Trip attack question

[Gungor]

Can a battlemaster fighter use trip attack (with a ranged weapon, say) to knock a flying enemy prone?

If so, does the target take falling damage?

And if there is a RAW answer, can you provide a reference?

Thanks a lot!

[Tiadoppler]

Looks like it.

Any creature up to size Large, that fails a Strength save (Maneuver Save DC), would be knocked prone by Trip Attack. PHB 73
A flying creature that is knocked prone, falls. PHB 191
Many DMs use the optional rule from XGtE 77, that a flying creature has resistance to falling damage in the following way: their flight speed is subtracted from the distance fallen before damage is calculated.

[nickl_2000]

Can a battlemaster fighter use trip attack (with a ranged weapon, say) to knock a flying enemy prone?

If so, does the target take falling damage?

And if there is a RAW answer, can you provide a reference?

Thanks a lot!

Yes, you can use a trip attack to knock a flying enemy


When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to attempt to knock the target down. You add the superiority die to the attack’s damage roll, and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, you knock the target prone.

Weapon attack - So you can use a ranged weapon

There is nothing there that says that they need to be standing, so you can do it to a flying creature.

A prone Flying creature will fall. See from the PHB192

Flying creatures enjoy many benefits of mobility, but they must also deal with the danger of Falling. If a flying creature is knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by magic, such as by the fly spell.

If they fall more than 10 feet that take falling damage


5e PHB page 183
Falling
A fall from a great height is one of the most common hazards facing an adventurer. At the end of a fall, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6. The creature lands prone, unless it avoids taking damage from the fall.

[Paeleus]

Special note: All ranged attacks made to a prone creature are made with disadvantage.