D&D 5E Warlock's Pact of the Chain

[i_dont_meta]

The third and last paragraph states that when you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your familiar to make one attack of its own with it's reaction. My question: if you're capable of using your bonus action to engage in Two-Weapon Fighting can you forgo THAT Attack to allow your familiar to attack?

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[Cap'n Kobold]

Technically, I can't see why not, if that is the exact wording of the rules.

You're still having to use your attack action to attack, so you're not getting to cast and make a familiar attack. You still need a weapon in your off-hand, and you're still giving up an attack, just up a slightly less-effective attack.

 

[ClaytonCross]

Not only that but because of the wording if you were cross classed into any of the classes that give you multi-attack you could use your the first for you and the second for the familiar, or if you were 7 levels in eldritch knight you could use war magic to cast a cantrip then have your familiar attack with the bonus action attack that provides although War Clerics can attack as a bonus action for a number of times equal to there wisdom modifier per long rest from level 1 which would be the cheapest buy and allows you to keep your hands free. Despite this being the text (and I checked) I would ask your GM about it prior to trying to use it. It should be fine per RAW but I could see it classified as "rule layering" if you catch a GM off guard where if they had time to look it up they could ... clarify ...their interpretation with a house rule or maybe look at how grappling works on "attach actions" and come to terms with it before being put on the spot.

Edit: So I read some of the posts and then I read the relevant wording all of these and I was wrong about Eldritch Knight War magic the rest all seem correct to me. I will put the quotes in a new post below.

 

[toucanbuzz]

...when you take the Attack action...

That answers your question there. A bonus action is not part of the Attack action and instead is something separate. RAW, no.

An off-hand attack using a bonus action, by default, is inferior to an Attack action, so there is some design intent here, especially since the Chain Pact familiars can have superior attacks relative to traditional familiars.

 

[Charlaquin]

The third and last paragraph states that when you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your familiar to make one attack of its own with it's reaction. My question: if you're capable of using your bonus action to engage in Two-Weapon Fighting can you forgo THAT Attack to allow your familiar to attack?

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No. The Bonus Action attack you make with two weapon fighting is not the Attack Action. To use this feature, you must replace one of the attacks (lower-case a) granted to you by the Attack (upper-case A) Action. And nless your warlock is multiclassed, the Attack Action should only grant one attack.

You also can’t replace the attack granted by the Attack Action and still make a Bonus Action attack with your off-hand weapon.

When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you’re holding in the other hand.

In this case, you are taking the Attack Action and your familiar is attacking. You are not taking the Attack Action and making an attack with a light weapon that you’re holding in one hand. However, if you have the Extra Attack feature (say, from taking 5 levels in Fighter), then you get to make two attacks when you take the Attack Action, so you can replace one of those attacks with an attack from your familiar and use the other one to attack with a light melee weapon you are holding in one hand. So in that case, you could then use a Bonus Action to make an Attack with a second light melee weapon you are holding in your other hand.

Of course, all of this is a very strict RAW interpretation, and it’s possible your DM will rule differently.

 

[jgsugden]

That answers your question there. A bonus action is not part of the Attack action and instead is something separate. RAW, no.

Not so fast - it doesn't say that the attack you sacrifice has to be part of the attack action, merely that you need to take the attack action, and then you forgo one of your attacks. As long as you have used the attack action, RAW, you can forgo *any* attack you have available to allow the familiar attack.

 

[toucanbuzz]

Not so fast - it doesn't say that the attack you sacrifice has to be part of the attack action, merely that you need to take the attack action, and then you forgo one of your attacks. As long as you have used the attack action, RAW, you can forgo *any* attack you have available to allow the familiar attack.

It mandates Attack action only. Unless and until you get the Extra Attack feature, you only have 1 attack to substitute. Bonus actions, as defined, are an "additional" action above and beyond Moving and Action options. See reference to Mike Mearls' sage advice wherein he clarifies a Dual-Wield fighter with Extra Attack does not get an Extra offhand attack. Offhand attacks are a distinct and separate bonus action from the primary Attack action.

Again, if intended to apply to anything except the Attack action, the designers would have said "bonus" action, "reaction," or the like.

 

[Ovinomancer]

No. The Bonus Action attack you make with two weapon fighting is not the Attack Action. To use this feature, you must replace one of the attacks (lower-case a) granted to you by the Attack (upper-case A) Action. And nless your warlock is multiclassed, the Attack Action should only grant one attack.

You also can’t replace the attack granted by the Attack Action and still make a Bonus Action attack with your off-hand weapon.


In this case, you are taking the Attack Action and your familiar is attacking. You are not taking the Attack Action and making an attack with a light weapon that you’re holding in one hand. However, if you have the Extra Attack feature (say, from taking 5 levels in Fighter), then you get to make two attacks when you take the Attack Action, so you can replace one of those attacks with an attack from your familiar and use the other one to attack with a light melee weapon you are holding in one hand. So in that case, you could then use a Bonus Action to make an Attack with a second light melee weapon you are holding in your other hand.

Of course, all of this is a very strict RAW interpretation, and it’s possible your DM will rule differently.

I agree with this. When dual wielding, you don't get a bonus attack until you make an attack with a light weapon held in one hand. When you do so, you get a bonus action that you can use only to make an attack with a different weapon that must be 1) light and 2) held in a different hand from the first weapon.

If you use the Pact of the Chain feature to replace your Attack action attack, then you never make an attack with a light weapon held in one hand, and therefore never get the bonus action.

If you make the attack with a light onehanded weapon for the Attack action, then you get the bonus action, but it can only be used to make an attack with a different light weapon held in a different hand and not substituted for the Pact of the Chain attack. IE, if you don't use it to make the weapon attack, you're not using that bonus action.

If you have multiple attacks with your Attack action, you can sacrifice one for Pact of the Chain, but you still can't sacrifice the dual wielding bonus action because that only allows you to do the attack with the off handed weapon.

So, in conclusion, no, there is no circumstance where you can substitute your dual wielding bonus action for Pact of the Chain familiar attack. By RAW. Again, ask your DM -- they might not mind at all.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Not so fast - it doesn't say that the attack you sacrifice has to be part of the attack action, merely that you need to take the attack action, and then you forgo one of your attacks. As long as you have used the attack action, RAW, you can forgo *any* attack you have available to allow the familiar attack.

I'd say that's stretching it a bit far. Technically the text also doesn't specify that "when you take the attack action" means on the same turn. It could perhaps only be necessary was taken on the same day as the warlock lets the familiar attack in place of one of his eldritch blasts?

 

[Swarmkeeper]

EDIT: sorry, I was wrong... note to self: READ the rules before explaining them.