I have a hard time using backstabbing in BG. I mean, I've done it, and it can be devastating, but I have a hard time deciding to do it.
I get the idea of hiding in shadows, and scouting ahead. But I can't really backstab many of the adversaries I find while scouting unless I'm doing some pretty serious metagaming. The vast majority of adversaries aren't hostile until after some sort of interaction with my party. I know they are going to attack, but my thief doesn't know that.
Then, from a role playing perspective, it always seems a bit off if my thief runs away to find a spot to hide while the rest of the party is actively engaged in combat. Yeah, it might be for the greater good if he/she can hide, and then come back and deliver a devastating backstab, but it still seems wrong.
How do you make backstabbing work for you? Do you repeatedly hide and stab in the heat of battle? Do you have your rogue hidden in the shadows before every encounter, just in case it turns hostile? Or do you just metagame it, and backstab the baddies before the party interaction?
I get the idea of hiding in shadows, and scouting ahead. But I can't really backstab many of the adversaries I find while scouting unless I'm doing some pretty serious metagaming. The vast majority of adversaries aren't hostile until after some sort of interaction with my party. I know they are going to attack, but my thief doesn't know that.
Then, from a role playing perspective, it always seems a bit off if my thief runs away to find a spot to hide while the rest of the party is actively engaged in combat. Yeah, it might be for the greater good if he/she can hide, and then come back and deliver a devastating backstab, but it still seems wrong.
How do you make backstabbing work for you? Do you repeatedly hide and stab in the heat of battle? Do you have your rogue hidden in the shadows before every encounter, just in case it turns hostile? Or do you just metagame it, and backstab the baddies before the party interaction?