I just picked up Shadow Blade and something seems off. It doesn't seem to add a way to attack with it. It has a damage button but not an attack button.
Have to make (or import from someone else's homebrew) a custom item if you want it to show up on your attacks. This is because the spell itself only creates the weapon rather than giving you an attack to make. I'd suggest just adding a dagger, renaming it, and remembering that the damage is 2d8 instead of 1d4.
I just picked up Shadow Blade and something seems off. It doesn't seem to add a way to attack with it. It has a damage button but not an attack button.
How do I use it????
Being fair to you, the spell is written a bit weird.
So it conjures a blade out of gloom that has the Finesse property. You are considered proficient with it, it's magical, and deals 2d8 psychic at normal levels.
Now, finesse as a property states that you can use either Dex or Str to attack, and you get your Dex/Str modifier as damage. The spell specifically states when it hits, it deals 2d8 psychic. You could make an argument that as you are making a weapon attack with either Dex/Str, you get your bonus to either as part of the damage roll. Spell specifically states 2d8 damage, but it also states you're making a weapon attack and as such, normal weapon attack rules apply.
So your attack roll would be Dex/Str + Prof Modifier + D20 = Whatever you got to hit, damage is 2d8 psychic with potentially a +dex/str, depending on how your DM rules that.
This magic sword lasts until the spell ends. It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. It deals 2d8 psychic damage on a hit and has the finesse, light, and thrown properties (range 20/60).
RAW:
>"You are proficient with it."
"Proficiency with a weapon allows you to add your Proficiency Bonus to the Attack roll for any Attack you make with that weapon. "
>"Finesse."
When making an Attack with a finesse weapon, you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the Attack and Damage Rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
That's how it's written in the book. Your GM might adjust to their own gusto.
And before you ask, per RAW you can not use Booming Blade or Green-Flamed Blade because, TECHNICALLY, it is not worth 1 SP.
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Nugz - Kobold Level 4 Bloodhunter/Order of the Mutant - Out there looking for snacks and evil monsters.
Ultrix Schwarzdorn - Human Level 6 Artificer/Armorer - Retired and works in his new shop.
Quercus Espenkiel - Gnome Level 9 Wizard/Order of Scribes - Turned into a book and sits on a shelf.
Artin - Fairy Level 4 Sorcerer/Wild Magic - Busy with annoying the townsfolk. Again.
Jabor - Fire Genasi - Level 4 Wizard/School of Evocation - The First Flame, The Last Chaos. Probably in jail, again.
So your attack roll would be Dex/Str + Prof Modifier + D20 = Whatever you got to hit, damage is 2d8 psychic with potentially a +dex/str, depending on how your DM rules that.
There's pretty good justification that you should get the damage bonus. Shadow blade specifically says you make a weapon attack with it, and the rules for weapon attacks is that you add the modifier you used for the attack to the damage as well. There's nothing in the spell that contradicts this. The spell saying the blade deals 2d8 damage is no different than the rules telling us that a longsword deals 1d8 damage, or 1d10 if used with two hands. Weapon damage is typically listed without the modifier since that varies, and it's implied through the basic weapon attack rules.
People get confused, I think, because this spell doesn't have you make a melee spell attack, but a melee weapon attack.
So your attack roll would be Dex/Str + Prof Modifier + D20 = Whatever you got to hit, damage is 2d8 psychic with potentially a +dex/str, depending on how your DM rules that.
You always add your ability modifier to damage for a weapon attack (Str unless it's finesse then Dex if you prefer). Look at the table of weapon stats and it doesn't say a mace does "1d6 + Str" damage. It just says "1d6." Because it's a weapon attack you add the Str mod. Same with the shadow blade but it's base damage is 2d8 then you addeither Str or Dex mod as normal for a finesse weapon. There shouldn't be confusion on this as it's not left up to interpretation by the RAW.
You always add your ability modifier to damage for a weapon attack (Str unless it's finesse then Dex if you prefer).
Minor nitpick: bonus action attacks from TWF.
Okay, that's valid, but also a special case to begin with. For normal attacks with a single weapon or even your main hand weapon if fighting with two weapons, you always add the modifier. And if you're a fighter with the two weapon fighting style you still add the mod.
Weapons in general do not tend to say + dex/str modifier on their lists. Weapons just state the weapon damage and the modifier damage is always different. And it specifically counts as a simple melee WEAPON.
Nobody would try and claim that you shouldn't add your modifier to a dagger's attack just because the dagger says it does 1d4 piercing. It's the same with the 2d8 psychic damage from the shadow blade. That's just the weapon's base damage, and it not specifying you add the modifier is because no weapon specifies that in its description, it's a basic general weapon rule.
(The exception of course would be if you dual wielded with it and attacked using the blade as your TWF weapon and don't have the fighting style to add your modifier damage.)
