I am playing a shortsword-wielding monk/rogue. I know unarmed strikes do not qualify for Sneak Attack.
My question is: At later levels, can I sub in my monk damage die from Martial Arts (which will eventually be better than the 1d6 on a shortsword) and still be considered to be using the shortsword, and thus take advantage of its Finesse property to also use Sneak Attack?
I do understand that this changes the weapon die and NOT the sneak attack die.
From a roleplaying perspective, I imagine it as being that rather than simply having unarmed strikes that are more effective, I actually enhance my use of the shortsword with my martial arts because it is a monk weapon, and thus improve its intrinsic damage to match my base damage as a skilled monk.
Best Answer
Yes, this is possible
Sneak attack's requirements state that:
While the Martial Arts monk features changes the dice of the weapon or unarmed strike used:
Furthermore, note that the Martial Arts feature does not change the properties of the used weapon or the weapon itself. Since the shortsword is both a monk weapon and a finesse weapon it qualifies for both abilities.
Do note that the Martial Arts feature changes only the dice of the weapon used so the sneak attack dice would not be affected