With extra attack at Level 5, I am pretty sure that you can add the 1d6 Force Damage from Hunter's Mark to each attack made with a Club or Quarterstaff with Shillelagh, but how does Hunter's Mark work with True Strike, Booming Blade, and Green Flame Blade at Level 5?
Does the 1d6 Force Damage from Hunter's Mark stack on top of the extra damage that True Strike, Booming Blade, and Green Flame Blade when you reach Level 5, or just the initial damage?
You magically mark one creature you can see within range as your quarry. Until the spell ends, you deal an extra 1d6 Force damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack roll.
True Strike, Booming Blade, and Green Flame Blade make attack rolls. I would apply the extra damage to the initial attack roll, but not the supplemental damage, as that does not make an attack roll.
Let's assume Hunter's Mark is active and you are casting the cantrip at level 5+ so we can slot in exact numbers for clarity (plus, I think that you are about to hit 5 as a Battle Master Fighter). Hunter's Mark will do 1D6 Force damage when it applies since it comes via Magic Initiate.
True Strike makes an attack roll and deals extra damage as your level increases. The target will take the weapon damage (normal or radiant) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark) + 1D6 Radiant (True Strike). Your spellcasting ability modifier will be used for the damage instead of Strength or Dexterity.
Green Flame Blade makes an attack roll and deals extra damage. The target will take the weapon damage (normal) +1D8 Fire (Green Flame Blade) + 1D6 Force if the initial target was Hunter's Mark target. You can also cause a second target to take 1d8 Fire damage plus your spellcasting ability modifier but if they are the Hunter's Mark target, they will not take additional damage since you did not make an attack roll against the target.
Booming Blade makes an attack roll and deals extra damage. The target will take the weapon damage (normal) +1D8 Thunder (Booming Blade) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark). If the target then moves, they take 2D8 Thunder damage but no extra damage from Hunter's Mark since you did not make an attack roll to inflict that damage.
Shillelagh changes the damage of the club or quarterstaff. Every time you hit with an affected quarterstaff or club using an attack roll, you deal modified damage plus the Hunter's Mark damage. Shillelagh is also special in that is stacks with the above Cantrips. At level 5, the damage will be 1D10 Force or Bludgeoning and you can choose to use your spellcasting ability modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity. At level 5 casting Shillelagh then True Strike and hitting against your Hunter's Mark target would deal 1d10 + spellcasting modifier (Bludgeoning, Force, or Radiant) + 1D6 Radiant (True Strike) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark) for an average of 15.5 damage per hit assuming a +3 spellcasting ability modifier. Compared to 2 attacks, if they both hit, 1D10 + 3 + 1D6 twice would average 24 damage (12 damage per hit). Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade will be closer to two hits if there are two targets (GFB) or the target moves after the initial hit (BB).
Let's assume Hunter's Mark is active and you are casting the cantrip at level 5+ so we can slot in exact numbers for clarity (plus, I think that you are about to hit 5 as a Battle Master Fighter). Hunter's Mark will do 1D6 Force damage when it applies since it comes via Magic Initiate.
True Strike makes an attack roll and deals extra damage as your level increases. The target will take the weapon damage (normal or radiant) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark) + 1D6 Radiant (True Strike). Your spellcasting ability modifier will be used for the damage instead of Strength or Dexterity.
Green Flame Blade makes an attack roll and deals extra damage. The target will take the weapon damage (normal) +1D8 Fire (Green Flame Blade) + 1D6 Force if the initial target was Hunter's Mark target. You can also cause a second target to take 1d8 Fire damage plus your spellcasting ability modifier but if they are the Hunter's Mark target, they will not take additional damage since you did not make an attack roll against the target.
Booming Blade makes an attack roll and deals extra damage. The target will take the weapon damage (normal) +1D8 Thunder (Booming Blade) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark). If the target then moves, they take 2D8 Thunder damage but no extra damage from Hunter's Mark since you did not make an attack roll to inflict that damage.
