Rogues, Hide and Sneak Attack

[rogan999]

I was wondering if there are any good bits of about hideing. It says you need to have cover or somthing to hide behind.

Say you are hiding just to the inside of a door when you know someone is coming through, you are holding your action so that when the enemy walks though said door i stick them in a vulnerable spot. Would i get my Sneak attack if they do not beat my hide check?

Rogan

 

[billd91]

The short answer is: Yes.

The longer and more complex answer is yes... because of one or two things. THere's some debate among players about what you can do while hiding and whether you get to sneak attack and how.

One way to get the sneak attack:
You attack by surprise. Since the target failed his spot roll, you get the surprise action and sneak attack him because he's flat-footed and doesn't have his dex bonus. That's relatively uncontroversial since it sounds like your character is initiating the combat. In fact, assuming you beat the other guy's initiative on the next round when he finally gets to go by initiative order, you might get another sneak attack because he's flat-footed until his first action.

If the target was already not flatfooted because combat is already going on, it's just that he's moving though an area you happen to be hiding near:
I think you'd still get your sneak attack because, since he failed his spot roll, your hiding character counts as invisible. Invisible attackers cause their targets to lose their Dex bonus and thus opens them up for sneak attack. You'd then get to re-roll your hide check, but at -20, to stay hidden after the attack if you chose to do so (which is what a sniper would do after attacking from range).

 

[mikebr99]

I was wondering if there are any good bits of about hideing. It says you need to have cover or somthing to hide behind.


Rogan

Good bits? Sure!
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040217a


Mike