Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 7860400" data-attributes="member: 50987">Yeah, that's not exactly clear.  I don't know what the official ruling would be, but here's the way I understand it.  Grain of salt, all that.When you make an unarmed strike, you are making a melee attack.  Though you are not holding a physical weapon, you are slamming part of your body into your target, so in essence your fist/knee/teeth becomes the virtual "weapon."  But some special abilities require an actual--not virtual--weapon, one that is separate from your body, which will be imbued with arcane/divine/cheese power in ways that your body cannot, because Reasons.  Weird, but okay.Now, understanding it and agreeing with it are two different things.  The way I would rule it at my table:  if an ability specifically says "melee weapon attack," I require the player to use the Attack action, and use it with one of the specific Melee weapons listed in the Player's Handbook, pg. 149.And guess what?  "Unarmed Strike" is on that list.  So at my table, you can certainly roundhouse smite someone in the face if you want.  Jeremy Crawford is entitled to his opinion, but I'm going to respectfully disagree.</blockquote>