"When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability modifier--the same modifier used for the attack roll--to the damage. A spell tells you which dice to roll for damage and whether to add any modifiers."
Note that the weapon manifested by shadow bladeis a spell, because it is an object, and by universal accord, objects created by spells are spells (too many other rules break down if they are not; for example, it is important that flame blade's damage is magical, which is explicitly specified for shadow blade but not for flame blade). That means both of the rules above apply simultaneously, and the general way the conflict is resolved for things which are both weapons and spells is that you apply the weapon rules unless the spell has a rule telling you not to.
If you want your head to explode, here are the two spells I know of with the most difficulty in obeying the RAW for calculating damage: Lightning Arrow and Magic Stone. Use a sling, +1 with and without lightning arrow and with and without magic stone, and try to work out correctly your attack and damage modifiers for all four situations. Best of luck - you'll run into the PHB contradicting itself and Jeremy Crawford contradicting himself via tweet.
Not only does shadow blade not have a rule telling you not to consider it a weapon, it explicitly tells you to do just that.
"It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient."
This. I also rule it as a magic weapon because it deals psychic damage, has magical properties like being summoned back to your hand etc as a bonus action, advantage on dim light/darkness etc, and literally conjured with magic, though I could see someone arguing that it doesn't count as a magic weapon because this sentence doesn't specify magical. But it pretty clearly counts as a weapon that you make normal weapon attacks with IMO and thus should get the modifier damage. It wouldn't really be worth using IMO if you DIDN'T get the modifier damage unless you really need some clutch psychic damage for something. Or at least a lot more niche without it.
This. I also rule it as a magic weapon because it deals psychic damage, has magical properties like being summoned back to your hand etc as a bonus action, advantage on dim light/darkness etc, and literally conjured with magic, though I could see someone arguing that it doesn't count as a magic weapon because this sentence doesn't specify magical.
The spell is explicit and leaves no room for interpretation: "This magic sword lasts until the spell ends. It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient." Flame Blade isn't explicit.
This. I also rule it as a magic weapon because it deals psychic damage, has magical properties like being summoned back to your hand etc as a bonus action, advantage on dim light/darkness etc, and literally conjured with magic, though I could see someone arguing that it doesn't count as a magic weapon because this sentence doesn't specify magical.
The spell is explicit and leaves no room for interpretation: "This magic sword lasts until the spell ends. It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient." Flame Blade isn't explicit.
Oh yeah you're right on that I stand corrected, I was focusing too much on the part where it specified the magic properties lol. You're absolutely correct.
With flame blade I think I'd personally rule it as being magic, just inferring that from the other magical things with the blade, but I can see the arguement for not treating it as a magic weapon since it doesn't explicitly say it. But I'd personally rule on it being magic if someone used it in my games.
You always add your ability modifier to damage for a weapon attack (Str unless it's finesse then Dex if you prefer).
Minor nitpick: bonus action attacks from TWF.
Okay, that's valid, but also a special case to begin with. For normal attacks with a single weapon or even your main hand weapon if fighting with two weapons, you always add the modifier. And if you're a fighter with the two weapon fighting style you still add the mod.
The spell makes the blade as a bonus action but I would imagine making an attack with it would be an action given that it is a weapon attack.
You always add your ability modifier to damage for a weapon attack (Str unless it's finesse then Dex if you prefer).
Minor nitpick: bonus action attacks from TWF.
Okay, that's valid, but also a special case to begin with. For normal attacks with a single weapon or even your main hand weapon if fighting with two weapons, you always add the modifier. And if you're a fighter with the two weapon fighting style you still add the mod.
The spell makes the blade as a bonus action but I would imagine making an attack with it would be an action given that it is a weapon attack.
Attacks, including weapon attacks, can be made through actions, bonus actions and reactions. It just depends on context and character abilities, not on it being an attack or the type of attack it is.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Flame blade does not say that the sword created is a weapon. Further, it specifies you make a melee spell attack. That means you add your spellcasting ability modifier and proficiency bonus to the attack roll but (I think) not to the damage because it doesn't specify the mod for spell damage which is not weapon damage.
I apologize for adding to a post over 3 years old, however I have another suggestion which I utilize a lot for adding spells to my actions list that I would like to share. Sometimes the spell itself has the ability to be added/removed from the list by clicking the spell on the spell list and selecting the caret on the drop down menu called Customize. There you can select or unselect (if you want to hide) a spell from appearing on the Actions list table by either selecting or deselecting the "Display As Attack" check box.
Another option, which is my preferred preference, is to:
Navigate to the Actions list and choose the corresponding action (attack, bonus action, or reaction, etc.)
