Questions tagged [attack]
For questions about attacks. An attack is generally defined as an action to cause damage or some other debilitation, though specific RPGs may define the term more specifically.
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What does upper-case-A-Attack action vs. lower-case-a-attack mean?
What exactly is the difference between Attack action and attack?
It seems each time a question regarding this pops up, there's always somebody arguing they are not different. I feel there should be a ...
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How should I handle players wanting to aim their attacks at specific body parts?
My players have been asking to improvise specific combat actions, mostly the archer wanting to aim at specific body parts. I haven't been able to find anything in the DMG or the PHB on the subject so ...
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How many attacks can a fighter with two-weapon fighting make at 5th level?
I have a 5th level fighter with the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style.
What is the number of attacks I can make?
I say 4 attacks, but others say 3 because they say the rule on page 72 states that ...
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Is it better to dash or dodge across an open field?
Suppose I have to run 300 feet across an open field from one area of full cover to another. The entire time I'm in the open, I will be taking incoming ranged attacks, and I want to minimize the number ...
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What is a "Melee Spell Attack" and how does it differ from a regular spell?
In 5e a lot of the spells in both the Monster Manual and PHB talk about a spell being a "melee spell attack". Is this simply to do with the range of the spell or are there additional rules to rolling? ...
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Do you get to use the additional attack from the Extra Attack feature as well when you Ready an Attack action?
Do you get to use the additional attack from the Extra Attack feature as well when you Ready an Attack action?
One of my players, a monk, decided to Ready an action as an earth elemental was about to ...
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Does a fighter's Action Surge trigger Extra Attack?
Context
A player in my game will play a fighter with a greatsword. At 5th level he has Extra Attack and the option to use Action Surge. PHB p.72 states:
Action Surge. Starting at 2nd level, you ...
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How can I adjudicate a character attempting a "shield crush" attack to pin a creature?
In a recent game at my table, the cleric wanted to use his shield to pin a ghoul against the wall in order to stop it hitting people and make it easier to hit.
The player was thinking of it like a ...
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Is a character swallowed by a giant toad considered "unseen" on an attack against the toad, granting advantage (which cancels out disadvantage)?
When swallowed by a Giant Toad, you are Blinded and Restrained, both of which give you disadvantage on attacks.
However you also have "total cover against attacks and other effects outside the toad".
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Does Mirror Image affect spells that have no attack roll?
I have two questions concerning the mirror image spell.
If I am under the effect of mirror image and was targeted by a spell like blight, do I roll a 1d20 to determine whether myself or an image was ...
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Does a barbarian's rage end if they attack an illusion of a creature?
Here is the pertinent wording of the Rage feature:
Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked
unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile
creature ...
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What is the maximum number of attacks a single character can make themselves during their turn?
In a recent D&D game, I believe a member of the party was able to make six attacks during his turn (I actually lost count, so it might have been 5-7). Other characters seemed able to consistently ...
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How do I figure the dice and bonuses for attack rolls and damage rolls?
I'm building my character, a Half-Elf Ranger, and I'm a little confused about how to work out the attack bonus and the damage bonus.
So, please tell me if I've got this right:
I'm proficient with a ...
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Is an attack made with an unheld Dancing Sword considered made by the character or by the sword itself?
A Dancing Sword can be launched by its controller to make melee attacks at range:
You can use a bonus action to toss this magic sword into the air and speak the command word. When you do so, the ...
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Can you break up your Attack action for a bonus action?
You can do it to move:
If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks. For example, a fighter who can ...
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Can someone decide to be hit?
In this question, I asked about whether a character could willingly not use their shield or Dex bonus on certain attacks due to wanting to be hit. This raises the greater question-
Can someone decide ...
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Are there situations where high-damage single attacks are better than multiple attacks that add up to more damage overall?
In 3.5e/PF/other games, there are significant numbers of abilities that reduce damage by a flat value (DR 5/magic etc). In 5E, very few abilities/monsters seem to have flat damage reducers, instead ...
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Can Bards attack while Performing?
If a bard is Performing and he's playing, say, the flute, can he attack during the Performance?
At first, I'd say "no"; how do you swing a sword while playing?
But then in this thread I read:
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Can I Two-Weapon fight after Two-Handed-Weapon fighting?
Pick a class that has access to the Extra Attack feature. For my example, I'll use my standby, Fighter McFighterson.
Let us say that McFighterson is 20th level, and possesses the Dual Wielder feat. ...
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How do I handle a blinded enemy which wants to attack someone it's sure is there?
Say my players blinded a goblin, through either magical or non magical means, and the goblin knew that there was someone within 5 feet of it from before it got blinded. That goblin decides to flail ...
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What is the most damage that can be done in a single melee attack?
So, I was attempting to theory-craft a character that could deliver a massive amount of damage in a single melee attack. I know that there are builds to deliver a massive amount of damage in a single ...
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Can monk move between his extra and bonus attacks?
There are clean rules for moving between actions and between attacks granted by those action (e.g. a fighter with four attacks can move between them freely).
But the monk's Flurry of Blows feature is ...
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Can you move between the separate attacks of a spell?
Some spells (Eldritch Blast, Scorching Ray) involve making multiple attacks, in that they require multiple attack rolls. Under the movement section of the PHB, the "Moving Between Attacks" reads (PHB ...
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Can you use your off-handed weapon for your main attack action? [duplicate]
My friend is 2 weapon fighting a flesh golem. He has one sword that does lightning damage, and one sword that does fire damage. His right hand holds the lightning sword, and his left hand holds the ...
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Are you allowed to stack Divine Smite and Eldritch Smite on the same attack?
