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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeremy" data-source="post: 186957" data-attributes="member: 4036">And what about when the fighter's superior base attack and to hit modifiers allow him to power attack for more damage?Or when he gets a feat that lets him double his strength modifier when charging?Or his base attack bonus grants him more attacks per round?Or when the rogue and his d6 hit points gets clocked 3 times for 25+ damage each and the fighter is still going..What about when the opponent is flanked?  Or has concealment?  Or is undead?  Or is an elemental?  Or is anything non-humanoid?The point is, the few times the rogue is in position, hits, and rolls well on his sneak attack are out weighed by the fact that the fighter is in position every round of every combat.  He is still standing when the rogue has to flee, he is doing damage more often and always consistantly.Therein lies the advantage.  The rogue will occasionally have his moment to shine--like a flat-footed cyclops catching 4 arrows (1 from rapid shot, one from haste) all with sneak attack damage and falls in the first round because he lost init...  But on average, the fighter's total damage output over his career will be superior.Especially when armor of fortification and spells like blur or displacement or invisibility start coming into play.  And if invisibility or displacement never come into play, the baddies are just asking for the rogue to get into position.Reach, non-humanoid opponents, and a hundred other factors balance sneak attack.  It allows the rogue a viable combat option that actually comes up occasionally and is actually impressive when it does.  Don't take that away when there are so many other instances when the rogue who has low hp to begin with, lower hp because he's always expected to be up front scouting (and sometimes triggering) traps, and only a few attacks per round gets floored in a round or has to stand around just doing 1d6+2 damage while the fighter is doing 2d6+12 3 times a round.In 2e, backstab was a multiplier, but only worked with certain weapons and only once in a very long while.  The rest of the time the rogue was relegated to the back, plinking away.  Now the rogue is a viable option, but in no way does he overshadow the fighter.  Very well balanced ability, applicable, fun, limited, powerful, and well implemented mechanically.</blockquote>

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