'Game of Thrones' Showed A Classic 'Dungeons & Dragons' Mechanic in Action

The latest episode of Game of Thrones perfectly captured how a Rogue's sneak attack ability works in Dungeons & Dragons. BE WARNED, as spoilers for Game of Thrones follows. "The Long Night" featured the long-awaited fight between the White Walkers and the combined forces of Daenerys Targaryan and Jon Snow. The battle ended not with a confrontation between Snow and the sinister Night's King as many fans thought, but rather with Snow's sister Arya Stark sneaking up on the Night's King and stabbing him in the gut, causing him (and his entire army) to literally explode into a thousand pieces.

A fierce debate has popped up over the ending of the episode, since some fans believed that a seemingly all-powerful ice creature couldn't be killed by an eighteen year old girl with a knife (that, mind you, was made of a material that could specifically kill it.) However, fans of Dungeons & Dragons shouldn't be surprised with Arya getting the killing blow, as it was a perfect representation of a Sneak Attack in the game. In D&D's Fifth Edition ruleset, a rogue gets a sneak attack bonus whenever they attack a creature within 5 feet of a non-incapacitated ally. In Arya's case, the Night King was within 5 feet of her brother Bran Stark, who is probably the closest thing we'll get to a druid in Game of Thrones. Even though the Night King saw Arya before she attacked (he must have higher passive perception than the other White Walkers, who didn't even notice Arya stealthing ahead), Arya was still guaranteed her Sneak Attack bonus when she landed her attack because of Bran's presence. Remember, D&D's rules as written do not state that an enemy needs to be actively engaged in combat with another ally - only that another non-incapacitated ally needs to be within 5 feet.

Hitting an opponent with a Sneak Attack means that Arya would get a MASSIVE bonus to her damage roll. Given that Arya is an experienced assassin (training with the Faceless Men will do that), she probably would get at least 8D6 or more in bonus damage in addition to whatever damage her Valyrian Catspaw Dagger did. Toss in her naturally high Dexterity modifier, and it's no surprise that the Night's King exploded into a thousand pieces due to a sheer overload in damage.

Arya is definitely a Rogue in Dungeons & Dragons, so her actions in the episodes shouldn't be a surprise in the least. All Arya did was roll really high on her Stealth check and then score a Sneak Attack when it counted the most, to end the threat of the White Walkers once and for all.

What D&D classes are other Game of Thrones characters? Let us know in the comment section or find me on Twitter at @CHofferCbus to talk all things D&D.

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