The specific example I'm looking at here is: you are a Paladin 2/Warlock 5 and snagged Eldritch Smite from XGTE as your 5th level Warlock Invocation.
This gives you access to both...
Divine Smite
...
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Are getting hit and taking damage simultaneous events?
I'm unsure whether getting hit and taking damage happen at the same or different times.
The armor of Agathys spell is an example of when this doesn't matter as it states:
If a creature hits you ...
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Can a player split up attacks like they can movement?
I didn't think so, but I've read a couple postings elsewhere that make me think otherwise.
Ex. A fighter with 'Extra Attack' from the PHB:
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of
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Does the Thrown property mean I can attack with my DEX?
On page 194 in the PHB for D&D 5e, it says:
The ability modifier used for melee weapon attack is Strength, and the ability modifier used for ranged weapon attack is Dexterity. Weapons that ...
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Does a zero-damage attack still count as a hit?
Does an attack roll that 'hits' according to an the attack roll, but deals zero damage (perhaps through damage reduction or through poor rolls and resistances, as in this question about raging ...
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Is an attack a check, or only similar to a check?
The Barbarian's Rage ability gives advantage on Strength checks and saving throws.
Does this mean that the Barbarian gets advantage to attack rolls as well? Is an attack a check, or since saving ...
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Does grappling count as a hit?
Grappling is described as a "special melee attack" that replaces a single attack in the Attack action.
There are a number of features and abilities that may be activated when one combatant hits ...
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How does a bat have +0 modifier to attack?
I am quite new to playing DND and I'm struggling to understand how a bat has +0 to attack. I'm clearly missing something, but as per my calculations:
A bat has a strength of 2 (-4 Modifier).
This is ...
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Does the fighter's Action Surge feature reset the free attack from the Gloom Stalker ranger's Dread Ambusher feature?
The Gloom Stalker ranger's Dread Ambusher feature states (XGtE, p. 41; emphasis added):
At the start of your first turn of each combat, your walking speed increases by 10 feet, which lasts until the ...
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If a character is stunned but still has attacks remaining, can they still make those attacks?
Suppose Alex is a fighter with the Extra Attacks feature, so each time they take the Attack action they can make two attacks. Alex attacks Sam, a Fighter/Monk with access to the Riposte Battle Master ...
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Are there attacks that are neither melee nor ranged?
I was looking at the slow spell and realized its description states:
Regardless of the creature's abilities or magic items, it can't make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn...
I ...
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When attacking with Spiritual Weapon, what must be concealed from the target for me to gain advantage?
Spiritual weapon claims that you make a melee spell attack against a target adjacent to your spiritual weapon. The rules for attacking while being unseen state that if the target cannot see you, you ...
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What counts as an attack?
I was looking over the class feature of the 'fiend' patron warlock in 5e. I'm a bit confused on what actions the player needs to take before they can use the 'Hurl Through Hell' ability on an enemy. ...
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Can a familiar use a Help action to grant advantage on an attack to a near by ally?
Can a familiar use a Help action to grant advantage on an Attack to a near by ally?
As I understand it, a familiar can aid in any action it can take itself. But by the spell Find Familiar, a normal ...
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What exactly does the Attack Bonus on weapons apply to?
Completely new to D&D; myself and some similarly inexperienced players jumped in with D&D 5e, using the premade characters for the starter set that was released. We searched around but couldn't ...
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Can a hidden character make an attack with the Spiritual Weapon spell and still remain hidden?
If my multi-classed Rogue (4)/Warlock (5) casts Spiritual Weapon, and then Hides...
Can he continue to control the Spiritual Weapon on his subsequent turns and remain Hidden? Or does attacking the ...
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If a monk reduces damage to 0 using Deflect Missiles, does the attack still hit?
If a monk catches an arrow, does the attack still hit?
The monk's feature Deflect Missiles says:
you can use your reaction to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged weapon ...
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If an attack causes additional damage after a saving throw, is it counted as a separate source of damage for the purpose of failed death saves?
If an attack causes additional damage after a saving throw, is it counted as a separate source of damage for the purpose of failed death saving throws? In other words, does it cause another failed ...
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What is the purpose of a spell attack modifier?
In the 5e Player's Handbook, the Wizard Class on page 114 defines a spell attack modifier, but the spells I have looked at all specify attack damage without using this modifier or mentioning it. I can'...
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Is a melee spell attack also a melee attack?
The absorb elements spell says:
The spell captures some of the incoming energy, lessening its effect on you and storing it for your next melee attack. You have resistance to the triggering damage ...
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When attacking while invisible, when exactly does invisibility break?
When using spells such as Invisibility and Mislead, and features or abilities such as the One with Shadows invocation and Misty Escape, you may become invisible and remain invisible until certain time ...
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Can you attack with different weapons using Extra Attack?
The fighter's Extra Attack feature (PHB, p. 72) says:
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Assuming I am holding two ...
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How does the Drow House Captain's whip attack work?
The Drow House Captain (MToF, pg. 184) has a whip attack with the following description (bold for emphasis):
Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4) slashing ...
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Does the extra attack from Great Weapon Master apply to all melee weapons?
The Great Weapon Master feat (PHB, pg. 167) states:
On your turn, when you score a critical hit with a melee weapon or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with one, you can make one melee weapon ...
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Can I cast a spell and attack in the same turn?
Specifically I am asking as a level 1 Half-elf Bard. As far as I know he doesn't have any dual wielding capabilities yet, or anything that states he has a bonus action to attack.
So I'm wondering if ...
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Is the Hunter ranger's Volley feature considered a single attack or multiple attacks?
The Hunter ranger's 11th-level Multiattack feature has two options. One of them is Volley:
You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point ...
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