Sneak attacking larger things

[tankiller]

You can always do what my DM did when I played a rogue. SA is broken because you one shotted my boss. No more SA for you... Cursed. It might not be the best solution but it fixes your problem.

More realalisticly unless the rogue is swinging at the monsters legs because he cant reach any thing else I would give it to him.

 

[emoplato]

Hi all.

My question this time is:

- How do you handle a character sneak attacking a much larger creature then it self? How do you deal with the lack of logical weak points in a sneak attack situation?

Example: A gnome rogue on a Purple Worm's back stabs it with a dagger. Rule wise the rogue deals sneak attack dmg.

Well the restrictions in which you are probably thinking of tough hide, extra muscle..etc is fairly represented by natural armor. As such larger creatures generally have larger amounts of natural armor. When they strike when they creature has opened up a weak spot(what flat-footed suppose to represent). They can see them clearly(no concealment). Then of course they strike hopefully at that weak spot.

 

[Ragmon]

I wish to shift the subject to the other end, from creature weakness to the weapon it self.

SA with a dagger slicing the colossal dragon's spinal cord?

So to say it in a different manner, I find it weird that you can use ANY weapon to make a SA. A rogue ith Improved unarmed strike dealing 10d6 SA dmg to a dragon...with his hands... dealing a dmg of 1d3 +10d6, how would one go about RP-ing this?

Or here is a better one same as above but with a needle (lets assume that it will deal 1 lethal dmg) dealing 1 + 10d6 dmg to the dragon...

And I wish to point out that I am not trolling or anything I am really interested in what ppl think about these situation.

 

[Sekhmet]

Much of D&D falls apart under scrutiny by a logical mind, especially after about level 6.
If you can conceive of your character fighting X creature by level 5 or 6, then it generally has a size or vital area you could reach with a dagger.

After 6, you may as well be trying to tell a Deepwood Sniper "No", or a Wizard "that isn't how physics work".

 

[Dandu]

I wish to shift the subject to the other end, from creature weakness to the weapon it self.

SA with a dagger slicing the colossal dragon's spinal cord?

So to say it in a different manner, I find it weird that you can use ANY weapon to make a SA. A rogue ith Improved unarmed strike dealing 10d6 SA dmg to a dragon...with his hands... dealing a dmg of 1d3 +10d6, how would one go about RP-ing this?

Or here is a better one same as above but with a needle (lets assume that it will deal 1 lethal dmg) dealing 1 + 10d6 dmg to the dragon...

And I wish to point out that I am not trolling or anything I am really interested in what ppl think about these situation.

Pressure points.

 

[Sekhmet]

Pressure points.

Subdual damage at best.

 

[Dandu]

Not in a fictional universe or (depending on who you ask) in real life either!

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I wish to shift the subject to the other end, from creature weakness to the weapon it self.

SA with a dagger slicing the colossal dragon's spinal cord?

So to say it in a different manner, I find it weird that you can use ANY weapon to make a SA. A rogue ith Improved unarmed strike dealing 10d6 SA dmg to a dragon...with his hands... dealing a dmg of 1d3 +10d6, how would one go about RP-ing this?

Or here is a better one same as above but with a needle (lets assume that it will deal 1 lethal dmg) dealing 1 + 10d6 dmg to the dragon...

And I wish to point out that I am not trolling or anything I am really interested in what ppl think about these situation.

Keep in mind, while we're considering the realism, that the idea of Hitpoints is absurd in the first place. A level 1 and a level 20 Human Fighter are still human beings, the fact that the level 20 can be stabbed fifty times with a dagger and still be ok is ludicrous.

What the Rogue has is a feature that makes it cool and useful. In general circumstances, it makes a certain amount of sense- the sneaky-themed guy can stab you really hard if he get's the advantage to do so. It fits the flavor. What's confusing you is when you apply a game mechanic to logical reasoning a real-world physics circumstance.

Have you ever seen the Daredevil movie that Marvel put out in 2003? Bullseye kills a guy with a paperclip to the throat? Yeah, that 1 damage dart is going to be AWESOME!

 

[Vegepygmy]

So to say it in a different manner, I find it weird that you can use ANY weapon to make a SA. A rogue ith Improved unarmed strike dealing 10d6 SA dmg to a dragon...with his hands... dealing a dmg of 1d3 +10d6, how would one go about RP-ing this?

How would you RP it if the rogue didn't get +10d6 SA damage, but the dragon had 1 hp left? The rogue makes an (improved) unarmed strike, and deals (let's say) 2 damage.

Now, how is that any different than the rogue dealing 1d3 + 10d6 damage to a dragon with 35 hp left? (Answer: it's not.) In both cases, the "killing blow" is dealt by an unarmed strike. If that's absurd in one case, it's equally absurd in another, and all you're really saying is that an unarmed strike is always an absurd weapon (at least against dragons).

Do you really want to go down that road?

 

[kitcik]

You can always do what my DM did when I played a rogue. SA is broken because you one shotted my boss. No more SA for you... Cursed. It might not be the best solution but it fixes your problem.

Now I am never playing a rogue. ever. either.

So to say it in a different manner, I find it weird that you can use ANY weapon to make a SA. A rogue ith Improved unarmed strike dealing 10d6 SA dmg to a dragon...with his hands... dealing a dmg of 1d3 +10d6, how would one go about RP-ing this?

You need to watch more three stooges. Toe stomp, toe hair pull, toenail shatter, come on now be creative.

Or here is a better one same as above but with a needle (lets assume that it will deal 1 lethal dmg) dealing 1 + 10d6 dmg to the dragon...

That brings to mind the Poison Ring (Dragon 316 I think). With no poison in it, it still does 1 point of damage and needs a TOUCH attack to hit - great for SA.

Try sticking a needle under your toenail. You will teach yourself something new.



In closing, I would like to quote the Rules Archive. I don't necessarily like this as a DM but:

"Sneak attacks are possible only when the attacker can reach the target's vital spots. If you're limited to beating the foe about the ankles, you can't make sneak attacks against him."