Shillelagh changes the damage of the club or quarterstaff. Every time you hit with an affected quarterstaff or club using an attack roll, you deal modified damage plus the Hunter's Mark damage. Shillelagh is also special in that is stacks with the above Cantrips. At level 5, the damage will be 1D10 Force or Bludgeoning and you can choose to use your spellcasting ability modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity. At level 5 casting Shillelagh then True Strike and hitting against your Hunter's Mark target would deal 1d10 + spellcasting modifier (Bludgeoning, Force, or Radiant) + 1D6 Radiant (True Strike) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark) for an average of 15.5 damage per hit assuming a +3 spellcasting ability modifier. Compared to 2 attacks, if they both hit, 1D10 + 3 + 1D6 twice would average 24 damage (12 damage per hit). Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade will be closer to two hits if there are two targets (GFB) or the target moves after the initial hit (BB).
Thanks for this valuable info and thinks to everyone else in the thread for the input.
I'm a newb and still trying to figure all of this out. I tend to be an optimizer, but with my inexperience, all of my thoughts are theoretical or hypothetical when it comes to trying to optimize my Battle Master.
The question was indeed very similar. Let me add it just as a reference.
Yeah, I wasn't thinking of the extra damage in the same way as Magic Missile, since I was still making an attack roll instead of an automatic hit like with Magic Missile, but I can see it now.
just a quick note or two: 1) under 2024 rules you will be better off just using hunter's mark from level 5 on if you are using light weapons including a scimitar and two weapon fighting style. this is because the nick mastery property allows you to deal 3 attacks in the attack action - all of which could benefit from hunters mark. true strike, green flame blade and booming blade are spell attacks so you only get 1 on your turn. Shilellagh allows two attacks so it can be a decent option as well. To a large extent this holds true in levels 1-4 as well as light weapons with nick get 2 attacks in the attack action and you stiill have a bonus action for other things ( so yes you could bonus action hunter's mark and then get both attacks in round 1.
just a quick note or two: 1) under 2024 rules you will be better off just using hunter's mark from level 5 on if you are using light weapons including a scimitar and two weapon fighting style. this is because the nick mastery property allows you to deal 3 attacks in the attack action - all of which could benefit from hunters mark. true strike, green flame blade and booming blade are spell attacks so you only get 1 on your turn. Shilellagh allows two attacks so it can be a decent option as well. To a large extent this holds true in levels 1-4 as well as light weapons with nick get 2 attacks in the attack action and you stiill have a bonus action for other things ( so yes you could bonus action hunter's mark and then get both attacks in round 1.
He's playing in Curse of Strahd, IIRC, so I think he might have a lot of enemies with Vulnerability to Radiant damage.
It is a pity that there isn't a Radiant version of Hunter's Mark/Hex.
As an aside, taking a 1 level dip into Ranger, gives you 2 free castings of Hunter's Mark (in addition to Magic Initiate or allowing the Magic Initiate spells to be retrained), 2 first level spells (take things that don't depend on attack rolls or saves), and an additional 2 Weapon Mastery property choices. You probably don't want the dip, but it might be worth the dip.
just a quick note or two: 1) under 2024 rules you will be better off just using hunter's mark from level 5 on if you are using light weapons including a scimitar and two weapon fighting style. this is because the nick mastery property allows you to deal 3 attacks in the attack action - all of which could benefit from hunters mark. true strike, green flame blade and booming blade are spell attacks so you only get 1 on your turn. Shilellagh allows two attacks so it can be a decent option as well. To a large extent this holds true in levels 1-4 as well as light weapons with nick get 2 attacks in the attack action and you stiill have a bonus action for other things ( so yes you could bonus action hunter's mark and then get both attacks in round 1.
He's playing in Curse of Strahd, IIRC, so I think he might have a lot of enemies with Vulnerability to Radiant damage.
It is a pity that there isn't a Radiant version of Hunter's Mark/Hex.
As an aside, taking a 1 level dip into Ranger, gives you 2 free castings of Hunter's Mark (in addition to Magic Initiate or allowing the Magic Initiate spells to be retrained), 2 first level spells (take things that don't depend on attack rolls or saves), and an additional 2 Weapon Mastery property choices. You probably don't want the dip, but it might be worth the dip. I intend on taking Fey-Touched at 6 to get Hunter's Mark. I also get Misty Step, which I think may be useful and can +1 to my WIS to make it a 16 (+3). Nobody in my party focused on Wisdom, so I decided to do so.
