The EU Sage (www.sageadvice.eu) has posted another 5e rules quiz, and while it's entertaining, it's also not very challenging. I thought I'd put up a quiz of my own here. Note: these are general rules questions, not AL-specific rules questions; however, since AL DMs are expected to run their games by "the rules as presented by the official materials (PHB, DMG, MM, etc.)" (FAQ v7.1, p.2), this is valid information for AL DMs to possess.
Ready? Here goes! Choose the most correct answer for each, remembering that specific beats general. The answer to each question is contained in the spoiler block following that question.
1. A character attempts to cast the Booming Blade cantrip while wielding a weapon with the two-handed property. Is this allowed?
a) Yes, Booming Blade does not have a somatic component.
b) No, since the attack occurs during the casting of the spell, the caster does not have a free hand to satisfy the spell's material component.
c) Only if the caster possesses the War Caster feat.
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2. During an underwater combat (all combatants are fully immersed), a character without a swim speed casts the Greenflame Blade cantrip while wielding a shortsword. What is the most correct adjudication of the spell?
a) Spell operates as normal -- no change due to the underwater combat rules.
b) Character's attack roll is at disadvantage, since Greenflame Blade specifies that the caster makes a melee weapon attack, and melee weapon attacks are at disadvantage while underwater.
c) Attack roll is made as normal, but all targets have resistance to the fire damage from this spell due to being underwater.
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3. A 10th level Champion fighter/5th level Beastmaster ranger is affected by the Haste spell. What is the maximum number of weapon attacks this character can make in one round (not counting the character's animal companion)?
a) Five (two from Extra Attack, two from Extra Attack again following use of Action Surge, one either from bonus action or from Haste, since Haste requires use of the character's bonus action)
b) Six (two from Extra Attack, two from Extra Attack again following use of Action Surge, one from bonus action from Two Weapon Fighting, one from additional action allowed by Haste)
c) Eleven (three from Extra Attack since both fighter and ranger have the ability, three from Extra Attack again following use of Action Surge, one from bonus action for Two Weapon Fighting, one from additional bonus action granted when using Action Surge, three from extra Attack action allowed by Haste)
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4. A caster casts Invisibility to turn invisible, then in the next round decides to ready an action to cast Fireball after the opponents have gathered around the party fighter. (The caster intends to use the Sculpt Spells ability of the Evocation wizard to exempt the fighter from the effects.) What happens?
a) The caster remains invisible and casts the spell following the enemy's turn in which they move to surround the fighter. Since the caster has advantage from being invisible, this translates into disadvantage on the enemy saving throw against the wizard's fireball.
b) The caster remains invisible and casts the spell during the enemy's turn after they complete their movement to surround the fighter. Since the wizard used a readied action, his initiative is reset to just before the enemy's initiative count.
c) The caster becomes visible, as a readied spell requires concentration. The caster may be unable to cast his readied spell, as the triggering condition "opponents gather around fighter" might not occur. Regardless, the spell slot used for fireball is expended.
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5. A wizard casts Burning Hands on a group of creatures -- two party members standing side-by-side facing off against three Medium sized enemy monsters also standing side-by-side, with the wizard standing behind his fellow party members. All five creatures are within the spell's area of effect. What is the most correct result?
a) All creatures must make a Dexterity saving throw against the wizard's spell save DC or take full damage -- a successful save results in half damage.
b) As a, but the enemy creatures gain +2 to their Dexterity saving throw, as the party members provide half cover to the enemy monsters.
c) As a, but all targets gain +2 to their Dexterity saving throw, as the party members provide half cover to the enemy monsters, while the monsters also provide half cover to the party.
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6. A 6th level paladin, 6th level Arcane Trickster rogue rolls a critical hit on an enemy that qualifies for Sneak Attack and expends his highest level spell slot to perform a Divine Smite. The enemy is not undead or a fiend. How much extra damage is done by the Sneak Attack/Divine Smite combination?
a) 6d6 Sneak Attack plus 8d8 radiant for Divine Smite (3rd level spell slot doubled for crit)
b) 6d6 Sneak Attack plus 3d8 radiant for Divine Smite (2nd level spell slot; Divine Smite damage is not doubled on a crit)
c) 3d6 Sneak Attack and no Divine Smite damage (Sneak Attack damage is not doubled on a crit; Divine Smite must be declared before the attack roll)
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7. A caster casts Wall of Stone to surround itself and an adjacent enemy with a 10-foot high wall. The enemy creature successfully makes a Dexterity saving throw to avoid being surrounded by the wall. What happens?
a) The creature uses its reaction to move its speed to a point where it is not surrounded by the wall. The caster's turn then continues normally.
b) As a) but the caster can use his reaction to make an opportunity attack against the enemy creature.
c) As a) but the caster cannot use his reaction to make an opportunity attack against the enemy creature, as the wall is now in the way and opportunity attacks cannot be made against targets with total cover.
