Some of My Dragon Strike House Rules

[Jazzdrummer]

Ah okay that makes sense. Yea I just got a copy of this old game recently and I'm having a blast playing it but the sneak attack cards didn't make a lot of sense. So really the thief can decide to stealth at any time, but in this case, the dragon master would roll the die instead of the thief. I like that much better than what I did...lol. Last night my wife was playing as the dragon master and I was controlling the thief, elf, and warrior. I announced that my thief was going to sneak down this passage to see what's down there. I roll a lousy 5 and say "well I guess not!" So it seemed odd that my thief would know himself whether or not he's being sneaky. Also once I roll a sneak check, do I need to continue rolling them every turn? Or do I just wait and see if a monster notices the thief?
Okay how about sneak attacks against monsters that are engaged in melee with other heroes. Does the thief need to flank the monster at all or just be in any square adjacent? Last night I played it the latter. I would move the thief in position and every time it was the thief's turn I would roll a non-action dexterity feat check and, if successful, I would get to roll a d12. Otherwise a d8 as normal for the thief. Does that sound right? Thanks again for answering this old thread. This game is a blast! Very D&D lite.

Rolling behind the screen is an old D&D thing. A Dungeon Master can make many secret rolls in a single game, and each time the players perk or sweat, as rolls usually mean something dire could be approaching. Somethings DMs make idol rolls (with no real results) to keep the players on their feet, or to undermine player suspicions when there is a situation were a surprise is most likely. (Its almost a game into itself.)

Oh, I forget to clarify, that to be sneaky, you have to make a Feat of Dexterity before doing anything else -- like moving. As an option, you can make a sneaking Thief move at half-speed to account for the tiptoeing and moving behind stuff or slipping between shadows.

If the Thief is sneaking around and the monsters are unaware, then the Thief can make a sneak attack in place of a normal melee attack without having to preform an additional Feat. The Thief strikes with a d12, as she is bypassing the creature's armor and hitting the juiciest parts. Once the Thief attacks, for any reason, the Thief is visible to all monsters in sight. There are no need to account for monster facing or "flanking" attacks (that D&D rule were attackers have an advantage if they on opposite sides of an enemy), as the rules assume that monsters can see all round themselves. Although, if you want "flanking" strikes, then you could have it so that if a monster is engaged with another Hero in melee combat, the Thief can blight-sight the monster with a sneak attack without even being sneaky in the first place. If the Thief becomes over-reliant on flanking to the paint of being game-braking, you could lower the dice roll to a d10 to account for the way the monsters frantically move around in combat to get a good lethal strike.

I have no problems answering old, dusty threads. In fact, I'm something of an infamous Thread Necromancer.

Bud, I appreciate the replies and I apologize for all the questions. I just want to make sure I understood your thoughts here and, admittedly, I'm pretty poor at expressing my self. Okay I have maybe one or two more questions concerning sneaking. Here's an example scenario that will hopefully convey my confusion:

So it's the very first turn of the game. There are no monsters in sight and it's my thief's turn. I announce that I'm going to sneak. At this point a Feat of Dexterity roll must be made.

-1st question at this point: Should the thief or the Dragon Master make the roll?

Continue...Okay let's say the thief rolls and he rolls a 7...yay! He's being sneaky? At that point is the thief considered "invisible and silent" as long as he only moves half his speed and doesn't attack? Does checking for and disarming traps break stealth? Do I need to roll any additional checks to maintain stealth?

Alternate scenario...Let's say the dragon master rolls the Feat of Dexterity roll himself. Do I just move the thief around ASSUMING he is "invisible and silent"? Of course if I see a monster and it doesn't attack me then I'll know for sure I succeeded.

I think that's it. I hope it made sense. Thanks for all the clarification. I'm obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed.

[Malcadon]

Bud, I appreciate the replies and I apologize for all the questions. I just want to make sure I understood your thoughts here and, admittedly, I'm pretty poor at expressing my self. Okay I have maybe one or two more questions concerning sneaking.

I think that's it. I hope it made sense. Thanks for all the clarification.

No problem at all.

-1st question at this point: Should the thief or the Dragon Master make the roll?

The Dragon Master.

Unlike normal Feats, this type of Feat works best when the players cannot see the result. In the regular rules, the Heroes acts first, followed by the Monsters. So as the Thief player would not know how a monster would react until the monsters move and attack, the result is kept from the player so the player would not react with "OK, that roll failed. I should avoid entering new areas until I succeed."

