A rogue’s sneak attack ability is very powerful and can easily turn the tide in a fight. As a DM, I thought I understood it well until a player brought up some interesting scenarios that caused me to take a closer look at this skill. Here is what I found.
Basic Sneak Attack Rule:
- Sneak Attack can be used once per turn when he/she has advantage on the attack or there is an enemy of the target within 5′ of the rogue (PHB page 96).
After analyzing the rule, here are some additional thoughts that should clear up some confusion:
- “When” is not specified. So sneak attack can be used as an action, bonus action or reaction.
- The rules say once per turn so if a rogue has a dagger in each hand and misses with his action but hits with his bonus action, he could use his sneak attack on the second bonus action hit.
- Once per turn does not mean once per round (a round is when all involved in the initiative order has had their turn). So if you use sneak attack during your turn but later in the round have an opportunity attack, you could potentially use sneak attack again as a reaction (See post by Jeremy Crawford, lead rules developer for Dungeons and Dragons).
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