100
votes
Accepted
How should I handle players wanting to aim their attacks at specific body parts?
The answers so far tell you how to allow this but don't address the follow-on problem - that the player is looking for a way to disable an opponent without having to eliminate all of their hit points. ...
- 1,226
94
votes
Accepted
What does upper-case-A-Attack action vs. lower-case-a-attack mean?
The "Attack action" is a specific action; attacks are anything with an attack roll.
What is the Attack action?
The "Actions in Combat" section of the Player's Handbook (PHB, page ...
- 75.6k
70
votes
Accepted
Does a barbarian's rage end if they attack an illusion of a creature?
RAW, yes.
An illusion is not a creature. The rule is clear that Bobby must attack a hostile creature, or take damage, to maintain his rage.
Spirit of the Rule
If Bobby does not know that what he is ...
- 10.6k
65
votes
Accepted
Does a fighter's Action Surge trigger Extra Attack?
Yes, a fighter gets their extra attack when using action surge
Action surge gives you an extra action on your turn:
On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and ...
- 94k
63
votes
Accepted
How does the Drow House Captain's whip attack work?
The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Performance Improves
It does exactly what it says it does. The Drow House Captain can attack an ally with the whip, and that ally gains advantage to attack ...
- 48.2k
63
votes
Planning to use 1 arrow to hit a second target if it misses the first target
This is not something the rules allow for
This should not be allowed because it is imbalancing
If this were allowed, ranged attacks (likely including spells) would become a great deal stronger while ...
- 75.6k
61
votes
Accepted
Is it better to dash or dodge across an open field?
There's a third option - and it's potentially much better
The other answers have dealt capably with your 1 vs. 2 scenario already. To recap what's been established elsewhere:
Dodge every round - ...
- 25k
60
votes
Accepted
Do you get to use the additional attack from the Extra Attack feature as well when you Ready an Attack action?
No
The 'Extra Attack' feature is worded so you only benefit from it when you attack in your turn.
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of
once, whenever you take the Attack action on ...
- 18.3k
60
votes
Can a player split up attacks like they can movement?
Yes, you can!
Look at Players Handbook p. 190.
Moving between Attacks
If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between ...
- 18.3k
60
votes
Can you use your off-handed weapon for your main attack action?
5e does not have a concept of offhand weapons, there is no defined "main hand" or "offhand". Two-Weapon Fighting allows you to take a bonus attack with a different weapon in the other hand, after you ...
- 21.5k
57
votes
How should I handle players wanting to aim their attacks at specific body parts?
Called shots are a great story device that can make combat seem terrifying and more dangerous, but should never be incorporated mechanically. It creates a situation that slows down combat, which slows ...
- 723
55
votes
Accepted
How can I adjudicate a character attempting a "shield crush" attack to pin a creature?
Prone was an excellent choice
You said that the cleric wanted "to stop [the ghoul from] hitting people and make it easier to hit." The prone condition has the following two applicable ...
- 38k
55
votes
Accepted
Can a conga line of creatures cursed by the same Shield of Missile Attraction transport ammunition instantaneously across the globe?
Note: I changed the answer to include the first cursed target. Mea culpa if this makes this answer less appealing.
No, the arrow targets either the first or the second peasant in line.
The ranged ...
- 12k
53
votes
Is it possible to use a Mordhau grip to deal bludgeoning damage?
You can use the rules for Improvised Weapons
Sometimes characters don't have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is at hand. An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one ...
- 80.2k
53
votes
Would this hit/miss houserule be balanced with bounded accuracy?
Is it balanced?
Sure, it's balanced if you apply it to all sides of a combat equally. It's a very minor change. Even taking into account characters with multiple attacks each round, it's a couple of ...
- 48.2k
50
votes
If a creature has advantage against spells and magical effects, is it resistant to magical attacks?
Resistance and advantage are two separate mechanics
Advantage has to do with rolling the dice, resistance has to do with reducing damage in half.
Easy illustrative example is a Dwarf
Dwarven ...
- 142k
49
votes
What is the maximum number of attacks a single character can make themselves during their turn?
Grand Total: 12 attacks1
1 This is based on a single-class build with a standard attack scenario of enemies (or against a single BBEG/foe). The 12th attack does require some help to activate.
A 20th-...
- 124k
48
votes
Accepted
Does the Thrown property mean I can attack with my DEX?
Not quite
Weapons with the Thrown property can use their normal (i.e. melee) modifier when being thrown. Using a Finesse weapon allows using DEX, but melee weapons without the Finesse property would ...
- 6,968
48
votes
Is a character swallowed by a giant toad considered "unseen" on an attack against the toad, granting advantage (which cancels out disadvantage)?
Neither advantage nor disadvantage
As you say, you have several sources of disadvantage and one source of advantage - being unseen. These cancel, leaving you with neither.
Even if you don’t ...
- 207k
47
votes
Accepted
Is an attack made with an unheld Dancing Sword considered made by the character or by the sword itself?
The sword itself is making the attack, it's just using your modifiers
The dancing sword item description says (emphasis mine):
...the sword begins to hover, flies up to 30 feet, and attacks one ...
- 26.4k
46
votes
Accepted
Does the Bracer of Flying Daggers really let a thief make 4 attacks per round?
You cannot activate magic items with Fast Hands
The section on activating magic items specifically calls out this case:
If an item requires an action to activate, that action isn't a
function ...
- 61.4k
46
votes
Accepted
How can I use Charisma instead of Strength or Dexterity for weapon attacks without being a Hexblade warlock?
One niche method of doing this is the shillelagh cantrip
The shillelagh spell states:
The wood of a club or quarterstaff you are holding is imbued with nature's power. For the duration, you can use ...
- 75.6k
44
votes
Accepted
If a character is stunned but still has attacks remaining, can they still make those attacks?
I would say that Alex can no longer finish their turn, as they are immediately Stunned and therefore incapacitated.
Stunned
A stunned creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t ...
- 8,442
44
votes
How many creatures can attack (melee) a single creature at once (assuming all creatures are medium sized)?
Can all of those 8 PC's surround and attack the enemy creature (following a square 5x5 feet square grid) in one round?
Yes, trivially answered on PHB p.191.
How many members of the [thousand-person] ...
- 101k
44
votes
Is acid splash automatically a critical hit against an unconscious creature?
Sorry, but No
The Key Word here is Attack. Attacks as defined in the PHB are D20 rolls against AC.
From PHB, 194
If there’s ever any question whether something you’re doing counts as an attack, the ...
- 124k
44
votes
Accepted
How do hit dice affect my attacks?
Hit dice have no impact on attacks
Your Hit-Dice have nothing to do with your attacks, and are related to your HP max and HP recovery while resting. They're "hit dice" as in "hit points", not as in "...
- 6,456
44
votes
Is it better to dash or dodge across an open field?
Depends on the probability of your enemies hitting you with an attack.
If you Dodge, the damage you take, on average, is given by the probability p of hitting you (squared because of disadvantage) ...
- 46.1k
44
votes
Are there situations where high-damage single attacks are better than multiple attacks that add up to more damage overall?
Concentration breaking.
The rules for concentrating on a spell state:
Whenever you take damage while you are concentrating on a spell, you must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your ...
- 144k
43
votes
Accepted
Haste spell: what does "one weapon attack only" mean?
You are correct in assuming that the additional action is restricting use of the extra attack class feature. The "one attack only" stipulation is preventing the use of the extra attack feature in the ...
- 1,232
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