¿Does a melee weapon like a handaxe benefits from the +2 to damage given by Dueling if I make an ranged attack?
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
It doesn't specify that the bonus applies only to melee attacks, just if you attack with a melee weapon. And weapons like Dagger, Handaxe and Javelin happen to be melee weapons that can be thrown without losing effectiveness. ¿Is there any official clarification to this? I haven't found one here.
Well, yes the Dueling bonus applies upon those two conditions only: a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapon in the other hand. The type of weapon attack, whether it be melee or ranged, doesn't matter.
I’m not actually sure I would rule this granularly in play, but by the time you roll damage with a thrown weapon, you’re not wielding it anymore, so you no longer meet the conditions for the Dueling feature.
I can see a DM ruling either way, and I don’t know what I think the design intent is.
This was asked in the Sage compendium from two different perspectives (tl;dr yes dueling applies to throwing when holding only one weapon)
Not in the sage compendium, but copied word for word from Twitter: @JeremyECrawford Does the Dueling Style apply its bonus to a thrown melee weapon? JeremyECrawford: Yes.
Does the Archery fighting style work with a melee weapon that you throw?
No, the Archery feature benefits ranged weapons. A melee weapon, such as a dagger or handaxe, is still a melee weapon when you make a ranged attack with it.
Thanks for the response Nathan. I'll make sure to check Jeremy's twitter now before asking about rules.
The designers' Twitter responses are certainly useful when it comes to seeing how other people rule, but they're not official rules sources, and they're often self-contradictory, so take anything you read with a grain of salt.
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¿Does a melee weapon like a handaxe benefits from the +2 to damage given by Dueling if I make an ranged attack?
It doesn't specify that the bonus applies only to melee attacks, just if you attack with a melee weapon. And weapons like Dagger, Handaxe and Javelin happen to be melee weapons that can be thrown without losing effectiveness. ¿Is there any official clarification to this? I haven't found one here.
Well, yes the Dueling bonus applies upon those two conditions only: a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapon in the other hand. The type of weapon attack, whether it be melee or ranged, doesn't matter.
Excellent, this will help me with a new character. Thanks for the clarification!
I’m not actually sure I would rule this granularly in play, but by the time you roll damage with a thrown weapon, you’re not wielding it anymore, so you no longer meet the conditions for the Dueling feature.
I can see a DM ruling either way, and I don’t know what I think the design intent is.
This was asked in the Sage compendium from two different perspectives (tl;dr yes dueling applies to throwing when holding only one weapon)
Not in the sage compendium, but copied word for word from Twitter:
@JeremyECrawford Does the Dueling Style apply its bonus to a thrown melee weapon?
JeremyECrawford: Yes.
Does the Archery fighting style work with a melee weapon that you throw?
No, the Archery feature benefits ranged weapons. A melee weapon, such as a dagger or handaxe, is still a melee weapon when you make a ranged attack with it.
Thanks for the response Nathan. I'll make sure to check Jeremy's twitter now before asking about rules.
The designers' Twitter responses are certainly useful when it comes to seeing how other people rule, but they're not official rules sources, and they're often self-contradictory, so take anything you read with a grain of salt.