Click Manage Custom
Choose Weapon in the Add New Actions menu (weapon option specifically for the Shadow Blade spell)
Single click on the new custom action that was created
Click edit on the drop down menu caret
Select the following in the edit menu:
Attack Type: leave blank (-)
Range: Melee
Stat: Choose the stat block from this list that you will be using for the attack (options include STR/DEX (finesse options) or CHA - if with the new PHB 2024 rules you spend the following round using a bonus action with pact of the blade to make it your pact weapon)
Dice Count: 2 (if you want to use the base damage dice count or if you are a warlock or typically upcast this spell choose 3 or higher depending on the options listed under upcasting the spell based on level)
Die Type: 8
Fixed Value: leave blank
Damage Type: Choose either Psychic (per spell description) or Necrotic, Psychic, or Radiant (if using as a pact weapon)
Save type: leave blank (-)
Fixed Save DC: leave blank
Range: leave blank
Long Range: leave blank
AoE Type: leave blank (-)
AoE Size: leave blank (-)
Activation Type: Action (this is important because whatever is elected here will display this attack on the corresponding actions list)
Activation Time: leave blank
For the check boxes named: Affected by Martial Arts, Proficient, Dual Wield, Silvered, and Display as Attack, place a check in the Proficient and Display as Attack check boxes
Name: Shadow Blade
Click anywhere outside of this submenu to save your changes
This process could be repeated twice. Once for a melee weapon and again changing the Range field to: Ranged, Range: 20, Long Range: 60, and Name: Shadow Blade Thrown to represent both melee and thrown options for the spell.
Hope this helps! Enjoy and have fun with it. Again, I utilize this feature a lot to create custom spells or weapon options that are variations of class features, spells, feats, or weapons that can't be configured using the standard customization features. Please let me know if you have any questions about this process.
I just picked up Shadow Blade and something seems off. It doesn't seem to add a way to attack with it. It has a damage button but not an attack button.
How do I use it????
Have to make (or import from someone else's homebrew) a custom item if you want it to show up on your attacks. This is because the spell itself only creates the weapon rather than giving you an attack to make. I'd suggest just adding a dagger, renaming it, and remembering that the damage is 2d8 instead of 1d4.
Being fair to you, the spell is written a bit weird.
So it conjures a blade out of gloom that has the Finesse property. You are considered proficient with it, it's magical, and deals 2d8 psychic at normal levels.
Now, finesse as a property states that you can use either Dex or Str to attack, and you get your Dex/Str modifier as damage. The spell specifically states when it hits, it deals 2d8 psychic. You could make an argument that as you are making a weapon attack with either Dex/Str, you get your bonus to either as part of the damage roll. Spell specifically states 2d8 damage, but it also states you're making a weapon attack and as such, normal weapon attack rules apply.
So your attack roll would be Dex/Str + Prof Modifier + D20 = Whatever you got to hit, damage is 2d8 psychic with potentially a +dex/str, depending on how your DM rules that.
This magic sword lasts until the spell ends. It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. It deals 2d8 psychic damage on a hit and has the finesse, light, and thrown properties (range 20/60).
RAW:
>"You are proficient with it."
"Proficiency with a weapon allows you to add your Proficiency Bonus to the Attack roll for any Attack you make with that weapon. "
>"Finesse."
When making an Attack with a finesse weapon, you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the Attack and Damage Rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
That's how it's written in the book. Your GM might adjust to their own gusto.
And before you ask, per RAW you can not use Booming Blade or Green-Flamed Blade because, TECHNICALLY, it is not worth 1 SP.
Nugz - Kobold Level 4 Bloodhunter/Order of the Mutant - Out there looking for snacks and evil monsters.
Ultrix Schwarzdorn - Human Level 6 Artificer/Armorer - Retired and works in his new shop.
Quercus Espenkiel - Gnome Level 9 Wizard/Order of Scribes - Turned into a book and sits on a shelf.
Artin - Fairy Level 4 Sorcerer/Wild Magic - Busy with annoying the townsfolk. Again.
Jabor - Fire Genasi - Level 4 Wizard/School of Evocation - The First Flame, The Last Chaos. Probably in jail, again.
There's pretty good justification that you should get the damage bonus. Shadow blade specifically says you make a weapon attack with it, and the rules for weapon attacks is that you add the modifier you used for the attack to the damage as well. There's nothing in the spell that contradicts this. The spell saying the blade deals 2d8 damage is no different than the rules telling us that a longsword deals 1d8 damage, or 1d10 if used with two hands. Weapon damage is typically listed without the modifier since that varies, and it's implied through the basic weapon attack rules.
People get confused, I think, because this spell doesn't have you make a melee spell attack, but a melee weapon attack.
