Can you Sneak attack with a ranged weapon?

alikat

I'm having a heck of a time finding the answer to this one online. I know you can't backstab, has anyone tested sneak attack with a bow or a sling yet for a definitive answer?

Jarrakul

I've never seen it happen. I haven't tested thoroughly, but I've never seen it happen.

elminster

Just tested it with a bow and the answer most certainly is no.

smeagolheart

only in neverwinter nights

alikat

I want the best single class ranged thief I can come up with - If no ranged sneak attacks it sounds like a halfling swashbuckler xbow user would be best. shorty bonuses, 19 dex, scaling passives, and using the various repeating xbows available would make up for the deficiency in attacks per round rogues have versus warriors.

ameliaboggins

` shorty bonuses,`

clarify plz...that against giants ...an ac bonus?

Jarrakul

"Shorty bonuses" usually refer to saving throw bonuses, which the three short races get based on their Con scores. I don't know of anything specifically relevant to ranged weapons, although I think halflings have a bonus to hit with slings.

ameliaboggins

ahhhok )

was getting muddled up!

`Defensive Training: Dwarves gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype`

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/core-races/dwarf

HAving read over a dozen differnt RPG rules in the last 30 yrs, they start to get fuzzy...

Musigny

@ameliaboggins
See: http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php/Baldur's_Gate:_Races_and_Stats#.22Shorty.22_Saving_Throws

SmilingSword

If u want a ranged rogue you could just install song and silence. Think there is a sharpshooter class, kinda like archer, but a thief.

Ooops this is a icewind topic, was kinda missioning around new discussions and didn't notice it wasn't bg, I have no idea if this mod has icewind support, but probably not.
My bad sorry

Skatan

alikat said:

I want the best single class ranged thief I can come up with - If no ranged sneak attacks it sounds like a halfling swashbuckler xbow user would be best. shorty bonuses, 19 dex, scaling passives, and using the various repeating xbows available would make up for the deficiency in attacks per round rogues have versus warriors.

Swashie’s are good, but are arguable made more for melee than for ranged IMHO.

So, taking into consideration:
• in a party the thief won't get hit much, unless you screw up and place him/her in the front by mistake.
• Few casters will actually cast spells on you which warrants high saving throws, like Hold etc.
• You don’t want to mod/eekeeper illegit builds.
• You don't plan to item hunt (reloading areas to get what you want from the "random" loot in chests etc)

I would use a elf F/T with it's inherent + to THAC0 using bows and long swords, as well as DEX 19.

Ranged: Equip any long bow you find until you find the messenger of Sseth, which is a fixed drop, and you'll get a good enough sniper with decent sneak/backstab which can melee as well if/when needed (fighter strength 18:91+). Xbows are really good, especially the TAHC0 bonuses, but in my current run I haven't found a single repeater xbow. I have left the xbow's to my fighter to use instead since for him APR is less of an issue, his focus is on melee. Also, thieves can't equip heavy xbows (iirc? haven't played a single class thief in iwdee yet), so if you are hell bent on using one, a F/T gives you access to better xbows than the pure thief/kit can.

Melee: There’s an abundance of long swords available to the party even without item hunting, but short swords are few and thus a less stellar choice. You could go for qstaff, dagger, club etc, but will lose out on the +1 THAC0 from the elf inherent bonus. Other weapons are available as well ofc, katanas etc, but long swords are reliable finds and will net you the best overall +X enchantments throughout the game without hassle. If you have specific items in mind, you can ignore this advice of course. You can also equip a good shield if you'd like.

Skills: If he/she is the only thief I would focus on traps and locks first and use invisibility from the party mage/sorc before investing points in stealth.

Summary: This would net you a very strong thief, capable of good ranged dmg with good chance to hit (high THAC0), while still being able to dish out dmg in melee if/when needed. Since it’s much more common with good heavy armor than light, having the option for giving him/her a platemail is very convenient. In my current playthrough without any item hunting I have only (in chapter 5 currently) found ONE enchanted light armor, a studded +2. Every other enchanted armor has been heavy, so my F/T still has a regular studded leather armor in her inventory for when scouting, but usually wears plate and uses a bow in regular combat.

(The F/M/T is arguable even better than F/T, but you didn't really mention arcane so I won't advocate the use of one in this case. There are a thousand threads on F/M/T you can read if that tickles your interest though.)

Edit: You made it clear your focus was ranged, but pretty much all of the above can be applied to a halforc F/T as well, though that char might be more usable for melee with the great strength but less dex (and no THAC0 bonuses to bows). A half-orc F/T with xbows could indeed be pretty powerful as well.

Cheers,

elminster

alikat said:

I want the best single class ranged thief I can come up with - If no ranged sneak attacks it sounds like a halfling swashbuckler xbow user would be best. shorty bonuses, 19 dex, scaling passives, and using the various repeating xbows available would make up for the deficiency in attacks per round rogues have versus warriors.

You've probably already made your characters up at this point but in the future consider also checking out mods. @subtledoctor has a number of thief kits available for use with Scales of Balance.

http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/33657/scales-of-balance-post-hac-kits-and-tweaks/p1

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86011511/README-SoB.html


Plus there is my mod A Frosty Journey: The Icewind Dale Kitpack that also has a number of them.

http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/36181/a-frosty-journey-the-iwdee-kitpack/p1

http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1099-a-frosty-journey-the-iwdee-kitpack/

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