So based on previous Sage Advice and the writing of Magic Missile, the intent appears to be that you roll the damage die once and all your missiles deal that amount of damage.
Hexblade's Curse lets you add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls.
So operating on this logic, a level 1 variant human Warlock that chose the Hexblade Patron, could take Magic Initiate as their feat and choose 2 Sorcerer Cantrips and pick up magic missile. Also, because the RAI (and in a way RAW since it just tells you to roll once) for Magic Missile is that only requires a single damage roll, you'd at minimum be dealing 4 damage per missile, and 7 and max...so you'd be dealing 12 damage minimum at level 1 or 21 at max for a level 1 spell slot.
Now that isn't the weirdest thing though...because Magic MIssile is instantaneous and the hits occur simultaneously, and the qualifier for the damage bonus is that it is a damage roll that targets whatever is under the effect of the curse, you get this weird effect by RAW where if you target them, your other missiles get the bonus because the damage roll is supposed to be a single roll...meaning that per RAW if you shoot this target with 1 missile the other 2 at level 1 are somehow going to still do that extra damage.
It's total rules cheese, and very clearly not RAI...but I am trying to justify using RAW to prove that what I am saying is incorrect but can't manage...any insights as to what would make at the very least the latter cheese fall apart?
I don't think the added effect to other targets works or at least it shouldn't work, since that would mean that other multi-target spells, like fireball, would receive the same benefit. That said, I can't think of a specific reason it doesn't work by RAW.
I don't think the added effect to other targets works or at least it shouldn't work, since that would mean that other multi-target spells, like fireball, would receive the same benefit. That said, I can't think of a specific reason it doesn't work by RAW.
Oh I definitely don't think it is supposed to work RAI...but since the damage is added to the damage roll per RAW when the target of the curse would be receiving damage, and the roll happens independently of who it hits...it really opens the door to some weird things as you said since things like fireball would get the proficiency bonus added...maybe that is intended and people just assumed that isn't how it works but idk...seems super suspect and unintended.
Basically it seems like something that could really use clarification in a future errata.
I don't think that is right. Each dart can target the same or a different creature, that means each creature can take different amounts of damage so the roll damage for all of them using the same dice and modifiers doesn't apply. And the way magic missile works with its simultaneous hits means each target takes the combined darts' damage as 1 damage roll.
So if you target the cursed target with 2 darts and a second target with 1 darts, the cursed target takes 2d4+2+2 (prof at level 1), and the second target takes 1d4+1.
It still depends on how you interpret the rules, but it does follow an interpretation of the rules, and I believe this is the intended interpretation.
That is the crux of the issue though...because Hexblade's curse specifically is worded as adding your bonus to the damage roll, Magic Missile only requiring 1 damage roll would make all darts do 1d4 + 1 + prof per RAW...I personally don't think it is intended, but I am curious if there is some archaic rule that makes this not legal in the context of RAW rather than needing to point out RAI.
That is the crux of the issue though...because Hexblade's curse specifically is worded as adding your bonus to the damage roll, Magic Missile only requiring 1 damage roll would make all darts do 1d4 + 1 + prof per RAW...I personally don't think it is intended, but I am curious if there is some archaic rule that makes this not legal in the context of RAW rather than needing to point out RAI.
magic missile is weird and has been the source of some rules controversies before. But that aside, I just want to correct a rule mistake you are making.
If Magic missile makes 1 damage roll, then all targets will take the same damage, and that damage will be 3d4+3+prof, this is obviously wrong because each target takes different damage based on number of darts, so it is not 1 damage roll.
If each dart is a separate damage roll, then each dart will do 1d4+1 to non-cursed targets and 1d4+1+prof to cursed targets. The problem with that is that magic missile specifies that the darts do damage simultaneously.
Which leaves the only possible answer of each target taking 1 damage roll dependant on number of darts targeting them, in which case hexblade's curse will only add to the 1 damage roll targeting the cursed target once.
I'm confused about where the thing about rolling only 1 die for any number of darts is coming from. The text for Magic Missile states "A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target.". To me, this means that for each dart created, you roll a separate die no matter what creature you're targeting with it. So only the darts targeting the creature afflicted by Hexblade's Curse would benefit from Proficiency. Darts targeting other creatures would not be affected.
Either way, the text is quite ambiguous, and could use a rewrite. It should specify whether you roll once for all darts, or if you roll each dart independently.
