This question may have been asked or clarified somewhere else but I can’t seem to find it. How does the “Reach” property affect the Reach of a weapon? A glaive has the “Reach” property. The listed Reach of a glaive is 10ft. Does that mean that that the glaive can hit an enemy 15ft away or is it just 10? I think it’s 15 but any clarification on this would be appreciated.
Yup. Reach just +5s you normal reach. Typically that results in a total reach of 10ft with it.
But say you're a bugbear fighter with lunging attack? Now you can hit someone 20ft away with your glaive when you lunge. And 15ft away when you don't. But then only 10ft when it isn't your turn (opportunity attacks).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
I know that’s how the rule works. But with a halberd, which also has “Reach,” its Reach is 5ft and attacking with it goes out to 10. Are people using “Reach” wrong or am I missing something?
(sorry if I sound aggressive or anything. I don’t mean it that way.)
I know that’s how the rule works. But with a halberd, which also has “Reach,” its Reach is 5ft and attacking with it goes out to 10. Are people using “Reach” wrong or am I missing something?
This question may have been asked or clarified somewhere else but I can’t seem to find it. How does the “Reach” property affect the Reach of a weapon? A glaive has the “Reach” property. The listed Reach of a glaive is 10ft. Does that mean that that the glaive can hit an enemy 15ft away or is it just 10? I think it’s 15 but any clarification on this would be appreciated.
The weapon doesn't have a 10ft reach because weapons doesn't have a reach, characters do. Some weapons have the reach trait, which adds 5ft to the characters reach.
Ok. I get it now. I have a follow up question about the app, why does it list a Reach for melee weapons? For them, they all start with
Attack Type: Simple/Martial Melee Weapon
Reach: 5ft/10ft
which is part of my confusion. The halberd has “Reach” but its Reach is 5ft. It’s the only weapon like that. Is that a typo for the Halberd?
I realized while writing this you might not know. If not, it’s all good.
That is a bug in the D&D Beyond equipment listing on the app. If you look at the glaive or pike they list a reach of 10', the halberd only shows 5'. However, if you add a Halberd to a character in D&D Beyond, equip it, then look at the attack actions, it correctly lists the reach as 10'.
Basically, as mentioned above, characters have a reach of 5' with most melee weapons. Some weapons have a property (also called reach) that increases the reach with that weapon by 5' so that a character wielding a weapon with the reach property has a resulting reach with that weapon of 10'. On a grid, that means attacking a target within 2 squares of your location. A 5' reach attacks adjacent squares.
A bugbear has the long-limbed ability:
"Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal."
.. which increases their reach with a melee attack on their turn by 5'. When attacking with a weapon with the reach property, which also adds 5' to the character's reach, then the effects are additive giving the bugbear a total reach of 15' when attacking with that weapon on their turn. So a Halberd wielded by a bugbear on their turn has a reach of 15'. This is why listing a "reach" for a weapon is a bit misleading since it isn't the weapon that has "reach", it is the character when they are wielding that weapon.
However, for most characters who have a 5' reach with melee weapons, displaying the "reach" for a weapon like a Glaive as 10' can be a useful reminder to the player that they can attack things 10' away with that weapon - but it isn't the weapon that has a specific reach - the weapon with the "reach" property ADDS 5' to the reach of the character when using that weapon.
No, AO is for your reach. When they leave your reach they trigger an AO. This means they can move a square away from you and not trigger an AO with your reach weapon. (PAM only alters things such that entering your range triggers an AO as well as the leaving)
I'm a bit confused if that means you can then still consider an AO triggered for say using your fist to do an improvised unarmed attack as they leave your punch range.
No, AO is for your reach. When they leave your reach they trigger an AO. This means they can move a square away from you and not trigger an AO with your reach weapon. (PAM only alters things such that entering your range triggers an AO as well as the leaving)
I'm a bit confused if that means you can then still consider an AO triggered for say using your fist to do an improvised unarmed attack as they leave your punch range.
Your reach is always 5ft. Holding a reach weapon doesn't change your reach. It changes your reach for attacks with the reach weapon. It is a key distinction to make. Because it means even if your can make AoO from someone moving out of your halberds range with the halberd, you could have also made an AoO from an enemy leaving your default 5ft range with whatever else you threaten them with. Punches, or, kicks, for example.
So yes. You still have your normal 5ft reach even while hold a weapon with the reach property. You just have a 10ft reach specifically with that weapon, also.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
No, AO is for your reach. When they leave your reach they trigger an AO. This means they can move a square away from you and not trigger an AO with your reach weapon. (PAM only alters things such that entering your range triggers an AO as well as the leaving)
I'm a bit confused if that means you can then still consider an AO triggered for say using your fist to do an improvised unarmed attack as they leave your punch range.
