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 think you mean finessable.

 

[Faenor]

No, I'm referring to how Jeremy Crawford clarified the situation to be prior to this month's Sage Advice, and "the rest of the PHB" doesn't disagree with me either.

I think you mean finessable.

Versatile means str or dex bonus. It doesn't mean it can be used as a finesse weapon. Is there any difference? I don't know.

 

[Faenor]

No, I'm referring to how Jeremy Crawford clarified the situation to be prior to this month's Sage Advice, and "the rest of the PHB" doesn't disagree with me either.

Versatile means str or dex bonus. It doesn't mean it can be used as a finesse weapon. Is there any difference? I don't know.

I only meant to quote that second pqrt

 

[Ristamar]

Versatile means str or dex bonus. It doesn't mean it can be used as a finesse weapon. Is there any difference? I don't know.

Versatile means it can be used with other one hand or two hands, and using two hands provides a potential damage boost via larger damage dice.

 

[Faenor]

Umm. I'm going to have to start bringing my phb to work.

 

[Faenor]

Oh yeah. Finess can use your dex instead. Player basic rules off.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

...I can't find anything that disagrees with the current Sage Advice.

I'm not disagreeing with the current Sage Advice either, so I am very confused as to what it is that you think I've been saying this whole time.

 

[jaelis]

I'm not disagreeing with the current Sage Advice either, so I am very confused as to what it is that you think I've been saying this whole time.

Well, sage advice says that you use dex for a ranged weapon attack (unless a specific rule says otherwise) and also that a ranged weapon attack means a ranged attack with any weapon. So, for example, if you throw a longsword, you are making a ranged attack with a weapon, which is a ranged weapon attack, which therefore uses dexterity.

If I understand correctly, you would say that such an attack would use Str, because a longsword is a melee weapon an all attacks with melee weapons use Str. Which is an argument I can follow, but it also sounded like you felt Crawford had previously confirmed that interpretation and that he was contradicting himself in the recent SA.

 

[Faenor]

This sage advice clarifies that if you make a melee weapon attack, then you use str. If you make a ranged attack with a melee weapon, then you are making a ranged attack with a melee weapon. You aren't making a ranged weapon attack with your melee weapon. So, even though it is a ranged attack, it is still a melee weapon attack.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

Well, sage advice says that you use dex for a ranged weapon attack (unless a specific rule says otherwise) and also that a ranged weapon attack means a ranged attack with any weapon. So, for example, if you throw a longsword, you are making a ranged attack with a weapon, which is a ranged weapon attack, which therefore uses dexterity.

If I understand correctly, you would say that such an attack would use Str, because a longsword is a melee weapon an all attacks with melee weapons use Str. Which is an argument I can follow, but it also sounded like you felt Crawford had previously confirmed that interpretation and that he was contradicting himself in the recent SA.

I am going with Crawford's original confirmation that a melee weapon remains a melee weapon even when used in a ranged attack, and thus a ranged weapon remains a ranged weapon even when used in a melee attack (this ruling adds clarity http://www.sageadvice.eu/2014/09/19/dagger-archery/).

That's all I am saying - the category of weapon doesn't change to match the type of attack being made

Which means that even though the thrown property is technically meant to be an exception, it is not necessary to consider it as such because all thrown melee weapons attack with strength (as any melee weapon used in melee also normally does), except for those which also have the finesse property which allows for a choice of strength or dexterity to be made. And the ranged weapons with the thrown property do not have the ability score used to attack with them altered in any way either, making the overall actual effects of the thrown property nothing but designation of the range at which ranged attacks can be made and that the attack type doesn't have to worry about unrecoverable ammunition rules.