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8. A four-person party is playing an Adventurers League adventure where the group is pursuing unseen opponents across a wilderness. A group of goblins is hiding in the path the party is travelling. The ranger (passive Perception 16) is tracking the unseen opponents (and is not in one of his favored terrains for the purpose of his Natural Explorer feature), the cleric (passive Perception 14) is foraging for food, the fighter (passive perception 12) is looking for hidden enemies, and the wizard (passive Perception 10) is driving a wagon containing his personal gear. The DM rolls a 15 for the goblins' Dexterity (Stealth) check. What happens when the party reaches the goblins?
a) Combat begins. The ranger is not surprised, but the fighter, cleric, and wizard are surprised.
b) Combat begins. The ranger is not surprised, and thus can warn the rest of the party so they are not surprised.
c) Combat begins. All PCs are surprised.
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9. A 15th level Champion fighter is dual-wielding a Vicious shortsword and a light Hammer of Thunderbolts, and also has the appropriate items to be able to activate the Giant's Bane ability of the Hammer. Against a giant opponent, the fighter rolls an 18 to hit with the shortsword and a 19 on an off-hand attack with the Hammer. What happens?
a) The Vicious shortsword deals double damage plus an extra 2d6 damage for the Vicious property; then the giant hit by the Hammer must make a DC 17 Constitution save or die instantly.
b) Since the Giant's Bane ability requires the character to have an attuned Belt of Giant Strength and Gauntlets of Ogre Power, the character cannot be attuned to both the Vicious shortsword and the Hammer of Thunderbolts at the same time; choose one weapon to be attuned to and treat the other as unattuned.
c) Both the Vicious shortsword and the Giant's Bane ability of the Hammer require the character's attack roll to be a natural 20; though both hits are critical hits by the Champion fighter's Superior Critical abliity, neither roll triggers the special abilities of the fighter's magic weapons.
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10. A 13th level human Arcane Trickster rogue possesses a Ring of Jumping and a Strength score of 10. If the character casts Haste on himself at the start of his turn, what is the farthest distance he can move in that turn?
a) 180 feet.
b) 210 feet.
c) 360 feet.
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How did you do? I got 10 out of 10.
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--
Pauper
Ready? Here goes! Choose the most correct answer for each, remembering that specific beats general. The answer to each question is contained in the spoiler block following that question.
1. A character attempts to cast the Booming Blade cantrip while wielding a weapon with the two-handed property. Is this allowed?
a) Yes, Booming Blade does not have a somatic component.
b) No, since the attack occurs during the casting of the spell, the caster does not have a free hand to satisfy the spell's material component.
c) Only if the caster possesses the War Caster feat.
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The best answer is A -- since Booming Blade does not require a somatic component (SCAG, p.142), a caster does not require a free hand while casting it, but does require a free hand to access the spell's material component (SRD, p.102). However, since the material component for Booming Blade is the weapon being used to make the attack, the caster can satisfy this component by wielding the weapon. Since War Caster only specifies somatic components, it is not relevant to this specific case.
2. During an underwater combat (all combatants are fully immersed), a character without a swim speed casts the Greenflame Blade cantrip while wielding a shortsword. What is the most correct adjudication of the spell?
a) Spell operates as normal -- no change due to the underwater combat rules.
b) Character's attack roll is at disadvantage, since Greenflame Blade specifies that the caster makes a melee weapon attack, and melee weapon attacks are at disadvantage while underwater.
c) Attack roll is made as normal, but all targets have resistance to the fire damage from this spell due to being underwater.
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The best answer is C -- disadvantage from melee weapon attacks while underwater does not apply to creatures with a swim speed, or to creatures attacking with a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident. All creatures and objects that are fully immersed in water have resistance to fire damage. (BR, p.77)
3. A 10th level Champion fighter/5th level Beastmaster ranger is affected by the Haste spell. What is the maximum number of weapon attacks this character can make in one round (not counting the character's animal companion)?
a) Five (two from Extra Attack, two from Extra Attack again following use of Action Surge, one either from bonus action or from Haste, since Haste requires use of the character's bonus action)
b) Six (two from Extra Attack, two from Extra Attack again following use of Action Surge, one from bonus action from Two Weapon Fighting, one from additional action allowed by Haste)
c) Eleven (three from Extra Attack since both fighter and ranger have the ability, three from Extra Attack again following use of Action Surge, one from bonus action for Two Weapon Fighting, one from additional bonus action granted when using Action Surge, three from extra Attack action allowed by Haste)
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The best answer is B -- the Haste spell grants an 'additional' action and does not require the use of the character's bonus action, but only allows a single weapon attack with that action (BR, p.93). Both the fighter and ranger grant Extra Attack (2), but the effects do not stack. (SRD, p.57) Action Surge only grants an additional action when it is used; it does not grant an additional bonus action. (Sage Advice Compendium, p.3)
4. A caster casts Invisibility to turn invisible, then in the next round decides to ready an action to cast Fireball after the opponents have gathered around the party fighter. (The caster intends to use the Sculpt Spells ability of the Evocation wizard to exempt the fighter from the effects.) What happens?
