Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Melee attacks/unarmed strikes?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="jaelis" data-source="post: 7430196" data-attributes="member: 60210"><p>The point is that there are a few different definitions of "weapon" that they are trying to distinguish.</p><p></p><p>First there is the sense of an object designed and manufactured for combat that you attack with. That is the basic meaning in D&D. Your fists are not weapons in this sense because they are not manufactured, or even distinct objects really.</p><p></p><p>Second is the sense of anything you attack with. Your fists would of course count in this sense. This type of weapon gets labelled as either an improvised weapon (an object not designed for combat), a natural weapon (a body part 'designed' for combat), or an unarmed strike (a body part not designed for combat). This is clunky I agree, but is there a better solution?</p><p></p><p>So why did they want to distinguish these senses? Well you can do things with a manufactured weapon that you can't with a body part, like disarming or drawing. The weapon rules are a lot simpler if you assume that they apply to manufactured weapons. Natural attacks and unarmed strikes are useful to distinguish because it makes descriptions clearer. When a wolf attacks, it uses its bite, it would be weird to say it kicks you. But a person can fight with a kick, a punch, a bite, a headbutt, or many other ways. you don't want to deny that, but also don't want to call out every single body part as a natural weapon.</p><p></p><p>As for attacks, the phase "weapon attack" is meant to indicate a type of attack, not the object used to make the attack. It is using "weapon" in the broader sense. It contrasts with spell attack. So it includes any attack that is based on physical, rather than magical, effects. In particular, an unarmed strike is a melee weapon attack: melee because it is in melee range, and weapon attack because it is physical. Again this is clunky, but it's hard to think of better language.</p><p></p><p>So: your body is an weapon in the general sense used for "weapon attack" but not in the specific sense of a manufactured item used for "weapon." </p><p></p><p>Hope that helps a little!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jaelis, post: 7430196, member: 60210"] The point is that there are a few different definitions of "weapon" that they are trying to distinguish. First there is the sense of an object designed and manufactured for combat that you attack with. That is the basic meaning in D&D. Your fists are not weapons in this sense because they are not manufactured, or even distinct objects really. Second is the sense of anything you attack with. Your fists would of course count in this sense. This type of weapon gets labelled as either an improvised weapon (an object not designed for combat), a natural weapon (a body part 'designed' for combat), or an unarmed strike (a body part not designed for combat). This is clunky I agree, but is there a better solution? So why did they want to distinguish these senses? Well you can do things with a manufactured weapon that you can't with a body part, like disarming or drawing. The weapon rules are a lot simpler if you assume that they apply to manufactured weapons. Natural attacks and unarmed strikes are useful to distinguish because it makes descriptions clearer. When a wolf attacks, it uses its bite, it would be weird to say it kicks you. But a person can fight with a kick, a punch, a bite, a headbutt, or many other ways. you don't want to deny that, but also don't want to call out every single body part as a natural weapon. As for attacks, the phase "weapon attack" is meant to indicate a type of attack, not the object used to make the attack. It is using "weapon" in the broader sense. It contrasts with spell attack. So it includes any attack that is based on physical, rather than magical, effects. In particular, an unarmed strike is a melee weapon attack: melee because it is in melee range, and weapon attack because it is physical. Again this is clunky, but it's hard to think of better language. So: your body is an weapon in the general sense used for "weapon attack" but not in the specific sense of a manufactured item used for "weapon." Hope that helps a little! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Melee attacks/unarmed strikes?
Top