[RPG] Sniping: How Does It Work

combatdnd-3.5estealth

The Player's Handbook says the following about sniping:

Sniping: If you’ve already successfully hidden at least 10 feet from your target, you can make one ranged attack, then immediately hide again. You take a -20 penalty on your Hide check to conceal yourself after the shot. […]

Action: Usually none. Normally, you make a Hide check as part of movement, so it doesn’t take a separate action. However, hiding immediately after a ranged attack (see Sniping, above) is a move action. (PH 76)

Questions

  • Does this specific rule (being able to take a move action to hide after making a ranged attack) take precedence over the general rule of hide requiring a creature be unobserved and possess either concealment or cover?
  • Does taking the move action after sniping also allow the sniper to actually move–that is, travel from one square into another–or does taking the move action only allow the sniper to hide again where he already is?
  • If the sniping creature doesn't take the move action to hide after sniping, is the sniping creature's position automatically revealed? (This is especially relevant with regards to Example 3, below.)

The Disconnect

If I'm reading this correctly–and I might not be, hence the question–an attacker who strikes from surprise while hidden is more likely to be discovered after and while he attacks if he attacks his foe from at least 10 ft. away with a ranged weapon than if he attacks his foe with a melee weapon.

Example 1
A wields a loaded crossbow and waits in an alley for B to walk by. A is unobserved and has concealment. B walks by. An opposed skill check is made (A's Hide skill versus B's Spot skill). A wins the opposed skill check. A's presence is unknown to B. A fires his crossbow during the surprise round at B.

A, however, can't take a move action to make a Hide skill check after that ranged attack. It's the surprise round, and he's used his standard action for attacking.

Example 2
A wields a short sword and waits in an alley for B to walk by. A is unobserved and has concealment. B walks by. An opposed skill check is made (A's Hide skill versus B's Spot skill). A wins the opposed skill check. A's presence is unknown to B. A, during the surprise round, makes a melee attack versus B .

The requirement to take a move action to hide again is absent during–let's call it–backstabbing. Instead, we go by this sentence: "It's practically impossible (-20 penalty) to hide while attacking, running, or charging" (PH 76). This means, unlike a sniper, A can make an opposed check (A's Hide skill with a -20 penalty versus B's Spot skill) during the surprise round to remain hidden.

Example 3
A wields a loaded crossbow and waits on on a cliff overlooking a valley for B to walk by. A is unobserved and has a low obstacle for cover. B, 360 ft. away, walks by. An opposed skill check is made (A's Hide skill versus B's Spot skill at -36 for distance). A wins the opposed skill check. A's presence is unknown to B. A, during the surprise, fires his crossbow round at B.

As it's the surprise round A can't–after taking his standard action to attack–then immediately take a move action to make a Hide skill. Does B know A's position automatically?

Best Answer

As you have analyzed in detail, there is a disconnect.

Effectively, we have two ways to use the Hide skill. One is the way it is usually (sic) done - as part of another action. Another is Sniping, which has its own action requirement.

However, since the first option allows hiding as part of an attack (note: an unspecified, general, attack), it encompasses every instance in which we might want to use the Sniping option. Since the Sniping option has an additional action requirement, it is useless, eclipsed by the "usual" method of hiding.

To answer your specific question: Yes, should combatant A foolishly decide to use the Sniping option of the Hide skill, combatant B automatically sees them, as A does not have the actions required to hide.

I suggest resolving all situations involving sniping using the "usual" rule (the one you described in Example 2). The sniping rule is broken.