Can the Great Weapon Master feat's damage bonus and accuracy penalty apply to attacks from the Spiritual...





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The Great Weapon Master feat (PHB, p. 167) says:





  • Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.




The Spiritual Weapon spell description reads:




You create a floating, spectral weapon within range that lasts for the duration or until you cast this spell again. When you cast the spell, you can make a melee spell attack against a creature within 5 feet of the weapon. [...] The weapon can take whatever form you choose.




Does the chosen form determine the stats of the weapon (and therefore grant the Heavy attribute that allows the listed GWM benefit to be used), or is it just a cosmetic decision?










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  • $begingroup$
    Related: How does the Spiritual Weapon spell work?, Would it be possible to grab my Spiritual Weapon and make a melee attack with it?, Can you pick up an ally's Spiritual Weapon and use it as your own?
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago




















2












$begingroup$


The Great Weapon Master feat (PHB, p. 167) says:





  • Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.




The Spiritual Weapon spell description reads:




You create a floating, spectral weapon within range that lasts for the duration or until you cast this spell again. When you cast the spell, you can make a melee spell attack against a creature within 5 feet of the weapon. [...] The weapon can take whatever form you choose.




Does the chosen form determine the stats of the weapon (and therefore grant the Heavy attribute that allows the listed GWM benefit to be used), or is it just a cosmetic decision?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    Related: How does the Spiritual Weapon spell work?, Would it be possible to grab my Spiritual Weapon and make a melee attack with it?, Can you pick up an ally's Spiritual Weapon and use it as your own?
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago
















2












2








2





$begingroup$


The Great Weapon Master feat (PHB, p. 167) says:





  • Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.




The Spiritual Weapon spell description reads:




You create a floating, spectral weapon within range that lasts for the duration or until you cast this spell again. When you cast the spell, you can make a melee spell attack against a creature within 5 feet of the weapon. [...] The weapon can take whatever form you choose.




Does the chosen form determine the stats of the weapon (and therefore grant the Heavy attribute that allows the listed GWM benefit to be used), or is it just a cosmetic decision?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$




The Great Weapon Master feat (PHB, p. 167) says:





  • Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.




The Spiritual Weapon spell description reads:




You create a floating, spectral weapon within range that lasts for the duration or until you cast this spell again. When you cast the spell, you can make a melee spell attack against a creature within 5 feet of the weapon. [...] The weapon can take whatever form you choose.




Does the chosen form determine the stats of the weapon (and therefore grant the Heavy attribute that allows the listed GWM benefit to be used), or is it just a cosmetic decision?







dnd-5e spells feats weapons attack






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edited 18 mins ago









Blake Steel

4,6591952




4,6591952










asked 3 hours ago









RykaraRykara

5,6021647




5,6021647












  • $begingroup$
    Related: How does the Spiritual Weapon spell work?, Would it be possible to grab my Spiritual Weapon and make a melee attack with it?, Can you pick up an ally's Spiritual Weapon and use it as your own?
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago




















  • $begingroup$
    Related: How does the Spiritual Weapon spell work?, Would it be possible to grab my Spiritual Weapon and make a melee attack with it?, Can you pick up an ally's Spiritual Weapon and use it as your own?
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago


















$begingroup$
Related: How does the Spiritual Weapon spell work?, Would it be possible to grab my Spiritual Weapon and make a melee attack with it?, Can you pick up an ally's Spiritual Weapon and use it as your own?
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago






$begingroup$
Related: How does the Spiritual Weapon spell work?, Would it be possible to grab my Spiritual Weapon and make a melee attack with it?, Can you pick up an ally's Spiritual Weapon and use it as your own?
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago












1 Answer
1






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oldest

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6












$begingroup$

No



From the spell's description (emphasis mine):




The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon.




Unfortunately, Spiritual Weapon only takes the form of a weapon, not its statistics. So the spiritual weapon does not gain attributes like Heavy, Reach, etc. It just looks like whatever weapon you choose. (Note that the damage dice are independent of the original weapon as well.)






