Do natural melee weapons (from racial traits) trigger Improved Divine Smite?
$begingroup$
Following up on
Does Improved Divine Smite trigger when a paladin makes an unarmed strike?
Improved Divine Smite will not trigger on an unarmed strike.
Context
The paladin in my campaign – covered in my previous question – is a minotaur. This means he could attack with his horns, to potentially trigger Improved Divine Smite.
Minotaur, Unearthed Arcana: Centaurs and Minotaurs:
Horns. Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re proficient. When you hit with
them, the target takes piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Paladin, PHB page 85:
Improved Divine Smite. By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
Question
Do natural melee weapons from racial traits trigger Improved Divine Smite?
In other words, do natural weapons count as melee weapons? Or is there some other rule that categorizes/treats natural melee weapons differently from other melee weapons?
For my campaign I'm mostly interested in the natural melee weapon from minotaurs. I'm assuming, however, the same rules would apply for other natural melee weapons gained through racial traits – e.g. a lizardfolk's Bite, tabaxi's Claw, centaur's Hoove, etc. If this assumption is wrong, please enlighten me.
dnd-5e class-feature paladin racial-traits natural-weapon
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Following up on
Does Improved Divine Smite trigger when a paladin makes an unarmed strike?
Improved Divine Smite will not trigger on an unarmed strike.
Context
The paladin in my campaign – covered in my previous question – is a minotaur. This means he could attack with his horns, to potentially trigger Improved Divine Smite.
Minotaur, Unearthed Arcana: Centaurs and Minotaurs:
Horns. Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re proficient. When you hit with
them, the target takes piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Paladin, PHB page 85:
Improved Divine Smite. By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
Question
Do natural melee weapons from racial traits trigger Improved Divine Smite?
In other words, do natural weapons count as melee weapons? Or is there some other rule that categorizes/treats natural melee weapons differently from other melee weapons?
For my campaign I'm mostly interested in the natural melee weapon from minotaurs. I'm assuming, however, the same rules would apply for other natural melee weapons gained through racial traits – e.g. a lizardfolk's Bite, tabaxi's Claw, centaur's Hoove, etc. If this assumption is wrong, please enlighten me.
dnd-5e class-feature paladin racial-traits natural-weapon
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
Just so you know, the minotaur race from that UA has been published in a slightly modified(?) form in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Following up on
Does Improved Divine Smite trigger when a paladin makes an unarmed strike?
Improved Divine Smite will not trigger on an unarmed strike.
Context
The paladin in my campaign – covered in my previous question – is a minotaur. This means he could attack with his horns, to potentially trigger Improved Divine Smite.
Minotaur, Unearthed Arcana: Centaurs and Minotaurs:
Horns. Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re proficient. When you hit with
them, the target takes piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Paladin, PHB page 85:
Improved Divine Smite. By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
Question
Do natural melee weapons from racial traits trigger Improved Divine Smite?
In other words, do natural weapons count as melee weapons? Or is there some other rule that categorizes/treats natural melee weapons differently from other melee weapons?
For my campaign I'm mostly interested in the natural melee weapon from minotaurs. I'm assuming, however, the same rules would apply for other natural melee weapons gained through racial traits – e.g. a lizardfolk's Bite, tabaxi's Claw, centaur's Hoove, etc. If this assumption is wrong, please enlighten me.
dnd-5e class-feature paladin racial-traits natural-weapon
$endgroup$
Following up on
Does Improved Divine Smite trigger when a paladin makes an unarmed strike?
Improved Divine Smite will not trigger on an unarmed strike.
Context
The paladin in my campaign – covered in my previous question – is a minotaur. This means he could attack with his horns, to potentially trigger Improved Divine Smite.
Minotaur, Unearthed Arcana: Centaurs and Minotaurs:
Horns. Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re proficient. When you hit with
them, the target takes piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Paladin, PHB page 85:
Improved Divine Smite. By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
Question
Do natural melee weapons from racial traits trigger Improved Divine Smite?
In other words, do natural weapons count as melee weapons? Or is there some other rule that categorizes/treats natural melee weapons differently from other melee weapons?
