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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Can the Guiding Bolt spell be aimed at an invisible target?
Most spells state that the target must be something you can see. for example the magic missile spell says:
Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range.
But recently I ...
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Can I use the same weapon for a normal attack and Two-Weapon Fighting in the same turn?
Two-weapon fighting rules, per the Player's Handbook (page 195):
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to ...
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Does Extra Attack stack with Haste?
At level 5 Fighters get the Extra Attack ability, allowing them to make more than one attack as part of an Attack action.
Haste also enables people to make additional attacks.
Do the extra attacks ...
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Can I use one of my attacks to cast a cantrip?
In the D&D campaign I am currently participating in, I am playing as a level 5 high elf champion (I actually just reached level 5 at the end of the last session).
As a High Elf, I got a free ...
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Order of attacks when using Two Weapon Fighting and Extra Attack
Both Two Weapon Fighting and Extra Attack give additional attacks in a turn, but in what order do those attacks take place? Is it up to the player, or must it be a specific order?
My initial ...
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Can I draw a weapon before making a bonus-action attack and get the damage bonus from the Dueling fighting style?
I've got a character with the Dueling fighting style who fights with a rapier while keeping their other hand free. They also have a dagger sheathed.
The way I see it, my character can perform a ...
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How does two-weapon fighting work?
I'm quite confused about attacking with two weapons in both hands and wondering what is required to be able to do to (in Pathfinder).
1. Base Attack Bonus
Looking at the base attack bonus tables for ...
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Can you make a bonus-action attack from Two-Weapon Fighting before you take your action?
The rules on Two-Weapon Fighting state:
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different ...
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How similar to normal attacks are attacks made with a telekinetic violent thrust?
The 5th-level Sor/Wiz spell telekinesis [trans] (PH 292) allows the caster to
move objects or creatures by concentrating on them.… [T]he spell can… exert a single short, violent thrust [allowing] the ...
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When exactly have you "taken/used the Attack action"?
There are several features with phrases similar to "When you take the Attack action" and I am wondering when exactly you have "taken the Attack action", I have found several questions and features ...
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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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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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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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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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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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Does Flame Blade count as a weapon for Green-Flame Blade?
The description for the green-flame blade spell (SCAG, p. 143) says:
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's ...
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Would improvised weapons work with cantrips like Green-Flame Blade and Booming Blade?
Green-Flame Blade:
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee
attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range,
otherwise the spell fails.
This ...
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Can a PC attack themselves with an unarmed strike?
Let's say a PC attempts to punch herself. Can she do so?
If the PC is willing and deliberate, can she miss?
Does she make an attack roll? If so, what AC is she trying to hit?
How much damage would it ...
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Does two-weapon fighting give any penalties to the offhand attack?
I understand that you have to use the two weapon fighting style to add your ability modifier to damage, but I was wondering if there were any penalties to the offhand attack modifier?
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Do I add my ability modifier to the damage of the bonus-action attack granted by the Crossbow Expert feat?
The Two-Weapon Fighting rule says:
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon
that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack
with a different ...
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How does the Ranger's Extra Attack feature work with Two-Weapon Fighting?
I think I know the answer to this one but I'm double checking.
At the 5th level the Ranger gets Extra Attack, which lets them attack a second time during the Attack action. If they are fighting with ...
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Does the Slow spell limit the number of Eldritch Blast beams?
This question comes from something stated in an answer to another one of my questions:
[Regarding eldritch blast] This spell allows you to make a single attack that targets multiple creatures, by ...
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Can one attack for damage after having grappled an opponent?
The grappling rules sure are... light. Supposing one has an Extra Attack:
Assuming one has successfully grappled an opponent with one's first attack, can one then perform a normal attack action with ...
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Are the natural weapon attacks of a druid in Wild Shape magical?
The description for the druid's Wild Shape feature declares that the transformation is magical:
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have ...
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If a creature attacks a target warded by Sanctuary but fails the save, do they lose the attack/spell if there is no other target immediately in range?
Take a simple scenario as an example:
A cleric casts sanctuary
An enemy wielding a spear attempts to make a melee attack at the
cleric with his spear
The enemy fails his Wisdom save, and thus can't ...
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When does a power count as an attack?
I thought it was pretty simple: a power's an attack if it says Attack in the top right. Apparently, it's not that simple. I keep hearing there are other conditions a power must fulfil to count ...
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How many iterative attacks does an epic creature with class levels get?