That is the crux of the issue though...because Hexblade's curse specifically is worded as adding your bonus to the damage roll, Magic Missile only requiring 1 damage roll would make all darts do 1d4 + 1 + prof per RAW...I personally don't think it is intended, but I am curious if there is some archaic rule that makes this not legal in the context of RAW rather than needing to point out RAI.
magic missile is weird and has been the source of some rules controversies before. But that aside, I just want to correct a rule mistake you are making.
If Magic missile makes 1 damage roll, then all targets will take the same damage, and that damage will be 3d4+3+prof, this is obviously wrong because each target takes different damage based on number of darts, so it is not 1 damage roll.
If each dart is a separate damage roll, then each dart will do 1d4+1 to non-cursed targets and 1d4+1+prof to cursed targets. The problem with that is that magic missile specifies that the darts do damage simultaneously.
Which leaves the only possible answer of each target taking 1 damage roll dependant on number of darts targeting them, in which case hexblade's curse will only add to the 1 damage roll targeting the cursed target once.
Problem is that it has been said by both Jeremy Crawford and Mike Mearls that it is a single damage roll for all darts, not a new roll per dart, which is reinforced by the way the rules for damage rolls themselves are written. So it telling you to roll 1d4 + 1 means every single dart will deal whatever you rolled on a single roll. You can find other's discussing that ruling here on this site as well. That is what breaks things, because the intended way to use the spell is to make 1 roll and have all of your dart's deal that much damage. Basically MM always acts like a spell that hits multiple targets similar to fireball, which is intended, meaning that under the damage rolls rules you make a single roll and apply that much damage to all targets.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Pretty sure it’s all at once, as JC said so.
So what you would do is this, if the 1d4 even counts as a damage roll:
Robby casts Magic Missile at 2nd level. Fred and Susan are hit with a dart each, Johnny Bravo hit by 2. Fred and Susan take 7 damage, (+1 and Prof. bonus), and Johnny takes the result if the roll (minus the +2) times 2, and an extra 2 damage.
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I have a competing Orc in the Coliseum of Conquest (always recruiting), Abubz the failure wizard! And he has a 3 win streak (he started with a 6 in intelligence)! Successfully killed a worm and won 3 matches.
I would say that only the bolts that hit the cursed creature get the bonus. Because it is just that a bonus, not a roll. The bonus is being applied by a very specific feature to a very specific creature. I see it as each bolt that hits the cursed creature gets the +2 from prof bonus and any that don't do not get the bonus.
Your reading to me would be akin to a death cleric attacking two creatures with toll the dead because they are within 5 feet of each other (reaper) and saying that they both get the 1d12 damage because the primary target was missing hp (while the other was not).
I'm confused about where the thing about rolling only 1 die for any number of darts is coming from. The text for Magic Missile states "A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target.". To me, this means that for each dart created, you roll a separate die no matter what creature you're targeting with it. So only the darts targeting the creature afflicted by Hexblade's Curse would benefit from Proficiency. Darts targeting other creatures would not be affected.
Either way, the text is quite ambiguous, and could use a rewrite. It should specify whether you roll once for all darts, or if you roll each dart independently.
If a spell or other effect deals damage to more than one target at the same time, roll the damage once for all of them. For example, when a Wizard casts Fireball or a Cleric casts Flame Strike, the spell’s damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.
Yes, it is odd, but it is RAW and intended according to Jeremy Crawford because all the darts hit simultaneously, so you treat it like Fireball, roll your dice once, and make each dart do that much damage.
I would say that only the bolts that hit the cursed creature get the bonus. Because it is just that a bonus, not a roll. The bonus is being applied by a very specific feature to a very specific creature. I see it as each bolt that hits the cursed creature gets the +2 from prof bonus and any that don't do not get the bonus.
Your reading to me would be akin to a death cleric attacking two creatures with toll the dead because they are within 5 feet of each other (reaper) and saying that they both get the 1d12 damage because the primary target was missing hp (while the other was not).
I'm not asking for RAI, I am asking for RAW. As written, the damage roll gets the proficiency bonus. Also as written, Magic Missile is a single roll as supported by the rules for damage rolls and further backed by what Jeremy Crawford has said on the spell...as such, you make a single damage roll, and damage rolls are what get the proficiency bonus, meaning that your darts deal 1d4 + 1 + prof to all targets because MM is weird and is considered a spell akin to fireball where you roll your damage once and all targets take that damage. It is weird and I don't necessarily agree with it, but that is why I am looking for RAW that can make it fall apart.
