D&D 5E Do magic missiles automatically hit

[PeelSeel2]

I was in the middle of making the following post, when I started thinking about it and looking for examples, when I realized in this edition it is wrong.

It is better to say they automatically damage. Since there is no attack roll, they don't trigger things that say "on a hit".


In 5e Magic Missiles do automatically "hit", this doesn't do much as there is very little other effects that could trigger on a spell hit that is not built into the spell.

Two of the interesting ones I found were the rogue assassin subclass ability "assassinate" that turns any hit on a surprised creature into a critical hit and attacking an unconscious creature while within five feet of it that also turns any hit into a critical hit. So normally a magic missile spell can not critically hit because there is no attack roll, these two exceptions allow the spell to.

You can only crit when you get an attack roll. Magic missile and assassinate will not combine.

 

[Morrus]

I once repackaged a beholder as nearly a dozen dead wizards necromantically sewn together into a single levitating arcane golem's body, heads and arms sprouting off the torso at weird angles, each with wands or a hand to cast with. Completely freaked them out.

You disgust me, Kulp.

 

[Paraxis]

You can only crit when you get an attack roll. Magic missile and assassinate will not combine.

Not in 5e. In 3e and 4e that is true, but there is no such limit in 5e.

The magic missile spell says "hit" multiple times in the description, assassinate and attacking an unconscious character both just say when you "hit" so it does work with magic missile.

 

[PeelSeel2]

Not in 5e. In 3e and 4e that is true, but there is no such limit in 5e.

The magic missile spell says "hit" multiple times in the description, assassinate and attacking an unconscious character both just say when you "hit" so it does work with magic missile.

Not true in 5e. If you get an attack roll, you can crit. Otherwise you cannot.

 

[TwoSix]

Where my first DM was bloodthirsty, I am maybe a bit too lenient.

"Too bloodthirsty" or "too lenient" only matter when compared to the needs of the players at the table. As long as they're OK with the playstyle, it's all good.

 

[Paraxis]

Double post

 

[ranger69]

My favorite use of magic missile. I created these aberrations. Small black creatures with no eyes, and just a giant row of teeth set in an eternal smile. Very creepy. They would point their claws at people and make a swiping motion. Then claw marks would appear on the players bodies and do damage.


Players were freaking out "What do you mean it just did damage, no attack roll!"

The whole time it was just at-will magic missile, and only 3 missiles at that. Its all in the packaging.

Great idea. Consider it borrowed.

 

[Paraxis]

Double maybe triple post, due to trying to post while site was going down for maintenance.

 

[Paraxis]

Not true in 5e. If you get an attack roll, you can crit. Otherwise you cannot.

Can you back that statement up?

Because, assassinate says "any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit", unconscious condition says "Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature", and magic missile says "Each dart hits a creature o f your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 1d4+1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit on e creature or several."

I understand that in older editions the term "hit" meant it required an attack roll, I have played for a very long time. But we can't take our preconceptions from older editions and apply them to 5th. There is no rule in 5e saying that only an attack roll can crit.

Sure do I think the designers wanted magic missile to crit in those instances no. But that is not my fault, it is poor wording and using a mix of natural language and key terms, 4e was much clearer in the rules.

 

[Dausuul]

Repackage a beholder as a human arch-mage and they really freak out! "How can he cast that many spells in a round?!? TOTALLY unfair!!"

In the absence of a specific reason why the archmage can do that, I'd argue that is unfair.

As a player, I expect to have a certain amount of knowledge about how the game world operates. I know roughly what an archmage is capable of (since my PC could potentially become one). If I am considering taking on an archmage in combat, that knowledge will inform my decision.

Now, maybe this archmage has made a deal with Demogorgon that lets her split her mind into pieces and cast many spells simultaneously. If so, that's cool, and I don't necessarily have to know that in advance; the occasional nasty surprise is part of the game. But I expect the DM to know it and have thought about it. If my PC wizard, after surviving the fight, decides to go digging and find out how the archmage was capable of casting ten spells in six seconds, it should be possible to unearth an answer.