66
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to roll multiple attacks that all have advantage in one cluster?
Rolling 12d20 and taking the 6 highest is not equivalent
Taking the 6 highest rolls out of 12d20 is not equivalent to 6 attacks with advantage. It is significantly better. I could lay out the ...
- 64.2k
54
votes
Accepted
If I have both advantage and disadvantage, and my target has the Elusive rogue class feature, do I have disadvantage on the attack?
The attacking enemy has disadvantage on the roll.
The relevant quote from the PHB is here:
If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage
and disadvantage, you are considered to have ...
- 48.9k
52
votes
Accepted
What are my chances of rolling a natural 19/20 critical if I roll 3d20?
About 27%, or a little over 1/4
This is a pretty easy calculation to run in anydice:
As you can see, the percentage chance of rolling at least a 19 one of the d20 rolls is 27.10% So you can expect, on ...
- 26.7k
50
votes
Accepted
Does adamantine armor protect you from being beheaded by a vorpal sword?
No, the creature still loses its head
The effect of the vorpal sword is explicit:
...and roll a 20 on the attack roll, you cut off one of the creature's heads.
This wording in the item description ...
- 26.7k
48
votes
Does Fireball require a "to hit" roll against the target's AC?
No, it does not.
To resolve a spell, you just read the spell's description and follow those instructions. Unless it explicitly asks for an attack roll, you don't make one. See the chapter on Spells (...
- 82.2k
40
votes
Accepted
How much information should the defender have when deciding whether or not to cast Shield?
According to this tweet by Mike Mearls, you're supposed to know with certainty whether the shield is enough to protect you or not, so that you can't waste the spell, unless you choose to:
Querent: ...
- 486
38
votes
How do I figure the dice and bonuses for attack rolls and damage rolls?
All of the information presented below is gathered and derived from the stated rules found in Chapter 9: Combat, of the Player's Handbook for 5th Edition D&D, starting with page 189. Any ...
- 53.1k
36
votes
Is D&D Beyond correct in showing my ranger's attack bonus being higher than his Dex mod + bonus from Archery Fighting Style?
Proficiency bonus.
As a ranger you have proficiency with your bow, so your +2 proficiency bonus is added to your bonus to hit. The rule for “Modifiers to the Roll” in the Attack Rolls section of the ...
- 154k
34
votes
How much information should the defender have when deciding whether or not to cast Shield?
Whether it hits
Usually, the DM asks your AC before the play, and they take a note behind the screen. When they roll an attack behind the screen, they can immediately determine whether it hits or not....
- 33.1k
32
votes
Accepted
Which modifier shown in the D&D Beyond character sheet do I add to attack rolls with my longbow?
The +7 that D&D Beyond shows next to your Longbow attack is what you should add to your attack roll.
D&D Beyond adds the +3 Dexterity modifier that you circled, the +2 Proficiency Bonus that ...
- 11.3k
32
votes
Tarokka effect for a given die roll and critical success/miss. Is this balanced?
I would suggest against this.
It's your first time DMing and this session is one "that will introduce 3 players to the game", they won't want to have to deal with an extra set of rules that ...
- 10.2k
31
votes
As a monk, can you make a melee attack roll using your Strength modifier, but roll damage with your Dexterity modifier?
No
You must use the same ability modifier for damage and attack.
Basic Rules, Damage and Healing
When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability modifier--the same modifier used for the ...
- 23.4k
30
votes
Accepted
Does an attack hit if it exactly matches the target's AC?
From the PHB section on Attack Rolls, emphasis added:
If the total of the roll plus modifiers equals or exceeds the target's Armor Class (AC), the attack hits.
- 49k
30
votes
Would getting a natural 20 with a penalty still count as a critical hit?
Player's Handbook, page 194:
Rolling 1 or 20
[...] If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target's AC. In addition, the attack is a critical hit, as ...
- 78.3k
30
votes
Does a Champion fighter automatically hit someone wearing Adamantine Armor if they roll a 19 (or 18 at higher levels) on the attack roll?
Yes, the attack still hits
It follows from the wording of Adamantine Armor:
… any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit.
Improved critical hits are critical hits. Adamantine Armor turns ...
- 216k
28
votes
Accepted
For a basic unarmed strike, is only the proficiency bonus included in the attack roll, or is the Strength modifier also added?
