D&D (2024) Agonizing Blast and Green Flame Blade

[ECMO3]

So trying to figure out how these work together RAW (assuming level 5+). Do you get the extra charisma damage on just the creature attacked, just the creature damaged by the secondary damage or on both creatures? Here is the wording for reference:

Agonizing Blast:
Choose one of your known Warlock cantrips that deals damage. You can add your Charisma modifier to that spell’s damage rolls.
Repeatable. You can gain this invocation more than once. Each time you do so, choose a different eligible cantrip.


Green Flame Blade:
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects, and you can cause green fire to leap from the target to a different creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of it. The second creature takes fire damage equal to your spellcasting ability modifier.

At Higher Levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d8 fire damage to the target on a hit, and the fire damage to the second creature increases to 1d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. Both damage rolls increase by 1d8 at 11th level (2d8 and 2d8) and 17th level (3d8 and 3d8).

 

[DrJawaPhD]

I don't see any reasoning for why it wouldn't add your charisma modifier to both creatures. It adds charisma modifier to the spell's damage rolls, and you roll damage against each creature (assuming level 5+).

Similarly, Booming Blade ought to let you add the charisma modifier on both initial damage and the extra damage if they willingly move. It's just like how casting Eldritch Blast once lets you add the charisma modifier multiple times because you roll damage for each beam. Agonizing Blast still scales the best with EB at levels 11+ so it's not like GFB or BB are somehow overpowered this way

 

[Peter BOSCO'S]

Only versus the primary target.

Since you are already adding your spellcasting ability to the L5+ secondary damage with "Green Flame Blade" than, if that ability is Charisma, you may not add it again from "Agonizing Blast". At levels one to four your could not do so, because the secondary damage, of your spellcasting ability bonus, would not involve rolling, and "Agonizing Blast" applies only to rolls.

 

[Charlaquin]

Only against the secondary target, since the damage to the primary target is caused by the weapon attack, not by the spell.

 

[Charlaquin]

And in three posts we have three different answers. Isn’t natural language a wonderful thing?

 

[Kurotowa]

My vote would be that it works on both the primary and secondary targets, but only at 5th level and higher. Prior to that you're not rolling for damage against either of them, and Agonizing Blast does nothing.

 

[James Gasik]

And in three posts we have three different answers. Isn’t natural language a wonderful thing?

I don't think it is.

 

[cbwjm]

Often times when you add your damage to a spell or cantrip, it only applies once though I'm assuming eldritch blast which ignored this rule still applies it to multiple attacks. For me, I'd assign it to primary only.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It applies to the cantrips damage rolls. GFB makes no damage rolls before level 5, so it does nothing. After level 5 it applies to both the primary and secondary target (fire damage). For booming blade it applies to both the primary and secondary thunder damage.

You could always mod GFB to do a base 1d8 to the secondary target, rather than ability score bonus, it makes more sense that way, and is inline with the general spell buffs in 2024.

 

[Charlaquin]

I don't think it is.

You’ve cracked my code