Yes, it is odd, but it is RAW and intended according to Jeremy Crawford because all the darts hit simultaneously, so you treat it like Fireball, roll your dice once, and make each dart do that much damage.
Roll once, apply global modifiers, apply target-specific modifiers, apply target-specific resistance/vulnerability, subtract calculated hp relevant for each target. It's not rocket surgery.
Yes, it is odd, but it is RAW and intended according to Jeremy Crawford because all the darts hit simultaneously, so you treat it like Fireball, roll your dice once, and make each dart do that much damage.
Roll once, apply global modifiers, apply target-specific modifiers, apply target-specific resistance/vulnerability, subtract calculated hp relevant for each target. It's not rocket surgery.
I am aware, but I am working solely on the foundation of RAW not RAI...the rules for hexblade's curse says apply it to the damage roll, not that a creature hit with an attack takes an additional amount of damage...what you are saying is almost guaranteed to be what was intended, but I am trying to find a way to argue that it isn't possible RAW and am wondering if there is a specific rule I am forgetting.
I think that what AtlaStar is saying is that you roll 1d4, say it's a 2, then you add 1 bringing damage per bolt to 3 and then factor in any bonuses like hexblades curse for the final damage per bolt, in this case 5. Each bolt the causes 5 damage for a total of 15 damage as a level 1 spell. I can see either each bolt gets it's own roll, in which only the ones targeting the cursed creature would get the bonus anyway or roll the 1d4+1 and only add the prof bonus to the ones targeting it. I can't see a good reason, even with RAW to have the bonus apply to bolts not targeting the cursed creature.
Yes, it is odd, but it is RAW and intended according to Jeremy Crawford because all the darts hit simultaneously, so you treat it like Fireball, roll your dice once, and make each dart do that much damage.
Roll once, apply global modifiers, apply target-specific modifiers, apply target-specific resistance/vulnerability, subtract calculated hp relevant for each target. It's not rocket surgery.
I am aware, but I am working solely on the foundation of RAW not RAI...the rules for hexblade's curse says apply it to the damage roll, not that a creature hit with an attack takes an additional amount of damage...what you are saying is almost guaranteed to be what was intended, but I am trying to find a way to argue that it isn't possible RAW and am wondering if there is a specific rule I am forgetting.
It says it applies to damage rolls "against the cursed target". The rules say roll once, they don't say that you then must apply the exact same modifier to that roll for all targets. There is precedence in the rule books for damage modifiers that are target-specific; in the section regarding resistance there is this paragraph:
"Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage. For example, a creature has resistance to bludgeoning damage and is hit by an attack that deals 25 bludgeoning damage. The creature is also within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. The 25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so the creature takes 10 damage."
The aura there is a damage modifier for only targets within the aura. The difference between that and the curse is that the curse damage modifier apparently applies only to damage which involves a roll, not damage which is a fixed value (like from Armor of Agathys).
The RAW definition of damage, a damage roll, and damage modifiers is not actually a strict as the position you have interpreted from it.
The wording is troublesome, but a damage roll against the cursed target in the context of a normal attack is easily understood...but in the case of something like Fireball or Magic Missile, if the cursed target is a target of the damage roll, then the wording is explicit in that you add the proficiency bonus to the damage roll. It 100% ruins the theme and apparent intent of the ability so I am not arguing that it is a good thing...rather I am pointing out that as it currently stands I think it needs errata or clarification if this is actually something the designers intended, unless there is a specific rule that counters the way it is written.
Don't get me wrong, I think most people will understand the intent of the ability...but any chance to clarify things and prevent rules arguments at the table by fixing troublesome phrases is better than leaving it to interpretation in my opinion....because the ability could easily be written to state.
Whenever you make a damage roll against a cursed target, it takes an additional amount of damage equal to your proficiency modifier.
The above is pretty cut and dry about intent...this leaves me wondering if the curse is supposed to be a little more flexible than most assume since it doesn't directly state that the target takes the extra damage, but rather that the extra damage is added to the damage roll. Basically the designers understand what damage rolls are, so wording it in a way that doesn't state the extra damage is dealt specifically to the cursed target could be intended for all we know, or unintentional as most would logically assume.
