Is a Greatclub a club in regards to the Shillelagh spell?

Question

I know that according to a strict interpretation of the RAW it isn't since the spell description only mention club and quarterstaff and makes no mention of greatclubs.

However, considering the nature of human language both clubs and greatclubs are clubs and can be referred to by the common term club. (After all how big must a club be to be called great?)

So I guess the essences of my question is how do we know the game's designers didn't fall in the trap of using a common name for two very similar items because that's the human thing to do?

So is there some precedence where the rules refer to type of weapons as group, such as bows and doesn't specifically name each weapon or vice verse?

After all, like with the quarterstaff the spell doesn't actually boost a greatclub statswise so using one would only be flavor, so excluding greatclubs doesn't really make sense.

Answer 1

There are no weapon groups as in previous editions

Bows, axes, maces, etc. are not grouped as a weapon property in 5e. The only keywords that seem to be used are those like finesse, heavy, and reach to denote particular abilities of a weapon. As such a club and a greatclub are not grouped under a "club" type.

For the purposes of the Shillelagh your really only can use a club or quarterstaff

It might even imply that it needs to be wooden which would certainly go with the flavor of the class. Further a great club takes up two hands for the same exact 1d8 of damage that Shillelagh deals. As a cantrip it can be cast every single turn and because it lets you keep a hand free and makes the damage dealt magical (and thus avoids mundane damage resists) it is the obvious choice to use.

Answer 2

This precedent exists for prior editions of D&D; however at this time there is no mechanical relation of weapons of similar kind or name beyond the ones that are codified (with the exception of crossbows which are a bit different). That being the keywords (finesse, heavy, light etc), the types (simple or martial), and the damage types (bludgeoning, slashing, piercing).

You can see a marked difference between 4e's weapon listings and 5e's. In 4e the weapon type was a keyword. In 5e there are no weapon type keywords.

This is perhaps most evident in the weapon proficiency descriptions for Dwarf. They could easily say "you have proficiency with axes and hammers", but instead they enumerate which axes and hammers with which the dwarf gains proficiency.

It seems clear to me that the intent is for each weapon to be its own special snowflake, and not be classed as a "group" of weapons beyond the codified mechanical groups. This is a divergence from past editions, but it seems to be fairly consistently dealt with this way in the mechanics.

Answer 3

Yeah turns out the answer was really stupid simple.

The a club in Shillelagh's spell description only refers to a normal club and not a all types of clubs including greatclubs because Shillelagh is a druid spell and druids lack proficiency in greatclubs. So it makes perfect sense that the spell doesn't include weapons a druid can't use.

Answer 4

After all, like with the quarterstaff the spell doesn't actually boost a greatclub statswise so using one would only be flavor, so excluding greatclubs doesn't really make sense.

Yes, exactly.

Since the Shileligh spell only increases a club to 1d8, and a greatclub already has that damage die, there is literally no risk of imbalance if a multiclass druid, who is proficient in the greatclub, wishes to use it as the target of said spell in lieu of a common club or quarterstaff.

The only benefit you gain is a few extra lbs of encumberance, from not having to lug around a club just in case you want to fight something magical. (On the other hand, since shileligh is a canptrip you also don't gain any real benefit from lugging around a greatclub when a club or staff would do just as much damage.)