I intend on taking Fey-Touched at 6 with Hunter's Mark and I also get Misty Step, which I think may be useful for a front line character. I am also taking +1 to WIS, which will give me 16. No other character in our party has focused on Wisdom. I went with STR over DEX, my DEX is only 10. My only multi-class options are Druid and Cleric. I am thinking of taking 1 level of Druid to get Proficiency in WIS and to get Shillelagh and Starry Wisp.
Since I am playing Curse of Strahd, I got True Strike for Radiant Damage (I can also use True Strike with my Handaxe from 20' with the VEX Mastery) and I am also focusing on Force damage since nearly all enemies are not resistant or immune to it. I should be able to damage just about anything in the campaign without having to worry about resistances and immunity.
just a quick note or two: 1) under 2024 rules you will be better off just using hunter's mark from level 5 on if you are using light weapons including a scimitar and two weapon fighting style. this is because the nick mastery property allows you to deal 3 attacks in the attack action - all of which could benefit from hunters mark. true strike, green flame blade and booming blade are spell attacks so you only get 1 on your turn. Shilellagh allows two attacks so it can be a decent option as well. To a large extent this holds true in levels 1-4 as well as light weapons with nick get 2 attacks in the attack action and you stiill have a bonus action for other things ( so yes you could bonus action hunter's mark and then get both attacks in round 1.
He's playing in Curse of Strahd, IIRC, so I think he might have a lot of enemies with Vulnerability to Radiant damage.
It is a pity that there isn't a Radiant version of Hunter's Mark/Hex.
As an aside, taking a 1 level dip into Ranger, gives you 2 free castings of Hunter's Mark (in addition to Magic Initiate or allowing the Magic Initiate spells to be retrained), 2 first level spells (take things that don't depend on attack rolls or saves), and an additional 2 Weapon Mastery property choices. You probably don't want the dip, but it might be worth the dip. I intend on taking Fey-Touched at 6 to get Hunter's Mark. I also get Misty Step, which I think may be useful and can +1 to my WIS to make it a 16 (+3). Nobody in my party focused on Wisdom, so I decided to do so.
I intend on taking Fey-Touched at 6 with Hunter's Mark and I also get Misty Step, which I think may be useful for a front line character. I am also taking +1 to WIS, which will give me 16. No other character in our party has focused on Wisdom. I went with STR over DEX, my DEX is only 10. My only multi-class options are Druid and Cleric. I am thinking of taking 1 level of Druid to get Proficiency in WIS and to get Shillelagh and Starry Wisp.
Since I am playing Curse of Strahd, I got True Strike for Radiant Damage (I can also use True Strike with my Handaxe from 20' with the VEX Mastery) and I am also focusing on Force damage since nearly all enemies are not resistant or immune to it. I should be able to damage just about anything in the campaign without having to worry about resistances and immunity.
The real question is...does True Strike count as a weapon attack, spell attack, or both? If it is only a spell attack, then Hunter's Mark would not trigger since it requires a weapon attack. There is no official ruling on this as of yet, so it is up to DM interpretation. Hex, however, would work regardless because it works on any attack, spell or weapon.
The real question is...does True Strike count as a weapon attack, spell attack, or both? If it is only a spell attack, then Hunter's Mark would not trigger since it requires a weapon attack. There is no official ruling on this as of yet, so it is up to DM interpretation. Hex, however, would work regardless because it works on any attack, spell or weapon.
Hunter's Mark now applies to all types of attacks. It was limited to "weapon attack" in the 2014 version.
And in my opinion, True Strike is a weapon attack, not a spell attack (EDIT: but it's a different topic that has been discussed across multiple threads)
just a quick note or two: 1) under 2024 rules you will be better off just using hunter's mark from level 5 on if you are using light weapons including a scimitar and two weapon fighting style. this is because the nick mastery property allows you to deal 3 attacks in the attack action - all of which could benefit from hunters mark. true strike, green flame blade and booming blade are spell attacks so you only get 1 on your turn. Shilellagh allows two attacks so it can be a decent option as well. To a large extent this holds true in levels 1-4 as well as light weapons with nick get 2 attacks in the attack action and you stiill have a bonus action for other things ( so yes you could bonus action hunter's mark and then get both attacks in round 1.
