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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kobold Stew" data-source="post: 6177492" data-attributes="member: 23484">There are many ways we can imagine offering a rogue an effective combat ability as an alternative to Sneak Attack. Let's not worry about the precise mechanics; the concept is enough for now. I assume that each of these casn be presented in a way that is balanced against each other. The Jan 13 pack offered three possibilities:* Backstab (advantage/damage when victim was near hostile individs)* Isolated strike (advantage/damage when victim was not near hostile individs)* Tumbling Strike (advantage/damage when attacker starts 20 feet from victim)Each is mechanically distinct, and we can note that "Backstab" was being framed primarily in terms of translating the benefits from 3.x, with the benefits of flanking. Given that, adding more seems straightforward enough:* "Surprise strike" -- advantage/damage before a victim has had a chance to react (traditional surprise, high-initiative rogues)* "Fighting dirty" -- advantage/damage against humanoids in melee* "Knives to a Gunfight" -- advantage/damage when using weapons with the Thrown property.etc.Not everything should fit (I suggested thrown weapons because they tend to be underused and require str and dex; substituting "finesse" would not work, I feel, because that's a default choice in any case. But as I said, the precise details aren't strictly relevant)OR...Instead of extra damage, a rouge might be able to make a victim Stunned or Frightened (Reavers!). There are so many ways that the game could offer interesting choices here to potential rogues, none of which remove for those who want to play a backstab-for-extra-damage rogue. Let those that want it have backstab (whether conceived as in Jan 13, or like the "surprise strike suggested above, or perhaps both). But let other rogue builds emerge that will change the type of play. Let rogues have a choice and that helps individuate the character while still keeping her combat effective.</blockquote>

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