So 1st, i have a Rogue in our campaign and there seems to be some disagreement on whether or not he is able to dual wield his Shortswords (Light, Melee) and get a bonus action (in this case, a second attack) with them. i've looked it up and there seems to be some debate on whether he has it already or needs to level up to use it.
2nd, my group has been fighting Giant Rats and i believe they have a saving throw, at what point does an enemy have a saving throw against lets say a sword or other physical attack?
So 1st, i have a Rogue in our campaign and there seems to be some disagreement on whether or not he is able to dual wield his Shortswords (Light, Melee) and get a bonus action (in this case, a second attack) with them. i've looked it up and there seems to be some debate on whether he has it already or needs to level up to use it.
2nd, my group has been fighting Giant Rats and i believe they have a saving throw, at what point does an enemy have a saving throw against lets say a sword or other physical attack?
Thanks all!
TWF has absolutely no level restrictions on it - anyone in the game dual wielding light melee weapons can engage in it, including a level 1 Rogue.
You never have a saving throw against an attack per se - attacks roll to hit, by definition. An effect which is resisted by a save is not an attack. However, it's possible to attach "riders" to an attack where there's a save against the rider. Examples are numerous: for example, you could coat the weapon in poison, and then a stabbed target would need to save against the poison. Level 5+ monks can do something similar with their Stunning Strike.
So 1st, i have a Rogue in our campaign and there seems to be some disagreement on whether or not he is able to dual wield his Shortswords (Light, Melee) and get a bonus action (in this case, a second attack) with them. i've looked it up and there seems to be some debate on whether he has it already or needs to level up to use it.
2nd, my group has been fighting Giant Rats and i believe they have a saving throw, at what point does an enemy have a saving throw against lets say a sword or other physical attack?
Thanks all!
TWF has absolutely no level restrictions on it - anyone in the game dual wielding light melee weapons can engage in it, including a level 1 Rogue.
You never have a saving throw against an attack per se - attacks roll to hit, by definition. An effect which is resisted by a save is not an attack. However, it's possible to attach "riders" to an attack where there's a save against the rider. Examples are numerous: for example, you could coat the weapon in poison, and then a stabbed target would need to save against the poison. Level 5+ monks can do something similar with their Stunning Strike.
Ah okay, that makes sense. Yeah there was a little debate about if they have it or not. we kept finding different answers everywhere about dual wielding. I appreciate the clarification on the rules, seems like some things are easy to find by a search and others there are debates on what the rule actually says.
Ah okay, that makes sense. Yeah there was a little debate about if they have it or not. we kept finding different answers everywhere about dual wielding. I appreciate the clarification on the rules, seems like some things are easy to find by a search and others there are debates on what the rule actually says.
So, just to be clear, here's what it looks like if the level 1 rogue is dual wielding shortswords against diseased giant rats while another party member stands nearby:
Rogue makes base attack with short sword: dex+2 to hit. If they hit, because of the nearby party member, damage 1d6+1d6+dex.
Rogue makes bonus attack with short sword: dex+2 to hit. If they hit and the previous stab missed, this is the sneak, so damage 1d6+1d6. If they hit and the previous stab also hit, damage 1d6.
Giant rat attacks, and let's say hits (giant rats are very accurate, in general). Rogue takes 1d4+2 damage, and must make a DC 10 Con save against a rider the rat's bite has.
Generally one roll resolves an attack, whether it be an attack roll to hit something (made by the attacker) or a saving throw to avoid something (made by the target).
Some creatures have special attacks that can have an additional effect if it hits. These are always spelled out in the attack description. So in the case of diseased giant rat the attack roll is to determine whether the bite hits, and if so then there is a CON save made by the target to determine whether their body can resist the additional effect of disease.
A player equivalent to this would be something like a level 5 monk using its Stunning Strike feature. When they hit with an unarmed attack, they can use a ki point to also force the target to make a CON save. If the target fails, it is stunned.
Can a Rogue using a shortsword in each hand get two attacks? One main hand attack, and one bonus attack with the second shortsword? Yes.
Typically, the only time you run into trouble is with the off-hand attack. The second weapon does not get a bonus to damage. Getting anything more than the base damage with the off-hand weapon is complicated and requires things like Feats in order to get abilities from other classes. I don't want to get into it. It causes a lot of trouble.
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So 1st, i have a Rogue in our campaign and there seems to be some disagreement on whether or not he is able to dual wield his Shortswords (Light, Melee) and get a bonus action (in this case, a second attack) with them. i've looked it up and there seems to be some debate on whether he has it already or needs to level up to use it.
2nd, my group has been fighting Giant Rats and i believe they have a saving throw, at what point does an enemy have a saving throw against lets say a sword or other physical attack?
Thanks all!
TWF has absolutely no level restrictions on it - anyone in the game dual wielding light melee weapons can engage in it, including a level 1 Rogue.
You never have a saving throw against an attack per se - attacks roll to hit, by definition. An effect which is resisted by a save is not an attack. However, it's possible to attach "riders" to an attack where there's a save against the rider. Examples are numerous: for example, you could coat the weapon in poison, and then a stabbed target would need to save against the poison. Level 5+ monks can do something similar with their Stunning Strike.
Ah okay, that makes sense. Yeah there was a little debate about if they have it or not. we kept finding different answers everywhere about dual wielding. I appreciate the clarification on the rules, seems like some things are easy to find by a search and others there are debates on what the rule actually says.
So, just to be clear, here's what it looks like if the level 1 rogue is dual wielding shortswords against diseased giant rats while another party member stands nearby:
Make sense?
Generally one roll resolves an attack, whether it be an attack roll to hit something (made by the attacker) or a saving throw to avoid something (made by the target).
Some creatures have special attacks that can have an additional effect if it hits. These are always spelled out in the attack description. So in the case of diseased giant rat the attack roll is to determine whether the bite hits, and if so then there is a CON save made by the target to determine whether their body can resist the additional effect of disease.
A player equivalent to this would be something like a level 5 monk using its Stunning Strike feature. When they hit with an unarmed attack, they can use a ki point to also force the target to make a CON save. If the target fails, it is stunned.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Can a Rogue using a shortsword in each hand get two attacks? One main hand attack, and one bonus attack with the second shortsword? Yes.
Typically, the only time you run into trouble is with the off-hand attack. The second weapon does not get a bonus to damage. Getting anything more than the base damage with the off-hand weapon is complicated and requires things like Feats in order to get abilities from other classes. I don't want to get into it. It causes a lot of trouble.
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