Simple RAW for 5e V: The Disadvantage Strikes Back

[Kuulvheysoon]

A5 clarification.

“Grappling/shoving are part of the Attack action (PH, 195)” and therefore within the scope of “attack rolls”.

A5 Correction

As per the PHB:

Using the Attack action, you can make a Special melee Attack to shove a creature, either to knock it prone or push it away from you. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this Attack replaces one of them.

The target must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Instead of making an Attack roll, you make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). If you win the contest, you either knock the target prone or push it 5 feet away from you.

You do not make an Attack Roll when using the Shove or Grapple special attack, therefore they are not valid for use with any ability that grants advantage on attack rolls.

[Millstone85]

Q250 Does the forest gnome trait Speak with Small Beasts still read "communicate with" or was that replaced by "speak to", thus limiting to one-way communication, as it happened for the goolock feature Awakened Mind?

The errata pdf isn't helpful on this matter, since the nerf of AM was never reported in it.

[Segev]

Q250 Does the forest gnome trait Speak with Small Beasts still read "communicate with" or was that replaced by "speak to", thus limiting to one-way communication, as it happened for the goolock feature Awakened Mind?

The errata pdf isn't helpful on this matter, since the nerf of AM was never reported in it.

A250: The ability reads, in the most up to date copy I can find: "Speak with Small Beasts. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts."

So it is two-way communication of "simple ideas" with Small or smaller-sized Beasts.

[Millstone85]

A250: The ability reads, in the most up to date copy I can find: "Speak with Small Beasts. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts."

So it is two-way communication of "simple ideas" with Small or smaller-sized Beasts.

Thank you.

A pretty neat trait, then, assuming speak with animals is used as a guideline for the kind of information a beast might possess. The forest gnome knowledge of minor illusion could also be used as a fluff justification for a wide range of sounds and gestures.

[Samayu]

Q251
Fear spell says: While frightened by this spell, a creature must take the Dash action and move away from you by the safest available route on each of its turns, unless there is nowhere to move.

What happens if it can't move farther away, or can't move at all? Is it free to act at will?

[LtPowers]

Q251
Fear spell says: While frightened by this spell, a creature must take the Dash action and move away from you by the safest available route on each of its turns, unless there is nowhere to move.

What happens if it can't move farther away, or can't move at all? Is it free to act at will?

A251

Since the creature would not be required to take the Dash action, apparently the creature can take any action it wants, though I'd interpret "nowhere to move" pretty strictly. The creature would still have the Frightened condition, though, so would still be unable to move closer to the caster.


Powers &8^]

[SpikeFightwicky]

Q252

A warmage gets an AC bonus when concentrating on a spell. If I cast slow on a monster, and the monster dies, can I choose to still concentrate on it even though it has no more active targets? Or is the spell over once it has no more targets?

[Chronos]

Q 251 B:

What if there is somewhere to go, but you can get there without dashing? Say that the victim is 20' from a dead end in a corridor, and has a speed of 30. Can they first use their move to get to the dead end, and then say "Well, I have nowhere to go now", and then use their action for something other than dashing?


A 252:

D&D does not have a rule that a spell ends if its target becomes invalid, and in fact there are several spells that would not work as designed if that were the case. For instance, both Hex and Hunter's Mark can be transferred to another target sometime later, if the original target dies before the duration expires, even though neither could have been cast on a corpse to begin with. So there's no reason you couldn't continue to concentrate on the Slow spell on the corpse.

[Segev]

Q 251 B:

What if there is somewhere to go, but you can get there without dashing? Say that the victim is 20' from a dead end in a corridor, and has a speed of 30. Can they first use their move to get to the dead end, and then say "Well, I have nowhere to go now", and then use their action for something other than dashing?

A251b: There is somewhere to go, so the RAW reque the dash action be aken. Fear induces a panic reaction.

