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Can Sneak Attacks with Rakish Audacity can be done with Ranged Attacks? Cause RAW it mention You SA within 5ft of foe, no ally within 5th of the Rogue, and not disadvantaged. I don't know if these are separate bullet point or all together.

Example

Rakish Audacity Sneak Attack can be done

  • with 5ft of foe
  • no ally is within 5ft of Rogue
  • not disadvantaged

or

must be next to your foe with no allies in reach, and not disadvantaged

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Jhyarelle Silver
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1 Answers1

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Rakish Audacity can be used if you don't have disadvantage with ranged weapon attacks within 5 feet.

From the Swashbuckler rogue archetype (XGtE, p. 47):

You also gain an additional way to use your Sneak Attack; you don’t need advantage on the attack roll to use your Sneak Attack against a creature if you are within 5 feet of it, no other creatures are within 5 feet of you, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. All the other rules for Sneak Attack still apply to you.

Thus a Swashbuckler rogue can make a sneak attack if one (or more) of the following conditions are met:

  • You're using a finesse or ranged weapon, and you have advantage on the attack roll.

  • You're using a finesse or ranged weapon, and another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, and that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

  • You're using a finesse or ranged weapon, and you're within 5 feet of the target, and no other creatures are within 5 feet of you, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Normally, when you make a ranged attack against a creature within 5 feet, the attack roll has disadvantage, which doesn't work with Rakish Audacity.

Aiming a ranged attack is more difficult when a foe is next to you. When you make a ranged attack with a weapon, a spell, or some other means, you have disadvantage on the attack roll if you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature who can see you and who isn't incapacitated.

However, if you have some way of making a ranged attack within 5 ft without disadvantage, then you could use Rakish Audacity using that way.

For example, characters with the Crossbow Expert feat (PHB, p. 165) don't have disadvantage on ranged attacks against a hostile target within 5 feet.

Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.

This benefit applies to any ranged attack, as Sage Advice confirms:

The second benefit of Crossbow Expert prevents you from suffering that disadvantage, whether or not the ranged attack is with a crossbow.

So if you have Crossbow Expert, and the other conditions for Rakish Audacity (5 feet from your target and no other creatures within 5 feet of you) are met, then your ranged attack qualifies for Sneak Attack.

MikeQ
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  • So the attack has to be done to a foe within 5ft for the Sneak Attack to count and not when no ally is within 5ft of you and not disadvantaged. All three happens in tandem. – Jhyarelle Silver Dec 15 '18 at 00:05
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    Commenting to point out that the attack does not have to be made with a crossbow. Crossbow expert allows you to make any type of ranged attack within 5' of a hostile creature without it imposing disadvantage. – cpcodes Dec 15 '18 at 01:27
  • I found myself in a situation if SA is applicable via Rakish Audacity. I have a rogue with Crossbow Expertise. No allies within 5 ft of him and his target is 25 ft away with no creatures within 5ft of it. Does Rakish Audacity apply here to deal SA damage said target. – Jhyarelle Silver Jul 04 '19 at 00:19
  • @JhyarelleSilver No. As written above, the text says Rakish Audacity applies "if you are within 5 feet of" the target. If the target is 25 feet away, then it is too far. – MikeQ Jul 04 '19 at 00:22