Does two-weapon fighting give any penalties to the offhand attack?

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP












15












$begingroup$


I understand that you have to use the two weapon fighting style to add your ability modifier to damage, but I was wondering if there were any penalties to the offhand attack modifier?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$







  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on Two weapon fighting bonus action in 5e
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:33










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    Feb 5 at 21:13















15












$begingroup$


I understand that you have to use the two weapon fighting style to add your ability modifier to damage, but I was wondering if there were any penalties to the offhand attack modifier?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$







  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on Two weapon fighting bonus action in 5e
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:33










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    Feb 5 at 21:13













15












15








15





$begingroup$


I understand that you have to use the two weapon fighting style to add your ability modifier to damage, but I was wondering if there were any penalties to the offhand attack modifier?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$




I understand that you have to use the two weapon fighting style to add your ability modifier to damage, but I was wondering if there were any penalties to the offhand attack modifier?







dnd-5e two-weapon-fighting fighting-style






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Feb 5 at 16:31









SevenSidedDie

208k31668945




208k31668945










asked Feb 5 at 16:26









KenchKench

815




815







  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on Two weapon fighting bonus action in 5e
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:33










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    Feb 5 at 21:13












  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Related on Two weapon fighting bonus action in 5e
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:33










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    Feb 5 at 21:13







2




2




$begingroup$
Related on Two weapon fighting bonus action in 5e
$endgroup$
– NautArch
Feb 5 at 16:33




$begingroup$
Related on Two weapon fighting bonus action in 5e
$endgroup$
– NautArch
Feb 5 at 16:33












$begingroup$
Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
Feb 5 at 21:13




$begingroup$
Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
Feb 5 at 21:13










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















25












$begingroup$

No, there is no concept of offhand attack (or related penalties) in 5e



Here are the general rules for two-weapon fighting:




When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it. (PHB, p. 195)




(note the need for light weapons for this to work)



and here is the specific rules for the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style:




When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. (PHB, p. 72)




There is no mention of any kind of penalty or any reference to "primary" and "off" hands. The reason for that is that those do not exist in 5e. It is one of the changes 5e made from older editions.



So, both hands' attack rolls are rolled without penalty even without the Two-weapon fighting fighting style. And neither hand is designated as the primary or offhand. Either hand can be used to make the first attack (using an action) or the second attack attack (using a bonus action) and they are mechanically identical.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 5




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The delineation between the weapons is which one is used with the action and which is used with the bonus action, correct?
    $endgroup$
    – Grosscol
    Feb 5 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    @Grosscol correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Feb 5 at 16:46


















9












$begingroup$

No, there is no attack penalty (nor an actual concept of an off-hand)



The entirety of the default two-weapon fighting rules are described in the combat section of the basic rules:




Two-Weapon Fighting



When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.



If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.




The only difference between a normal attack as you might make with the Attack action and the bonus attack granted by two-weapon fighting is that you don't get a positive ability score modifier to damage. The attack roll itself is not called out as being different in any way - you apply all appropriate modifiers to that as normal.



It's also worth noting that there is no actual concept of an off-hand in 5e's two-weapon fighting. If you're holding two light weapons, the Attack action attack which allows you to qualify for the TWF bonus action could be made with either hand, and gets your normal damage bonus; the bonus action is then made with the other hand, and doesn't get the bonus. You could mix up which weapon you use for your "primary" attack from turn to turn as you like.



If you have the Extra Attack class feature, you can even use each weapon at least once as part of your normal Attack action, and then both hands/weapons qualify for use with the bonus action, and you can choose which one you use for the bonus attack.



Off your turn, if you get the opportunity to make an opportunity attack, you can do it with either weapon you're holding and benefit from all your normal modifiers.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43










Your Answer





StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function ()
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function ()
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix)
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["\$", "\$"]]);
);
);
, "mathjax-editing");

StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "122"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);













draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f140509%2fdoes-two-weapon-fighting-give-any-penalties-to-the-offhand-attack%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









25












$begingroup$

No, there is no concept of offhand attack (or related penalties) in 5e



Here are the general rules for two-weapon fighting:




When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it. (PHB, p. 195)




(note the need for light weapons for this to work)



and here is the specific rules for the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style:




When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. (PHB, p. 72)




There is no mention of any kind of penalty or any reference to "primary" and "off" hands. The reason for that is that those do not exist in 5e. It is one of the changes 5e made from older editions.



