Elemental Attunement: Elemental Strikes.When you deal one of these types with it, you can also force the target to make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, you can move the target up to 10 feet toward or away from you, as elemental energy swirls around it.
Open Hand Technique: Push. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away from you.
I've seen people very definitively argue for both sides of this in various places, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus:
Can Monk features like Elemental Attunement and Open Hand Technique push a target into the air?
Comparisons to Push mastery and Repelling Blast are needed to highlight the cause of the debate. They both use the same language: "[...] you can push the creature up to 10 feet straight away from yourself [...]"
The disparity between that wording and that of the Monk's features definitely seems to imply some added versatility for the Monk vs other pushes. But that's only by virtue of comparison. In a vacuum, idk. Can "away" be fully perpendicular to their position, tossing them off to the side? Does each square of their movement during the push have to be "away"? For example, if you can push them into the air, can it be straight up (their first square of movement would still be adjacent to you and therefore not "away") or does it have to be diagonally up and away (so that their first square of movement creates a distance)? Put more simply, does an adjacent space still count as "away", even though they haven't actually moved farther from you? If not, is the distance of the Monk pushes the only thing that does allow you to push perpendicularly? Is their final position the only thing that matters to satisfy them being pushed "away"?
Furthermore, Elemental Strikes and Open Hand Technique have an important distinction between each other too: ES says "move" while OHT says "push". Once again, there's an issue that's only bourne from comparison. Does the fact that ES says "move" imply some added degree of versatility over OHT, Tavern Brawler, and even other push options? Can an ES, for example, move them around and away in a way the others cannot? For example, an enemy in front of you being moved by the "swirling elemental energy" and winding up 10ft away to your side? This partially depends on the answer to whether or not each square needs to be "away" or if only the final position matters, but mostly I wonder if the move of ES allows for non-linear movement.
For even more complication, the wording of feats like Crusher have a few more riders that are not present in any of the above. Importantly, "[...] you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space [...]." Now I think we can all safely assume that Push et al. does not allow you to move a creature into an occupied space. But if that's implied, why state it directly in Crusher? That's rhetorical, but it does also make the whole process of making inferences based on comparison in all of the above examples rather complex.
I know to some extent I'm overthinking it all, but it winds up being practically significant surprisingly often.
It is really very simple. Imagine a grid map. Place the monk in any grid square you wish. Place the target in any grid square within the monk's range you wish (let's keep this 2 dimensional for now). Place a dot at the center of the monk's grid square. Place a dot in the center of the target's grid square. Use those two dots to draw a line. The monk can move the target along that line. Away if pushing, or away or towards the monk if elemental strikes.
The only way to send the target airborne is if the are already elevated so that line goes into the air. The ability doesn't say move them where ever you want. It doesn't say you can rotate them around you, it says it can push them away or move them towards you.
If you want to move them in a different direction, other than on that line, use a different ability (like grappling). Once grappled you can move them with you and deposit them in any adjacent grid if you like. But if you are pushing or pulling, it is directly away or directly towards the character.
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Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (original Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
I think the feature you are looking for is the forced movement from the Crusher feat. Here is the relevant part:
Push. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals Bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space if the target is no more than one size larger than you.
The idea is that Crusher does not specify that this movement must be horizontal, so the space directly up from the target's starting position would qualify. The target is now diagnally upwards from your position. You could then apply any other push effect that push them directly away from you, and that would push them diagnally up and away from you, leaving them in the air to then fall to the ground, landing prone and taking extra bludgeoning damage from the fall.
If you want to see an extreme case with a Path of the World Tree Barbarian, check out this build video by Treantmonk on YouTube : The Launcher
I think the feature you are looking for is the forced movement from the Crusher feat. Here is the relevant part:
Push. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals Bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space if the target is no more than one size larger than you.
The idea is that Crusher does not specify that this movement must be horizontal, so the space directly up from the target's starting position would qualify. The target is now diagnally upwards from your position. You could then apply any other push effect that push them directly away from you, and that would push them diagnally up and away from you, leaving them in the air to then fall to the ground, landing prone and taking extra bludgeoning damage from the fall.
