Minimum Damage?

[J-Dog]

This question came up in our last session. The Ranger did 1 point of damage to an opponent that was insubstantial. The damage was therefore halved to ½ a point and rounded to 0. Is that the correct way to do it? In other words, is there no minimum damage rule? We couldn’t find one. If there is one, a page number citation would be great.

I guess this would also apply to characters performing attacks with a negative modifier (like a basic melee attack with an 8 strength). If a 1 is rolled, then the damage would be 0.

Thanks all,
J-Dog

 

[firesnakearies]

PHB page 58:

Half Damage: When you calculate half damage,
remember to apply the rule about rounding down
(page 11). If a damage roll produces a result of 1, half
of that damage is 0.

 

[ValhallaGH]

The minimum damage of any attack is 0. A damaging attack can't heal an opponent (barring specific defenses that say otherwise), but it can inflict no damage.

 

[Family]

If the attack had secondary effects, cleave for example, they could still occur.

 

[J-Dog]

That's what I thought. Thanks!