a) The caster remains invisible and casts the spell following the enemy's turn in which they move to surround the fighter. Since the caster has advantage from being invisible, this translates into disadvantage on the enemy saving throw against the wizard's fireball.
b) The caster remains invisible and casts the spell during the enemy's turn after they complete their movement to surround the fighter. Since the wizard used a readied action, his initiative is reset to just before the enemy's initiative count.
c) The caster becomes visible, as a readied spell requires concentration. The caster may be unable to cast his readied spell, as the triggering condition "opponents gather around fighter" might not occur. Regardless, the spell slot used for fireball is expended.
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The best answer is C -- a readied spell requires concentration (BR, p.72), and an existing concentration spell ends when another spell that requires concentration is cast. (BR, p.80) Using the Ready action causes a spell to be "cast as normal" (BR, p.72), which means the spell slot is expended. (BR, p.78)
5. A wizard casts Burning Hands on a group of creatures -- two party members standing side-by-side facing off against three Medium sized enemy monsters also standing side-by-side, with the wizard standing behind his fellow party members. All five creatures are within the spell's area of effect. What is the most correct result?
a) All creatures must make a Dexterity saving throw against the wizard's spell save DC or take full damage -- a successful save results in half damage.
b) As a, but the enemy creatures gain +2 to their Dexterity saving throw, as the party members provide half cover to the enemy monsters.
c) As a, but all targets gain +2 to their Dexterity saving throw, as the party members provide half cover to the enemy monsters, while the monsters also provide half cover to the party.
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The most correct answer is B -- a creature only gains cover "when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover." (BR, p.74) Since the party is on the same side of the Burning Hands effect, they do not benefit from cover; a "creature, whether that creature is an enemy or a friend" is sufficient to grant half cover, however, (BR, p.74) so the monsters gain the benefit of cover from this spell.
6. A 6th level paladin, 6th level Arcane Trickster rogue rolls a critical hit on an enemy that qualifies for Sneak Attack and expends his highest level spell slot to perform a Divine Smite. The enemy is not undead or a fiend. How much extra damage is done by the Sneak Attack/Divine Smite combination?
a) 6d6 Sneak Attack plus 8d8 radiant for Divine Smite (3rd level spell slot doubled for crit)
b) 6d6 Sneak Attack plus 3d8 radiant for Divine Smite (2nd level spell slot; Divine Smite damage is not doubled on a crit)
c) 3d6 Sneak Attack and no Divine Smite damage (Sneak Attack damage is not doubled on a crit; Divine Smite must be declared before the attack roll)
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The most correct answer is A -- Divine Smite is used "when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack" (SRD, p.31) and thus does not have to be declared before the attack roll. All damage dice associated with an attack roll are doubled on a critical hit, including Sneak Attack and Divine Smite. ("If the attack involves other damage dice, such as from the rogue's Sneak Attack feature, you roll those dice twice as well." (BR, p.75)) A 6th level paladin/6th level Arcane Trickster rogue is effectively 5th level when determining spell slots (SRD, p.58), thus has 3rd level spell slots to expend on Divine Smite.
7. A caster casts Wall of Stone to surround itself and an adjacent enemy with a 10-foot high wall. The enemy creature successfully makes a Dexterity saving throw to avoid being surrounded by the wall. What happens?
a) The creature uses its reaction to move its speed to a point where it is not surrounded by the wall. The caster's turn then continues normally.
b) As a) but the caster can use his reaction to make an opportunity attack against the enemy creature.
c) As a) but the caster cannot use his reaction to make an opportunity attack against the enemy creature, as the wall is now in the way and opportunity attacks cannot be made against targets with total cover.
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The most correct answer is B -- the caster can use a reaction on his own turn (BR, p.70) to make an opportunity attack against a creature that moves out of his reach (BR, p.73). Since the creature moving is doing so as a result of its reaction, the caster can still make an opportunity attack against it. (Sage Advice Compendium, p.8) Attacks cannot be made against a creature with total cover (BR, p.74), so it is possible for a DM to rule that the opportunity attack cannot occur, since the timing of the reaction in the spell is not specified and therefore happens after the triggering event (DMG, p.252), but this requires a situation where the caster has deliberately created the wall with such a shape that the creature is effectively fully in the wall's space at the time it stops being adjacent to the caster. Since this is not a guarantee, B remains the most correct answer, but it is possible that in a specific scenario, C would be the correct ruling, based on the texts cited above.