If you want to see an extreme case with a Path of the World Tree Barbarian, check out this build video by Treantmonk on YouTube : The Launcher
I am not sure deifying gravity is a valid unoccupied square. It looks like more a loose interpretation. To push them up into the air, there is still gravity to overcome so a 5' push along the ground is much easier to accomplish then defy gravity and go up. Then you get additional fall damage? This all sounds too good to be true.
I think the feature you are looking for is the forced movement from the Crusher feat. Here is the relevant part:
Push. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals Bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space if the target is no more than one size larger than you.
The idea is that Crusher does not specify that this movement must be horizontal, so the space directly up from the target's starting position would qualify. The target is now diagnally upwards from your position. You could then apply any other push effect that push them directly away from you, and that would push them diagnally up and away from you, leaving them in the air to then fall to the ground, landing prone and taking extra bludgeoning damage from the fall.
This requires some questionable assumptions:
That you can move somebody upward with Crusher (Likely valid, although your DM may disagree, and 5e's definitions of "space" aren't that clear in regards to vertical movement.)
That if somebody is unsupported, there is time to launch an attack before they fall. (Highly questionable. The falling rules in Xanathar's definitely say "no". They are optional, and the 24 rules don't say, but it's still a very sketchy interpretation.)
That your push will get them at least ten feet above the ground. (For 5-foot pushes, depends on whether your DM is using grid or measured movement here.)
That you can move somebody upward with Crusher (Likely valid, although your DM may disagree, and 5e's definitions of "space" aren't that clear in regards to vertical movement.)
That if somebody is unsupported, there is time to launch an attack before they fall. (Highly questionable. The falling rules in Xanathar's definitely say "no". They are optional, and the 24 rules don't say, but it's still a very sketchy interpretation.)
That your push will get them at least ten feet above the ground. (For 5-foot pushes, depends on whether your DM is using grid or measured movement here.)
It's questionable for the Warrior of the Elements Monk, because the Move 10' towards or away feature of the Elemental Attunement / Elemental Strikes requires one of the FLACT damage types to be used, and the Crusher feat requires Bludgeoning damage.
The 5' Movement to an unoccupied space from the Crusher Feat and the 15' Push from the Warrior of the Open Hand / Open Hand Technique feature can both be applied in a single attack during Flurry of Blows, because Bludgeoning is an option there.
Now I think we can all safely assume that Push et al. does not allow you to move a creature into an occupied space.
You can use forced movement to move creatures into an occupied space, unless explicitly prevented by the ability from doing so. That's what the Moving Around Other Creatures rules are for.
You can’t willingly end a move in a space occupied by another creature. If you somehow end a turn in a space with another creature, you have the Prone condition (see the rules glossary) unless you are Tiny or are of a larger size than the other creature.
And that's anyone's Turn. So if you use an ability to move a Small+ creature into another Small+ creature's space, at the end of your Turn, at least one of them will wind up Prone.
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🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
I think the feature you are looking for is the forced movement from the Crusher feat. Here is the relevant part:
Push. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals Bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space if the target is no more than one size larger than you.
The idea is that Crusher does not specify that this movement must be horizontal, so the space directly up from the target's starting position would qualify. The target is now diagnally upwards from your position. You could then apply any other push effect that push them directly away from you, and that would push them diagnally up and away from you, leaving them in the air to then fall to the ground, landing prone and taking extra bludgeoning damage from the fall.
If you want to see an extreme case with a Path of the World Tree Barbarian, check out this build video by Treantmonk on YouTube : The Launcher
I am not sure deifying gravity is a valid unoccupied square. It looks like more a loose interpretation. To push them up into the air, there is still gravity to overcome so a 5' push along the ground is much easier to accomplish then defy gravity and go up. Then you get additional fall damage? This all sounds too good to be true.
