Lost Mines of Phandelver: Why do Redhand Ruffians get Multiattack?

[johnbragg]

And why cant I find the rules for Multiattack in the PHB index?

I'm having some trouble with the 3E to 5E transition, and I'm not sure what to say to players if (when) they ask why the bad guys get to attack twice. (I'm thinking that Multiattack is two-weapon fighting, or is it something else?)

Is my PDF of Phandelver from some incomplete beta test of 5E?

[Ziegander]

Yes, Lost Mines is sort of from an incomplete beta test of 5e, but no, that's not why you can't find Multiattack in the PHB. Multiattack is a "monster ability" in 5e, it is never something a PC can obtain, which is why it's not detailed in any way in the PHB. Monsters, even NPCs, are not built using the same underlying rules as PCs. There's no way for a PC to attack twice in one action before having 5 hit dice the way that a Redhand Ruffian can.

[johnbragg]

Thanks.

I'm getting old and crotchety, and thought that this might just be something where I can't find the thing, because it's not in the same spot in the book it's been for the last 15 years in my 3X books. OK, I can't find it because it's not there. I somehow can accept that.

[MeeposFire]

Essentially multiattack is monster shorthand that can include essentially extra attacks that PCs can get, two weapon fighting, natural attacks (claws+bite for instance), and combinations of these things. The stat block of every critter that has the ability will tell you how many attacks it gets and with what it attacks with.

[Flashy]

In 5e monsters statblocks are entirely divorced from PC progression. At the end of the day the answer to "Why do they get to attack twice when we don't?" boils down to "Because it puts them at the correct DPR for their CR." There is no PC/NPC transparency.

The reason you can't find Multiattack referenced in the PHB is that there is no PC multiattack. The feature that players access is Extra Attack, which works differently and has different rules.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

So the answer to "where can I find the full rules on Multi-attack" is the Monster Manual. But the Redhand Ruffians' own entry should spell out what it does for them.