New Sage Advice: Class Features, Combat, Spells, & Monsters

There's a new Sage Advice column up from D&D designer Jeremy Crawford. This month he tackles class features, combat (bonus actions; reach weapons), spellcasting, and monsters. It's quite a long edition, covering 18 questions in total, all questions asked via Twitter.

You'lll find the article here. All Sage Advice material is added to the Sage Advice Compendium, which is a 6-page PDF of questions and answers.

 

[Mirtek]

As noted in another part of the column, you can only take a bonus action on your
own turn; no bonus action 5' OAs with Polearm Master.

--
Pauper

I've seen a lot of AL DMs rule that once you become a polearm master, the butt strike becomes an normal attack option for you. The bonus action must be with the butt end, but the other attacks can also be with the butt end if the player choses (e.g. when fighting skeletons vulnerable to bludgeoning damage)

 

[Sunseeker]

The OA response seems a little odd, but it makes sense in a different way of thinking.

As has been said, everything else seems pretty straight-forward.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I've seen a lot of AL DMs rule that once you become a polearm master, the butt strike becomes an normal attack option for you. The bonus action must be with the butt end, but the other attacks can also be with the butt end if the player choses (e.g. when fighting skeletons vulnerable to bludgeoning damage)

According to this SA, that'd be a call contra to the RAW - you can't swap out bonus actions and regular actions. You might be able to attack with the butt in the same way that you could hit with the hilt of your sword or the flat of your blade, though (ie, in most cases, probably an improvised weapon attack).

 

[Psikerlord#]

They should errata conjure woodland beings by removing the obey orders part. As if the intent was for the DM to choose the summons! Hahaha, no, that is a stealth nerf, and a poor one. Still better than nothing, perhaps.

I disagree on the reach OA ruling too, doesn't make any sense balance wise: fighters already have poor OAs.

Also disagree on not swapping action for bonus action. No good balance or fluff reason why you couldn't cast two healing words in one turn,for example.

 

[Remathilis]

Also disagree on not swapping action for bonus action. No good balance or fluff reason why you couldn't cast two healing words in one turn,for example.

I think its so they don't have to balance bonus actions vs. actions.

 

[Mirtek]

According to this SA, that'd be a call contra to the RAW - you can't swap out bonus actions and regular actions.

But you aren't. The butt attack is just a weapon attack. That you are allowed to take this attack as a bonus action under some circumstances doesn't mean it's not also a normal weapon attack. A greatweapon master can can attack with his greatsword as a bonus action under some circumstances, but also as a regular action normally.

The question is whether "butt strike, 1d4 bludgeoning" gets added to your personal weapon table or not.

 

[JackOfAllTirades]

I have *never* seen a Summoning spell that didn't allow the caster to choose what kind of creature he summoned.

No idea what's going on with that.

 

[Remathilis]

I have *never* seen a Summoning spell that didn't allow the caster to choose what kind of creature he summoned.

No idea what's going on with that.

AD&D (1e and 2e) had tables, in the DMG/MM, that were random rolls. Sometimes you got a carrion crawler, sometimes you got 2d4 kobolds.

---

The added benefit to this, of course, is that since the DM picks the monster, the DM has control over WHAT gets summoned and from what sources. No more cherry-picking the various books to find the best monster for the CR/level, nor does the DM have to worry that the druid is going to summon some OP monster from some obscure rulebook anymore.

 

[Psikerlord#]

AD&D (1e and 2e) had tables, in the DMG/MM, that were random rolls. Sometimes you got a carrion crawler, sometimes you got 2d4 kobolds.

---

The added benefit to this, of course, is that since the DM picks the monster, the DM has control over WHAT gets summoned and from what sources. No more cherry-picking the various books to find the best monster for the CR/level, nor does the DM have to worry that the druid is going to summon some OP monster from some obscure rulebook anymore.

I would have been cool with a % table, and the caster can change the result by his level = %. Higher level has slightly better chance of getting a monster relevant to the situation at hand.

 

[I'm A Banana]

But you aren't. The butt attack is just a weapon attack. That you are allowed to take this attack as a bonus action under some circumstances doesn't mean it's not also a normal weapon attack. A greatweapon master can can attack with his greatsword as a bonus action under some circumstances, but also as a regular action normally.

The question is whether "butt strike, 1d4 bludgeoning" gets added to your personal weapon table or not.

If you're being a stickler for the RAW, it clearly does not.

The general rule IIRC is that a weapon's damage equals what the table in Ch. 5 says it is. If it's not on that table, it's improvised.

The exception to that general rule is that a character with the Polearm Master feat can use a bonus action to make a melee attack with the "opposite end" of certain weapons that deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage.

The feat doesn't grant the ability to use the opposite end in any other way, and so if a character attempted to do that, the general rule about improvised weapons would apply.

Now to me personally that sounds about as much fun as hand-juggling, so I'm inclined to ignore it, but I don't take RAW as very authoritative in the moment.