So I have a fire warhammer that my dm just gave me. It’s wicked overpowered but I’m not telling him. My question is how do I determine fire damage. Because it just does 1d12 + 5 fire damage. Is the +5 like an ability based bonus? Like if I have a +2 to strength I can add that to the rolled damage. Or is it just a fixed thing? I hope this makes since.
The weapon probably does 1d12 fire damage and you can add in your damage from Strength, the +5 is probably this damage, which would normally be bludgeoning damage for a Warhammer. I wouldn't say the weapon is overpowered. Look at the Flame Tongue option, it adds 2d6 fire damage on top of the damage the weapon usually does(swords only). IF your weapon shows 1d12+5 on the character sheet, everything is most likely already added in.
Well, first if you think its overpowered teel you DM. If he thinks otherwise he'll explain it to you, if he agrees, he may adjust it and it will prevent it to ruin the fun of the game and/or him to taking it from you to make the game to do not break.
Second, its a homebrewed item?
It seems to me as the way that you are saying that its a regular warhammer damage dice but instead of its regular damage type it applies fire damage. If thats the case it should have 1d12+2. However, it could be a +3 weapon that grants +3 to hit and damage, so in that case the math is correct (+2 from stregth +3 from magical bonus = +5).
If neither are the case, I don't know how your DM are rulling it and can't help much
In 5E, magic items ordinarily only go up to +3 enchantments. So yes, if you’re seeing 1d12+5 on your sheet, some part of that is your strength. If your strength bonus is +2, then +3 of that is from the weapons enchantment.
5E doesn’t really explain how static modifiers work with attacks that deal multiple damage types. Swing a bludgeoning weapon, add “+3”, and it’s obviously more bludgeoning. Swing a weapon that does some bludgeoning, some fire, and “+3”… now it gets more confusing.
99% of the time, it doesn’t matter. Where damage types aren’t clear, or there’s too many to keep straight, I recommend just treating the whole attack as all of them at once (1d12+5 “fire and bludgeoning damage”).
Usually, effects with multiple damage types are presented with how much is of a different type, right? Something like "1d6 + 3 + the spell’s level piercing damage + 1d6 force damage." or "Claw. Melee Weapon Attack:+11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6 + 7) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) cold damage."
if the weapon does "1d12+5 fire damage" that implies it is all fire damage. Is it homebrew?
To be fair, they don't show the extra damage at all in the attack area, but windvane and tinderstrike both just have a +xd6 (type) damage in the box next to the attack's damage box and show the normal damage (and type) on a hit in the normal area, even though the extra magical damage occurs on every hit.
And by the way, there are relatively few items that I can quickly find that actually reliably do elemental damage in the rules. Most are simply bonuses to the weapon's normal damage type, as you said. Some have special effects on special creatures or under special conditions.
Sun Blade changes all the damage to radiant. Almost every other weapon that deals reliable typed damage adds a few d6s of that type to the normal damage.
So I have a fire warhammer that my dm just gave me. It’s wicked overpowered but I’m not telling him. My question is how do I determine fire damage. Because it just does 1d12 + 5 fire damage. Is the +5 like an ability based bonus? Like if I have a +2 to strength I can add that to the rolled damage. Or is it just a fixed thing? I hope this makes since.
You determine it by asking your DM since it's of his own conception. A warhammer normally deals 1d8 + STR mod bludgeoning, Versatile (1d10). Find out with him if the 1d12 + 5 fire damage is on top of that, or if it replaces it entirely.
You can use a bonus action to speak this magic sword's command word, causing flames to erupt from the blade. These flames shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for an additional 40 feet. While the sword is ablaze, it deals an extra 2d6 fire damage to any target it hits. The flames last until you use a bonus action to speak the command word again or until you drop or sheathe the weapon.
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So I have a fire warhammer that my dm just gave me. It’s wicked overpowered but I’m not telling him. My question is how do I determine fire damage. Because it just does 1d12 + 5 fire damage. Is the +5 like an ability based bonus? Like if I have a +2 to strength I can add that to the rolled damage. Or is it just a fixed thing? I hope this makes since.
The weapon probably does 1d12 fire damage and you can add in your damage from Strength, the +5 is probably this damage, which would normally be bludgeoning damage for a Warhammer. I wouldn't say the weapon is overpowered. Look at the Flame Tongue option, it adds 2d6 fire damage on top of the damage the weapon usually does(swords only). IF your weapon shows 1d12+5 on the character sheet, everything is most likely already added in.
Well, first if you think its overpowered teel you DM. If he thinks otherwise he'll explain it to you, if he agrees, he may adjust it and it will prevent it to ruin the fun of the game and/or him to taking it from you to make the game to do not break.
Second, its a homebrewed item?
It seems to me as the way that you are saying that its a regular warhammer damage dice but instead of its regular damage type it applies fire damage. If thats the case it should have 1d12+2. However, it could be a +3 weapon that grants +3 to hit and damage, so in that case the math is correct (+2 from stregth +3 from magical bonus = +5).
If neither are the case, I don't know how your DM are rulling it and can't help much
In 5E, magic items ordinarily only go up to +3 enchantments. So yes, if you’re seeing 1d12+5 on your sheet, some part of that is your strength. If your strength bonus is +2, then +3 of that is from the weapons enchantment.
5E doesn’t really explain how static modifiers work with attacks that deal multiple damage types. Swing a bludgeoning weapon, add “+3”, and it’s obviously more bludgeoning. Swing a weapon that does some bludgeoning, some fire, and “+3”… now it gets more confusing.
99% of the time, it doesn’t matter. Where damage types aren’t clear, or there’s too many to keep straight, I recommend just treating the whole attack as all of them at once (1d12+5 “fire and bludgeoning damage”).
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Usually, effects with multiple damage types are presented with how much is of a different type, right? Something like "1d6 + 3 + the spell’s level piercing damage + 1d6 force damage." or "Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6 + 7) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) cold damage."
if the weapon does "1d12+5 fire damage" that implies it is all fire damage. Is it homebrew?
Thank you all for the help. Sorry if I was confusing I’m kinda new to the forum and dnd mechanics I’m general. But this really did help thank you.
Monsters present damage that way in stat blocks. Weapons on a character sheet don’t.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
To be fair, they don't show the extra damage at all in the attack area, but windvane and tinderstrike both just have a +xd6 (type) damage in the box next to the attack's damage box and show the normal damage (and type) on a hit in the normal area, even though the extra magical damage occurs on every hit.
And by the way, there are relatively few items that I can quickly find that actually reliably do elemental damage in the rules. Most are simply bonuses to the weapon's normal damage type, as you said. Some have special effects on special creatures or under special conditions.
Sun Blade changes all the damage to radiant. Almost every other weapon that deals reliable typed damage adds a few d6s of that type to the normal damage.
You determine it by asking your DM since it's of his own conception. A warhammer normally deals 1d8 + STR mod bludgeoning, Versatile (1d10). Find out with him if the 1d12 + 5 fire damage is on top of that, or if it replaces it entirely.
As a comparison, you can check the flametongue weapon Note that RAW the warhammer is not listed as an applicable weapon though. https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/flame-tongue
You can use a bonus action to speak this magic sword's command word, causing flames to erupt from the blade. These flames shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for an additional 40 feet. While the sword is ablaze, it deals an extra 2d6 fire damage to any target it hits. The flames last until you use a bonus action to speak the command word again or until you drop or sheathe the weapon.