I have been working on my fighter, and I'm still pretty new to the game. I know this seems like a silly question, but if I am proficient with a weapon, and have a +5 to attack roles, do those two numbers negate each other when I use the great weapon master feat or is the attack bonus ignored? If you do not know, Great Weapon master allows you to, before a roll, decide to take 5 off of the role in exchange for an extra 10 damage if it hits. I know it is most likely the latter, as it would not make sense to get a free ten points of damage, but I wanted to be positive.
It's easiest to apply the -5 penalty after you determine the total of the roll. For example:
You want to attack an orc with your greatsword; the orc has an armor class of 12. You decide to make use of your Great Weapon Fighter benefit.
You always add your attack bonus for a weapon to attacks with that weapon. Let's say you roll a 10 on the die. If your greatsword attack bonus is +5, you add that to the die for a total of 15.
Since 15 is higher than the orc's AC of 12, normally this would hit. But remember, you had decided before attacking that you were going to use Great Weapon Fighter. So now you have to subtract 5, bringing your result back down to 10, causing you to miss the orc entirely.
Great Weapon Fighter is a gamble; you have to decide whether or not you're using it before you roll. And if you do use it, you have to subtract that 5, potentially turning what would have been a hit into a miss.
I have been working on my fighter, and I'm still pretty new to the game. I know this seems like a silly question, but if I am proficient with a weapon, and have a +5 to attack roles, do those two numbers negate each other when I use the great weapon master feat or is the attack bonus ignored? If you do not know, Great Weapon master allows you to, before a roll, decide to take 5 off of the role in exchange for an extra 10 damage if it hits. I know it is most likely the latter, as it would not make sense to get a free ten points of damage, but I wanted to be positive.
It's easiest to apply the -5 penalty after you determine the total of the roll. For example:
You want to attack an orc with your greatsword; the orc has an armor class of 12. You decide to make use of your Great Weapon Fighter benefit.
You always add your attack bonus for a weapon to attacks with that weapon. Let's say you roll a 10 on the die. If your greatsword attack bonus is +5, you add that to the die for a total of 15.
Since 15 is higher than the orc's AC of 12, normally this would hit. But remember, you had decided before attacking that you were going to use Great Weapon Fighter. So now you have to subtract 5, bringing your result back down to 10, causing you to miss the orc entirely.
Great Weapon Fighter is a gamble; you have to decide whether or not you're using it before you roll. And if you do use it, you have to subtract that 5, potentially turning what would have been a hit into a miss.
Level 10 Human Fighter, Str 18, +1 Greatsword.
+4 (proficiency) +4 (strength) +1 (magic weapon) -5 (GWM) = +4 to hit.
2d6 (weapon damage) + 1 (magic weapon) +4 (strength) +10 (GWM) = 2d6 +15 damage.
You would roll 1d20+5-5 in this case. As others have mentioned, you apply your normal hit modifier and the -5 modifier