Readying an attack - Elemental Multiattack

[nickl_2000]

Yet another question about wildshaping and how it interacts with the rules. You are an Earth Elemental who gets Multiattack. You ready an attack action when someone goes through a door.

Do you get 1 or 2 slam attacks?


I know that a level 6 fighter would only get 1 attack since the level 5 extra attack ability only allows more than one attack on your turn. Also, my DM said last night that my character would get 2 slam attacks. However, I'm curious about your rulings.

[stoutstien]

You're ready the multiattack action so I would say you would get the two slams.

[Rukelnikov]

MM page 11:

"MULTIATTACK: A creature that can make multiple attacks on its turn has the Multiattack ability. A creature can't use Multiattack when making an opportunity attack, which must be a single melee attack."

I know RAI doesn't work, and while RAW may be debated, I don't think it works either.

I'd probably allow it for a Moon Druid cause its very niche, and because they retain their minds, if it seems to be breaking stuff, I'd go back to normal. I wouldn't extend that to a someone polymorphed with an animalistic mind though.

[Cynthaer]

You're ready the multiattack action so I would say you would get the two slams.

Eh. If we're getting technical, I believe you're readying the Attack Action — Multiattack is just an ability that lets you make more attacks when using the Attack Action on your turn (same as Extra Attack for PCs).

I believe that RAW and RAI both point to only allowing one attack during a readied Attack Action, and I believe that the designers intended Multiattack to work exactly like Extra Attack.

They are worded slightly differently, with Multiattack specifically addressing opportunity attacks, but IMO that's because the MM is focused on how to use monsters as NPCs, not PCs. Enemies take lots of opportunity attacks, but practically never ready actions, so it makes sense to clarify OAs and ignore readying.


[...] you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

A creature that can make multiple attacks on its turn has the Multiattack ability. A creature can't use Multiattack when making an opportunity attack, which must be a single melee attack.

[...] You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. To make the opportunity attack, you use your reaction to make one melee attack against the provoking creature. [...]

All that said? IMO, the main purpose of making the Ready action very weak is to strongly disincentivize players spending all their time optimizing turn orders and chains of triggered actions, because it's more fun if everybody just takes their damn turn and you move on from there.

If nobody's trying to game the Ready action, it doesn't really affect balance if you allow Multiattack and Extra Attack to work with Readied attacks (or just one of them, or just the other). It comes up so rarely that you're probably looking at less than 10 damage difference over the course of an average campaign.

[NaughtyTiger]

Good question:



...
First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response to it
...


You specify an action to take. Elementals get the Multiattack action.

Yeah, you get to cheat the system and pop 2 slams