He's playing in Curse of Strahd, IIRC, so I think he might have a lot of enemies with Vulnerability to Radiant damage.
It is a pity that there isn't a Radiant version of Hunter's Mark/Hex.
As an aside, taking a 1 level dip into Ranger, gives you 2 free castings of Hunter's Mark (in addition to Magic Initiate or allowing the Magic Initiate spells to be retrained), 2 first level spells (take things that don't depend on attack rolls or saves), and an additional 2 Weapon Mastery property choices. You probably don't want the dip, but it might be worth the dip. I intend on taking Fey-Touched at 6 to get Hunter's Mark. I also get Misty Step, which I think may be useful and can +1 to my WIS to make it a 16 (+3). Nobody in my party focused on Wisdom, so I decided to do so.
I intend on taking Fey-Touched at 6 with Hunter's Mark and I also get Misty Step, which I think may be useful for a front line character. I am also taking +1 to WIS, which will give me 16. No other character in our party has focused on Wisdom. I went with STR over DEX, my DEX is only 10. My only multi-class options are Druid and Cleric. I am thinking of taking 1 level of Druid to get Proficiency in WIS and to get Shillelagh and Starry Wisp.
Since I am playing Curse of Strahd, I got True Strike for Radiant Damage (I can also use True Strike with my Handaxe from 20' with the VEX Mastery) and I am also focusing on Force damage since nearly all enemies are not resistant or immune to it. I should be able to damage just about anything in the campaign without having to worry about resistances and immunity.
The real question is...does True Strike count as a weapon attack, spell attack, or both? If it is only a spell attack, then Hunter's Mark would not trigger since it requires a weapon attack. There is no official ruling on this as of yet, so it is up to DM interpretation. Hex, however, would work regardless because it works on any attack, spell or weapon.
Hex looks great, but I figure the Force Damage from Hunter's Mark will work better in the Curse of Strahd campaign than Hex's Necrotic Damage.
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.
Hex looks great, but I figure the Force Damage from Hunter's Mark will work better in the Curse of Strahd campaign than Hex's Necrotic Damage.
I agree, depending on resistances, vulnerabilities, and immunities, Hex might be worth it if you have someone force saves, whether from spells or effects like Grapple or Topple.
Oh. Actually, Hex (Constitution) + Topple could be a nice combo, not for the damage, but for the increased success chance to make the target prone (if your party is going circle up and stomp rather shoot or use reach attacks). Or use Hex (Strength or Dexterity) to improve the chances for a grapple or shove.
For reference, Advantage and Disadvantage are roughly equivalent to a +/- 3.8 on a roll. So giving the enemy Disadvantage on a save is pretty big as is giving your allies Advantage on an attack.
Hex looks great, but I figure the Force Damage from Hunter's Mark will work better in the Curse of Strahd campaign than Hex's Necrotic Damage.
I agree, depending on resistances, vulnerabilities, and immunities, Hex might be worth it if you have someone force saves, whether from spells or effects like Grapple or Topple.
Oh. Actually, Hex (Constitution) + Topple could be a nice combo, not for the damage, but for the increased success chance to make the target prone (if your party is going circle up and stomp rather shoot or use reach attacks). Or use Hex (Strength or Dexterity) to improve the chances for a grapple or shove.
For reference, Advantage and Disadvantage are roughly equivalent to a +/- 3.8 on a roll. So giving the enemy Disadvantage on a save is pretty big as is giving your allies Advantage on an attack.
Hex doesn't have any effect on saves.
Edit/add: 3.8 is also not the effective value of Advantage or Disadvantage is all/most cases. They're variably effective depending how far from even odds you drift, with an even 50/50 being the most impactful.
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.
Hex looks great, but I figure the Force Damage from Hunter's Mark will work better in the Curse of Strahd campaign than Hex's Necrotic Damage.
I agree, depending on resistances, vulnerabilities, and immunities, Hex might be worth it if you have someone force saves, whether from spells or effects like Grapple or Topple.
