I'm a new DM it's my first time playing and I'm playing the Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure from the essentials kit with my group. How do you determine damage? For example my party had to fight a manticore. The attack is:
Bite. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Does the attack hit if I roll a 5 or higher? Don't I have to compare the roll to my character's armor class? For the damage does it do 7 or do I roll a d8 and add 3? Also how do you determine if the monster gets a counterattack?
Whether you’re striking with a melee weapon, firing a weapon at range, or Making an Attack roll as part of a spell, an Attack has a simple structure.
Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack’s range: a creature, an object, or a location.
Determine modifiers. The GM determines whether the target has cover and whether you have advantage or disadvantage against the target. In addition, Spells, SpecialAbilities, and other Effects can apply penalties or bonuses to your Attack roll.
Resolve the Attack. You make the Attack roll. On a hit, you roll damage, unless the particular Attack has rules that specify otherwise. Some attacks cause SpecialEffects in addition to or instead of damage.
If there’s ever any question whether something you’re doing counts as an Attack, the rule is simple: if you’re Making an Attack roll, you’re Making an Attack.
When you make an Attack, your Attack roll determines whether the Attack hits or misses. To make an Attack roll, roll a d20 and add the appropriate modifiers. If the total of the roll plus modifiers equals or exceeds the target’s Armor Class (AC), the Attack hits. The AC of a character is determined at Character Creation, whereas the AC of a monster is in its stat block.
When a character makes an Attack roll, the two most CommonModifiers to the Roll are an ability modifier and the character’s Proficiency Bonus. When a monster makes an Attack roll, it uses whatever modifier is provided in its stat block.
Ability Modifier: The ability modifier used for a melee weapon Attack is Strength, and the ability modifier used for a ranged weapon Attack is Dexterity. Weapons that have the Finesse or Thrown property break this rule. Some Spells also require an Attack roll. The ability modifier used for a spell Attack depends on the Spellcasting Ability of the spellcaster.
Combatants often try to escape their foes’ notice by Hiding, casting the Invisibility spell, or lurking in Darkness.
When you Attack a target that you can’t see, you have disadvantage on the Attack roll. This is true whether you’re guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the GM typically just says that the Attack missed, not whether you guessed the target’s location correctly.
When a creature can’t see you, you have advantage on Attack rolls against it. If you are hidden—both unseen and unheard—when you make an Attack, you give away your location when the Attack hits or misses.
There is no "counterattack" unless there are special abilities involved. The monster attacks on its turn unless an opportunity attack is made. I'd recommend re-reading the COMBAT rules carefully.
On the attack roll, you roll a d20 and add the attack modifier, in this case, +5, to the roll. Then compare that total to the target’s AC. Example, you are attacking a creature with a 16 AC. If you roll a 10, then add 5, you have a 15; the attack misses. If you roll an 11, then add 5, you have a 16. Since this meets the AC, you hit. So you’d miss on a 10 or lower, and hit on an 11 or higher. For damage, you can choose an option of either doing 7, or rolling a d8 and adding 3.
Mathematically, The average roll for a d8+3 is 7, so choosing the flat damage number is just doing the average damage. Some people like the flat number because it means fewer rolls and speeds up combat. Others like the randomness of rolling damage for each hit. It’s really a personal preference thing. The only thing I can think of that would be a counterattack, is if in the monster description it says something about the monster getting a reaction if it is hit. I can’t think of any specific examples of that, but there are some abilities which allow it to happen. And there are monsters (boss types, usually) that get to act on player’s turns in addition to their turn. Again, it will say that in the description and is usually Under a heading called legendary actions.
For the manticore in your question, there are no reactions or counterattack type things. It does have multiattack, so on it’s turn it can attack three times. Either a bite and two claw attacks if it’s in melee, or if it’s at range, three tail spine attacks. In either case, the attacks can all target the same creature, or can be spread out against different targets. But all of the attacks must happen on the manticore’s turn.
