D&D 5E (2014) Would Rogues be broken if Sneak Attack were always on?

[Al2O3]

Rogue damage will not be broken.

Rogue "feel" or "identity" or "flavour" could potentially and very subjectivity be broken.

 

[77IM]

New players misunderstand LOTS of stuff. I think introducing house-rules will just confuse the noobs further, and in the long-term you will be better off helping them to learn "rules reading comprehension."

To answer your specific question, the rogue is balanced against the possibility that they will get sneak attack every single round, because a skilled player will do exactly that. Each class has slightly different ways of scaling up its damage with levels; [MENTION=6973729]Vexacia[/MENTION] gives a good breakdown of the rogue's damage scaling compared to the fighter's.

 

[ccs]

I don't think you should do this.

Not because rogues would end up broken, but because you're hindering those new players from learning how the game actually works, & rewarding/encouraging laziness.

If a player chooses class x & wants to use it's special ability? Then they should read the rules, understand the rules, & follow the rules. As new players this'll take varying amounts of time. If/when they get it wrong? Then it's your job as the one teaching them to play to teach them how to do it correctly.

 

[Gavin O.]

So from what I gathered from your answers, it wouldn't break the game, but it also wouldn't be a good idea to introduce house rules when new players are learning.

Thank you so much for your answers. I've decided I'll probably just use Rules as Written.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

It wouldn't be broken, well played rogues are supposed to sneak attack almost every round.

It would make the class less interesting and unique, since you no longer need to adapt your tactics in combat to setting up sneak attacks.

 

[abirdcall]

In my experience Rogues are one the least new player friendly classes.

1. Player expectation is often different than reality. D&D is a party based game and new players often feel like they're going to be able to be away from the party doing their sneaky things which does not happen often. This is doubly true for the Assassin.

2. The Rogue abilities often require clever use of circumstances. They don't have standard 'buttons' a lot of classes have like spells. They use their environments to best effect which can be hard for new players to think about.

 

[Li Shenron]

A Rogue player that wants to gain Sneak Attack damage as often as possible can already get close to "always". All she needs to do is attack an enemy which is already in melee with an ally. This is in general easier than having advantage on attacks, even tho the latter is presented as the main way to get Sneak Attack, however there are situations when this is not possible: e.g. when everyone is attacking at range or with reach weapons, or when all the melee allies are incapacitated.

So would it break the game to just default to "always"? Probably not. But it will fundamentally change how the Rogue is played tactically. Because as it stands, the Rogue has to look for ways either to have advantage on the attack rolls (hiding, gaining higher ground, etc.) or to target specific foes which are in melee with allies.

It's maybe a matter of preferences, but I definitely like being forced to think how can I get that bonus each round rather than not.

 

[abirdcall]

A Rogue player that wants to gain Sneak Attack damage as often as possible can already get close to "always". All she needs to do is attack an enemy which is already in melee with an ally. This is in general easier than having advantage on attacks, even tho the latter is presented as the main way to get Sneak Attack, however there are situations when this is not possible: e.g. when everyone is attacking at range or with reach weapons, or when all the melee allies are incapacitated.

So would it break the game to just default to "always"? Probably not. But it will fundamentally change how the Rogue is played tactically. Because as it stands, the Rogue has to look for ways either to have advantage on the attack rolls (hiding, gaining higher ground, etc.) or to target specific foes which are in melee with allies.

It's maybe a matter of preferences, but I definitely like being forced to think how can I get that bonus each round rather than not.

Yeah. At some point we are asking the question, 'would it be broken to reduce every attack and ability to the same thing?'. The answer is no, but the better question is whether it is fun.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I think it would be nice to be able to feint as bonus action to either get advantage or if that is too much just allow sneak attack. That way you don't trivialize the normal ability but make it easier to handle for new players.

 

[lluewhyn]

It wouldn't be broken, well played rogues are supposed to sneak attack almost every round.

It would make the class less interesting and unique, since you no longer need to adapt your tactics in combat to setting up sneak attacks.

This right here. You're no longer feeling like a sneaky rogue, you're feeling like just another fighter type. You'll be using less tactics, and are more likely to be bored.