The Complete Masterclass on 5e Rogue Sneak Attack
The Rogue's Sneak Attack is the premier single-target burst damage mechanic in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. While a Fighter relies on Extra Attack to deliver multiple steady strikes, a Rogue's entire combat philosophy revolves around setting up one devastating, precision strike every single turn.
Beginning at 1st level, you deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack. This damage scales smoothly at every odd-numbered level:
| Rogue Level | Sneak Dice | Avg Sneak Dmg | Crit Sneak Dice | Proficiency Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levels 1–2 | 1d6 | 3.5 | 2d6 (7.0) | +2 |
| Levels 3–4 | 2d6 | 7.0 | 4d6 (14.0) | +2 |
| Levels 5–6 | 3d6 | 10.5 | 6d6 (21.0) | +3 |
| Levels 7–8 | 4d6 | 14.0 | 8d6 (28.0) | +3 |
| Levels 9–10 | 5d6 | 17.5 | 10d6 (35.0) | +4 |
| Levels 11–12 | 6d6 | 21.0 | 12d6 (42.0) | +4 |
| Levels 13–14 | 7d6 | 24.5 | 14d6 (49.0) | +5 |
| Levels 15–16 | 8d6 | 28.0 | 16d6 (56.0) | +5 |
| Levels 17–18 | 9d6 | 31.5 | 18d6 (63.0) | +6 |
| Levels 19–20 | 10d6 | 35.0 | 20d6 (70.0) | +6 |
The Golden Rule: Once per Turn vs. Once per Round
The single most impactful tactical nuance of Sneak Attack is its exact phrasing in the Player's Handbook: "once per turn".
It does NOT say "once per round"! In 5e combat, a round consists of many individual turns: your turn, the wizard's turn, the monster's turn, etc. This means if you can make an attack on someone else's turn, you can trigger Sneak Attack a second time in the very same combat round:
- Opportunity Attacks: When an enemy leaves your reach on their turn without Disengaging, you can use your Reaction to make an Opportunity Attack. If you have advantage or an ally is adjacent to that enemy, you deal full Sneak Attack damage again!
- Battle Master Commander's Strike: If an allied Fighter uses Commander's Strike, you can use your reaction on the Fighter's turn to make a weapon attack with full Sneak Attack dice.
- Held Action (Ready an Action): You can use your Action on your turn to Ready an Attack with the trigger: "As soon as the barbarian engages the boss." When the trigger occurs on the barbarian's turn, your reaction attack deals full Sneak Attack damage.
The 2024 Cunning Strike Revolution
For over ten years, Rogues faced a tactical limitation: all their class budget went into raw single-target damage dice. The 2024 revised rules completely solved this through Cunning Strike (at Level 5) and Devious Strike (at Level 14).
Instead of dealing maximum damage on every hit, Rogues can now trade away d6s to inflict surgical debuffs:
- Trip (Costs 1d6): Knocking an enemy Prone grants all allied melee attackers Advantage on their turns.
- Poison (Costs 1d6): Inflicting the Poisoned condition saddles the monster with Disadvantage on all its attack rolls for a full minute.
- Withdraw (Costs 1d6): Grants free Disengage and half your movement speed without spending your bonus action.
- Knock Out (Costs 3d6): Inflicts the Unconscious condition. A sleeping monster auto-fails saves and all melee hits against it become automatic critical hits!
Explore Complementary Rogue Tools
Compare Finesse weapons (Rapier vs Dagger with Nick mastery) for dual-wielding rogues.
Understand how Cunning Strike's Poisoned, Prone, and Unconscious conditions work.
Track off-turn opportunity attacks and condition durations round by round.
Maximize your starting Dexterity for peak attack bonuses, AC, and Cunning Strike DCs.