The mechanics are simulating that. I would be careful of negating the fact that it is a debuffs, but if something other than the listed response makes more sense and respects both the flavor and the fact that it cost the caster an action and a spell slot, the DM can rule to let that something happen.

But by the spell rules as written: if there is somewhere to go, the creature must take the dash action and go there.

[LtPowers]

A 252:

D&D does not have a rule that a spell ends if its target becomes invalid, and in fact there are several spells that would not work as designed if that were the case. For instance, both Hex and Hunter's Mark can be transferred to another target sometime later, if the original target dies before the duration expires, even though neither could have been cast on a corpse to begin with. So there's no reason you couldn't continue to concentrate on the Slow spell on the corpse.

R252:

I agree with this for slow, but there are some spells that specify that they end under certain circumstances, and those spells would be unable to be concentrated on if the spell ends for all targets.


Powers &8^]

[Chronos]

Q 253:

Cloudkill moves 10' away from the caster every round. What happens when it hits an impermeable wall? Does it dissipate against it, or does it stop moving?

[Hairfish]

Q 253:

Cloudkill moves 10' away from the caster every round. What happens when it hits an impermeable wall? Does it dissipate against it, or does it stop moving?

A254
The spell text tells you in the first paragraph what the only non-standard condition is that will end the spell: strong winds. Nothing about being unable to move or hitting a wall.

If the DM wants to add "hitting a wall" to that list, it's outside of RAW. If I was running the game, I'd rule that the spell text makes it clear the spell creates heavy vapors which sink downward, so hitting a perpendicular wall means it stops moving that direction just like reaching flat impermeable ground means it stops moving downward.

[Mobius Twist]

Q255:
How many cantrips would a Wiz2/Drd2 character have? Two of each class, or just 2?

[Gurgeh]

A255:
Per page 164 of the Player's Handbook, a multiclassed character's spells known and prepared will advance for each class separately, exactly as if they were a single-classed character. Multiclass spellcasting progression only differs for spell slots (which don't apply to cantrips) and for the power of your cantrips (since cantrips scale with character level, not class level).

For your example, a Wizard 2 / Druid 2 would know 3 Wizard cantrips (Wizards have 3 as a base, not 2) and 2 Druid cantrips.

[LtPowers]

Q256

The Brace maneuver lets a character use a reaction to make an attack against an enemy who enters the character's reach. The attack is "using that weapon" -- that is, a melee weapon the character is wielding.

Can that attack be a shove or a grapple?

(Note that unlike the Polearm Master benefit, this is not an attack of opportunity, which explicitly cannot be a shove or grapple.)


Powers &8^]

[Millstone85]

A256 No, it can't.

When you say that an attack of opportunity "explicitly" can not be a shove or a grapple, I believe that you are referring to this entry of the Sage Advice Compendium.

Can an opportunity attack be used to make a grapple or a shove? Grappling and shoving are special melee attacks that require the Attack action (PH, 195). An opportunity attack is a special reaction. Take the Ready action if you want to attempt a grapple or a shove as a reaction.

And well, it seems to me that the same logic applies here. Since the Brace maneuver does not involve the Attack action, then the attack made as part of this maneuver is not eligible to become a grapple or a shove.

[Dimers]

Q 257

The "Light, Dark, Underdark!" UA introduced a Close Quarters Shooter fighting style available to fighters, paladins and rangers. Did that ever make it into a book or is it still just UA? If it's in a book now, was it changed at all?

[Kuulvheysoon]

A 257

The Close Quarter Shooting fighting style never made it into an official sourcebook (with good reason). The closest that you'll get is the Crossbow Expert feat combined with half of the Sharpshooter feat.

[Twelvetrees]

Q258:

Can a character that has been grappled by a choker's tentacle from 10 feet away attack the choker with a melee weapon if they don't have a weapon with Reach?

[LtPowers]

Q258:

Can a character that has been grappled by a choker's tentacle from 10 feet away attack the choker with a melee weapon if they don't have a weapon with Reach?

