If I cast shillelagh on my quarterstaff and have the Polearm Master feat, does the bonus attack use a d4 or a d8 for damage?
The benefit from Polearm Master applies to the opposite end of the weapon and always uses a d4 for damage rather than the weapon’s normal damage die. This is true for a quarterstaff enhanced with shillelagh just as it is for a normal one.
If Shillelagh doesn't affect the bonus attack with a Quarterstaff from Polearm Master, then it is reasonable that other effects that directly modify the weapon's (normal) attack also do not modify the Polearm Master damage. This would apply to Flame Tongue, Elemental Weapon, True Strike, Pact Weapon, and others. It does not affect Hex (affected creature takes extra damage on any hit from you, regardless of source - weapon, spell, or harsh words) or Improved Divine Smite (affects the damage from all weapons, including improvised!).
As always, discuss with your GM before depending on a ruling critical to your character.
If I cast shillelagh on my quarterstaff and have the Polearm Master feat, does the bonus attack use a d4 or a d8 for damage?
The benefit from Polearm Master applies to the opposite end of the weapon and always uses a d4 for damage rather than the weapon’s normal damage die. This is true for a quarterstaff enhanced with shillelagh just as it is for a normal one.
If Shillelagh doesn't affect the bonus attack with a Quarterstaff from Polearm Master, then it is reasonable that other effects that directly modify the weapon's (normal) attack also do not modify the Polearm Master damage. This would apply to Flame Tongue, Elemental Weapon, True Strike, Pact Weapon, and others. It does not affect Hex (affected creature takes extra damage on any hit from you, regardless of source - weapon, spell, or harsh words) or Improved Divine Smite (affects the damage from all weapons, including improvised!).
As always, discuss with your GM before depending on a ruling critical to your character.
That's apples and oranges though; Shilleglah and PAM both affect the base weapon damage die, so it's just a question of effect timing. A magic weapon like a Flametongue weapon adds additional damage dice, putting it in the same category as things like Hex and Dreadful Strikes, both of which I think everyone will agree could be proc'd with the attack.
If I cast shillelagh on my quarterstaff and have the Polearm Master feat, does the bonus attack use a d4 or a d8 for damage?
The benefit from Polearm Master applies to the opposite end of the weapon and always uses a d4 for damage rather than the weapon’s normal damage die. This is true for a quarterstaff enhanced with shillelagh just as it is for a normal one.
If Shillelagh doesn't affect the bonus attack with a Quarterstaff from Polearm Master, then it is reasonable that other effects that directly modify the weapon's (normal) attack also do not modify the Polearm Master damage. This would apply to Flame Tongue, Elemental Weapon, True Strike, Pact Weapon, and others. It does not affect Hex (affected creature takes extra damage on any hit from you, regardless of source - weapon, spell, or harsh words) or Improved Divine Smite (affects the damage from all weapons, including improvised!).
As always, discuss with your GM before depending on a ruling critical to your character.
That's apples and oranges though; Shilleglah and PAM both affect the base weapon damage die, so it's just a question of effect timing. A magic weapon like a Flametongue weapon adds additional damage dice, putting it in the same category as things like Hex and Dreadful Strikes, both of which I think everyone will agree could be proc'd with the attack.
It's not apples and oranges. Hex vs Flametongue is apples and oranges.
Hex, Dreadful Strikes, and Improved Divine Smite are not specific to one weapon. You can use a different weapon for each attack and the effects apply. These are the apples.
Flametongue, Shillelagh, Elemental Weapon, True Strike, and Pact Weapon all affect one weapon. If you use a different weapon for each attack, only the flametongue attack deals bonues fire damage. These are the oranges.
The shillelagh ruling indicates that the enchantment only affects one end of the weapon and the opposite end of the weapon is not enchanted. I can't think of a 5e equivalent, but this may have a basis in double weapons in 3.x which had to have each half enchanted separately. If not for the Sage Advice ruling, I would have no reason to believe that using Shillelagh cast on a quarterstaff wouldn't deal improved damage with the Polearm Master bonus attack. By extension, regardless of how much sense, by RAW, the other spells would as well (well, not True Strike, but just because of the actions required).
However, the shillelagh ruling does exist and I am not going to defend it too strongly when I don't agree with it, but I only want to caution anyone planning on these combos to talk with their GM first. With it's quasi-RAW status, it also falls under my usual advice of understand the RAW before you change it.
Keeping in mind the 2014 Sage Advice ruling for Shillelagh:
If Shillelagh doesn't affect the bonus attack with a Quarterstaff from Polearm Master, then it is reasonable that other effects that directly modify the weapon's (normal) attack also do not modify the Polearm Master damage. This would apply to Flame Tongue, Elemental Weapon, True Strike, Pact Weapon, and others. It does not affect Hex (affected creature takes extra damage on any hit from you, regardless of source - weapon, spell, or harsh words) or Improved Divine Smite (affects the damage from all weapons, including improvised!).
As always, discuss with your GM before depending on a ruling critical to your character.
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My houserulings.
That's apples and oranges though; Shilleglah and PAM both affect the base weapon damage die, so it's just a question of effect timing. A magic weapon like a Flametongue weapon adds additional damage dice, putting it in the same category as things like Hex and Dreadful Strikes, both of which I think everyone will agree could be proc'd with the attack.
It's not apples and oranges. Hex vs Flametongue is apples and oranges.
Hex, Dreadful Strikes, and Improved Divine Smite are not specific to one weapon. You can use a different weapon for each attack and the effects apply. These are the apples.
Flametongue, Shillelagh, Elemental Weapon, True Strike, and Pact Weapon all affect one weapon. If you use a different weapon for each attack, only the flametongue attack deals bonues fire damage. These are the oranges.
The shillelagh ruling indicates that the enchantment only affects one end of the weapon and the opposite end of the weapon is not enchanted. I can't think of a 5e equivalent, but this may have a basis in double weapons in 3.x which had to have each half enchanted separately. If not for the Sage Advice ruling, I would have no reason to believe that using Shillelagh cast on a quarterstaff wouldn't deal improved damage with the Polearm Master bonus attack. By extension, regardless of how much sense, by RAW, the other spells would as well (well, not True Strike, but just because of the actions required).
However, the shillelagh ruling does exist and I am not going to defend it too strongly when I don't agree with it, but I only want to caution anyone planning on these combos to talk with their GM first. With it's quasi-RAW status, it also falls under my usual advice of understand the RAW before you change it.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.