Yes, it is odd, but it is RAW and intended according to Jeremy Crawford because all the darts hit simultaneously, so you treat it like Fireball, roll your dice once, and make each dart do that much damage.
Roll once, apply global modifiers, apply target-specific modifiers, apply target-specific resistance/vulnerability, subtract calculated hp relevant for each target. It's not rocket surgery.
I think that what we're trying to say is that we're reading RAW as saying that you roll the damage roll and then you would add specific weaknesses afterward. Ie if you've hexed 1 creature, for some reason use curse on another creature, and a third creature had vulnerability to force damage, each of those creatures would take different damage even with 1 damage roll. In the instance I used earlier, the damage roll would be 2+1=3. Let's say that the hexed creature's 1d6 is rolled as a 4 and it takes 7 damage. The cursed creature takes the 3+2 for 5 and the vulnerable creature takes double damage for 6. If you can only see that as being RAI, then I don't think you'll ever find a reason to do other than you are saying until there is an errata. Plus, I'd be interested in seeing if you think that all of the creatures would take 5 damage, if all of them would take 18 damage or something different.
Whenever you make a damage roll against a cursed target, it takes an additional amount of damage equal to your proficiency modifier.
I'm actually not seeing any difference that this would make over the current reading in regards to MM or Fireball. It's still telling me the same thing, which tells me that your reading would still apply the damage to the MM damage roll and then propagate to each of its targets.
The wording is troublesome, but a damage roll against the cursed target in the context of a normal attack is easily understood...but in the case of something like Fireball or Magic Missile, if the cursed target is a target of the damage roll, then the wording is explicit in that you add the proficiency bonus to the damage roll. It 100% ruins the theme and apparent intent of the ability so I am not arguing that it is a good thing...rather I am pointing out that as it currently stands I think it needs errata or clarification if this is actually something the designers intended, unless there is a specific rule that counters the way it is written...
What I'm saying is that the rules in the book, RAW, don't strictly define what a "damage roll" is, nor the effect of applying multipliers to that roll that may relate to only some affected targets. The rules don't define that adding a modifier to a damage roll automatically applies that modifier to all targets. That is just not written in RAW. The rules are written for calculating damage for a single target, then for multi-target situations all it says is that you only roll the dice once - modifiers are not mentioned.
If RAW is ambiguous, then all you have is RAI, and I think we all here agree on what the intention is.
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So based on previous Sage Advice and the writing of Magic Missile, the intent appears to be that you roll the damage die once and all your missiles deal that amount of damage.
Hexblade's Curse lets you add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls.
So operating on this logic, a level 1 variant human Warlock that chose the Hexblade Patron, could take Magic Initiate as their feat and choose 2 Sorcerer Cantrips and pick up magic missile. Also, because the RAI (and in a way RAW since it just tells you to roll once) for Magic Missile is that only requires a single damage roll, you'd at minimum be dealing 4 damage per missile, and 7 and max...so you'd be dealing 12 damage minimum at level 1 or 21 at max for a level 1 spell slot.
Now that isn't the weirdest thing though...because Magic MIssile is instantaneous and the hits occur simultaneously, and the qualifier for the damage bonus is that it is a damage roll that targets whatever is under the effect of the curse, you get this weird effect by RAW where if you target them, your other missiles get the bonus because the damage roll is supposed to be a single roll...meaning that per RAW if you shoot this target with 1 missile the other 2 at level 1 are somehow going to still do that extra damage.
It's total rules cheese, and very clearly not RAI...but I am trying to justify using RAW to prove that what I am saying is incorrect but can't manage...any insights as to what would make at the very least the latter cheese fall apart?
I don't think the added effect to other targets works or at least it shouldn't work, since that would mean that other multi-target spells, like fireball, would receive the same benefit. That said, I can't think of a specific reason it doesn't work by RAW.
Oh I definitely don't think it is supposed to work RAI...but since the damage is added to the damage roll per RAW when the target of the curse would be receiving damage, and the roll happens independently of who it hits...it really opens the door to some weird things as you said since things like fireball would get the proficiency bonus added...maybe that is intended and people just assumed that isn't how it works but idk...seems super suspect and unintended.
Basically it seems like something that could really use clarification in a future errata.