There are lots of people that like to try this. They make some argument about, I don’t know, crouching down or bending over so they’re attacking at an upward angle or something. One very common version involves Eldritch blast with repelling blast hitting the target multiple times mid air, like juggling in a fighting video game. Then the enemy takes fall damage, and since it’s more than 10’, probably lands prone. I think that’s all bunk as falls are instantaneous, and it makes these kinds of powers much stronger than intended, but there are people who insist it’s RAW.
As to the OP, I agree with others who say the movement is going to be horizontal, not vertical. But I would say you can definitely push people off cliffs or bridges or whatever. And you can push people into other people.
4e used to have a lot of powers with forced movement mechanics. Iirc there was push (away), pull (towards) and slide (any direction) which were all defined game terms and had specific meanings. This edition isn’t really getting into that kind of nitty-gritty detail. So, in the end, I’d say this is a check with your DM situation about the limits at your table. Just remember, if you can launch enemies into the air, they can do the same to you.
If I hit with a weapon, how do I also cast the spell Eldritch blast? Aren't those two different actions (attack and magic) and can I do separate actions in a turn?
If I hit with a weapon, how do I also cast the spell Eldritch blast? Aren't those two different actions (attack and magic) and can I do separate actions in a turn?
All the options I can think on how to do so involve Multiclassing. Those would be:
Level 6 College of Valor Bard / Level 1 Warlock; The Valor Bard's Extra Attack feature allows substituting in a Cantrip for one attack
(Eldritch Knight War Magic doesn't work, as it would have to be a Wizard Cantrip, which Eldritch Blast is not.)
Level 2 Sorcerer / Level 1 Warlock, using the Quickened Spell Metamagic to cast Eldritch Blast as a Bonus Action.
If I hit with a weapon, how do I also cast the spell Eldritch blast? Aren't those two different actions (attack and magic) and can I do separate actions in a turn?
I was referring more to level 5+ where you have multiple blasts. There are those who argue you could hit a target twice, and knock them 20’ up.
If they are on top of you or above you, then that would be logical. Otherwise there's no mechanic standing face to face to someone and "pushing them up"
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I've seen people very definitively argue for both sides of this in various places, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus:
Can Monk features like Elemental Attunement and Open Hand Technique push a target into the air?
Comparisons to Push mastery and Repelling Blast are needed to highlight the cause of the debate. They both use the same language:
"[...] you can push the creature up to 10 feet straight away from yourself [...]"
The disparity between that wording and that of the Monk's features definitely seems to imply some added versatility for the Monk vs other pushes. But that's only by virtue of comparison. In a vacuum, idk. Can "away" be fully perpendicular to their position, tossing them off to the side? Does each square of their movement during the push have to be "away"? For example, if you can push them into the air, can it be straight up (their first square of movement would still be adjacent to you and therefore not "away") or does it have to be diagonally up and away (so that their first square of movement creates a distance)? Put more simply, does an adjacent space still count as "away", even though they haven't actually moved farther from you? If not, is the distance of the Monk pushes the only thing that does allow you to push perpendicularly? Is their final position the only thing that matters to satisfy them being pushed "away"?
Furthermore, Elemental Strikes and Open Hand Technique have an important distinction between each other too: ES says "move" while OHT says "push". Once again, there's an issue that's only bourne from comparison. Does the fact that ES says "move" imply some added degree of versatility over OHT, Tavern Brawler, and even other push options? Can an ES, for example, move them around and away in a way the others cannot? For example, an enemy in front of you being moved by the "swirling elemental energy" and winding up 10ft away to your side? This partially depends on the answer to whether or not each square needs to be "away" or if only the final position matters, but mostly I wonder if the move of ES allows for non-linear movement.
For even more complication, the wording of feats like Crusher have a few more riders that are not present in any of the above. Importantly, "[...] you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space [...]." Now I think we can all safely assume that Push et al. does not allow you to move a creature into an occupied space. But if that's implied, why state it directly in Crusher? That's rhetorical, but it does also make the whole process of making inferences based on comparison in all of the above examples rather complex.
I know to some extent I'm overthinking it all, but it winds up being practically significant surprisingly often.
