D&D 5E When to declare sneak attack with mutltiple attacks?

[ShadowSeeker]

A rogue can add sneak attack damage once per turn to a hit that meets the sneak attack requirements. If the rogue uses his bonus action for two-weapon fighting he has two attacks. When does he add his sneak attack damage?

A: Make both attacks, then choose one (successful) attack to add sneak attack.

B: Make one attack, decide whether or not to add sneak attack, make second attack.

A and B make a difference regarding critical hits which also double sneak attack damage.

 

[Dragonsbane]

Says "You can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack . . " so I would say you can decide after.

Also, since I use facing, my critter might use his reaction to change facing after the attack, thereby making a rear attack or other type of situation that gives advantage not give advantage anymore, meaning you might waste a chance.

And my critters can decide after as well

 

[iserith]

In general, declare sneak attack after your first hit, presuming the target is still standing.

 

[delericho]

When does he add his sneak attack damage?

A: Make both attacks, then choose one (successful) attack to add sneak attack.

B: Make one attack, decide whether or not to add sneak attack, make second attack.

B. Make one attack. If successful, decide whether or not to use sneak attack. Then make the second attack.

 

[Dausuul]

By a strict reading of the rules, A) is the rule. Make your first attack; see if you hit; declare if you want to add sneak attack damage; roll sneak attack damage; then make your second attack. If the second attack is a crit, too bad, you lost your chance.

In the interests of saving time (letting the rogue roll all attacks at once) and making crits more exciting, I might consider the following house rule:

Critical hits do not double sneak attack damage. Instead, once per turn when you score a critical hit, you can deal bonus damage equal to your sneak attack damage. You can use sneak attack on that hit as well.

 

[delericho]

By a strict reading of the rules, A) is the rule. Make your first attack; see if you hit; declare if you want to add sneak attack damage; roll sneak attack damage; then make your second attack. If the second attack is a crit, too bad, you lost your chance.

Um... that's option B.

 

[Dausuul]

Um... that's option B.

Er. Um. Yeah. That's what I meant.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Yeah, you decide whether or not to apply Sneak Attack (or Smite, etc.) after the hit is determined.

 

[Mercule]

I'm not sure there's a rule at that level of explicitness. I'll you my opinion, though.

The off-hand attack is a bonus action dependent on what you do for your standard action. You must fully resolve the standard action before you can even start the bonus action.

Even if it was part of the same action (per fighter), each attack is resolved in serial, fully and completely, before the next is begun. I would never allow a high-level Fighter to roll three attacks and damage at once and then decide which to assign to which of multiple opponents (the third attack was minimum damage, so I'll apply it to the kobold, but the other two go against the dragon).

The way it functionally works, at my table:
Rogue: I want to sneak attack the ogre.
DM: Okay. Roll to hit.

The rules don't require the declaration before the attack, so I'd let a rogue with a threatening ally save it for the first successful attack of the round. The absolute latest I'd let the rogue decide, though, is right before rolling damage -- sneak attack is part of the damage roll. If the rogue is gaining advantage through stealth, though, no way. The first attack ends stealth in all but corner cases, so you would no longer be eligible for sneak attack, anyway, even if you missed.

 

[redrick]

A rogue can add sneak attack damage once per turn to a hit that meets the sneak attack requirements. If the rogue uses his bonus action for two-weapon fighting he has two attacks. When does he add his sneak attack damage?

A: Make both attacks, then choose one (successful) attack to add sneak attack.

B: Make one attack, decide whether or not to add sneak attack, make second attack.

A and B make a difference regarding critical hits which also double sneak attack damage.

Definitely B.

Often, for speed of play, we will roll multiple attacks at once. When playing on Roll20, it's still easy to identify which attack was "first", because rolls are presented sequentially, and the first attack would get the sneak attack damage (or any other once-per-turn damage feature). When playing at the table, if a player rolled two attacks at once and one attack crit'ed and the other attack just hit, we'd probably do some sort of quick roll-off to determine which attack was "first". (1-3 was the normal hit, 4-6 was the crit.)