Oh. Actually, Hex (Constitution) + Topple could be a nice combo, not for the damage, but for the increased success chance to make the target prone (if your party is going circle up and stomp rather shoot or use reach attacks). Or use Hex (Strength or Dexterity) to improve the chances for a grapple or shove.
For reference, Advantage and Disadvantage are roughly equivalent to a +/- 3.8 on a roll. So giving the enemy Disadvantage on a save is pretty big as is giving your allies Advantage on an attack.
I currently have two ways to knock an enemy prone. Battleaxe with Topple and Trip Attack, and the save DC for each is 14, so if I combine the two on one attack, I can have two attempts to knock an enemy prone... I can also use Feinting Attack to gain advantage on my attack and my Handaxe from 20' with Vex to gain advantage on my next attack. I use my Longsword with SAP to give the enemy disadvantage against me, but those will only help me out and not the rest of the team. I also have a Warhammer with the Push Mastery, which I like to combine with Booming Blade as a battlefield control tactic. I had entertained the idea of using Mind Sliver to try and get 1d4 subtracted from their saves, but my WIS is only +2 and they'd only have to hit 12 or better to save, so I nixed that idea.
Hex looks great, but I figure the Force Damage from Hunter's Mark will work better in the Curse of Strahd campaign than Hex's Necrotic Damage.
I agree, depending on resistances, vulnerabilities, and immunities, Hex might be worth it if you have someone force saves, whether from spells or effects like Grapple or Topple.
Oh. Actually, Hex (Constitution) + Topple could be a nice combo, not for the damage, but for the increased success chance to make the target prone (if your party is going circle up and stomp rather shoot or use reach attacks). Or use Hex (Strength or Dexterity) to improve the chances for a grapple or shove.
For reference, Advantage and Disadvantage are roughly equivalent to a +/- 3.8 on a roll. So giving the enemy Disadvantage on a save is pretty big as is giving your allies Advantage on an attack.
I currently have two ways to knock an enemy prone. Battleaxe with Topple and Trip Attack, and the save DC for each is 14, so if I combine the two on one attack, I can have two attempts to knock an enemy prone... I can also use Feinting Attack to gain advantage on my attack and my Handaxe from 20' with Vex to gain advantage on my next attack. I use my Longsword with SAP to give the enemy disadvantage against me, but those will only help me out and not the rest of the team. I also have a Warhammer with the Push Mastery, which I like to combine with Booming Blade as a battlefield control tactic. I had entertained the idea of using Mind Sliver to try and get 1d4 subtracted from their saves, but my WIS is only +2 and they'd only have to hit 12 or better to save, so I nixed that idea.
Hex doesn't affect saving throws. Again. It will not help you with landing effects like he mentioned. Hex only affects ability checks. Aka like Acrobatics or Perception or Stealth etc.
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.
Hex looks great, but I figure the Force Damage from Hunter's Mark will work better in the Curse of Strahd campaign than Hex's Necrotic Damage.
I agree, depending on resistances, vulnerabilities, and immunities, Hex might be worth it if you have someone force saves, whether from spells or effects like Grapple or Topple.
Oh. Actually, Hex (Constitution) + Topple could be a nice combo, not for the damage, but for the increased success chance to make the target prone (if your party is going circle up and stomp rather shoot or use reach attacks). Or use Hex (Strength or Dexterity) to improve the chances for a grapple or shove.
For reference, Advantage and Disadvantage are roughly equivalent to a +/- 3.8 on a roll. So giving the enemy Disadvantage on a save is pretty big as is giving your allies Advantage on an attack.
I currently have two ways to knock an enemy prone. Battleaxe with Topple and Trip Attack, and the save DC for each is 14, so if I combine the two on one attack, I can have two attempts to knock an enemy prone... I can also use Feinting Attack to gain advantage on my attack and my Handaxe from 20' with Vex to gain advantage on my next attack. I use my Longsword with SAP to give the enemy disadvantage against me, but those will only help me out and not the rest of the team. I also have a Warhammer with the Push Mastery, which I like to combine with Booming Blade as a battlefield control tactic. I had entertained the idea of using Mind Sliver to try and get 1d4 subtracted from their saves, but my WIS is only +2 and they'd only have to hit 12 or better to save, so I nixed that idea.
