using magehand with arcane trickster?

[Asuryan9]

So I'm going to be getting involved in a 5e game soonish. It's been years and years since I've played. I was looking to roll a ranged arcane trickster that somehow uses his magehand to help him hide when there aren't many places so he can always get the sneak attack each round.

The only thing I came up with was carrying around a blanket or something similar with a rod across the top and bottom. Use the hand to hold top rod and flee behind it if there was nothing else to hide behind.

Anyone have any other ideas?
or any fun uses for the hand at all?

Thanks so much
-Steve-

[MadBear]

Be sure that your DM agree's that, the tactic will work. Depending on how you interpret the hide rules, you may or may not be wasting your time hiding behind a blanket. (see the halfling's hiding behind people thread for more details)

[Person_Man]

Rogue Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395706-Person_Man%92s-5E-Rogue-Guide) might be handy to you.

Before your play an Arcane Trickster, talk to your DM.

Mage Hand is an Action to cast, which means you generally need to cast it before combat in order for it to be useful in combat, because it usually doesn't make sense to waste an Action in combat that you could otherwise spend making an attack or doing something more useful.

In addition, Mage Hand has a Verbal and Somatic component, potentially revealing your position to enemies if you attempt to cast it while hiding, potentially ruining any ambush you're setting up.

Many DMs will allow a house rule that lets Arcane Tricksters to cast Mage Hand as a Bonus Action without a Verbal component. If your DM does, then it can be very useful. It can arguably also be used to do everything that Fast Hands could do as a Bonus Action (drink or administer a potion, apply poison, deploy caltrops/etc, use a Healer's Kit, etc) because Mage Hand allows you to "manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial" in addition to the uses granted to you for being an Arcane Trickster.

If your DM requires RAW though, you might prefer an Assassin Rogue or Bard or Shadow Monk instead.


Also, you wouldn't want to use your Bonus Action for Mage Hand to set up a condition to hide and then spend your Action on Hide, because then you've wasted your turn. You want to set up a situation where you can just use Cunning Action to Hide as a Bonus Action when you need to. You can do this automatically if you're in an area of darkness and your enemies don't have Darkvision, or if you run around the corner and out of site of your enemies first, or play a Halfling or Wood Elf in the situations where their special abilities related to hiding apply, or you could take the Skulker Feat, etc.

Its also not required to set up Sneak Attack, which is triggered if you have Advantage, or if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have Disadvantage on the attack roll. Note that you don’t have to be standing anywhere near your target. They just need to be near an enemy (probably one of your allies) and you can’t have Disadvantage on the attack. This is much easier then the "flanking" requirement from previous editions, which would be impossible in 5E, since spaces and facing don't exist.

[iTreeby]

The best use i've seen of mage hand is to steal the arrows out of a quiver during a fight. the best hypothetical use is probably wedgie.

[Maxilian]

The best use i've seen of mage hand is to steal the arrows out of a quiver during a fight. the best hypothetical use is probably wedgie.

These's a great idea, you could also use it to steal the enemy weapon before the fight start, or to poison the enemy food while they are camping

[JFahy]

The best use i've seen of mage hand is to steal the arrows out of a quiver during a fight. the best hypothetical use is probably wedgie.

"Bigby's Atomic Wedgie".

[Asuryan9]

Thanks everyone, few very good points and ideas. Appreciate it.

[Myzz]

I personally think Minor Image is better to hide behind then mage hand anyways...

my signature move is make a flourish with Cape, cast image of the cape suspended in the air and bonus action to hide behind that and move away.

Hopefully by the time they realize thats not your cape anymore, your either running away, or stabbing them in the back!

[RedMage125]

"Bigby's Atomic Wedgie".

I dig this.

3.5's "Bigby's Slapping Hand" was frequently called "Bigby's Pimp Slap" by my players.