For my campaign I'm mostly interested in the natural melee weapon from minotaurs. I'm assuming, however, the same rules would apply for other natural melee weapons gained through racial traits – e.g. a lizardfolk's Bite, tabaxi's Claw, centaur's Hoove, etc. If this assumption is wrong, please enlighten me.
dnd-5e class-feature paladin racial-traits natural-weapon
dnd-5e class-feature paladin racial-traits natural-weapon
asked 4 hours ago
VadrukVadruk
2,49711557
2,49711557
1
$begingroup$
Just so you know, the minotaur race from that UA has been published in a slightly modified(?) form in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
add a comment |
1
$begingroup$
Just so you know, the minotaur race from that UA has been published in a slightly modified(?) form in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
1
1
$begingroup$
Just so you know, the minotaur race from that UA has been published in a slightly modified(?) form in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
Just so you know, the minotaur race from that UA has been published in a slightly modified(?) form in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Yes, if the racial rule calls them weapons
As your other linked answer states, Unarmed Strikes do not work for Improved Divine Strike because the rules say Unarmed Strikes are not weapons:
Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons).
But the racial ability for Minotaur horns specifically says the horns are a weapon:
Your horns are natural melee weapons
What is happening here is that there is a specific rule/allowance for the Minotaur that is similar to (but different from) a general prohibition.
The minotaur is not making an Unarmed Strike (a head-butt). It is making an attack with a weapon which happens to be located on its head.
Contrast this with the Aarakocra's Talons:
Talons
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
(Hat tip to Justin)
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes, if it says they are weapons
The Minotaur race Horns racial feature says (emphasis mine):
Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re
proficient. When you hit with them, the target takes piercing damage
equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Divine smite says:
By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes
an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
So, in this case it is valid, as it says that your horns are weapons. However, this only applies to the Minotaur race. Racial attack abilities vary between races. For instance, the Aarakockra race's Talon racial feature says:
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
In this case, it does not say that the talons are weapons, and it therefore follows the 'it does not work' unarmed strikes path.
You can tell the difference between the racial attacks eligible for Improved Divine Smite, and those ineligible, as the valid ones say that it is a weapon, and the not valid ones don't.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["\$", "\$"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "122"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f142688%2fdo-natural-melee-weapons-from-racial-traits-trigger-improved-divine-smite%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Yes, if the racial rule calls them weapons
As your other linked answer states, Unarmed Strikes do not work for Improved Divine Strike because the rules say Unarmed Strikes are not weapons:
Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons).
But the racial ability for Minotaur horns specifically says the horns are a weapon:
Your horns are natural melee weapons
What is happening here is that there is a specific rule/allowance for the Minotaur that is similar to (but different from) a general prohibition.
The minotaur is not making an Unarmed Strike (a head-butt). It is making an attack with a weapon which happens to be located on its head.
Contrast this with the Aarakocra's Talons:
Talons
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
(Hat tip to Justin)
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes, if the racial rule calls them weapons
As your other linked answer states, Unarmed Strikes do not work for Improved Divine Strike because the rules say Unarmed Strikes are not weapons:
Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons).
But the racial ability for Minotaur horns specifically says the horns are a weapon:
Your horns are natural melee weapons
What is happening here is that there is a specific rule/allowance for the Minotaur that is similar to (but different from) a general prohibition.
The minotaur is not making an Unarmed Strike (a head-butt). It is making an attack with a weapon which happens to be located on its head.
Contrast this with the Aarakocra's Talons:
Talons
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
(Hat tip to Justin)
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes, if the racial rule calls them weapons
As your other linked answer states, Unarmed Strikes do not work for Improved Divine Strike because the rules say Unarmed Strikes are not weapons:
Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons).
But the racial ability for Minotaur horns specifically says the horns are a weapon:
Your horns are natural melee weapons
What is happening here is that there is a specific rule/allowance for the Minotaur that is similar to (but different from) a general prohibition.
The minotaur is not making an Unarmed Strike (a head-butt). It is making an attack with a weapon which happens to be located on its head.
