[L5Rd20] On sneak attacks and shuriken.

[Yael]

I was reading through the Legend of the Five Rings d20 supplements, and I came through the rule that allows throwing 3 shuriken as a single standard action at the same target (referenced in page 95 of the Way of the Ninja book). It mentions how it interacts with Rapid Shot, stating that it would allow to throw 6 shuriken (albeit at only two targets).

However, I do not seem to find where the mechanics for this shuriken throw is located at (in the L5R books), as I don't know if the attack rolls are separated (dealing 1 damage per hit) or part of the same (dealing 3 damage from a single hit), because this should interact in a powerful way with Sneak Attack, as it is a single action, every shuriken thrown with a different attack roll would have its own Sneak Attack die, so with the Rapid Shot combo, it would skyrocket up to 6 times your sneak attack die per turn (x3 per hit for the same target), and there is a Feat in the same book (way of the ninja) that allows throwing the three shuriken at different targets (at a -2 penalty), which would also interact strongly with Sneak Attack.

So, questions/help is...

Sneak Attack would be applied per hit, even after the first hit (as all three attacks are at the same time)? Or am I mistaken with this interpretation on how Sneak Attack works?

Do anyone know where the "throw three shuriken per attack" rule is located at?

[BloodSnake'sCha]

From what I know SA is one for every attack roll(AFB).

If you roll only one attack for thr 3 shurikens then you only get one SA.

[BWR]

From what I know SA is one for every attack roll(AFB).

If you roll only one attack for thr 3 shurikens then you only get one SA.

I concur. All the sources say "per attack", and since you only get one attack roll...

The three shuriken per attack is noted under the weapon itself in the 3.0 PHB, which L5R d20 uses as a base. It also notes that you cannot apply Strength modifiers to the damage roll, which is probably why they allowed people to throw three as a single attack.

[Florian]

That has been clarified ages ago. Precision damage like Sneak Attack only happens once per attack roll, no matter how many individual attacks are used. Shuriken are handled the same way like a, say, Scorching Ray (with multiple rays) in that you have to designate which one of the three is the one you want to deal SA damage with.

[Heliomance]

So, just how many shuriken can you throw in one go anyway?

Base: 3
Master Thrower: x2
Rapidshot: x2
Splitting shuriken: x2

I'm up to 24, but I'm certain we can get more on this

[Pleh]

So, just how many shuriken can you throw in one go anyway?

Base: 3
Master Thrower: x2
Rapidshot: x2
Splitting shuriken: x2

I'm up to 24, but I'm certain we can get more on this

Do these multipliers stack as your math suggests or add like crit multipliers?

[Heliomance]

Do these multipliers stack as your math suggests or add like crit multipliers?

Generally, when multiplying abstracts like damage, you add like crit multipliers, but when multiplying concrete things (like pointy bits of metal) you multiply as normal.

[Darrin]

Do anyone know where the "throw three shuriken per attack" rule is located at?

PHB, 3.0 edition.

In 3.5, the shuriken rules were revised, and you can no longer throw multiple shuriken with a single attack roll.

As far as I am aware, L5Rd20 assumes you are using the 3.0 rules.

The "Volley" rules in 3.0 were different as well. I'm not really sure you could call what the Rules Compendium did as a "clarification" (or even an improvement), but if you go by the Rules Compendium, you can only apply precision damage to multiple attacks when the action you're using for the attack is a full-round action. Any standard actions, swift actions, or immediate actions that allow you to make multiple attacks only allow precision damage on the first attack that hits.

In older versions of the FAQ, you could sometimes find an earlier (and easier) understanding of the "Volley Rule": Apply precision damage to each separate attack role once, regardless of the action used to start the attack. If multiple hits/projectiles use a single attack roll, then you only apply precision damage once. Under this "Volley Rule", throwing three shuriken with a single attack roll meant you could only apply precision damage to the first one that hits.

Many groups find the Rules Compendium version of the Volley rules to be so confusing, they just use the older version.