D&D 5E Confused about rules of combat

[alazar14]

Hi guys, I'm fairly new to D&D (only played 4th edition a few weeks), and am looking for a bit of advice on making my new Bard character for 5th edition.

I tried finding this info in the book, but am still a bit confused about it. So here is my scenario, I have made a level 1 bard, and chose for him to have a Long sword (1d8). I assume my attack bonus is +5 (2 proficiency and +3 STR), but now I'm wondering what is my bonus to hit? If the +5 is my bonus to damage, then what is my bonus to actually hit when I roll a D20?

I know that I had more questions, but I'm drawing a blank right now, so I'll post them when I remember

Thank you all!

 

[Tony Vargas]

I assume my attack bonus is +5 (2 proficiency and +3 STR), but now I'm wondering what is my bonus to hit? If the +5 is my bonus to damage, then what is my bonus to actually hit when I roll a D20?

The +5 is your attack bonus, the to hit, when your roll the d20. Your damage bonus is just the STR mod (+3), no proficiency.

 

[alazar14]

Thanks, and when it comes to a monster attacking a character, what modifier do I use to determine the bonus the monster gets on their D20 roll? For example, fighting a Gnoll would the bonus to their D20 be the +2 for STR?

 

[pukunui]

Monsters' attack and damage modifiers and the like are all listed in their statblocks, but for general purposes they do follow the same rules as PCs: proficiency bonus + relevant ability modifier for attack; relevant ability modifier for damage.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Thanks, and when it comes to a monster attacking a character, what modifier do I use to determine the bonus the monster gets on their D20 roll? For example, fighting a Gnoll would the bonus to their D20 be the +2 for STR?

Monsters use the same math as characters, so they would get their Strength modifier and a proficiency bonus (based on its Challenge). If you look at the Gnoll's stat block, for the Bite or Spear action, they each say "+4 to hit"; this number comes from Strength +2 and (hidden) proficiency +2. If you look at the Gnoll's longbow attack, it's +3 to hit because Gnolls only have a +1 bonus from Dexterity.

 

[pdegan2814]

Thanks, and when it comes to a monster attacking a character, what modifier do I use to determine the bonus the monster gets on their D20 roll? For example, fighting a Gnoll would the bonus to their D20 be the +2 for STR?

If you look at each monster's stats in the Monster Manual, it will describe each type of attack that monster can make, what their to-hit bonus is for that attack, and what the damage roll for that attack will be. It also lists their basic stats so the DM can roll ability/skill checks for them, and if the monster gets a bonus to any skills beyond their ability modifier, that will be listed as well.