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<blockquote data-quote="ProfessorCirno" data-source="post: 5412508" data-attributes="member: 65637">The whole &quot;undead can't be sneak attacked&quot; never made verisimilitude sense, either.If it stands and moves - especially if it's a humanoid form - then it has weak spots.&nbsp; It has load bearing parts of its body that neccisarily hold more strain then other parts.Now in 2e, it was &quot;backstab&quot; (which also didn't make sense because stabbing them in the back is no more deadly then stabbing them in the front, less so in many cases).&nbsp; The basic idea was that you stabbed them in the &quot;organs,&quot; whatever they may be, and thus it didn't work on most non-humanoid enemies, or even humanoid enemies that were a bit too big.&nbsp; However, that was changed to sneak attack (and good because, like I mentioned, &quot;backstab&quot; didn't really make sense).&nbsp; The idea here is just that - it's an attack that catches them off guard and hits them in a weak point.&nbsp; Now for some monsters it kinda makes sense like oozes, but even with undead and constructs, there's always a weak spot.Here's the biggest catch though.Combat is abstracted.&nbsp; It always has been.&nbsp; HP has always been abstract, the &quot;combat round&quot; has always been abstract, the whole fighting has always been abstract.&nbsp; Backstab and sneak attack both have also always been abstract.&nbsp; If a fighter can somehow attack a cube of acid jello with a longsword, then a rogue can stab it with a dagger.&nbsp; The same, then, with a zombie.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ProfessorCirno, post: 5412508, member: 65637"] The whole "undead can't be sneak attacked" never made verisimilitude sense, either. If it stands and moves - especially if it's a humanoid form - then it has weak spots. It has load bearing parts of its body that neccisarily hold more strain then other parts. Now in 2e, it was "backstab" (which also didn't make sense because stabbing them in the back is no more deadly then stabbing them in the [I]front[/I], less so in many cases). The basic idea was that you stabbed them in the "organs," whatever they may be, and thus it didn't work on most non-humanoid enemies, or even humanoid enemies that were a bit too big. However, that was changed to sneak attack (and good because, like I mentioned, "backstab" didn't really make sense). The idea here is just that - it's an attack that catches them off guard and hits them in a weak point. Now for some monsters it kinda makes sense like oozes, but even with undead and constructs, [I]there's always a weak spot[/I]. Here's the biggest catch though. Combat is abstracted. It always has been. HP has always been abstract, the "combat round" has always been abstract, the whole fighting has always been abstract. Backstab and sneak attack both have also always been abstract. If a fighter can somehow attack a [I]cube of acid jello[/I] with a longsword, then a rogue can stab it with a dagger. The same, then, with a zombie. [/QUOTE]

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