Your reach is always 5ft. Holding a reach weapon doesn't change your reach. It changes your reach for attacks with the reach weapon. It is a key distinction to make. Because it means even if your can make AoO from someone moving out of your halberds range with the halberd, you could have also made an AoO from an enemy leaving your default 5ft range with whatever else you threaten them with. Punches, or, kicks, for example.
So yes. You still have your normal 5ft reach even while hold a weapon with the reach property. You just have a 10ft reach specifically with that weapon, also.
The rules themselves say:
"Most creatures have a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet of them when making a melee attack."
"Reach. This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it (see chapter 9)."
The way the reach property is worded, the character can not use the reach weapon for opportunity attacks triggered by leaving the 5' reach of unarmed strikes since the reach property also determines the reach for making opportunity attacks with that weapon. So, yes, RAW, a character could make an unarmed strike against a creature leaving its 5' reach or an attack with their weapon with the reach property when a creature leaves its 10' reach.
I've seen some folks say that the opportunity attack rules don't specify that the attack has to be made with the weapon providing the reach which triggered the opportunity attack but the reach property explicitly states that reach applies when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it - so I would interpret that to mean that a reach weapon could not be used for an opportunity attack triggered by a creature leaving a character's 5' reach with unarmed strikes though they could make an unarmed strike or an attack with whatever equipped weapon was providing that reach (eg. a Thrikreen with a dagger in a secondary hand and a polearm with the reach property wielded in the main hands could make an opportunity attack with the dagger when a creature leaves the 5' reach of the dagger or an opportunity attack with the polearm when a creature leaves the 10' reach of the character when wielding that weapon).
Most DMs I have played with only go with the opportunity attack when a creature leaves the reach of the weapon the character is using and they only allow the opportunity attacks with that weapon (unless the character has a feat like warcaster). I think this is mostly because taking an unarmed strike at 5' is usually a sub-optimal choice for most characters so it doesn't come up often.
Ok. I get it now. I have a follow up question about the app, why does it list a Reach for melee weapons? For them, they all start with
Attack Type: Simple/Martial Melee Weapon
Reach: 5ft/10ft
which is part of my confusion. The halberd has “Reach” but its Reach is 5ft. It’s the only weapon like that. Is that a typo for the Halberd?
Why? Probably because someone that coded the app understands programming better than they understand the rules. I'm guessing they thought it would be helpful to add a reminder of each weapons reach in the list. But then they shouldn't also display the it having the Reach trait. Because if a weapon has 10ft and the Reach trait adds 5ft then the effect should be attacking at 15ft which isn't true.
And yea, they then failed even more by making a typo on the Halberd, it should say the same as Glaive or Pike.
I realized while writing this you might not know. If not, it’s all good.
No I didn't but then I barely use the App. And I certainly don't use its listings for rules questions, I'd suggest you don't either. It isn't accurate enough to be trusted unfortunately.
"Most creatures have a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet of them when making a melee attack."
"Reach. This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it (see chapter 9)."
The way the reach property is worded, the character can not use the reach weapon for opportunity attacks triggered by leaving the 5' reach of unarmed strikes since the reach property also determines the reach for making opportunity attacks with that weapon.
Of course you can make an AoO with a reach weapon if the enemy leaves 5' because reach doesn't mean the weapon only works at a distance of 10' it works from 0-10. You can attack an enemy next to you with a halberd, just grap it closer.
"Most creatures have a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet of them when making a melee attack."
"Reach. This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it (see chapter 9)."
The way the reach property is worded, the character can not use the reach weapon for opportunity attacks triggered by leaving the 5' reach of unarmed strikes since the reach property also determines the reach for making opportunity attacks with that weapon.
Of course you can make an AoO with a reach weapon if the enemy leaves 5' because reach doesn't mean the weapon only works at a distance of 10' it works from 0-10. You can attack an enemy next to you with a halberd, just grap it closer.
However, the target creature hasn't left the character's reach with the weapon and so hasn't triggered an opportunity attack with that weapon. The rule explicitly states that the reach property matters when determining opportunity attacks with that specific weapon "when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it ".
My take is that the opportunity attack is triggered when the creature leaves the reach of the weapon that the character is using not at any possible reach. However, RAW, it would appear that you could trigger an op attack at 5' due to an unarmed strike but also RAW, that op attack can't be with the reach weapon since the rules explicitly specify the reach needed to make opportunity attacks with it.
Is it logical? Nope. I agree that a 10' reach weapon can attack as easily when making an attack at 5' as 10'. However, a creature moving from 5'-10' does not trigger an opportunity attack with the reach weapon so if you aren't making an op attack with the reach weapon - you are left with either an unarmed strike or an equipped weapon without the reach property.