A258

Jeremy Crawford says "yes" but I don't think you can find a rule in the book that specifically allows it beyond simple common sense.


Powers &8^]

[Dimers]

Q 259a

Has there been any Sage Advice or other sort of ruling on which (if any) monk class abilities apply while wildshaped or polymorphed?

Q 259b

Sage Advice seems to say that beasts' normal attacks (natural weapons) are NOT unarmed strikes but that a wildshaped/polymorphed PC could choose to make an unarmed strike anyway. Is my understanding of that correct?

[Zhorn]

A259a
For Wildshape, the fourth bullet point down:

You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense.

No such luck for polymorph as no class/race/etc features carry over.

[Dimers]

Yes, but which features is the new form capable of using? Unarmored Defense? Deflect Missiles? Slow Fall? Tongue of the Sun and Moon? There are lots of questionable activities that someone official might've already ruled yea-or-nay about.

*crosses fingers*

[Zhorn]

Yes, but which features is the new form capable of using? Unarmored Defense? Deflect Missiles? Slow Fall? Tongue of the Sun and Moon? There are lots of questionable activities that someone official might've already ruled yea-or-nay about.

*crosses fingers*

ANY of them that don't rely on aspects that have been ruled out by the limits of the new form.

You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form

Unarmed Defense? Yes
Unarmoured Movement? Yes
Slowfall? Yes

Deflect Missiles? Yes to an extent, your ability to 'catch' 'deflect' is not defined as requiring hands in the feature text.
Toungue of the Sun and Moon? A bit of yes and and a bit of no. You can understand, but you cannot speak unless the form you wildshape into can also speak.

etc etc etc

[LtPowers]

Deflect Missiles? Yes, your ability to 'catch' is not defined as requiring hands in the feature text.

R259

The ability to deflect doesn't require a hand, but catching it (and, presumably, returning it) does.


Powers &8^]

[Dualswinger]

Q. 260

Genie Warlocks can use a feature Limited Wish. Does any spell effect created by this feature require concentration on the part of the warlock themselves? It says that you are not casting the spell yourself, just receiving the effects.

Quote:
You entreat your patron to grant you a small wish. As an action, you can speak your desire to your Genie’s Vessel, requesting the effect of one spell that is 6th level or lower and has a casting time of 1 action. The spell can be from any class’s spell list, and you don’t need to meet the requirements in that spell, including costly components; the spell simply takes effect as part of this action.

[FrancisBean]

Q261

Does Green Slime affect constructs? From DMG 105, it appears that it affects non-magical materials as acid damage, but I can't find anything to definitively say whether constructs count as magical or not. My exact case involves the Iron Cobra, but my question is more general. For a RAI ruling, I can see how a golem might be considered magical while the Iron Cobra is a clockwork mechanism and non-magical, but I want the RAW on this one.

[Kuulvheysoon]

A 261

Constructs are creatures, not items. They take the 1d10 points of acid damage per round that any other creature would (unless they have an immunity to acid damage, in which case they would ignore it).

[Corey]

Q266 The rules for Cutting Words say, in part:

When a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll, ... you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature's roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll, but before the DM determines whether the attack roll ... succeeds or fails

Suppose the creature is under the effect of Bane, which causes them to subtract 1d4 from their attack roll. Do you decide on Cutting Words before or after the Bane die is rolled?

[Hairfish]

Q266 The rules for Cutting Words say, in part:

Suppose the creature is under the effect of Bane, which causes them to subtract 1d4 from their attack roll. Do you decide on Cutting Words before or after the Bane die is rolled?

While under the effects of Bane, rolling -1d4 is part of the attack roll. The DM shouldn't be announcing the outcome of the roll before all the dice are rolled, but I can see it being an easy mistake to make: "<rolls 1d20> okay, that's a hit - crap, I forgot Bane is up <rolls 1d4> now it's a miss".