I don't think that is right. Each dart can target the same or a different creature, that means each creature can take different amounts of damage so the roll damage for all of them using the same dice and modifiers doesn't apply. And the way magic missile works with its simultaneous hits means each target takes the combined darts' damage as 1 damage roll.
So if you target the cursed target with 2 darts and a second target with 1 darts, the cursed target takes 2d4+2+2 (prof at level 1), and the second target takes 1d4+1.
It still depends on how you interpret the rules, but it does follow an interpretation of the rules, and I believe this is the intended interpretation.
That is the crux of the issue though...because Hexblade's curse specifically is worded as adding your bonus to the damage roll, Magic Missile only requiring 1 damage roll would make all darts do 1d4 + 1 + prof per RAW...I personally don't think it is intended, but I am curious if there is some archaic rule that makes this not legal in the context of RAW rather than needing to point out RAI.
magic missile is weird and has been the source of some rules controversies before. But that aside, I just want to correct a rule mistake you are making.
If Magic missile makes 1 damage roll, then all targets will take the same damage, and that damage will be 3d4+3+prof, this is obviously wrong because each target takes different damage based on number of darts, so it is not 1 damage roll.
If each dart is a separate damage roll, then each dart will do 1d4+1 to non-cursed targets and 1d4+1+prof to cursed targets. The problem with that is that magic missile specifies that the darts do damage simultaneously.
Which leaves the only possible answer of each target taking 1 damage roll dependant on number of darts targeting them, in which case hexblade's curse will only add to the 1 damage roll targeting the cursed target once.
I'm confused about where the thing about rolling only 1 die for any number of darts is coming from. The text for Magic Missile states "A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target.". To me, this means that for each dart created, you roll a separate die no matter what creature you're targeting with it. So only the darts targeting the creature afflicted by Hexblade's Curse would benefit from Proficiency. Darts targeting other creatures would not be affected.
Either way, the text is quite ambiguous, and could use a rewrite. It should specify whether you roll once for all darts, or if you roll each dart independently.
Problem is that it has been said by both Jeremy Crawford and Mike Mearls that it is a single damage roll for all darts, not a new roll per dart, which is reinforced by the way the rules for damage rolls themselves are written. So it telling you to roll 1d4 + 1 means every single dart will deal whatever you rolled on a single roll. You can find other's discussing that ruling here on this site as well. That is what breaks things, because the intended way to use the spell is to make 1 roll and have all of your dart's deal that much damage. Basically MM always acts like a spell that hits multiple targets similar to fireball, which is intended, meaning that under the damage rolls rules you make a single roll and apply that much damage to all targets.
Pretty sure it’s all at once, as JC said so.
So what you would do is this, if the 1d4 even counts as a damage roll:
Robby casts Magic Missile at 2nd level. Fred and Susan are hit with a dart each, Johnny Bravo hit by 2. Fred and Susan take 7 damage, (+1 and Prof. bonus), and Johnny takes the result if the roll (minus the +2) times 2, and an extra 2 damage.
I have a competing Orc in the Coliseum of Conquest (always recruiting), Abubz the failure wizard! And he has a 3 win streak (he started with a 6 in intelligence)! Successfully killed a worm and won 3 matches.
I would say that only the bolts that hit the cursed creature get the bonus. Because it is just that a bonus, not a roll. The bonus is being applied by a very specific feature to a very specific creature. I see it as each bolt that hits the cursed creature gets the +2 from prof bonus and any that don't do not get the bonus.
Your reading to me would be akin to a death cleric attacking two creatures with toll the dead because they are within 5 feet of each other (reaper) and saying that they both get the 1d12 damage because the primary target was missing hp (while the other was not).
Yes, it is odd, but it is RAW and intended according to Jeremy Crawford because all the darts hit simultaneously, so you treat it like Fireball, roll your dice once, and make each dart do that much damage.
I'm not asking for RAI, I am asking for RAW. As written, the damage roll gets the proficiency bonus. Also as written, Magic Missile is a single roll as supported by the rules for damage rolls and further backed by what Jeremy Crawford has said on the spell...as such, you make a single damage roll, and damage rolls are what get the proficiency bonus, meaning that your darts deal 1d4 + 1 + prof to all targets because MM is weird and is considered a spell akin to fireball where you roll your damage once and all targets take that damage. It is weird and I don't necessarily agree with it, but that is why I am looking for RAW that can make it fall apart.