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    That was a thought I had, too, but I realized that Warlock's Pact of the Blade says " You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it." It never explicitly calls out stats either, but the implication is that the stats would match the chosen form. One would assume the two summoned weapons would be treated in the same way, barring an explicit rule that contradicts this assumption.
    $endgroup$
    – Rykara
    3 hours ago












  • $begingroup$
    @Rykara The intent is clearly that spiritual weapon would not work with GWM, but you bring up an intriguing point there.
    $endgroup$
    – Chris Starnes
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Rykara: The key might be that the details of the weapons are only given in the weapons table/section, so the stats of those weapons must be there; in contrast, spiritual weapon tells you the damage it does and how it works, overruling any specific stats regarding such weapons.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Oh, and this answer might be improved by citing the last paragraph of the spell description: "The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon." This makes it clear that the spell's effect is not a weapon - it just resembles one.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago












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1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









6












$begingroup$

No



From the spell's description (emphasis mine):




The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon.




Unfortunately, Spiritual Weapon only takes the form of a weapon, not its statistics. So the spiritual weapon does not gain attributes like Heavy, Reach, etc. It just looks like whatever weapon you choose. (Note that the damage dice are independent of the original weapon as well.)






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    That was a thought I had, too, but I realized that Warlock's Pact of the Blade says " You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it." It never explicitly calls out stats either, but the implication is that the stats would match the chosen form. One would assume the two summoned weapons would be treated in the same way, barring an explicit rule that contradicts this assumption.
    $endgroup$
    – Rykara
    3 hours ago












  • $begingroup$
    @Rykara The intent is clearly that spiritual weapon would not work with GWM, but you bring up an intriguing point there.
    $endgroup$
    – Chris Starnes
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Rykara: The key might be that the details of the weapons are only given in the weapons table/section, so the stats of those weapons must be there; in contrast, spiritual weapon tells you the damage it does and how it works, overruling any specific stats regarding such weapons.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Oh, and this answer might be improved by citing the last paragraph of the spell description: "The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon." This makes it clear that the spell's effect is not a weapon - it just resembles one.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago
















6












$begingroup$

No



From the spell's description (emphasis mine):




The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon.




Unfortunately, Spiritual Weapon only takes the form of a weapon, not its statistics. So the spiritual weapon does not gain attributes like Heavy, Reach, etc. It just looks like whatever weapon you choose. (Note that the damage dice are independent of the original weapon as well.)






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    That was a thought I had, too, but I realized that Warlock's Pact of the Blade says " You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it." It never explicitly calls out stats either, but the implication is that the stats would match the chosen form. One would assume the two summoned weapons would be treated in the same way, barring an explicit rule that contradicts this assumption.
    $endgroup$
    – Rykara
    3 hours ago












  • $begingroup$
    @Rykara The intent is clearly that spiritual weapon would not work with GWM, but you bring up an intriguing point there.
    $endgroup$
    – Chris Starnes
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Rykara: The key might be that the details of the weapons are only given in the weapons table/section, so the stats of those weapons must be there; in contrast, spiritual weapon tells you the damage it does and how it works, overruling any specific stats regarding such weapons.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Oh, and this answer might be improved by citing the last paragraph of the spell description: "The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon." This makes it clear that the spell's effect is not a weapon - it just resembles one.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago














6












6








6





$begingroup$

No



From the spell's description (emphasis mine):




The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon.




Unfortunately, Spiritual Weapon only takes the form of a weapon, not its statistics. So the spiritual weapon does not gain attributes like Heavy, Reach, etc. It just looks like whatever weapon you choose. (Note that the damage dice are independent of the original weapon as well.)






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



No



From the spell's description (emphasis mine):




The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon.




Unfortunately, Spiritual Weapon only takes the form of a weapon, not its statistics. So the spiritual weapon does not gain attributes like Heavy, Reach, etc. It just looks like whatever weapon you choose. (Note that the damage dice are independent of the original weapon as well.)