Contrast this with the Aarakocra's Talons:
Talons
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
(Hat tip to Justin)
$endgroup$
Yes, if the racial rule calls them weapons
As your other linked answer states, Unarmed Strikes do not work for Improved Divine Strike because the rules say Unarmed Strikes are not weapons:
Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons).
But the racial ability for Minotaur horns specifically says the horns are a weapon:
Your horns are natural melee weapons
What is happening here is that there is a specific rule/allowance for the Minotaur that is similar to (but different from) a general prohibition.
The minotaur is not making an Unarmed Strike (a head-butt). It is making an attack with a weapon which happens to be located on its head.
Contrast this with the Aarakocra's Talons:
Talons
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
(Hat tip to Justin)
edited 2 hours ago
V2Blast
23.7k376150
23.7k376150
answered 3 hours ago
RykaraRykara
3,421533
3,421533
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes, if it says they are weapons
The Minotaur race Horns racial feature says (emphasis mine):
Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re
proficient. When you hit with them, the target takes piercing damage
equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Divine smite says:
By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes
an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
So, in this case it is valid, as it says that your horns are weapons. However, this only applies to the Minotaur race. Racial attack abilities vary between races. For instance, the Aarakockra race's Talon racial feature says:
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
In this case, it does not say that the talons are weapons, and it therefore follows the 'it does not work' unarmed strikes path.
You can tell the difference between the racial attacks eligible for Improved Divine Smite, and those ineligible, as the valid ones say that it is a weapon, and the not valid ones don't.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes, if it says they are weapons
The Minotaur race Horns racial feature says (emphasis mine):
Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re
proficient. When you hit with them, the target takes piercing damage
equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Divine smite says:
By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes
an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
So, in this case it is valid, as it says that your horns are weapons. However, this only applies to the Minotaur race. Racial attack abilities vary between races. For instance, the Aarakockra race's Talon racial feature says:
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
In this case, it does not say that the talons are weapons, and it therefore follows the 'it does not work' unarmed strikes path.
You can tell the difference between the racial attacks eligible for Improved Divine Smite, and those ineligible, as the valid ones say that it is a weapon, and the not valid ones don't.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes, if it says they are weapons
The Minotaur race Horns racial feature says (emphasis mine):
Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re
proficient. When you hit with them, the target takes piercing damage
equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Divine smite says:
By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes
an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
So, in this case it is valid, as it says that your horns are weapons. However, this only applies to the Minotaur race. Racial attack abilities vary between races. For instance, the Aarakockra race's Talon racial feature says:
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
In this case, it does not say that the talons are weapons, and it therefore follows the 'it does not work' unarmed strikes path.
You can tell the difference between the racial attacks eligible for Improved Divine Smite, and those ineligible, as the valid ones say that it is a weapon, and the not valid ones don't.
$endgroup$
Yes, if it says they are weapons
The Minotaur race Horns racial feature says (emphasis mine):
Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you’re
proficient. When you hit with them, the target takes piercing damage
equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Divine smite says:
By 11th level, whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes
an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
So, in this case it is valid, as it says that your horns are weapons. However, this only applies to the Minotaur race. Racial attack abilities vary between races. For instance, the Aarakockra race's Talon racial feature says:
You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
In this case, it does not say that the talons are weapons, and it therefore follows the 'it does not work' unarmed strikes path.
You can tell the difference between the racial attacks eligible for Improved Divine Smite, and those ineligible, as the valid ones say that it is a weapon, and the not valid ones don't.
edited 2 hours ago
Rykara
3,421533
3,421533
answered 3 hours ago
JustinJustin
2,75211033
2,75211033
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
$begingroup$
There is a sageadvice to this same question: sageadvice.eu/2018/06/06/…
$endgroup$
– Vylix
51 mins ago
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Role-playing Games Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f142688%2fdo-natural-melee-weapons-from-racial-traits-trigger-improved-divine-smite%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
$begingroup$
Just so you know, the minotaur race from that UA has been published in a slightly modified(?) form in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago