Sneak Attack and AoO

[Evil DM]

Hi folks,

last evening one simple question came up:

If your enemy provokes an AoO while leaving a threatened are you flank together witn an ally - does this trigger the sneak attack damage?

Or to put it simple:
Can you make a sneak attack as part of your AoO?

I do not know why it is forbidden?

Cheers, Evil DM

 

[shilsen]

Yes, you can get sneak attack damage on an AoO.

 

[The Souljourner]

Perfectly legal. For some reason, many people seem to think there are more restrictions on sneak attack than there are. The only thing you have to know is

1.) Are you flanking your target?
2.) Has the target lost his dexterity bonus to AC?

If either of those is true when you attack him, you get sneak attack damage for every attack. That means attacks of opportunity, full attacks, etc. (assuming he's not immune to sneak attack, of course)

-Nate

 

[SadisticFishing]

Yep, the common misconception is that you make a "sneak attack". What actually happens is that you make an attack that ends up being sneaky.

 

[Mistwell]

This is one of the reasons I like reach weapons for rogues. Combat reflexes lets you smack your foes around with sneak attacks on attacks of opportunity on a fairly regular basis, if you set things up right. If your opponent is balancing on a Grease spell you threw down with Use Magic Device and a wand, as soon as they try to close into melee with you, you will hit them for an AOO with sneak attack (since balancing creatures lose dex bonus to AC). And of course invisibility as your opponent tries to move by you to get to someone else, and the increased flanking squares from a reach weapon, etc..

 

[ThirdWizard]

If you're gaining SA from flanking, the question becomes, when you get the AoO from moving, is he in his starting square or the square he is moving to?

 

[Mistwell]

Moving out of a threatened square provokes the attack of opportunity from the threatening opponent. An attack of opportunity "interrupts" the normal flow of actions in the round. If an attack of opportunity is provoked, immediately resolve the attack of opportunity, then complete the current turn.

So, it's the square they start in, not the square they move to, that triggers. And therefore you resolve the attack first on the square they start on, and if they survive the attack of opportunity they may continue on to the space they were going to (and beyond usually).

 

[Infiniti2000]

If you're gaining SA from flanking, the question becomes, when you get the AoO from moving, is he in his starting square or the square he is moving to?

The starting square of course. You may not even threaten the square he is moving to.

In this case, the opponent should've tumbled or withdrew.

 

[Delta]

If you're gaining SA from flanking, the question becomes, when you get the AoO from moving, is he in his starting square or the square he is moving to?

Back in 2002, Skip Williams (the the Sage) answered a personal email thus:

> Posted At: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 7:42 PM
> Conversation: Where do movement AOO's take place?
> Subject: Where do movement AOO's take place?
>
> Skip,
>
> In the case of a normal attack-of-opportunity from movement (leaving a
> threatened space), where exactly is the mover when the attack takes place --
> in the threatened space he's trying to leave, or in the next space that he's
> trying to enter?
>
In the space the character is trying to leave.
Any AoO is resolved before the act that triggers it is resolved.