8. A four-person party is playing an Adventurers League adventure where the group is pursuing unseen opponents across a wilderness. A group of goblins is hiding in the path the party is travelling. The ranger (passive Perception 16) is tracking the unseen opponents (and is not in one of his favored terrains for the purpose of his Natural Explorer feature), the cleric (passive Perception 14) is foraging for food, the fighter (passive perception 12) is looking for hidden enemies, and the wizard (passive Perception 10) is driving a wagon containing his personal gear. The DM rolls a 15 for the goblins' Dexterity (Stealth) check. What happens when the party reaches the goblins?
a) Combat begins. The ranger is not surprised, but the fighter, cleric, and wizard are surprised.
b) Combat begins. The ranger is not surprised, and thus can warn the rest of the party so they are not surprised.
c) Combat begins. All PCs are surprised.
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The most correct answer is C -- when beginning an encounter, the DM compares the Dexterity (Stealth) check of any hiding creatures with the passive Wisdom (Perception) scores of creatures in the other group to determine if any creatures are surprised (BR, p.69). It is possible for some creatures to be surprised while other creatures in the same group are not (BR, p.69); 'warning' the rest of the group has no effect on surprise. Creatures that are navigating, drawing maps, tracking, or foraging do not get to use their passive Wisdom (Perception) score to notice hidden threats. (BR, p.65) Characters not performing an "Other Activity"
(BR, p.65) are assumed to be looking for danger, so the fighter's declaration has no additional value; though the DM could rule otherwise, the fighter would still be surprised by the rule as written.
(BR, p.65) are assumed to be looking for danger, so the fighter's declaration has no additional value; though the DM could rule otherwise, the fighter would still be surprised by the rule as written.
9. A 15th level Champion fighter is dual-wielding a Vicious shortsword and a light Hammer of Thunderbolts, and also has the appropriate items to be able to activate the Giant's Bane ability of the Hammer. Against a giant opponent, the fighter rolls an 18 to hit with the shortsword and a 19 on an off-hand attack with the Hammer. What happens?
a) The Vicious shortsword deals double damage plus an extra 2d6 damage for the Vicious property; then the giant hit by the Hammer must make a DC 17 Constitution save or die instantly.
b) Since the Giant's Bane ability requires the character to have an attuned Belt of Giant Strength and Gauntlets of Ogre Power, the character cannot be attuned to both the Vicious shortsword and the Hammer of Thunderbolts at the same time; choose one weapon to be attuned to and treat the other as unattuned.
c) Both the Vicious shortsword and the Giant's Bane ability of the Hammer require the character's attack roll to be a natural 20; though both hits are critical hits by the Champion fighter's Superior Critical abliity, neither roll triggers the special abilities of the fighter's magic weapons.
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The most correct answer is C -- the Giant's Bane ability notes that you can use the Giant's Bane abliity "when you roll a 20 on an attack roll made with this weapon against a giant" (SRD, p.228). The Vicious weapon ability notes that "[w]hen you roll a 20 on your attack roll with this magic weapon, your critical hit deals an extra 2d6 damage of the weapon's type" (SRD, p.251). The ability of the Vicious weapon does not require attunement. (SRD, p.251)
10. A 13th level human Arcane Trickster rogue possesses a Ring of Jumping and a Strength score of 10. If the character casts Haste on himself at the start of his turn, what is the farthest distance he can move in that turn?
a) 180 feet.
b) 210 feet.
c) 360 feet.
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The most correct answer is A -- since the character has already spent an action to cast Haste, he cannot use his action to Dash. This leaves only his bonus action (via Cunning Action) and his extra Haste action for Dashing. Haste doubles his speed (from 30 to 60 feet), but Dash does not increase the character's speed, it only increases its movement for the current turn by the character's current speed (BR, p.72). Dashing twice, therefore, adds 60 feet twice to the character's 60 feet of speed, resulting in 180 feet of movement. Although the character can jump, jumping does not add any distance to the character's movement ("each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement." BR, p.64), and using the character's bonus action to activate the Ring of Jumping (SRD, p.240) would prevent the character from using that bonus action to Dash, resulting in less movement.
How did you do? I got 10 out of 10.
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Changed question 7 to specify that the key is the caster taking a reaction on his turn and that the existence or non-existence of the wall is not relevant to the question, as well as pointing out that the opportunity attack is not negated since the creature's movement is not 'forced'. Changed question 8 to specify that the ranger is not in favored terrain and thus cannot use Natural Explorer. Changed question 10 so that the Arcane Trickster is actually high enough level to cast Haste.
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Pauper
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