A naztharune rakshasa (MM3 136-7) has from its Hit Dice a Base Attack Bonus of +11, 8 levels of rogue granting a Base Attack Bonus of +6, and 6 levels of scout (CW 10-13) granting a Base Attack Bonus ...
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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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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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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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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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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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What happens to extra attacks after you kill your declared target
Say I decide I want to attack a Gnoll Pack Lord 10 feet away from me and I have 3 attacks. I roll 3 times and each roll is a hit. If my first two attacks kill the Gnoll, can I use the third on one of ...
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Can a Battle Master fighter with Extra Attack use the Commander's Strike maneuver after he throws a net?
When a character uses the Attack action to throw a net, he can only make one attack, regardless of the number of attacks he normally has (ex: 2 from the Level 5 Fighter's Extra Attack).
A Battle ...
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How do I know which attack a creature would use for an opportunity attack?
Take for example a Ruffian CR 1/2 creature, he has a Multiattack Action of 2 Shortswords both with a reach of 5 ft so when something provokes an Opportunity Attack against it, it is obvious that the ...
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Can you interpose an Action Surge Dash between two attacks?
If a fighter has Extra Attack giving them two attacks, and they want to use one attack on one creature, and the next attack on a different creature that is farther than they can move using their ...
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For a basic unarmed strike, is only the proficiency bonus included in the attack roll, or is the Strength modifier also added?
The Player's Handbook, Chapter 9, states about attack rolls:
The ability modifier used for a melee weapon attack is Strength
A bit later on it also states about melee attacks:
Instead of using a ...
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If a Slow spell ends due to a failed concentration (CON) saving throw, does the attacker get to make any remaining attacks?
The Slow spell (PHB 277) requires concentration and states the following:
Regardless of the creature's abilities or magic items, it can't make
more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn....
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How to calculate the attack rolls and ability checks for monsters?
Very new player here. Looking at the stat block of a goblin: for a shortbow attack it says +4 to hit and the goblin has a Dex modifier of +2.
Does this mean I add 6 to the d20 roll or just the 4 and ...
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Does the Rogue's Assassinate feature grant criticals on multiple attacks?
Does the Rogue's Assassinate feature (auto-crit on surprised targets) allow for multiple crits if you make multiple attacks that round, either through two-weapon fighting or extra attacks gained ...
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Is the reaction from the third benefit of the Sentinel feat considered an opportunity attack?
The third benefit of the Sentinel feat is described as follows (PHB, p. 169):
When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn’t have this ...
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How many attack rolls do I need to make for an area attack?
I'm having trouble shaking this answer out of my PHB.
Scenario: I cast a spell that affects a 3x3 area. How many attack rolls do I make? Do I make one per creature in the area (IE, like 4e), or one ...
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Does a natural 20 on an attack cause a critical hit (even if the attack would have missed)?
Related question
I was going over the degrees of success rules in relation to the above question and it's answers and came across a bit of rules that seem contradictory.
Step 4: Determine degree of ...
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Is the Help action an example of, or an exception to, Working Together?
The Help action is described in Chapter 9 of the PHB (emphasis mine):
You can lend your aid to another creature in the completion of a task. When you take the Help action, the creature you aid gains ...
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How does a Gloom Stalker's Dread Ambusher's timing interact with Extra Attack?
This is a follow-up to this question.
The Gloom Stalker Ranger from Xanathar's Guide to Everything gets the Dread Ambusher feature at level 3, which says (pg. 42):
At the start of your first turn ...
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Dual Wielding and Extra Attacks [duplicate]
From the Rules (EXTRA ATTACK)
"Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn."
If I have the EXTRA ATTACK feature (level 5), AND I ...
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Does a spell that requires an attack roll count as an "attack" for familiars?
In the subsection about attacking (as opposed to the subsection about spellcasting), it says:
A few spells also involve making a melee attack.
...
When you make a ranged attack, you fire a bow or a
...
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Can you choose to use abilities like Stunning Strike or Divine Smite after rolling damage?
There are certain abilities that require you to first make a hit, then you can choose whether or not to use that ability.
Two examples that I can think of are a monk's Stunning Strike and a paladin's ...
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Is a Bugbear's Long Limbed reach also applied to shoves and grapples?
In this question, I have been told the difference between a "melee attack" (which, if I understand correctly, Shoves and Grapples are) and a "melee weapon attack" (which they are not).
A Bugbear's ...
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What is the longest distance a 13th-level monk can jump while attacking on the same turn?
Context
During last session in a game that I GM, the party got ambushed by NPC monks leaping from the trees. They were hiding high up in very big Sawtooth Oak Trees, then jumped in a horizontal ...
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