D&D 5E Alter Self- Natural Weapons

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I've just noticed while referencing the book to make sure I'm not saying anything untrue that both greenflame blade and booming blade both use the same "make a melee attack with a weapon" phrasing, so there isn't actually any way to use an unarmed strike with either of them - making my earlier contribution to the thread a lot less practical than I thought it was.

But the spells material component is (weapon) which an unarmed strike is not, right? Or is that just fluff?

A weapon being the material component of the spell means that you need to have a weapon (or spell component pouch or spell casting focus you are proficient with, because no specified cost for the component means either of those can replace it) in hand to cast the spell.

The spell doesn't require the attack be made with the material component.

So you can cast one of these spells while holding a weapon, spell casting focus you are proficient with, or a component pouch in one hand, and attack with a different weapon if that's what you wanted to do.

 

[trentonjoe]

Green Flame blade says:

As part of casting this spell, make a melee weapon attack against one creature within range, otherwise the spell fails.

according to the D&D wikia...is it different in the books?

 

[trentonjoe]

and thank you everyone, especially Aaron, for walking me though this....when I run games I take a, "yeah, yeah, whatever" approach to the rules but I am about to start a game playing with a guy who is a stickler for the rules.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

Green Flame blade says:

As part of casting this spell, make a melee weapon attack against one creature within range, otherwise the spell fails.

according to the D&D wikia...is it different in the books?

The book says "melee attack with a weapon" for greenflame blade and booming blade. Whoever put the info into whatever wiki you are looking at must have made an error.

and thank you everyone, especially Aaron, for walking me though this....when I run games I take a, "yeah, yeah, whatever" approach to the rules but I am about to start a game playing with a guy who is a stickler for the rules.

You are welcome. I'm glad to help a fellow DM whenever I can.

I've got a rules-stickler at my table too, but we've developed a good rapport. He's learned to keep his phrasing and tone when pointing out any potential rules error helpful and polite rather than argumentative and agitated, and I've learned to extend the "yeah, whatever" attitude to his corrections instead of feeling like I must suck as a DM if I'm not getting the rules "right" (watching Chris Perkins DM on Dice, Camera, Action put me over the threshold from "pretty sure getting everything right by the book isn't that important" to "absolutely certain that none of this is a big deal, so long as the result is the players feeling things are fun and fair") - and he is a neutral stickler (meaning he'll bring up the correct rules, even if that is less favorable to his own character, not selectively when it benefits him) so it is a lot easier to view the quirk as non-harmful to the group's overall game-play experience, though a few years ago people did occasionally say "Don't tell him that!" when he'd say stuff like "Hey Aaron, I don't think you had these two monsters do anything on their turn, did I miss it or what?" Now the whole group is like "But what about the orc that's all up in my face?" if I seem like I'm about to accidentally skip a monster's turn.