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I'm a new DM it's my first time playing and I'm playing the Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure from the essentials kit with my group. How do you determine damage? For example my party had to fight a manticore. The attack is:
Bite. Melee weapon attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Does the attack hit if I roll a 5 or higher? Don't I have to compare the roll to my character's armor class? For the damage does it do 7 or do I roll a d8 and add 3? Also how do you determine if the monster gets a counterattack?
Making an Attack
Whether you’re striking with a melee weapon, firing a weapon at range, or Making an Attack roll as part of a spell, an Attack has a simple structure.
If there’s ever any question whether something you’re doing counts as an Attack, the rule is simple: if you’re Making an Attack roll, you’re Making an Attack.
Attack Rolls
When you make an Attack, your Attack roll determines whether the Attack hits or misses. To make an Attack roll, roll a d20 and add the appropriate modifiers. If the total of the roll plus modifiers equals or exceeds the target’s Armor Class (AC), the Attack hits. The AC of a character is determined at Character Creation, whereas the AC of a monster is in its stat block.
Modifiers to the Roll
When a character makes an Attack roll, the two most Common Modifiers to the Roll are an ability modifier and the character’s Proficiency Bonus. When a monster makes an Attack roll, it uses whatever modifier is provided in its stat block.
Ability Modifier: The ability modifier used for a melee weapon Attack is Strength, and the ability modifier used for a ranged weapon Attack is Dexterity. Weapons that have the Finesse or Thrown property break this rule. Some Spells also require an Attack roll. The ability modifier used for a spell Attack depends on the Spellcasting Ability of the spellcaster.
Proficiency Bonus: You add your Proficiency Bonus to your Attack roll when you Attack using a weapon with which you have proficiency, as well as when you Attack with a spell.
Rolling 1 or 20
Sometimes fate blesses or curses a combatant, causing the novice to hit and the Veteran to miss.
If The D20 roll for an Attack is a 20, the Attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC. This is called a critical hit.
If The D20 roll for an Attack is a 1, the Attack misses regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC.
Unseen Attackers and Targets
Combatants often try to escape their foes’ notice by Hiding, casting the Invisibility spell, or lurking in Darkness.
When you Attack a target that you can’t see, you have disadvantage on the Attack roll. This is true whether you’re guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the GM typically just says that the Attack missed, not whether you guessed the target’s location correctly.
When a creature can’t see you, you have advantage on Attack rolls against it. If you are hidden—both unseen and unheard—when you make an Attack, you give away your location when the Attack hits or misses.
There is no "counterattack" unless there are special abilities involved. The monster attacks on its turn unless an opportunity attack is made. I'd recommend re-reading the COMBAT rules carefully.
On the attack roll, you roll a d20 and add the attack modifier, in this case, +5, to the roll. Then compare that total to the target’s AC.
Example, you are attacking a creature with a 16 AC. If you roll a 10, then add 5, you have a 15; the attack misses. If you roll an 11, then add 5, you have a 16. Since this meets the AC, you hit. So you’d miss on a 10 or lower, and hit on an 11 or higher.
For damage, you can choose an option of either doing 7, or rolling a d8 and adding 3.
Mathematically, The average roll for a d8+3 is 7, so choosing the flat damage number is just doing the average damage.
Some people like the flat number because it means fewer rolls and speeds up combat. Others like the randomness of rolling damage for each hit. It’s really a personal preference thing.
The only thing I can think of that would be a counterattack, is if in the monster description it says something about the monster getting a reaction if it is hit. I can’t think of any specific examples of that, but there are some abilities which allow it to happen.
And there are monsters (boss types, usually) that get to act on player’s turns in addition to their turn. Again, it will say that in the description and is usually Under a heading called legendary actions.
For the manticore in your question, there are no reactions or counterattack type things.
It does have multiattack, so on it’s turn it can attack three times. Either a bite and two claw attacks if it’s in melee, or if it’s at range, three tail spine attacks. In either case, the attacks can all target the same creature, or can be spread out against different targets. But all of the attacks must happen on the manticore’s turn.