#Eldritch smite 5e how to

I think this works with spells you have already cast as well as those that you cast after the effect takes place. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, that creature has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn.'

#Eldritch smite 5e how to

'At 10th level, you learn how to make your weapon strikes undercut a creature’s resistance to your spells. Would you not say that next turn if I breathe fire onto them they should have disadvantage? It is a spell I cast and the saving throw is made after I hit them. What about this? What if I cast Dragon's Breath two turns ago and hit my target this turn. And while I’m never a proponent of blindly sticking to RAW without any consideration, in this instance, “you make the attack and then you cast the spell” feels absolutely fundamental to the flavor of the effect. I get what you’re saying about the delayed spell effect, and there are certainly ways to rationalize what fiction is being represented by the mechanics that support the view, but the mechanical language simply doesn’t allow the feature to affect both spells that have already been cast and spells that you cast after the triggering weapon attack. I don’t find it at all wonky that a feature doesn’t work on a spell that was cast before the feature came into effect. It's essentially an automatic readied action written as a bonus action.Ī thing that weakens a target against spell effects not working on the very spell effect that it triggers does not seem to be the intent of the feature IMO. Although Thunderous Smite was cast, it hasn't done a thing until after the hit.

That weapon features Eldritch Smite which weakens an enemy against the user's spell effects. The actual effect of Thunderous Smite doesn't go off until the target is hit by a weapon. But I don't believe it's the intent, because your example is, as you say, wonky.Įh, I'd argue that your interpretation is wonky too. The example you've come up with relies on bracketing as follows: '(the next saving throw it makes)(against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn).' That's definitely an interpretation supported by the text. This is the only 'cast' that makes sense to me, because if it's in the past, then the feature doesn't work on spells that you cast AFTER the feature takes effect.īracketing as I have ensures that 'before the end of your next turn' applies to the saving throw, not just to the casting of the spell. If 'cast' is in the present tense, it disallows spells that have already been cast when the feature takes effect, preventing the effect from traveling back in time. Bracketing it like so: '(the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast)(before the end of your next turn)' captures what I feel to be the intent of the feature, without producing any wonky results. The current wording allows for interpretations that violate that in both directions, but it's a tough intent to convey elegantly. What seems to me to be the clear intent of the feature is that both the casting of the relevant spell and the saving throw occur after the feature takes effect and before the end of your next turn. ‘At 10th level, you learn how to make your weapon strikes undercut a creature’s resistance to your spells.’ Thus the effect should be temporarily located within the creature itself (their resistance) and the attack has undercut this for up to 11 seconds. ‘When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, that creature has disadvantage on the next spell saving throw from you, until the end of your next turn.’ Just pointing out that neither interpretations avoid wonky results, but I still think consistency is key, so with that in mind are your answers the same?Įdit: Though I do think a reword that would match my interpretation of RAI would be.

because the spell was CAST before the end of the next turn?

Just to clarify, with this interpretation, does that mean you could hit someone and then cast Thunderous Smite and wait several rounds before hitting them with the Smite and them still getting disadvantage. But “cast” looks the same in the present and in the past tense, so sure, it’s a bit ambiguous. What if the spell was cast three turns ago but has an ongoing effect that calls for saves? Most people would agree that the intent is that “a spell you cast before the end of your next turn” doesn’t include spells you’ve already cast. I think the wording is ambiguous, but the intent is pretty clearly 2. Monstrous Compendium Vol 3: Minecraft Creatures