D&D 5E (2024) Does Innate Sorcery grant True Strike advantage?

[Maxperson]

Only if you have a high casting stat.

Which just adds more evidence that it isn't the spell that is doing it. It's you. If it were the spell, your stat wouldn't matter. The bonus from Bless is a good example of a spell that is providing the bonus.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You, too? Do you understand how ridiculous it sounds for you to make that counter argument? Attack =/= hit. Attack=attack. Hit=hit. You only do damage if you hit. The attack determines IF you hit or miss.

You said “the weapon does no damage”. You said nothing about hitting or missing.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Which just adds more evidence that it isn't the spell that is doing it. It's you. If it were the spell, your stat wouldn't matter. The bonus from Bless is a good example of a spell that is providing the bonus.

Sure. The fiction of the spell is that the magic guides the attack, then the weapon does damage in accordance with physical laws*, much like Guidance, Mage Hand, and the Druid spell for throwing rocks at people.

But the ability talks about attacking with a spell, not hitting with a spell or damaging with a spell.


*unless you choose to convert the damage to radiant of course.

 

[Minigiant]

My ruling is

"Guided by a flash of magical insight, you make one attack with the weapon used in the spell’s casting. "

Innate Sorcery, No.
But oddly
Seeking Spell, Yes

To me it's not an attack roll of the spell but it's an attack roll for the spell to do anything.

The spell isn't making the attack.
You are.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Unlike a spell like fire bolt which targets an enemy, The range of true strike is “Self” so, no it doesn’t give you advantage to attack someone else.

All the spell does is enhance your ability to attack by letting you attack with your spellcasting ability and change the damage to radiant if you hit. Basically, it’s a buffing spell, not an attack spell.

It’s the equivalent of using Enlarge Person to boost your damage and then saying you get advantage on all melee attacks while the spell is up because you cast it as a sorcerer spell.

Edited for clarity.

 

[aco175]

Unlike a spell like fire bolt which targets an enemy, The range of true strike is “Self” so, no it doesn’t give you advantage to attack someone else.

All the spell does is enhance your ability to attack by letting you attack with your spellcasting ability and change the damage to radiant if you hit. Basically, it’s a buffing spell, not an attack spell.

It’s the equivalent of using Enhance ability to boost your strength and then saying you get advantage on all melee attacks while the spell is up because you cast it as a sorcerer spell.

I would still argue that the action being used by the PC is to cast a spell and not to make an attack. The spell allows you to make an attack as part of the action being used.

If the spell was different somehow and was a free action or such that allowed you to use it while making a attack with a weapon you are proficient with... I might see it as different.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I was looking at produce flame. The target is ‘self’ but it specifically notes you make a spell attack - not a melee attack.

The wording for true strike would have been better if they’d used that language:

With a melee weapon, make a melee spell attack against an enemy. The weapon’s damage can be radiant or its normal damage.

In any case, it’s not a spell attack, it’s a melee attack so I still think there’s no advantage.

Primal Savagery (I’m not sure if that’s a 2024 spell) is also ‘self’ and it’s also instantaneous and it lets you do acid damage with a melee attack. It specifically says the change lasts for the attack. I wouldn’t allow advantage with that spell either.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The narrative of this ability is that it makes your spells more powerful, either by increasing the save DC or making them more likely to hit. I believe that the ability is intended to affect all (or as many as possible) spells cast during the duration. I don’t believe the intent is to exclude any spells based on minute scrutiny of the wording.

 

[Stalker0]

Just like the modification of the attack from True Strike is supernatural and obeys no physical laws.

Ok, so looks like we agree that True Strike is modifying the attack with magic. So we at least found that area in the middle.

 

[Stalker0]

Just to be fair, I think Maxperson's getting beat up a bit on their side of the argument, but I respect that this really isn't cut and dry.

We are getting a bit off topic on some of the nuances of spell and attack and what all of that means. It all comes back to this line:

• You have Advantage on the attack rolls of Sorcerer spells you cast.

The way I read that is, if a sorc spell generates an attack roll (I don't care how just that it does), than it gets advantage. This interpretation means that True Strike would get advantage. But it also means anything you summoned or conjured with a sorc spell would also get advantage on all the attacks it makes....and that might be the step too far. I don't know if innate sorcery was meant to advantage to all summon attacks for example.