Sneak Attack and Invisibility

[Ziggy]

Hi!

Last night we discovered a puzzle in the rules. My rogue was flanking an invisible mage, and (with blindfighting) managed to hit him even with the 50% miss chance. We could not find anything in the rules that ruled out sneak attack damage on the attack, but our DM ruled that sneak attack requires more information about the target, and thus normal damage only.

While I'm not unhappy with the ruling, I would like to know if there is anything specific in the rules on this situation, and/or if there is any sage rulings on the matter.

.Ziggy

 

[StealthyMark]

Quote from the PHB, page 47:

...The rogue cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment (see Table 8-10: Concealment, page 133)...

Quote from the PHB, page 133:

Concealment: Total, Example: Invisibility...

Your DM's ruling was perfectly correct.

BTW, this makes the Smoking (+1) weapon special ability (Lords of Darkness) quite powerful.

 

[hong]

Hi!

Last night we discovered a puzzle in the rules. My rogue was flanking an invisible mage, and (with blindfighting) managed to hit him even with the 50% miss chance. We could not find anything in the rules that ruled out sneak attack damage on the attack, but our DM ruled that sneak attack requires more information about the target, and thus normal damage only.

While I'm not unhappy with the ruling, I would like to know if there is anything specific in the rules on this situation, and/or if there is any sage rulings on the matter.

.Ziggy

Concealment negates sneak attacks. Since the target still has a miss chance due to concealment, even after applying your Blind-Fight ability, you can't sneak attack. See the rules for sneak attacks in the rogue class description.

 

[Ziggy]

I knew someone would know the rules better than me !

I made the mistake of mixing concealment and cover, it's good to know that the rules make sense

.Ziggy

 

[Darklone]

Hmmm

I am quite positive that the sneak attack desc in the PHB even said something like the rogue has to see the target...

 

[shilsen]

Re: Hmmm

I am quite positive that the sneak attack desc in the PHB even said something like the rogue has to see the target...

You're correct. The rogue must be able to see the target well enough to strike a vital spot.

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

However, if the rogue is using his use activated dagger of True Strike, he still gets his sneak attack, since True Strike negates any miss chance due to concealment.

And, after all, what medium level rogue isn't going to have a use activated dagger of true strike.

 

[kreynolds]

whatisitgoodfor is right. True Strike will allow you to deal sneak attack damage, provided you still hit of course. Even though you can't see the target, you "see" him with an insight bonus, meaning you "know" where he is even though you can't "see" him.