So, both hands' attack rolls are rolled without penalty even without the Two-weapon fighting fighting style. And neither hand is designated as the primary or offhand. Either hand can be used to make the first attack (using an action) or the second attack attack (using a bonus action) and they are mechanically identical.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 5




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The delineation between the weapons is which one is used with the action and which is used with the bonus action, correct?
    $endgroup$
    – Grosscol
    Feb 5 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    @Grosscol correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Feb 5 at 16:46















25












$begingroup$

No, there is no concept of offhand attack (or related penalties) in 5e



Here are the general rules for two-weapon fighting:




When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it. (PHB, p. 195)




(note the need for light weapons for this to work)



and here is the specific rules for the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style:




When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. (PHB, p. 72)




There is no mention of any kind of penalty or any reference to "primary" and "off" hands. The reason for that is that those do not exist in 5e. It is one of the changes 5e made from older editions.



So, both hands' attack rolls are rolled without penalty even without the Two-weapon fighting fighting style. And neither hand is designated as the primary or offhand. Either hand can be used to make the first attack (using an action) or the second attack attack (using a bonus action) and they are mechanically identical.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 5




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The delineation between the weapons is which one is used with the action and which is used with the bonus action, correct?
    $endgroup$
    – Grosscol
    Feb 5 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    @Grosscol correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Feb 5 at 16:46













25












25








25





$begingroup$

No, there is no concept of offhand attack (or related penalties) in 5e



Here are the general rules for two-weapon fighting:




When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it. (PHB, p. 195)




(note the need for light weapons for this to work)



and here is the specific rules for the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style:




When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. (PHB, p. 72)




There is no mention of any kind of penalty or any reference to "primary" and "off" hands. The reason for that is that those do not exist in 5e. It is one of the changes 5e made from older editions.



So, both hands' attack rolls are rolled without penalty even without the Two-weapon fighting fighting style. And neither hand is designated as the primary or offhand. Either hand can be used to make the first attack (using an action) or the second attack attack (using a bonus action) and they are mechanically identical.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



No, there is no concept of offhand attack (or related penalties) in 5e



Here are the general rules for two-weapon fighting:




When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it. (PHB, p. 195)




(note the need for light weapons for this to work)



and here is the specific rules for the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style:




When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. (PHB, p. 72)




There is no mention of any kind of penalty or any reference to "primary" and "off" hands. The reason for that is that those do not exist in 5e. It is one of the changes 5e made from older editions.



So, both hands' attack rolls are rolled without penalty even without the Two-weapon fighting fighting style. And neither hand is designated as the primary or offhand. Either hand can be used to make the first attack (using an action) or the second attack attack (using a bonus action) and they are mechanically identical.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Feb 5 at 22:42

























answered Feb 5 at 16:36









RubiksmooseRubiksmoose

56.6k9274424




56.6k9274424







  • 5




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The delineation between the weapons is which one is used with the action and which is used with the bonus action, correct?
    $endgroup$
    – Grosscol
    Feb 5 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    @Grosscol correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Feb 5 at 16:46












  • 5




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    The delineation between the weapons is which one is used with the action and which is used with the bonus action, correct?
    $endgroup$
    – Grosscol
    Feb 5 at 16:44










  • $begingroup$
    @Grosscol correct.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Feb 5 at 16:46







5




5




$begingroup$
Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
$endgroup$
– NautArch
Feb 5 at 16:43




$begingroup$
Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
$endgroup$
– NautArch
Feb 5 at 16:43




4




4




$begingroup$
The delineation between the weapons is which one is used with the action and which is used with the bonus action, correct?
$endgroup$
– Grosscol
Feb 5 at 16:44




$begingroup$
The delineation between the weapons is which one is used with the action and which is used with the bonus action, correct?
$endgroup$
– Grosscol
Feb 5 at 16:44












$begingroup$
@Grosscol correct.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Feb 5 at 16:46




$begingroup$
@Grosscol correct.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Feb 5 at 16:46













9












$begingroup$

No, there is no attack penalty (nor an actual concept of an off-hand)



The entirety of the default two-weapon fighting rules are described in the combat section of the basic rules:




Two-Weapon Fighting



When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.



If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.




The only difference between a normal attack as you might make with the Attack action and the bonus attack granted by two-weapon fighting is that you don't get a positive ability score modifier to damage. The attack roll itself is not called out as being different in any way - you apply all appropriate modifiers to that as normal.



It's also worth noting that there is no actual concept of an off-hand in 5e's two-weapon fighting. If you're holding two light weapons, the Attack action attack which allows you to qualify for the TWF bonus action could be made with either hand, and gets your normal damage bonus; the bonus action is then made with the other hand, and doesn't get the bonus. You could mix up which weapon you use for your "primary" attack from turn to turn as you like.



