Odd thing in my mind: the PHB says that ranged spell attacks at 5ft get disadvantage, but cantrips like Sacred Flame and Vicious Mockery don't make an attack roll.
No. The rules only do what they say they do. Cantrips that force a save are handy for being in melee specifically because they don't have this drawback inherent to the more-popular ranged attack cantrips.
The rule is: if there is an enemy within 5 ft of you, your ranged attacks have disadvantage. Spell or weapon, and even if the target isn't within 5 ft.
Just to help clarify the terminology a bit incase that's the sticking point, despite spells like Sacred Flame and Vicious Mockery having range to them, they don't require an attack role so they aren't subject to any rules regarding ranged spell attacks. hope this helps
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Odd thing in my mind: the PHB says that ranged spell attacks at 5ft get disadvantage, but cantrips like Sacred Flame and Vicious Mockery don't make an attack roll.
So would the target get advantage instead?
No. The rules only do what they say they do. Cantrips that force a save are handy for being in melee specifically because they don't have this drawback inherent to the more-popular ranged attack cantrips.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
The rule is: if there is an enemy within 5 ft of you, your ranged attacks have disadvantage. Spell or weapon, and even if the target isn't within 5 ft.
Saves are not affected by this rule.
Neat. Thanks for the clarification!
Just to help clarify the terminology a bit incase that's the sticking point, despite spells like Sacred Flame and Vicious Mockery having range to them, they don't require an attack role so they aren't subject to any rules regarding ranged spell attacks. hope this helps