's about it). In D&D terms, it doesn't. Is the weapon magic (a spell or magic weapon/item)?! Well, they are creatures brought to and/or held in this world by magic...so, sure, the MAGIC does damage. Not the blow/weapon.

So only the magic bonus does damage, and not the base weapon damage amount? If not...then I don't see how what you said makes any sense. If a sword does 1d8 damage, and a magic sword does 1d8+1 damage, then if "only" the magic does damage, it only takes 1 points of damage. But, if it does 1d8+1 damage, then you should be able to sneak attack with that magic sword. If the strength bonus adds, then the sneak attack bonus adds - they are both in the same category of bonus non-magic damage.

...doesn't work on undead. The corporeal ones are "dead" already...they're so dead, they're UNdead! Cut their spine? So what! Slit their throat? So what! They're not breathing. Hit that spot uder the arm? So what! They don't "feel" pain.

Does a normal weapon do damage? If yes, then that dead thing can take more damage from a harder hit, or a double cut, or a cut that reduces other aspects of hit points than the "meat" part.

And both the Pathfinder playtest feedback, and the Next playtest feedback, reported people prefer SA damage on normal undead.

...on that note, doesn't work on shadow- or light-based beings. Like elementals and/or incorporeal undead, these beings do not have physical form that is effected by anything but magic.

So you should be able to sneak attack them with a magic weapon. I don't see what magic has to do with this. Why would your strength bonus add to the damage done with a magic sword, but sneak attack could not?

...doesn't work for "extraplanar beings" [demons, devils, angels, slaadi, non-elemental things, etc...). Chalk it up to "supernatural sense" or "divine/abyssal/infernal" power/skill/senses/"magical immunity or resistance", doesn't matter...

Oh no, it matters a lot. This one REALLY sounds like an appeal to tradition purely to appeal to tradition, with no logical basis for it at all.

...doesn't work against oozes, slimes or jellies. See elementals. If you slice through jelly does it "hurt" it?

Yes. Obviously. It takes normal damage from a weapon, it takes bonus strength damage from that weapon, why would it not take sneak attack damage from that weapon? And why do you keep describing sneak attack damage as "pain"?

...doesn't work against "worms" or other segmented creatures (lemures, remorhaz...even, maybe, slugs or snails). They have no neck for a slice, no spine to sever, no joints to separate, just...no. Doesn't work. Slicing it "here" is no different or harmful than slicing it "there."

Now you're even adding categories that never applied in prior editions of the game? You can sneak attack a purple worm in, I believe, every edition of the game. Why are you looking for even more reasons to give out immunity?

That doesn't seem unreasonable. None of it does.

Well, to me most of it does. But then, I don't think of sneak attack as anatomy-targeted damage. I think of it as a sneaky attack, taking advantage of a distraction, to hit harder or faster or more. It has nothing to do with anatomy.