Roll once, apply global modifiers, apply target-specific modifiers, apply target-specific resistance/vulnerability, subtract calculated hp relevant for each target. It's not rocket surgery.
I am aware, but I am working solely on the foundation of RAW not RAI...the rules for hexblade's curse says apply it to the damage roll, not that a creature hit with an attack takes an additional amount of damage...what you are saying is almost guaranteed to be what was intended, but I am trying to find a way to argue that it isn't possible RAW and am wondering if there is a specific rule I am forgetting.
I think that what AtlaStar is saying is that you roll 1d4, say it's a 2, then you add 1 bringing damage per bolt to 3 and then factor in any bonuses like hexblades curse for the final damage per bolt, in this case 5. Each bolt the causes 5 damage for a total of 15 damage as a level 1 spell. I can see either each bolt gets it's own roll, in which only the ones targeting the cursed creature would get the bonus anyway or roll the 1d4+1 and only add the prof bonus to the ones targeting it. I can't see a good reason, even with RAW to have the bonus apply to bolts not targeting the cursed creature.
It says it applies to damage rolls "against the cursed target". The rules say roll once, they don't say that you then must apply the exact same modifier to that roll for all targets. There is precedence in the rule books for damage modifiers that are target-specific; in the section regarding resistance there is this paragraph:
"Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage. For example, a creature has resistance to bludgeoning damage and is hit by an attack that deals 25 bludgeoning damage. The creature is also within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. The 25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so the creature takes 10 damage."
The aura there is a damage modifier for only targets within the aura. The difference between that and the curse is that the curse damage modifier apparently applies only to damage which involves a roll, not damage which is a fixed value (like from Armor of Agathys).
The RAW definition of damage, a damage roll, and damage modifiers is not actually a strict as the position you have interpreted from it.
The wording is troublesome, but a damage roll against the cursed target in the context of a normal attack is easily understood...but in the case of something like Fireball or Magic Missile, if the cursed target is a target of the damage roll, then the wording is explicit in that you add the proficiency bonus to the damage roll. It 100% ruins the theme and apparent intent of the ability so I am not arguing that it is a good thing...rather I am pointing out that as it currently stands I think it needs errata or clarification if this is actually something the designers intended, unless there is a specific rule that counters the way it is written.
Don't get me wrong, I think most people will understand the intent of the ability...but any chance to clarify things and prevent rules arguments at the table by fixing troublesome phrases is better than leaving it to interpretation in my opinion....because the ability could easily be written to state.
The above is pretty cut and dry about intent...this leaves me wondering if the curse is supposed to be a little more flexible than most assume since it doesn't directly state that the target takes the extra damage, but rather that the extra damage is added to the damage roll. Basically the designers understand what damage rolls are, so wording it in a way that doesn't state the extra damage is dealt specifically to the cursed target could be intended for all we know, or unintentional as most would logically assume.
I think that what we're trying to say is that we're reading RAW as saying that you roll the damage roll and then you would add specific weaknesses afterward. Ie if you've hexed 1 creature, for some reason use curse on another creature, and a third creature had vulnerability to force damage, each of those creatures would take different damage even with 1 damage roll. In the instance I used earlier, the damage roll would be 2+1=3. Let's say that the hexed creature's 1d6 is rolled as a 4 and it takes 7 damage. The cursed creature takes the 3+2 for 5 and the vulnerable creature takes double damage for 6. If you can only see that as being RAI, then I don't think you'll ever find a reason to do other than you are saying until there is an errata. Plus, I'd be interested in seeing if you think that all of the creatures would take 5 damage, if all of them would take 18 damage or something different.
I'm actually not seeing any difference that this would make over the current reading in regards to MM or Fireball. It's still telling me the same thing, which tells me that your reading would still apply the damage to the MM damage roll and then propagate to each of its targets.
What I'm saying is that the rules in the book, RAW, don't strictly define what a "damage roll" is, nor the effect of applying multipliers to that roll that may relate to only some affected targets. The rules don't define that adding a modifier to a damage roll automatically applies that modifier to all targets. That is just not written in RAW. The rules are written for calculating damage for a single target, then for multi-target situations all it says is that you only roll the dice once - modifiers are not mentioned.
If RAW is ambiguous, then all you have is RAI, and I think we all here agree on what the intention is.