D&D 5E Cost/Benefit Analysis of True Strike

[RealAlHazred]

Apparently the combination is illegal, although barely so (TS and WB both being concentration spells).

Aha, I'd heard some of the Gale Force 9 spell cards omitted information. This is evidently one of them. (I knew Witch Bolt was concentration, but the player must not have realized that TS also is, because he was checking the info on the card...)

 

[aramis erak]

Apparently the combination is illegal, although barely so (TS and WB both being concentration spells).

So you have the wizard TS your warlock. Or the Human who took the spellcasting initiate feat.

 

[RealAlHazred]

So you have the wizard TS your warlock. Or the Human who took the spellcasting initiate feat.

TS only affects the caster. "Your magic grants you a brief insight..."

 

[Riley37]

Interesting question. When you cast WB, that ends TS. Does TS end at the *beginning* of your casting of WB, or *during* the casting of WB?
In the former, yes, the act of calling the WB spell to your mind ends the duration of TS, and thus you don't get Advantage from TS on the WB attack roll.
In the latter, arguably, you cast WB, you roll the attack dice with advantage from TS, and the *act of rolling those dice* is the point at which you are now concentrating to maintain WB, and at which TS has ended.
If I were a DM, I'd consider the latter more fun, unless it were so common and effective that it made the game less fun for others. "Would the players object if NPCs used it on them?" is a common test for rules abuse, and as a player, I would not object to an NPC warlock using TS to get advantage on WB.

On another hand, I haven't yet seen an NPC cast WL on a PC, with or without TS, and the player's response...

 

[Vinceras]

My apologies for the necro...but we had TS come up as a question from a rogue the other day. It is worded in such a way that it creates a little confusion. The way he interpreted the spell is that it lasts for 10 rounds so long as he maintains concentration and that the spell refreshes its effect upon each new turn.

I understand the reasoning behind the concentration for 10 rounds...so that you can preemptively cast the spell if you are anticipating an encounter...but it does lead to some confusion. It would be nice if there was something else to this spell because, as is, it's utterly useless without some rare and specific circumstances. Having it in my book seems like a real waste of a cantrip...which is why I never added it.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

It's mostly a waste of a cantrip. It is however awesome when combined with siege weapons. Advantage cancels disadvantage so you can shoot normally at enormous ranges, or just smash things with ease at close range. Normally you'd rather make two attacks than one attack with advantage, but siege weapons are so slow that it's not costing you a full attack.

It can also prevent you from wasting uses of touch spells with no Concentration requirement, e.g. Contagion.

It's good for ambushes.

It's mostly a waste but that doesn't mean it couldn't be fun to know.

 

[houser2112]

It's less useful than that, really. The duration is "Concentration, up to 1 round", not 10 rounds. Even if the duration was longer, you need to be able to see your target, and that target must be within 30 feet.

So it seems the uses for True Strike are:

• Quicken TS, used with a cantrip requiring an attack roll on this turn
• TS cast normally, with any spell requiring an attack roll on the next turn
• TS cast normally, with a mundane attack on the next turn

 

[I'm A Banana]

TS is made for Eldritch Knights, Valor bards, sorcerers, and anyone else who can use a cantrip without using their single action.

Action Surge, Battle Magic, Quickened Spell, etc. CRAZY useful for them. Also situationally useful when you're just trying to stop a jerk from running away and you're in melee with it.

Not so useful for "just a wizard." Despite it being a wizard spell.

Kind of an example where 5e is being needlessly obtuse about how the thing is intended to be used.

 

[Ristamar]

Quicken TS, used with a cantrip requiring an attack roll on this turn

TS is made for Eldritch Knights, Valor bards, sorcerers, and anyone else who can use a cantrip without using their single action.

Unfortunately, that isn't a valid use of True Strike. The attack has to be on the next turn.

https://twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/509836097052884992

Crawford's ruling does make me wonder about the true intent of True Strike. RAW, its uses are very limited. However, if the Concentration aspect of the spell is merely used to represent the exact amount of time needed to divine and circumvent the enemy's defenses (and then end naturally), perhaps it is meant to combo with other Concentration spells.

 

[Vinceras]

hmm....wow...well, so the only real use I can see from it is strictly situational...Arrow of Dragon Slaying kind of stuff. Guess you can't expect too terribly much from a cantrip. Thanks for the info and catching that "1 round" part...for whatever reason, I read "1 minute". -_-'