Sage Advice: Sneak Attacks, Breath Weapons, and Magic Weapons

The month's Sage Advice column by WotC's Jeremy Crawford covers the rogue's sneak attacks, ability modifiers to use with attack roles, and answers the questions "does anti-magic field work on a dragon's breath weapon?" (no), and "do magic weapons automatically give you bonus to both attack and damage rolls?" (only if it says so in the description).

The Sage Advice Compendium PDF has been updated to include this information. You can read the current column here.

 

[Faenor]

You have to read all the words, whether they are sage advice or the phb. Part of words of sage advice is the question that he is answering. The question is what does melee weapon attack mean. He then says that it's a melee attack with a weapon. I understand you are frustrated because you can't say that because jc said then this other thing must be true. Only the words in the phb are true. If it seems as though he is saying something different from what the phb says, then 're-read everything carefully until you see that he's not. Because he isn't.

 

[Hriston]

I don't think so. I think Feanor's right, in that since the *rules* reference weapon type rather than attack type, generally, a table that references attack type rather than weapon type is probably "not how it works".

When it comes to which ability modifier to apply, that is how it works.

 

[Faenor]

Hriston - do you apply dex to all ranged attacks?

 

[Hriston]

Your two sentences that start with 'you can'. What words in the phb are those assertions based on?

For an RWA made with a melee weapon:
"Thrown. If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon."

For an MWA made with a ranged weapon:
"If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4 damage."

 

[Hriston]

Hriston - do you apply dex to all ranged attacks?

No, if you make a ranged spell attack you apply your spellcasting ability modifier.

If you make a ranged weapon attack you apply dexterity unless an exception comes into play, such as you're making the attack with a melee weapon that has the thrown property, or you're making the attack with a ranged weapon that has the finesse property and you choose to use strength instead.

 

[Faenor]

Ok, cool, then we aren't disagreeing about that. I forget whether we are in disagreement about anything.

 

[Faenor]

It may be that there is not a thing that is a ranged attack that is not also either a ranged spell attack or a ranged weapon attack, but there may be at some point in the future. In the case of melee attacks, there are melee attacks that are not melee weapon attacks and not melee spell attacks. That's why what you say is not true, while what Jeremy says is true.

 

[Faenor]

Not you, hriston, the other guy.

 

[jaelis]

I In the case of melee attacks, there are melee attacks that are not melee weapon attacks and not melee spell attacks. That's why what you say is not true, while what Jeremy says is true.

What is your example of such an attack?

 

[seebs]

When it comes to which ability modifier to apply, that is how it works.

I don't think so. Melee weapons use strength whether you are using them for melee attacks or ranged attacks, because if you're using melee attacks with them, they're "thrown", which uses Str.