Hex doesn't affect saving throws. Again. It will not help you with landing effects like he mentioned. Hex only affects ability checks. Aka like Acrobatics or Perception or Stealth etc.
I know it doesn't...
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With extra attack at Level 5, I am pretty sure that you can add the 1d6 Force Damage from Hunter's Mark to each attack made with a Club or Quarterstaff with Shillelagh, but how does Hunter's Mark work with True Strike, Booming Blade, and Green Flame Blade at Level 5?
Does the 1d6 Force Damage from Hunter's Mark stack on top of the extra damage that True Strike, Booming Blade, and Green Flame Blade when you reach Level 5, or just the initial damage?
TIA
True Strike, Booming Blade, and Green Flame Blade make attack rolls. I would apply the extra damage to the initial attack roll, but not the supplemental damage, as that does not make an attack roll.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
There was a thread about Hunter's Mark and Magic Missile recently and the consensus there was that you need an attack roll to apply the extra d6.
Let's assume Hunter's Mark is active and you are casting the cantrip at level 5+ so we can slot in exact numbers for clarity (plus, I think that you are about to hit 5 as a Battle Master Fighter). Hunter's Mark will do 1D6 Force damage when it applies since it comes via Magic Initiate.
True Strike makes an attack roll and deals extra damage as your level increases. The target will take the weapon damage (normal or radiant) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark) + 1D6 Radiant (True Strike). Your spellcasting ability modifier will be used for the damage instead of Strength or Dexterity.
Green Flame Blade makes an attack roll and deals extra damage. The target will take the weapon damage (normal) +1D8 Fire (Green Flame Blade) + 1D6 Force if the initial target was Hunter's Mark target. You can also cause a second target to take 1d8 Fire damage plus your spellcasting ability modifier but if they are the Hunter's Mark target, they will not take additional damage since you did not make an attack roll against the target.
Booming Blade makes an attack roll and deals extra damage. The target will take the weapon damage (normal) +1D8 Thunder (Booming Blade) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark). If the target then moves, they take 2D8 Thunder damage but no extra damage from Hunter's Mark since you did not make an attack roll to inflict that damage.
Shillelagh changes the damage of the club or quarterstaff. Every time you hit with an affected quarterstaff or club using an attack roll, you deal modified damage plus the Hunter's Mark damage. Shillelagh is also special in that is stacks with the above Cantrips. At level 5, the damage will be 1D10 Force or Bludgeoning and you can choose to use your spellcasting ability modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity. At level 5 casting Shillelagh then True Strike and hitting against your Hunter's Mark target would deal 1d10 + spellcasting modifier (Bludgeoning, Force, or Radiant) + 1D6 Radiant (True Strike) + 1D6 Force (Hunter's Mark) for an average of 15.5 damage per hit assuming a +3 spellcasting ability modifier. Compared to 2 attacks, if they both hit, 1D10 + 3 + 1D6 twice would average 24 damage (12 damage per hit). Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade will be closer to two hits if there are two targets (GFB) or the target moves after the initial hit (BB).
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Thanks for this valuable info and thinks to everyone else in the thread for the input.
I'm a newb and still trying to figure all of this out. I tend to be an optimizer, but with my inexperience, all of my thoughts are theoretical or hypothetical when it comes to trying to optimize my Battle Master.
Mmm... actually, @LeoDillon you're also the creator of this great thread, right? Question about Hunter's Mark damage & other damages you can potentially stack with it? - Rules & Game Mechanics
The question was indeed very similar. Let me add it just as a reference.
Yeah, I wasn't thinking of the extra damage in the same way as Magic Missile, since I was still making an attack roll instead of an automatic hit like with Magic Missile, but I can see it now.
