October 2016 Rules Answers and Errata

This month, we provide a new version of the Player’s Handbook errata and answer some D&D rules questions.

If you have a D&D rules question, please reach me on Twitter (@JeremyECrawford), where I answer questions every week (please send the question to sageadvice@wizards.com if it’s too long for a tweet).

My rulings here and on Twitter don’t override the decisions of a Dungeon Master. The answers and information I provide are meant to assist a DM in adjudicating the game.

Player’s Handbook Errata

In the recent sixth printing of the Player’s Handbook, we made a few corrections to the text. To reflect those changes, we’ve updated the book’s errata document:

Player’s Handbook Errata PDF

As always, a DM decides whether to use rules changes in the game. If the game was working fine for you before a change, feel no pressure to apply it. The rules, and any changes to them, are meant to serve the enjoyment of your D&D group.

Class Features

How many additional attacks can a barbarian get while using Frenzy and the Great Weapon Master feat? You get only one bonus action on your turn, no matter how many are granted by Frenzy, Great Weapon Master, and other features. See the “Bonus Actions” section in the Player’s Handbook (p. 189) for more about how bonus actions work.

Can spiked armor be used as a weapon only by battleragers? Can you make a primary attack with it or just a bonus attack? In the Forgotten Realms, only battleragers are trained to use spiked armor effectively as a weapon, and only via their class features.

With Brutal Critical and a greatsword, does a barbarian get to roll an additional 1d6 or 2d6? If you have the barbarian’s Brutal Critical feature and score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you get to roll one additional damage die when rolling the weapon’s damage. It’s one die, no matter what weapon you’re using. For example, if the weapon normally deals 1d8 damage, you roll 3d8 (1 for the weapon, 1 for the critical hit, and 1 for Brutal Critical). If the weapon normally deals 2d6 damage, you roll 5d6 (2 for the weapon, 2 for the critical hit, and 1 for Brutal Critical).

Does the Dueling fighting style apply to the battlerager’s spiked armor attacks? The Dueling feature applies to a melee weapon wielded in one hand. Spiked armor is worn, not held.

In the Bladesinging Arcane Tradition from the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, is Bladesong compatible with two-weapon fighting? Nothing in the Bladesong feature is incompatible with wielding two weapons.

Can you confirm that the bladesinger’s Intelligence bonus to AC is supposed to stack with other AC bonuses? A bonus always gets added when the game instructs you to add it, unless you’re already receiving the bonus from a game feature with same name. Don’t confuse a bonus to AC (such as +2) with an AC calculation (AC = 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier). AC calculations don’t stack with each other. Bonuses do.

Can you use a bonus action spell in the same turn as the wizard’s Benign Transposition, or is that considered a spell also? The wizard’s Benign Transposition feature isn’t a spell, so it isn’t affected by the rule on casting a spell with a bonus action (see PH, 202).

Multiclassing

Would the Archery fighting style bonus for fighter and ranger stack when multiclassing? You can’t take the same Fighting Style option more than once.

Combat

If I gain resistance from multiple features, does it grant me immunity? Multiple instances of resistance don’t add together. Either you have resistance to an instance of damage or you don’t (see PH, 197). No matter how many things give you resistance to the damage you’re taking, you get to apply resistance to that damage only once. The same is true of vulnerability.

Is standing up from prone considered moving? Standing up costs movement but moves you nowhere. When the game refers to you moving, it means moving some distance. It doesn’t mean making a gesture or standing up in place. To move while prone, you crawl or use magic (PH, 191).

Can you confirm that a readied grapple would also stop the target’s movement if successful? The grappled condition does, indeed, reduce a creature’s speed to 0.

What happens if a grappled creature (or the grappler) teleports via Benign Transposition, Shadow Step, or another effect? The grappled condition ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler (PH, 290).

Do you get a turn after rolling a 20 on your death saving throw or does your turn end as you stabilize? You make a death save when your turn starts. If you roll a 20, the 1 hp you gain lets you then take your turn.

Sage Advice Compendium

The Sage Advice Compendium gathers every installment of Sage Advice in one PDF. It’s been updated to include this month’s column.

Other Resources

Here are other D&D reference documents we’ve posted on this website.

Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons

D&D Spell List (version 1.01)

Monsters by Challenge Rating (version 1.0)

D&D Monsters by Type (version 1.0)

Magic Items by Rarity (version 1.0)

Conversions to 5th Edition D&D (version 1.01)

Character Sheets