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 1 hour ago

























answered 3 hours ago









Nicolas BudigNicolas Budig

75838




75838








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    That was a thought I had, too, but I realized that Warlock's Pact of the Blade says " You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it." It never explicitly calls out stats either, but the implication is that the stats would match the chosen form. One would assume the two summoned weapons would be treated in the same way, barring an explicit rule that contradicts this assumption.
    $endgroup$
    – Rykara
    3 hours ago












  • $begingroup$
    @Rykara The intent is clearly that spiritual weapon would not work with GWM, but you bring up an intriguing point there.
    $endgroup$
    – Chris Starnes
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Rykara: The key might be that the details of the weapons are only given in the weapons table/section, so the stats of those weapons must be there; in contrast, spiritual weapon tells you the damage it does and how it works, overruling any specific stats regarding such weapons.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Oh, and this answer might be improved by citing the last paragraph of the spell description: "The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon." This makes it clear that the spell's effect is not a weapon - it just resembles one.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago














  • 1




    $begingroup$
    That was a thought I had, too, but I realized that Warlock's Pact of the Blade says " You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it." It never explicitly calls out stats either, but the implication is that the stats would match the chosen form. One would assume the two summoned weapons would be treated in the same way, barring an explicit rule that contradicts this assumption.
    $endgroup$
    – Rykara
    3 hours ago












  • $begingroup$
    @Rykara The intent is clearly that spiritual weapon would not work with GWM, but you bring up an intriguing point there.
    $endgroup$
    – Chris Starnes
    3 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Rykara: The key might be that the details of the weapons are only given in the weapons table/section, so the stats of those weapons must be there; in contrast, spiritual weapon tells you the damage it does and how it works, overruling any specific stats regarding such weapons.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Oh, and this answer might be improved by citing the last paragraph of the spell description: "The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon." This makes it clear that the spell's effect is not a weapon - it just resembles one.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    3 hours ago








1




1




$begingroup$
That was a thought I had, too, but I realized that Warlock's Pact of the Blade says " You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it." It never explicitly calls out stats either, but the implication is that the stats would match the chosen form. One would assume the two summoned weapons would be treated in the same way, barring an explicit rule that contradicts this assumption.
$endgroup$
– Rykara
3 hours ago






$begingroup$
That was a thought I had, too, but I realized that Warlock's Pact of the Blade says " You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it." It never explicitly calls out stats either, but the implication is that the stats would match the chosen form. One would assume the two summoned weapons would be treated in the same way, barring an explicit rule that contradicts this assumption.
$endgroup$
– Rykara
3 hours ago














$begingroup$
@Rykara The intent is clearly that spiritual weapon would not work with GWM, but you bring up an intriguing point there.
$endgroup$
– Chris Starnes
3 hours ago




$begingroup$
@Rykara The intent is clearly that spiritual weapon would not work with GWM, but you bring up an intriguing point there.
$endgroup$
– Chris Starnes
3 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
@Rykara: The key might be that the details of the weapons are only given in the weapons table/section, so the stats of those weapons must be there; in contrast, spiritual weapon tells you the damage it does and how it works, overruling any specific stats regarding such weapons.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago




$begingroup$
@Rykara: The key might be that the details of the weapons are only given in the weapons table/section, so the stats of those weapons must be there; in contrast, spiritual weapon tells you the damage it does and how it works, overruling any specific stats regarding such weapons.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago




2




2




$begingroup$
Oh, and this answer might be improved by citing the last paragraph of the spell description: "The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon." This makes it clear that the spell's effect is not a weapon - it just resembles one.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago




$begingroup$
Oh, and this answer might be improved by citing the last paragraph of the spell description: "The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics of deities who are associated with a particular weapon (as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for his hammer) make this spell's effect resemble that weapon." This makes it clear that the spell's effect is not a weapon - it just resembles one.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago


















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