What damage does weapon enhancement add to?

[amysrevenge]

OK, here's the text:

A magic weapon adds an enhancement bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls.... This bonus does not apply to any ongoing damage or other damage that might be applied to the attack.

So.

I'm guessing that the extra damage to an adjacent enemy from the Fighter Attack 1 At-will Cleave counts as "other damage" and doesn't get the enhancement bonus added on. Similarly, the half or full Str damage from a miss using the Fighter Attack 1 At-will Reaping Strike probably doesn't benefit from a weapon's enhancement bonus.

However, does the 1[W] from the Fighter Attack 5 Daily Rain of Steel get to add the weaon's enhancement bonus? It is clearly 1[W] and NOT 1[W]+Str, but does that make a difference? What about other powers like the Fighter Attack 1 At-will Sure Strike, which also does a simple 1[W]?

 

[Kordeth]

Like the tezxt says, damage rolls. If you roll damage with a power that has the Weapon keyword, you add the enhancement bonus. Enhancement bonuses (and other bonuses from feats and the like) are not part of the ability bonus--if a power says 1[W], you still add enhancement bonuses, feat bonuses, etc.

 

[kerbarian]

This is even more of a concern for implement bonuses to spell damage. For example, if you take a swing at a wall of ice, do you take 2d6 cold damage or 2d6 + implement bonus of the caster? What if the caster has dropped the implement or started using a different one in the meantime?

Or if a spell lets you take additional attacks in later rounds (flaming sphere, mordenkainen's sword, bigby's grasping hands, etc.), do you get the implement bonus to the new attack rolls?

I asked customer service about this twice. The first time, after some back-and-forth, I was told it was an errata issue and should be addressed in an upcoming clarification. This was before the first round of errata came out, and it hasn't been addressed yet in either set of errata or in the FAQ.

When I asked again, I was told that the bonuses only apply to your initial attack and damage rolls and not to any subsequent attacks or damage, even if they're "damage rolls". Meaning that you would not get the bonus to rain of steel.

However, until an official clarification comes out, the way I'm planning to run it in my campaign is: You get your weapon/implement bonus on any attack roll and on any damage roll resulting from the attack roll. You don't get it on any damage (rolls or otherwise) that doesn't directly result from an attack roll.

 

[Celtavian]

re

It is kind of annoying that they don't clarify this.

I think I plan to run it the following way:

1. The bonus attack and damage from feats and magic items applies to any attack that gains the benefit of weapon proficiency bonus or implement bonus including attacks like Furious Smash and Cleave secondary damage.

2. It will not apply to ongoing damage or damage such as an additional round of damage from powers, but will apply to secondary attacks from sustaining a spell.

3. For at wills and feats the bonus damage will apply only if the attack actually hits, not if you get some kind of damage from a miss.

 

[Mengu]

The rule seems pretty clear to me, and I have no idea what CustServ is basing their answers on, nor do I understand why there needs to be errata.

Any attack and damage rolls for a power should add the appropriate weapon or implement bonus. If there is no roll, there is no bonus.

Cleave, Reaping Strike, Furious Smash get no bonus to damage rolls, since there is no roll.

Sure Strike, Twin Strike, Rain of Steel, secondary damage from various powers such as Dire Radiance and Hellish Rebuke, automatic damage from various powers such as Flaming Sphere and Armor of Agathys, all add the weapon/implement bonus.

 

[Tony Vargas]

The enhancement bonus of a weapon aplies to attack /rolls/ and damage /rolls/ for any power with the weapon keyword (and even basic attacks are described as weapon-keyword at-will powers, PH p287). If you're not rolling for damage, you're not adding an enhancement bonus to that damage.

 

[Aratargul]

Enhancement question plz answer!

If i had a magic weapon +2 and i use a Augmenting Whetstone +3 my total enhancement will be +5???? or Augmenting Whetstone +3 replace my enhancement +2???

and in what book and page i can find this information??

 

[Bold or Stupid]

Bonuses of the same type don't stack. So you just use the best one. It's in th Players handbook.

 

[mageta80]

What about "extra" damage: like the one triggered in Hellish Rebuke or Dire Radiance?

Or "special" extra damage, like Curse damage, Sneak Attack or Hunter's Quarry, especially with feats like Empowering Shadows (When you have concealment from your Shadow Walk, you gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls)?

I think it needs a little clarification in this zone...

 

[DarkLord Of DForce]

If i had a magic weapon +2 and i use a Augmenting Whetstone +3 my total enhancement will be +5???? or Augmenting Whetstone +3 replace my enhancement +2???

and in what book and page i can find this information??

It replaces - you'd use the +3 of the Augmenting Whetstone as the *total*. My group and I made this same mistake when we first started playing. The source is the same for both and same sources don't stack.