This is basically 5e sneak attack anyway (the ‘not having it’ aspect that is)
You can only get a sneak attack if you have advantage on an enemy, and you know what? You don’t have advantage on an enemy just cause you’re flanking them, that’s mentioned in the book as an optional rule the DM can allow (where flanking gives advantage) but isn’t the usual rule. In 3e/3.5e/PF, an enemy being flanked confers benefits including allowing sneak attacks. In 5e the only way to sneak attack without needing advantage is by taking the swashbuckler (specialization? Archetype?).
In 5e the only way to sneak attack without needing advantage is by taking the swashbuckler (specialization? Archetype?).
Actually, since 5e this has been rolled this into the standard sneak attack that every Rogue gets
You don’t need Advantage on the attack roll if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the target, the ally doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition, and you don’t have Disadvantage on the attack roll.
So you don’t need flanking, you just need a buddy who is not unconscious.
Ah, good; honestly I remember taking rogue before this change was made (or perhaps it had been changed at that point but none of us at the table knew) and the problem was immediately evident; there’s a lot of stuff in 5e that makes me wonder what the heck the creators were thinking and if perhaps they just rushed the whole thing along and decided to just fix up any oversight later.
This rule has been in the book ever since the PHB first released. If this was something you didn’t use, you either missed it or played a different edition.
This is basically 5e sneak attack anyway (the ‘not having it’ aspect that is)
You can only get a sneak attack if you have advantage on an enemy, and you know what? You don’t have advantage on an enemy just cause you’re flanking them, that’s mentioned in the book as an optional rule the DM can allow (where flanking gives advantage) but isn’t the usual rule. In 3e/3.5e/PF, an enemy being flanked confers benefits including allowing sneak attacks. In 5e the only way to sneak attack without needing advantage is by taking the swashbuckler (specialization? Archetype?).
Actually, since 5e this has been rolled this into the standard sneak attack that every Rogue gets
So you don’t need flanking, you just need a buddy who is not unconscious.
Ah, good; honestly I remember taking rogue before this change was made (or perhaps it had been changed at that point but none of us at the table knew) and the problem was immediately evident; there’s a lot of stuff in 5e that makes me wonder what the heck the creators were thinking and if perhaps they just rushed the whole thing along and decided to just fix up any oversight later.
This rule has been in the book ever since the PHB first released. If this was something you didn’t use, you either missed it or played a different edition.