[RPG] How does sneak attack add to a rogue’s damage at each level

dnd-3.5eroguesneak-attack

Looking at the D&D 3.5 Player's Hand Book and seeing the progression of rogues, I saw:

Level 1 ~ Sneak attack +1d6

Why do they need to put the plus there, to show that you are adding +1d6 to the attack roll if you succeed in a sneak attack?

I have this much:

My Rapier 1d8 rolled an 8, and Sneak Attack +1d6 Rolled a 6. Therefore,
the total damage to attack from level 1 Rogue is 14 damage before modifiers.

I still don't understand however, how the "+2d6" from a level 3 rogue interacts with all of these bonuses. Is is that the rogue only gets a 2d6 to damage or are we using that + symbol for a reason?

Which of the following is true for a level 3 rogue:

  • Rapier 1d8 Rolled an 8, Sneak Attack +2d6 rolled 12. Therefore, a level 3 rogue total damage is 20 damage before mods

OR

  • Sneak attack ( From level 1 = +1d6 ) Rolled a 6, and Sneak Attack ( from lev 3 = +2d6) Rolled a 12 giving us 8+6+12 = 26 damage before mods?

Best Answer

This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and it increases by 1d6 every two rogue levels thereafter.

The damage bonus is not cumulative. It increases every odd level, 1d6 at 1st 2d6 at 3rd and so on. Your first guess is correct.

P.S : Rapier is 1d6 not 1d8 if you are medium sized.

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