5

In a DND 5e campaign, my party has received a Wand of Shocking Grasp. It's currently in the hands of a non-caster. Shocking Grasp is a touch melee spell. I have 2 questions:

  1. When the spell is cast, it's done as a melee attack. Does the user apply any bonus if they're not a caster class? The non-caster does not have a spell attack bonus but I could see adding a DEX bonus because you're attempting to reach out and touch your opponent, which takes some dextrous targeting.
  2. Could the wand be considered a "light melee weapon" allowing the user to use two-weapon fighting along with, say, a dagger? Wands are not classified as weapons, but the definition of "Light" is "A light weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for use when Fighting with two Weapons." which fits the wand.
Mark A Johnson
  • 159
  • 3

2 Answers2

5

Since "Wand of Shocking Grasp" is not an item in the DMG or any other supplement I'm aware of, you'll have to ask your DM how it works; we can only speculate. (You should learn what you need to know about how the item works when you use identify on it.)

In general, items that specifically cast a spell but can be used by non-casters, which includes most of the wands, will specify a fixed attack roll or saving throw DC (as appropriate for the spell in question). As an example:

Circlet of Blasting

While wearing this circlet, you can use an action to cast the scorching ray spell with it. When you make the spell's attacks, you do so with an attack bonus of +5. [...]

There is no question as to what the roll should be: It's stated right in the item description.

If the item uses the wielder's spellcasting modifiers, as in the cast of most magic staff items, it will require the item to be attuned to a spellcaster or be used by a spellcaster, so the question is moot.

In the case of a character who can use the item despite not being a spellcaster, there's a specific rule found in the Activating an Item section (DMG p.114):

Spells

Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item. [...] A magic item, such as certain staffs, may require you to use your own spellcasting ability when you cast a spell from the item. [...] If you don't have a spellcasting ability - perhaps you're a rogue with the Use Magic Device feature - your spellcasting ability modifier is +0 for the item, and your proficiency bonus does apply.

A wand is not a weapon and does not use the Attack action, so it's not going to qualify for two-weapon fighting or any other attack-related abilities.

Darth Pseudonym
  • 74,915
  • 12
  • 190
  • 341
3

There is no Wand of Shocking Grasp in the DMG. Judging from the other wands there that replicate an offensive spell, some can be used by anyone (e.g. Wand of Magic Missiles) others require attunement by a spellcaster (e.g. Wand of Paralysis, Wand of Polymorph). Let's assume the non-caster can use the wand: if not, end of story.

Shocking Grasp is a cantrip with touch range, and says

Lightning springs from your hand to deliver a shock to a creature you try to touch. Make a melee spell attack against the target. You have advantage on the Attack roll if the target is wearing armor made of metal. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 lightning damage, and it can't take Reactions until the start of its next turn.

  1. Assuming your wand works like the spell, then the person using the wand would use an action to use the wand, and then would make a melee spell attack, with their free hand, which uses their proficiency bonus and spellcasting ability modifier as attack bonus. If they have no spellcasting ability, then their spellcasting ability modifier is +0 for the item. (Thanks to Pyrotechnical for this piece.)

    The rule on spell attack rolls states (PHB, p. 206; emphasis added):

    Some spells require the caster to make an attack roll to determine whether the spell effect hits the intended target. Your attack bonus with a spell attack equals your spellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus.

  2. Unless the wand has different explicit ruling, the wand itself is not a weapon, it is a magic item that allows you to cast a spell. The attack is done with your hand as a touch attack, not with the wand. So the wand would not be usable as an off-hand weapon.

V2Blast
  • 49,864
  • 10
  • 220
  • 304
Nobody the Hobgoblin
  • 112,387
  • 14
  • 326
  • 684
  • 2
    I think this is a reasonably good answer, but having to make some assumptions, again it is often better to let the OP clarify the question before taking a guess at an answer. I don't see any wands that require an attack roll to base this answer off. – SeriousBri Feb 13 '22 at 18:29
  • 4
    +1, I disagree with @SeriousBri. Your answer does make assumptions but none that are unreasonable to infer from the context of the question (literally any wand usable by a non-caster in the SRD simply casts the spell without any additional gimmicks). Furthermore, you have backed up your answer exceptionally with citations to both appropriate reference materials and related questions. I think this is a great answer! – Pyrotechnical Feb 13 '22 at 19:22
  • Can you back up that spell attacks made by non-spellcasters are non-ability rolls? That seems rather out of keeping with the core conceit of the system, where rolls are primarily d20 + ability + possibly proficiency. I can’t immediately think of any other rolls that would include proficiency but no ability score bonus. So backing that up requires more, I think, than just noting that “your spellcasting ability modifier” doesn’t exist in this case. The question already noted that reality, so we need more than an assertion that it works as you describe. – KRyan Feb 13 '22 at 19:38
  • 2
    @KRyan I can help with that. Groody, see this answer to a question I asked some years ago on a related matter. – Pyrotechnical Feb 13 '22 at 19:55
  • 1
    For a wand which does cast a spell which requires an attack roll, see the wand of winter - it specifies the attack should be made with a +5 bonus. Similarly the circlet of blasting clarifies it casts with a +5 attack modifier. As a rule items that cast spells without requiring you to use your own spellcasting ability state what their parameters are - it's just that the corpus of those items seems biased towards spells with saves, not attacks, so there's shedloads of items that specify their save DCs but very few with attack modifiers. – Carcer Feb 13 '22 at 21:34
  • @KRyan for another example of a roll made with proficiency bonus but not ability modifier, high level monks get to add their proficiency bonus to death saves (thanks to diamond soul). – Carcer Feb 13 '22 at 21:43
  • 1
    For #2: in addition to a wand not being a weapon as you state, "Two Weapon Fighting" specifically says you need to take the Attack action in order to use a BA to attack with an off-hand weapon. So, while using a wand does take an Action, that is not an Attack action. – aaron9eee Feb 13 '22 at 23:53
  • @Carcer If the item said "+5 to hit with ranged spell attack" then why would OP ask "what is the attack bonus"? It's possible, but I don't think it's a good idea to assume people are so clueless that they didn't even read the item... :P Assume a little good faith until OP clarifies! –  Feb 14 '22 at 00:27
  • 2
    @Non-humanPerson I don't meant to imply that the OP just didn't read their item; it seems to be a homebrew item, and it's quite likely that whoever wrote it simply didn't think about how it actually worked. But I am saying that for all the officially published items I could find, items like this specify what the attack modifier should be when they cast a spell involving a spell attack (which is equivalent to stating the DC for spells with saves); so, were it done properly, this item should have been designed the same way. – Carcer Feb 14 '22 at 00:44