It is really very simple. Imagine a grid map. Place the monk in any grid square you wish. Place the target in any grid square within the monk's range you wish (let's keep this 2 dimensional for now). Place a dot at the center of the monk's grid square. Place a dot in the center of the target's grid square. Use those two dots to draw a line. The monk can move the target along that line. Away if pushing, or away or towards the monk if elemental strikes.
The only way to send the target airborne is if the are already elevated so that line goes into the air. The ability doesn't say move them where ever you want. It doesn't say you can rotate them around you, it says it can push them away or move them towards you.
If you want to move them in a different direction, other than on that line, use a different ability (like grappling). Once grappled you can move them with you and deposit them in any adjacent grid if you like. But if you are pushing or pulling, it is directly away or directly towards the character.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (original Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
I think the feature you are looking for is the forced movement from the Crusher feat. Here is the relevant part:
The idea is that Crusher does not specify that this movement must be horizontal, so the space directly up from the target's starting position would qualify. The target is now diagnally upwards from your position. You could then apply any other push effect that push them directly away from you, and that would push them diagnally up and away from you, leaving them in the air to then fall to the ground, landing prone and taking extra bludgeoning damage from the fall.
If you want to see an extreme case with a Path of the World Tree Barbarian, check out this build video by Treantmonk on YouTube : The Launcher
I am not sure deifying gravity is a valid unoccupied square. It looks like more a loose interpretation. To push them up into the air, there is still gravity to overcome so a 5' push along the ground is much easier to accomplish then defy gravity and go up. Then you get additional fall damage? This all sounds too good to be true.
This requires some questionable assumptions:
It's questionable for the Warrior of the Elements Monk, because the Move 10' towards or away feature of the Elemental Attunement / Elemental Strikes requires one of the FLACT damage types to be used, and the Crusher feat requires Bludgeoning damage.
The 5' Movement to an unoccupied space from the Crusher Feat and the 15' Push from the Warrior of the Open Hand / Open Hand Technique feature can both be applied in a single attack during Flurry of Blows, because Bludgeoning is an option there.
You can use forced movement to move creatures into an occupied space, unless explicitly prevented by the ability from doing so. That's what the Moving Around Other Creatures rules are for.
And that's anyone's Turn. So if you use an ability to move a Small+ creature into another Small+ creature's space, at the end of your Turn, at least one of them will wind up Prone.
🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
Charisma Saving Throw: DC 18, Failure: 20d6 Psychic Damage, Success: Half damage
There are lots of people that like to try this. They make some argument about, I don’t know, crouching down or bending over so they’re attacking at an upward angle or something.
One very common version involves Eldritch blast with repelling blast hitting the target multiple times mid air, like juggling in a fighting video game. Then the enemy takes fall damage, and since it’s more than 10’, probably lands prone. I think that’s all bunk as falls are instantaneous, and it makes these kinds of powers much stronger than intended, but there are people who insist it’s RAW.
As to the OP, I agree with others who say the movement is going to be horizontal, not vertical. But I would say you can definitely push people off cliffs or bridges or whatever. And you can push people into other people.
4e used to have a lot of powers with forced movement mechanics. Iirc there was push (away), pull (towards) and slide (any direction) which were all defined game terms and had specific meanings. This edition isn’t really getting into that kind of nitty-gritty detail.
So, in the end, I’d say this is a check with your DM situation about the limits at your table. Just remember, if you can launch enemies into the air, they can do the same to you.
If I hit with a weapon, how do I also cast the spell Eldritch blast? Aren't those two different actions (attack and magic) and can I do separate actions in a turn?
All the options I can think on how to do so involve Multiclassing. Those would be:
🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
Charisma Saving Throw: DC 18, Failure: 20d6 Psychic Damage, Success: Half damage
I was referring more to level 5+ where you have multiple blasts. There are those who argue you could hit a target twice, and knock them 20’ up.
If they are on top of you or above you, then that would be logical. Otherwise there's no mechanic standing face to face to someone and "pushing them up"