Thanks for the help!
just a quick note or two:
1) under 2024 rules you will be better off just using hunter's mark from level 5 on if you are using light weapons including a scimitar and two weapon fighting style. this is because the nick mastery property allows you to deal 3 attacks in the attack action - all of which could benefit from hunters mark. true strike, green flame blade and booming blade are spell attacks so you only get 1 on your turn. Shilellagh allows two attacks so it can be a decent option as well. To a large extent this holds true in levels 1-4 as well as light weapons with nick get 2 attacks in the attack action and you stiill have a bonus action for other things ( so yes you could bonus action hunter's mark and then get both attacks in round 1.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
He's playing in Curse of Strahd, IIRC, so I think he might have a lot of enemies with Vulnerability to Radiant damage.
It is a pity that there isn't a Radiant version of Hunter's Mark/Hex.
As an aside, taking a 1 level dip into Ranger, gives you 2 free castings of Hunter's Mark (in addition to Magic Initiate or allowing the Magic Initiate spells to be retrained), 2 first level spells (take things that don't depend on attack rolls or saves), and an additional 2 Weapon Mastery property choices. You probably don't want the dip, but it might be worth the dip.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
I intend on taking Fey-Touched at 6 with Hunter's Mark and I also get Misty Step, which I think may be useful for a front line character. I am also taking +1 to WIS, which will give me 16. No other character in our party has focused on Wisdom. I went with STR over DEX, my DEX is only 10. My only multi-class options are Druid and Cleric. I am thinking of taking 1 level of Druid to get Proficiency in WIS and to get Shillelagh and Starry Wisp.
Since I am playing Curse of Strahd, I got True Strike for Radiant Damage (I can also use True Strike with my Handaxe from 20' with the VEX Mastery) and I am also focusing on Force damage since nearly all enemies are not resistant or immune to it. I should be able to damage just about anything in the campaign without having to worry about resistances and immunity.
The real question is...does True Strike count as a weapon attack, spell attack, or both? If it is only a spell attack, then Hunter's Mark would not trigger since it requires a weapon attack. There is no official ruling on this as of yet, so it is up to DM interpretation. Hex, however, would work regardless because it works on any attack, spell or weapon.
Hunter's Mark now applies to all types of attacks. It was limited to "weapon attack" in the 2014 version.
And in my opinion, True Strike is a weapon attack, not a spell attack (EDIT: but it's a different topic that has been discussed across multiple threads)
Hex looks great, but I figure the Force Damage from Hunter's Mark will work better in the Curse of Strahd campaign than Hex's Necrotic Damage.
Yeah force should work better, I remember pre 4e campaigns and DMs where necrotic healed undead - that would be nasty in Strahd.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Divine Favor
Edit: 2024 version doesn't even use concentration.
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 agree, depending on resistances, vulnerabilities, and immunities, Hex might be worth it if you have someone force saves, whether from spells or effects like Grapple or Topple.
Oh. Actually, Hex (Constitution) + Topple could be a nice combo, not for the damage, but for the increased success chance to make the target prone (if your party is going circle up and stomp rather shoot or use reach attacks). Or use Hex (Strength or Dexterity) to improve the chances for a grapple or shove.
For reference, Advantage and Disadvantage are roughly equivalent to a +/- 3.8 on a roll. So giving the enemy Disadvantage on a save is pretty big as is giving your allies Advantage on an attack.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Hex doesn't have any effect on saves.
Edit/add: 3.8 is also not the effective value of Advantage or Disadvantage is all/most cases. They're variably effective depending how far from even odds you drift, with an even 50/50 being the most impactful.
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 currently have two ways to knock an enemy prone. Battleaxe with Topple and Trip Attack, and the save DC for each is 14, so if I combine the two on one attack, I can have two attempts to knock an enemy prone... I can also use Feinting Attack to gain advantage on my attack and my Handaxe from 20' with Vex to gain advantage on my next attack. I use my Longsword with SAP to give the enemy disadvantage against me, but those will only help me out and not the rest of the team. I also have a Warhammer with the Push Mastery, which I like to combine with Booming Blade as a battlefield control tactic. I had entertained the idea of using Mind Sliver to try and get 1d4 subtracted from their saves, but my WIS is only +2 and they'd only have to hit 12 or better to save, so I nixed that idea.
Hex doesn't affect saving throws. Again. It will not help you with landing effects like he mentioned. Hex only affects ability checks. Aka like Acrobatics or Perception or Stealth etc.
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 it doesn't...