Hi there! A FAQ for the College of Spirits Bard from me. Tale of the Renowned Duelist: You make a melee spell attack against the target. (...) Am I to understand, that when I roll this Tale, its the Bard that needs to make a melee attack? Or do I bestow the Tale like the others and the target makes a melee attack using the Bard's spellcasting ability as a modifier for it? If its the Bard, since its a melee spell attack, I assume it does not follow the "target a creature within 30ft of you" like the others?
Based on the ability's description i think it's meant to be that your bestowing the tale on the target by attacking them. Most of the effects bestow a buff of some sort on their targets while this one (and 12) bestows a negative effect.
you make a melee attack seems like a case of specific beats general
this is at least how we ran it when i played a spirits bard as that seems to be what it says, but the subclass has some awkward wording in places so it never hurts to check how your DM wants to do things.
When using Tale of the Renowned Duelist, the bard makes a melee spell attack against the target because it is chosen to be the target, which for this Tale means it is attacked by the bard. In other word, it's not a Tale where the bard can choose a creature to grant it an attack.
Tales From Beyond: You can use an action to choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you (this can be you) to be the target of the tale’s effect. Once you do so, you can’t bestow the tale’s effect again until you roll it again.
Hi there! A FAQ for the College of Spirits Bard from me. Tale of the Renowned Duelist: You make a melee spell attack against the target. (...) Am I to understand, that when I roll this Tale, its the Bard that needs to make a melee attack? Or do I bestow the Tale like the others and the target makes a melee attack using the Bard's spellcasting ability as a modifier for it? If its the Bard, since its a melee spell attack, I assume it does not follow the "target a creature within 30ft of you" like the others?
You, the bard, make a melee spell attack against the target. It all happens at once when you resolve the effect, this is basically a spell attack. You do not need to go up and physically hit them, the Tale itself is magically hitting them. It can totally be at 30ft, there are plenty of melee spell attacks that work at range.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Thank you all for the answers! That was my initial impression, but then we started talking with the GM and wanted to clarify.
Is there any reason why it's calling out for a Melee attack specifically? No mechanics come to mind, that could possibly be of use here. I guess the Protection Style, if the enemies have it.
Thank you all for the answers! That was my initial impression, but then we started talking with the GM and wanted to clarify.
Is there any reason why it's calling out for a Melee attack specifically? No mechanics come to mind, that could possibly be of use here. I guess the Protection Style, if the enemies have it.
If it didn't tell you whether the spell attack was ranged or melee, it would be completely unusable and unplayable, as the DM would have no idea which was intended. Between the two options, melee is superior, for when you need to make the attack while a hostile is within 5' of you.
The way I read this was that you grant the ability to another character. For instance, you could grant your barbarian friend the ability to make a melee spell attack.
Ophidimancer says "You, the bard, make a melee spell attack against the target." It makes much more sense the way you have explained it. Thanks.
So, since this one is a melee spell attack, then I'm thinking that your familiar (if you have one) can deliver it just like any other melee spell attack? Would this also include Tale of the Dragon, for instance?
So, since this one is a melee spell attack, then I'm thinking that your familiar (if you have one) can deliver it just like any other melee spell attack? Would this also include Tale of the Dragon, for instance?
Familiars deliver spells with the range of Touch. Despite being a melee spell attack, this ability is not a spell and even if it were, it doesn't specifically say it has Range: Touch.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
There are some few things that trigger on melee attacks but not on ranged attacks and vice versa. One example would be that you don't roll with disadvantage when an enemy is withihn 5ft of you since it's a melee attack even if the range of it is particularly big. Most of the time it doesn't matter though.
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I've never encountered a forum where I got this many "talking to a wall" impressions as this one...
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Hi there! A FAQ for the College of Spirits Bard from me.
Tale of the Renowned Duelist: You make a melee spell attack against the target. (...)
Am I to understand, that when I roll this Tale, its the Bard that needs to make a melee attack? Or do I bestow the Tale like the others and the target makes a melee attack using the Bard's spellcasting ability as a modifier for it? If its the Bard, since its a melee spell attack, I assume it does not follow the "target a creature within 30ft of you" like the others?
Based on the ability's description i think it's meant to be that your bestowing the tale on the target by attacking them. Most of the effects bestow a buff of some sort on their targets while this one (and 12) bestows a negative effect.
you make a melee attack seems like a case of specific beats general
this is at least how we ran it when i played a spirits bard as that seems to be what it says, but the subclass has some awkward wording in places so it never hurts to check how your DM wants to do things.
When using Tale of the Renowned Duelist, the bard makes a melee spell attack against the target because it is chosen to be the target, which for this Tale means it is attacked by the bard. In other word, it's not a Tale where the bard can choose a creature to grant it an attack.
You, the bard, make a melee spell attack against the target. It all happens at once when you resolve the effect, this is basically a spell attack. You do not need to go up and physically hit them, the Tale itself is magically hitting them. It can totally be at 30ft, there are plenty of melee spell attacks that work at range.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Thank you all for the answers! That was my initial impression, but then we started talking with the GM and wanted to clarify.
Is there any reason why it's calling out for a Melee attack specifically? No mechanics come to mind, that could possibly be of use here. I guess the Protection Style, if the enemies have it.
If it didn't tell you whether the spell attack was ranged or melee, it would be completely unusable and unplayable, as the DM would have no idea which was intended. Between the two options, melee is superior, for when you need to make the attack while a hostile is within 5' of you.
The way I read this was that you grant the ability to another character. For instance, you could grant your barbarian friend the ability to make a melee spell attack.
Ophidimancer says "You, the bard, make a melee spell attack against the target." It makes much more sense the way you have explained it. Thanks.
So, since this one is a melee spell attack, then I'm thinking that your familiar (if you have one) can deliver it just like any other melee spell attack? Would this also include Tale of the Dragon, for instance?
Familiars deliver spells with the range of Touch. Despite being a melee spell attack, this ability is not a spell and even if it were, it doesn't specifically say it has Range: Touch.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
There are some few things that trigger on melee attacks but not on ranged attacks and vice versa. One example would be that you don't roll with disadvantage when an enemy is withihn 5ft of you since it's a melee attack even if the range of it is particularly big. Most of the time it doesn't matter though.
I've never encountered a forum where I got this many "talking to a wall" impressions as this one...