Why isn't it logical? I think the INTENT was that opportunity attacks would only be triggered by the weapons the character is currently wielding, not by the always available unarmed strike. However, that isn't what the rules state.
However, feel free to house rule that a reach weapon can make an opportunity attack at 5' even though the target has not left the reach of the character with that weapon.
Normally it wouldn't matter whether from which weapon's reach it was leaving, since you could only make one OA per character's round as your reaction.
Then some stupid rules got added which allowed a certain subclass to make more than one OA per character's round, and that has caused these problems about the semantics of the RAW.
However, the target creature hasn't left the character's reach with the weapon and so hasn't triggered an opportunity attack with that weapon. The rule explicitly states that the reach property matters when determining opportunity attacks with that specific weapon "when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it ".
Ok we are talking about moving from 5' to 10' I see your point. I then think you are right, the enemy is still within reach, so no opportunity attack. OA when he moves from 5' or 10' further then 10'. I can go with this. From point of realism this seems to me that the enemy is not really fleeing but only making a step backwarts, which is not really helpfull then why wouldn't an enemy not always do so, to avoid an OA. In a real fight he would. OA is not a well designed mechanic. A more realistic mechanic would be to make OA a contest between both characters.
This question may have been asked or clarified somewhere else but I can’t seem to find it. How does the “Reach” property affect the Reach of a weapon? A glaive has the “Reach” property. The listed Reach of a glaive is 10ft. Does that mean that that the glaive can hit an enemy 15ft away or is it just 10? I think it’s 15 but any clarification on this would be appreciated.
In this case, it would be 10' feet away.
To give a visual of playing on a grid, it would look like
Reach 5' Feet [Character][5']
Reach 10' Feet [Character][5'][10']
10 feet as BKThomson said. Here's the actual rules explanation if interested;
Yup. Reach just +5s you normal reach. Typically that results in a total reach of 10ft with it.
But say you're a bugbear fighter with lunging attack? Now you can hit someone 20ft away with your glaive when you lunge. And 15ft away when you don't. But then only 10ft when it isn't your turn (opportunity attacks).
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
I know that’s how the rule works. But with a halberd, which also has “Reach,” its Reach is 5ft and attacking with it goes out to 10. Are people using “Reach” wrong or am I missing something?
(sorry if I sound aggressive or anything. I don’t mean it that way.)
The weapon doesn't have a 10ft reach because weapons doesn't have a reach, characters do. Some weapons have the reach trait, which adds 5ft to the characters reach.
Ok. I get it now. I have a follow up question about the app, why does it list a Reach for melee weapons? For them, they all start with
Attack Type: Simple/Martial Melee Weapon
Reach: 5ft/10ft
which is part of my confusion. The halberd has “Reach” but its Reach is 5ft. It’s the only weapon like that. Is that a typo for the Halberd?
I realized while writing this you might not know. If not, it’s all good.
That is a bug in the D&D Beyond equipment listing on the app. If you look at the glaive or pike they list a reach of 10', the halberd only shows 5'. However, if you add a Halberd to a character in D&D Beyond, equip it, then look at the attack actions, it correctly lists the reach as 10'.
Basically, as mentioned above, characters have a reach of 5' with most melee weapons. Some weapons have a property (also called reach) that increases the reach with that weapon by 5' so that a character wielding a weapon with the reach property has a resulting reach with that weapon of 10'. On a grid, that means attacking a target within 2 squares of your location. A 5' reach attacks adjacent squares.
A bugbear has the long-limbed ability:
"Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal."
.. which increases their reach with a melee attack on their turn by 5'. When attacking with a weapon with the reach property, which also adds 5' to the character's reach, then the effects are additive giving the bugbear a total reach of 15' when attacking with that weapon on their turn. So a Halberd wielded by a bugbear on their turn has a reach of 15'. This is why listing a "reach" for a weapon is a bit misleading since it isn't the weapon that has "reach", it is the character when they are wielding that weapon.
However, for most characters who have a 5' reach with melee weapons, displaying the "reach" for a weapon like a Glaive as 10' can be a useful reminder to the player that they can attack things 10' away with that weapon - but it isn't the weapon that has a specific reach - the weapon with the "reach" property ADDS 5' to the reach of the character when using that weapon.
So just a follow up to this you can only AO the reach if you have PAM correct?
And just a rant that Pike should be in there too for the BA attack with PAM :)
No, AO is for your reach. When they leave your reach they trigger an AO. This means they can move a square away from you and not trigger an AO with your reach weapon. (PAM only alters things such that entering your range triggers an AO as well as the leaving)
I'm a bit confused if that means you can then still consider an AO triggered for say using your fist to do an improvised unarmed attack as they leave your punch range.