Continue...Okay let's say the thief rolls and he rolls a 7...yay! He's being sneaky? At that point is the thief considered "invisible and silent" as long as he only moves half his speed and doesn't attack? Does checking for and disarming traps break stealth? Do I need to roll any additional checks to maintain stealth?

Preforming any "action" brakes the stealth. Also, the normal rules say that you can only preform only one "action" (along with moving) a turn, but sneaking would be an action. The only exception to this is (house) rule is attacking, which grants a sneak attack.

Alternate scenario...Let's say the dragon master rolls the Feat of Dexterity roll himself. Do I just move the thief around ASSUMING he is "invisible and silent"? Of course if I see a monster and it doesn't attack me then I'll know for sure I succeeded.

As noted above, you have to assume you succeeded, as you -- the player -- don't know if you really succeeded or not. If you failed and try to sneak past some monsters, they will attack as soon as it is their turn do do so. If the Thief is alone and and surrounded by tough monsters, the Thief is going to get herself in a really horrible scenario!! (Did I ever mention that as a Dungeon Master, I'm a real bastard? )

[Jazzdrummer]

Last question: Are additional Feat of Dexterity checks required after the initial one for sneaking? So if my thief wants to continue to sneak must she roll a new Feat of Dexterity check every turn?

EXAMPLE:

Turn 1 - Thief makes a Feat of Dexterity check to sneak. She then moves 3 squares forward. No monsters in sight.
Turn 2 - Does the thief need to make a new 'sneak' roll or does the first one from Turn 1 carry over?
Turn 3 - Again does the thief need to make a new 'sneak' roll or does the one from Turn 1 still apply?

Does that make sense?

My assumption here is that only one roll is required and, assuming you succeeded, you are in a state of stealth till you break it. Even with a d12 you only have a 50% chance of success. If you had to make sneak rolls every turn the likelyhood of failure at some point is pretty high. On the other hand if only one roll is required the thief could just sneak all over the entire board to reveal everything. Or is the idea here that you only use sneak once monsters are revealed?

Sorry again for the confusion.

[Daedalus]

Reading the discussion of sneaking, an alternative came to mind. Since the monsters don't react to a thief until their turn, why not let the Thief players control their own fate and roll the Feat of Dexterity check after completing their turn? Theives still need to commit to movement and an action without certainty of sneaking this way. Only a sneak attack would need to be rolled after the Feat of Dexterity check.

[Jazzdrummer]

Hey Daedalus,

The part I'm confused on is when does the thief roll the sneak check? I'm assuming right when monsters are sighted. So the thief would move and make his fear of dexterity check to sneak correct? Assuming he succeeds, could the thief make a sneak attack on that same turn or would he need to wait till his following turn? Could sneaking be done more than once in one fight?

[Goblin-King]

your dragon strike house rules are very strict

[Daedalus]

Hey Daedalus,

The part I'm confused on is when does the thief roll the sneak check? I'm assuming right when monsters are sighted. So the thief would move and make his fear of dexterity check to sneak correct? Assuming he succeeds, could the thief make a sneak attack on that same turn or would he need to wait till his following turn? Could sneaking be done more than once in one fight?

Yes, sneak when any monsters are sighted. Either they are placed as an interruption when a door is opened, or a Hero moves to a space that has line of sight to any monster. Roll one sneak for all monsters as a group. I wouldn't normally allow a sneak after a monster moved to a space with line of sight to the hero. Of course, a hero could try to sneak when starting in view if the attempt seems possible.

A sneak attack must be done on a following turn, as a hero may only perform one action per turn. A Feat may only be a single action. Sneaking, a Feat of Dexterity, is one action. Using a Sneak Attack card in conjunction with an attack is another action. (My comment in the post above was incorrect.)

As it is an invented Feat of Dexterity, sneaking can be done as many times in a fight as seems possible. The Dragon Master is the judge of this, but if the player can explain how the sneak is possible, the Dragon Master must allow the Hero to try. The Dragon Master can reject a sneak if it truly seems ridiculous.

Sneak attacks are limited by the number of Sneak Attack cards a Thief player elects to use in a fight. As sneak attack (an attack) is independent of sneaking (a Feat of Dexterity.)