If you have the Extra Attack class feature, you can even use each weapon at least once as part of your normal Attack action, and then both hands/weapons qualify for use with the bonus action, and you can choose which one you use for the bonus attack.



Off your turn, if you get the opportunity to make an opportunity attack, you can do it with either weapon you're holding and benefit from all your normal modifiers.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43















9












$begingroup$

No, there is no attack penalty (nor an actual concept of an off-hand)



The entirety of the default two-weapon fighting rules are described in the combat section of the basic rules:




Two-Weapon Fighting



When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.



If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.




The only difference between a normal attack as you might make with the Attack action and the bonus attack granted by two-weapon fighting is that you don't get a positive ability score modifier to damage. The attack roll itself is not called out as being different in any way - you apply all appropriate modifiers to that as normal.



It's also worth noting that there is no actual concept of an off-hand in 5e's two-weapon fighting. If you're holding two light weapons, the Attack action attack which allows you to qualify for the TWF bonus action could be made with either hand, and gets your normal damage bonus; the bonus action is then made with the other hand, and doesn't get the bonus. You could mix up which weapon you use for your "primary" attack from turn to turn as you like.



If you have the Extra Attack class feature, you can even use each weapon at least once as part of your normal Attack action, and then both hands/weapons qualify for use with the bonus action, and you can choose which one you use for the bonus attack.



Off your turn, if you get the opportunity to make an opportunity attack, you can do it with either weapon you're holding and benefit from all your normal modifiers.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43













9












9








9





$begingroup$

No, there is no attack penalty (nor an actual concept of an off-hand)



The entirety of the default two-weapon fighting rules are described in the combat section of the basic rules:




Two-Weapon Fighting



When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.



If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.




The only difference between a normal attack as you might make with the Attack action and the bonus attack granted by two-weapon fighting is that you don't get a positive ability score modifier to damage. The attack roll itself is not called out as being different in any way - you apply all appropriate modifiers to that as normal.



It's also worth noting that there is no actual concept of an off-hand in 5e's two-weapon fighting. If you're holding two light weapons, the Attack action attack which allows you to qualify for the TWF bonus action could be made with either hand, and gets your normal damage bonus; the bonus action is then made with the other hand, and doesn't get the bonus. You could mix up which weapon you use for your "primary" attack from turn to turn as you like.



If you have the Extra Attack class feature, you can even use each weapon at least once as part of your normal Attack action, and then both hands/weapons qualify for use with the bonus action, and you can choose which one you use for the bonus attack.



Off your turn, if you get the opportunity to make an opportunity attack, you can do it with either weapon you're holding and benefit from all your normal modifiers.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



No, there is no attack penalty (nor an actual concept of an off-hand)



The entirety of the default two-weapon fighting rules are described in the combat section of the basic rules:




Two-Weapon Fighting



When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.



If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.




The only difference between a normal attack as you might make with the Attack action and the bonus attack granted by two-weapon fighting is that you don't get a positive ability score modifier to damage. The attack roll itself is not called out as being different in any way - you apply all appropriate modifiers to that as normal.



It's also worth noting that there is no actual concept of an off-hand in 5e's two-weapon fighting. If you're holding two light weapons, the Attack action attack which allows you to qualify for the TWF bonus action could be made with either hand, and gets your normal damage bonus; the bonus action is then made with the other hand, and doesn't get the bonus. You could mix up which weapon you use for your "primary" attack from turn to turn as you like.



If you have the Extra Attack class feature, you can even use each weapon at least once as part of your normal Attack action, and then both hands/weapons qualify for use with the bonus action, and you can choose which one you use for the bonus attack.



Off your turn, if you get the opportunity to make an opportunity attack, you can do it with either weapon you're holding and benefit from all your normal modifiers.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Feb 5 at 16:58

























answered Feb 5 at 16:38









CarcerCarcer

24.3k471129




24.3k471129







  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43












  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
    $endgroup$
    – NautArch
    Feb 5 at 16:43







1




1




$begingroup$
Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
$endgroup$
– NautArch
Feb 5 at 16:43




$begingroup$
Might be worth emphasizing the requirement of light weapons in order to be able to do this.
$endgroup$
– NautArch
Feb 5 at 16:43

















draft saved

draft discarded
















































Thanks for contributing an answer to Role-playing Games Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid


  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f140509%2fdoes-two-weapon-fighting-give-any-penalties-to-the-offhand-attack%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown






Popular posts from this blog

How to check contact read email or not when send email to Individual?

Displaying single band from multi-band raster using QGIS

How many registers does an x86_64 CPU actually have?