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Does Sneak Attack Benefit from a Critical Hit in D&D 5e?

Sneak Attack dice double on a qualifying critical hit in both the 2014 and revised 2024 D&D rules. Flat modifiers are added once; 2024 Cunning Strike reduces the dice before doubling.
WorldD&D 5e? Length1 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Yes. In both the 2014 fifth-edition rules and the revised 2024 rules, a critical hit doubles the Sneak Attack damage dice—provided the attack qualifies for Sneak Attack. Add applicable flat modifiers once, not twice.

How Sneak Attack works on a critical hit

A critical hit doubles the attack’s damage dice. That includes both the weapon’s damage dice and the Sneak Attack dice. Relevant modifiers, such as an ability modifier, are added once as normal.

The 2014 Basic Rules explicitly say to roll Sneak Attack dice twice on a critical hit. The revised 2024 rules say the same in the official System Reference Document 5.2.

Example: calculating the damage

A 5th-level Rogue with 3d6 Sneak Attack who scores a qualifying critical hit rolls 6d6 for Sneak Attack. The weapon’s damage dice are also rolled twice; add the applicable modifier once.

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The critical hit does not itself grant Sneak Attack. The Rogue must still meet the feature’s eligibility conditions for that attack.

2024 Cunning Strike and critical hits

Under the 2024 rules, a Rogue using Cunning Strike subtracts the chosen die cost from the Sneak Attack dice before rolling. A critical hit then doubles the dice that remain. For example, if a Rogue spends 1d6 from a 3d6 Sneak Attack, the remaining 2d6 become 4d6 on a qualifying critical hit.

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Do the 2014 and 2024 rules differ?

For this question, the result is the same in both versions: double the weapon and Sneak Attack damage dice, but add flat modifiers once. D&D Beyond labels the revised rules “5.5e” and the 2014 rules “5e”; both versions remain supported and compatible, according to its March 2, 2026 note on the 2024 Rogue comparison. Follow the rules version your table has adopted, including any applicable house rules or supplements.

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