You always add your ability modifier to damage for a weapon attack (Str unless it's finesse then Dex if you prefer). Look at the table of weapon stats and it doesn't say a mace does "1d6 + Str" damage. It just says "1d6." Because it's a weapon attack you add the Str mod. Same with the shadow blade but it's base damage is 2d8 then you addeither Str or Dex mod as normal for a finesse weapon. There shouldn't be confusion on this as it's not left up to interpretation by the RAW.
Minor nitpick: bonus action attacks from TWF.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Okay, that's valid, but also a special case to begin with. For normal attacks with a single weapon or even your main hand weapon if fighting with two weapons, you always add the modifier. And if you're a fighter with the two weapon fighting style you still add the mod.
It should get the str or dex damage.
Weapons in general do not tend to say + dex/str modifier on their lists. Weapons just state the weapon damage and the modifier damage is always different. And it specifically counts as a simple melee WEAPON.
Nobody would try and claim that you shouldn't add your modifier to a dagger's attack just because the dagger says it does 1d4 piercing. It's the same with the 2d8 psychic damage from the shadow blade. That's just the weapon's base damage, and it not specifying you add the modifier is because no weapon specifies that in its description, it's a basic general weapon rule.
(The exception of course would be if you dual wielded with it and attacked using the blade as your TWF weapon and don't have the fighting style to add your modifier damage.)
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#DamageRolls
"When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability modifier--the same modifier used for the attack roll--to the damage. A spell tells you which dice to roll for damage and whether to add any modifiers."
Note that the weapon manifested by shadow blade is a spell, because it is an object, and by universal accord, objects created by spells are spells (too many other rules break down if they are not; for example, it is important that flame blade's damage is magical, which is explicitly specified for shadow blade but not for flame blade). That means both of the rules above apply simultaneously, and the general way the conflict is resolved for things which are both weapons and spells is that you apply the weapon rules unless the spell has a rule telling you not to.
If you want your head to explode, here are the two spells I know of with the most difficulty in obeying the RAW for calculating damage: Lightning Arrow and Magic Stone. Use a sling, +1 with and without lightning arrow and with and without magic stone, and try to work out correctly your attack and damage modifiers for all four situations. Best of luck - you'll run into the PHB contradicting itself and Jeremy Crawford contradicting himself via tweet.
Not only does shadow blade not have a rule telling you not to consider it a weapon, it explicitly tells you to do just that.
"It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient."
Exactly right.
This. I also rule it as a magic weapon because it deals psychic damage, has magical properties like being summoned back to your hand etc as a bonus action, advantage on dim light/darkness etc, and literally conjured with magic, though I could see someone arguing that it doesn't count as a magic weapon because this sentence doesn't specify magical. But it pretty clearly counts as a weapon that you make normal weapon attacks with IMO and thus should get the modifier damage. It wouldn't really be worth using IMO if you DIDN'T get the modifier damage unless you really need some clutch psychic damage for something. Or at least a lot more niche without it.
The spell is explicit and leaves no room for interpretation: "This magic sword lasts until the spell ends. It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient." Flame Blade isn't explicit.
Oh yeah you're right on that I stand corrected, I was focusing too much on the part where it specified the magic properties lol. You're absolutely correct.
With flame blade I think I'd personally rule it as being magic, just inferring that from the other magical things with the blade, but I can see the arguement for not treating it as a magic weapon since it doesn't explicitly say it. But I'd personally rule on it being magic if someone used it in my games.
The spell makes the blade as a bonus action but I would imagine making an attack with it would be an action given that it is a weapon attack.
Attacks, including weapon attacks, can be made through actions, bonus actions and reactions. It just depends on context and character abilities, not on it being an attack or the type of attack it is.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Flame blade does not say that the sword created is a weapon. Further, it specifies you make a melee spell attack. That means you add your spellcasting ability modifier and proficiency bonus to the attack roll but (I think) not to the damage because it doesn't specify the mod for spell damage which is not weapon damage.
I apologize for adding to a post over 3 years old, however I have another suggestion which I utilize a lot for adding spells to my actions list that I would like to share. Sometimes the spell itself has the ability to be added/removed from the list by clicking the spell on the spell list and selecting the caret on the drop down menu called Customize. There you can select or unselect (if you want to hide) a spell from appearing on the Actions list table by either selecting or deselecting the "Display As Attack" check box.
Another option, which is my preferred preference, is to:
This process could be repeated twice. Once for a melee weapon and again changing the Range field to: Ranged, Range: 20, Long Range: 60, and Name: Shadow Blade Thrown to represent both melee and thrown options for the spell.
Sample Character with melee and ranged Shadow Blade options displayed in the Actions list: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/115875045/gRz1pa
Hope this helps! Enjoy and have fun with it. Again, I utilize this feature a lot to create custom spells or weapon options that are variations of class features, spells, feats, or weapons that can't be configured using the standard customization features. Please let me know if you have any questions about this process.