Your reach is always 5ft. Holding a reach weapon doesn't change your reach. It changes your reach for attacks with the reach weapon. It is a key distinction to make. Because it means even if your can make AoO from someone moving out of your halberds range with the halberd, you could have also made an AoO from an enemy leaving your default 5ft range with whatever else you threaten them with. Punches, or, kicks, for example.
So yes. You still have your normal 5ft reach even while hold a weapon with the reach property. You just have a 10ft reach specifically with that weapon, also.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
The rules themselves say:
"Most creatures have a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet of them when making a melee attack."
"Reach. This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it (see chapter 9)."
The way the reach property is worded, the character can not use the reach weapon for opportunity attacks triggered by leaving the 5' reach of unarmed strikes since the reach property also determines the reach for making opportunity attacks with that weapon. So, yes, RAW, a character could make an unarmed strike against a creature leaving its 5' reach or an attack with their weapon with the reach property when a creature leaves its 10' reach.
I've seen some folks say that the opportunity attack rules don't specify that the attack has to be made with the weapon providing the reach which triggered the opportunity attack but the reach property explicitly states that reach applies when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it - so I would interpret that to mean that a reach weapon could not be used for an opportunity attack triggered by a creature leaving a character's 5' reach with unarmed strikes though they could make an unarmed strike or an attack with whatever equipped weapon was providing that reach (eg. a Thrikreen with a dagger in a secondary hand and a polearm with the reach property wielded in the main hands could make an opportunity attack with the dagger when a creature leaves the 5' reach of the dagger or an opportunity attack with the polearm when a creature leaves the 10' reach of the character when wielding that weapon).
Most DMs I have played with only go with the opportunity attack when a creature leaves the reach of the weapon the character is using and they only allow the opportunity attacks with that weapon (unless the character has a feat like warcaster). I think this is mostly because taking an unarmed strike at 5' is usually a sub-optimal choice for most characters so it doesn't come up often.
Why? Probably because someone that coded the app understands programming better than they understand the rules. I'm guessing they thought it would be helpful to add a reminder of each weapons reach in the list. But then they shouldn't also display the it having the Reach trait. Because if a weapon has 10ft and the Reach trait adds 5ft then the effect should be attacking at 15ft which isn't true.
And yea, they then failed even more by making a typo on the Halberd, it should say the same as Glaive or Pike.
No I didn't but then I barely use the App. And I certainly don't use its listings for rules questions, I'd suggest you don't either. It isn't accurate enough to be trusted unfortunately.
So basically PAM is only required to get an AO for someone entering your reach weapon distance...
Of course you can make an AoO with a reach weapon if the enemy leaves 5' because reach doesn't mean the weapon only works at a distance of 10' it works from 0-10. You can attack an enemy next to you with a halberd, just grap it closer.
That's right if he leaves your reach distance you can make an AoO without PAM.
However, the target creature hasn't left the character's reach with the weapon and so hasn't triggered an opportunity attack with that weapon. The rule explicitly states that the reach property matters when determining opportunity attacks with that specific weapon "when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it ".
My take is that the opportunity attack is triggered when the creature leaves the reach of the weapon that the character is using not at any possible reach. However, RAW, it would appear that you could trigger an op attack at 5' due to an unarmed strike but also RAW, that op attack can't be with the reach weapon since the rules explicitly specify the reach needed to make opportunity attacks with it.
Is it logical? Nope. I agree that a 10' reach weapon can attack as easily when making an attack at 5' as 10'. However, a creature moving from 5'-10' does not trigger an opportunity attack with the reach weapon so if you aren't making an op attack with the reach weapon - you are left with either an unarmed strike or an equipped weapon without the reach property.
Why isn't it logical? I think the INTENT was that opportunity attacks would only be triggered by the weapons the character is currently wielding, not by the always available unarmed strike. However, that isn't what the rules state.
However, feel free to house rule that a reach weapon can make an opportunity attack at 5' even though the target has not left the reach of the character with that weapon.
Normally it wouldn't matter whether from which weapon's reach it was leaving, since you could only make one OA per character's round as your reaction.
Then some stupid rules got added which allowed a certain subclass to make more than one OA per character's round, and that has caused these problems about the semantics of the RAW.
Ok we are talking about moving from 5' to 10' I see your point. I then think you are right, the enemy is still within reach, so no opportunity attack. OA when he moves from 5' or 10' further then 10'. I can go with this. From point of realism this seems to me that the enemy is not really fleeing but only making a step backwarts, which is not really helpfull then why wouldn't an enemy not always do so, to avoid an OA. In a real fight he would. OA is not a well designed mechanic. A more realistic mechanic would be to make OA a contest between both characters.