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.

 

[Hriston]

I would go an entirely different route with the whole rock situation. Starting with that I would acknowledge that the rock attack listed for giants is not in any way, shape, or form beholden to anything even resembling the rules that PCs are meant to adhere to; It is an entirely contrived attack given stats for no reasons other than "It feels right for giants to be dangerous when throwing rocks."

I don't think you know better than anyone else what reasons the designers had for choosing the stats they did. I'm certainly not making any such conjectures.

Then, the question of a PC throwing a rock. The standard improvised weapon rules work just fine for me (dexterity mod to the attack roll, 1d4 + dexterity mod bludgeoning damage, 20'/60' range). Any greater damage sought from PC usage of rocks would like fall entirely outside the normal attack rules and involve interaction with the environment (and as a result, include some reference to the improvising damage table from the DMG).

Yeah, I'd probably do it that way too.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I don't think you know better than anyone else what reasons the designers had for choosing the stats they did.

I never claimed to, I am merely repeating a paraphrased version of exactly what the developers have said on the topic: monsters intentionally don't use the same rules as PCs, and their stats are more about what "felt right" in play than any kind of hard-coded "those are the rules" approach.

 

[Hriston]

I never claimed to, I am merely repeating a paraphrased version of exactly what the developers have said on the topic: monsters intentionally don't use the same rules as PCs, and their stats are more about what "felt right" in play than any kind of hard-coded "those are the rules" approach.

Yeah, I've heard this from the developers too, and I assume what they're talking about is just good design that's been thoroughly play tested and adjusted accordingly. That doesn't change the fact that everything they produced is unified by a cohesive rules system. So what if monsters aren't built according to character generation rules? They aren't PCs. Why would anyone expect them to be unless they're carrying assumptions from other editions. I, for one, am not.

 

[Pauper]

Yeah, I've heard this from the developers too, and I assume what they're talking about is just good design that's been thoroughly play tested and adjusted accordingly. That doesn't change the fact that everything they produced is unified by a cohesive rules system.

Hriston, this isn't Third Edition -- the system may be cohesive, but it isn't meant to be exhaustive. There are plenty of observations that the monsters in 5e don't actually follow the same rules as the PCs, or even the rules listed in the MM for designing monsters.

5E is simply not a system designed to support the level of analysis applied to a typical 3.5/Pathfinder game. That's part of why Jeremy Crawford has of late been starting all his Sage Advice columns with a reminder that the DM's rulings trump even his explanations of the rules in that column.

--
Pauper

 

[Hriston]

[MENTION=17607]Pauper[/MENTION], you must have me confused with someone who has ever played or had any interest whatsoever in 3.x/Pathfinder. I'm straight from AD&D first edition. I find this system way more rational and fit for analysis than the one I played with before, so forgive me if I delight in the minutiae a bit more than is presently fashionable.

 

[Herobizkit]

Shoot it? Dex.
Throw it? Str.
Improvised? Str.
Finesse? Either or.
Improvised AND Finesse? DM call.

 

[Azurewraith]

Shoot it? Dex.
Throw it? Str.
Improvised? Str.
Finesse? Either or.
Improvised Finesse? DM call.

I would argue you couldn't have a improvised finesse wep as in my mind atleast a finesse weapon is crafted to be perfectly balanced with an extra sharp edge to make up for its lack of weight. So would seem a bit odd to me trying to blag that bit of cutlery as a finesse weapon as it resembles a dagger.

 

[Herobizkit]

I would argue you couldn't have a improvised finesse wep as in my mind atleast a finesse weapon is crafted to be perfectly balanced with an extra sharp edge to make up for its lack of weight. So would seem a bit odd to me trying to blag that bit of cutlery as a finesse weapon as it resembles a dagger.

I would disagree, which is why I say it's a DM call. Depends if you like more realism or more wuxia in your D&D. ^_^

 

[Azurewraith]

I would disagree, which is why I say it's a DM call. Depends if you like more realism or more wuxia in your D&D. ^_^

One of 5es greatest strenght imo there is no right or wrong answer to 75% of issues

 

[Herobizkit]

The "fast and loose" 5e system frustrates one of my players as he began his D&D experience with 4e; he NEEDS specific rules to make sense of his world. Shame, really... I'm an old-school D&D vet who grew up running "fast and loose".

Also, my gaming style was like 5e's.