Attack roll for unarmed strikes = d20 + proficiency bonus + Strength modifier.
Unarmed strikes are, in fact, melee weapon attacks - even though they're not made with a weapon. This is clarified in the ...
- 50.3k
28
votes
Accepted
Can you reroll an attack using the Lucky feat if you roll a natural 1?
Yes, you can reroll a 1 (or a 20)
Rolling a 1 or a 20 on an attack roll technically means the result is going to miss or hit. However, that does not necessarily mean the outcome is decided. There are ...
- 95.6k
28
votes
What ability modifier, if any, would apply to a firearm attack roll?
Dexterity
Every Firearm in the DMG (p. 268) is a Ranged weapon. And the rules state (PHB, p. 194)
the ability modifier used for a ranged weapon attack is Dexterity.
If the creature using the ...
- 38.4k
27
votes
Accepted
Does two-weapon fighting give any penalties to the offhand attack?
No, there is no concept of offhand attack (or related penalties) in 5e
Here are the general rules for two-weapon fighting:
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that ...
- 95.6k
27
votes
Accepted
Is there an accepted likelihood of hitting that is consistent across tiers, and how has it been determined?
Disclaimers:
I've never seen an "accepted" or "general" number thrown around, so this answer represents both my own feelings, and my own inference given the available data.
All ...
- 21.4k
27
votes
Accepted
What are my odds of a critical hit with my level 20 Champion?
Probability of at least one crit
The Great Weapon Master feat allows making an extra attack when scoring a critical or reducing a creature to zero hit points. I'll not cover the latter case since its ...
- 54.2k
25
votes
Accepted
If my character exchanges a crossbow for a longbow, how do my attack and damage rolls change?
Dueling doesn't work with ranged weapons
Specifically, the Dueling fighting style requires you to be:
wielding a melee weapon in one hand
Longbows and crossbows are ranged weapons, and in addition ...
- 48.9k
24
votes
Accepted
Is there anything that cancels out Small creatures' disadvantage to attack when using Heavy weapons?
A potion of growth or an enlargement spell
By changing to medium size, temporarily, that disadvantage will go away. Both the potion and the spell make that possible.
Comment:
this point got some ...
- 144k
23
votes
Accepted
Is there a to-hit modifier for the Flame Blade spell's attack?
You "make a spell attack" as described on PHB p.205: you roll a d20 and add your proficiency bonus and spellcasting modifier. (Given that you're probably a druid, that'll be d20+PROF+WIS.)
Damage is ...
- 102k
23
votes
What is the interaction between "cannot make a roll with advantage" and disadvantage?
The attack roll would have neither advantage nor disadvantage
The rules on "Making an Attack" outline the structure of an attack:
1. Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack's ...
- 76.8k
21
votes
What happens if you miss with the Witch Bolt spell?
If it misses initially, it fizzles out.
The text for Witch Bolt is clear that it only takes effect on a hit:
Make a ranged spell attack against that creature. On a hit, the target takes 1d12 ...
- 28.7k
21
votes
Accepted
Can the Robe of the Archmagi increase the DC and spell attack bonus of Cleric Spells?
All spell casting gets the bonus, regardless of class.
Since the robe does not specify that your DC and attack bonuses for spell casting are tied to a particular class, it should affect all of them. ...
- 32.2k
21
votes
Is there a feat that allows you to subtract a number from your AC and add it to your attack roll?
As @KRyan says, there is no such feat. However, what you're looking for does exist in a class feature. 3 levels of War Chanter allow you to use Bardic Music to Inspire Recklessness in yourself and ...
- 145k
20
votes
Accepted
What is my attack bonus and damage bonus with Shillelagh?
Assuming that Wisdom is your spellcasting ability (which it is if you are a Druid or Nature Cleric, two of the three classes which could use this spell), then
... you can use your spellcasting ...
- 38.4k
20
votes
Using the Hitting Cover variant rule, is it impossible to hit the covering creature if its AC is 2 higher than the target's?
Missing AC just means you dealt no damage it doesn't mean you didn't hit
Failing to hit, or 'missing' a target's AC, is just an abstraction to indicate that you did not deal damage to the target. How ...
- 37.6k
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