Summary

• Rogues in DnD have a unique approach to combat in Sneak Attack, requiring planning and teamwork for maximum damage output.
• Sneak Attack is the rogue's primary combat mechanic, emphasizing strong single attacks over more complex maneuvers.
• Sneak Attack has very specific conditions under which it operates, and keeping track of other rules which affect Sneak Attack can be difficult.

Compared to the other martial classes of Dungeons & Dragons, rogues have a number of unique features, the most combat-oriented of which is Sneak Attack. Whereas other martial classes, like fighter, barbarian, and monk, are mostly straightforward in the ways that they can deal damage, a rogue's Sneak Attack encourages a certain amount of planning, teamwork, and in-character trickery, making the most out of individual attacks rather than making multiple separate attack rolls. While powerful, Sneak Attack only works under certain conditions, which can sometimes be difficult to keep track of.

In DnD, the rogue class and its various subclasses are unique among martial classes for having several features devoted to mostly out-of-combat scenarios, encouraging a trickier and less direct playstyle befitting a cunning thief or assassin. Expertise, for example, makes rogue into one of the premier classes for ing skill checks - and when applied to signature rogue skills like Stealth, Sleight of Hand, or Thieves' Tools, can allow a rogue to scout hostile areas or steal objects with a relatively low risk of failure. By contrast, rogues in combat revolve almost solely around applying Sneak Attack damage.

How Sneak Attack Works For 5e Rogues

Extra Damage Under Specific Conditions

Available from the very first level of the rogue class, Sneak Attack allows characters to deal extra damage on attacks that they hit once per turn, but only when certain conditions are met. First, the attack must have been made using a weapon with the finesse or ranged properties, such as a dagger, rapier, or bow. Second, the attack must either have been made with advantage, or on a target that has another creature hostile to it within five feet. Finally, Sneak Attack can't be applied if the attack was made with disadvantage, or if the target is incapacitated.

Sneak Attack starts as an extra 1d6 damage, usually ruled to be of the same type as the weapon used to apply it, and adds an extra d6 for every two rogue levels after the first, scaling up to 10d6 at level 20.

As an example, a rogue that hits an attack on an enemy that has the party's fighter standing next to it can apply Sneak Attack damage, even if the attack was made without advantage. Similarly, a rogue that does a melee attack on a Prone enemy attacks with advantage, and can apply Sneak Attack if the attack hits even without any other creatures nearby. Conversely, a rogue trying to attack while blinded rolls all attacks with disadvantage, and so can't apply Sneak Attack under any circumstances until the condition is cured or wears off.

By default, rogues have the Cunning Action feature at second level, allowing them to Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a bonus action, thereby allowing them to attack on the same turn that they use any of those actions. Successfully using the Hide action is both situational and somewhat dependent on DM discretion, but being hidden allows rogues to attack with advantage, giving them an extra avenue to self-sufficiently apply Sneak Attack. One DM-dependent ruling also allows rogues to apply Sneak Attack on modern DnD's iconic Opportunity Attacks, letting them skirt around the once-per-turn restriction.

How Sneak Attack Rules Can Change

Certain Subclass Or Optional Features Can Change How Sneak Attack Works

Additionally, some optional features or subclasses can slightly change the way that Sneak Attack works or make it easier to apply. An optional third-level feature from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, Steady Aim, is a bonus action that allows rogues to gain advantage on their next attack roll in the same turn, provided they haven't spent movement on that turn, and in exchange for reducing their movement to zero until their next turn. This gives rogues a way to reliably gain advantage on attacks without having to succeed on a Stealth check, making Sneak Attack more reliable in certain scenarios.

Subclasses like Inquisitive and Swashbuckler also add new ways to apply Sneak Attack. Inquisitor's third-level Insightful Fighting feature allows a rogue to Sneak Attack a target for one minute if they succeed on a contested Insight check against the target's Deception as a bonus action (as long as they don't have disadvantage). Similarly, Swashbuckler rogues have Rakish Audacity, a third-level feature that allows them to apply Sneak Attack if the target of the attack is within five feet of them, no other creatures are within five feet of the rogue, and the attack isn't made with disadvantage.

Other subclasses, like Phantom or Soulknife, have features that add extra damage or effects to Sneak Attack but don't change how applying it works, like Phantom's third-level feature, Wails from the Grave, or Soulknife's 17th-level feature, Rend Mind.

When playing a rogue, it's important to keep Sneak Attack conditions in mind and play towards them, as the class's damage output suffers heavily without the feature. As rogue's most important combat mechanic, Sneak Attack largely defines how the class functions in fights, and rogues will want to try and create as many opportunities for Sneak Attack as possible to get ahead when playing Dungeons & Dragons.