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I know in previous editions, the Arcane Channeling class feature of the Duskblade allowed him to cast a touch spell as part of a physical attack. Is there any similar capability in 5e? It would seem to be the sort of thing an Eldritch Knight would be capable of, but I don't see anything of the sort in the description or in the feats in the PHB.

SevenSidedDie
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Tin Wizard
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  • You'll find that there aren't actually that many touch spells in 5e. At least not of the same variety as other games/editions. – Jason_c_o Aug 07 '15 at 21:39
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    Specifically, I'm looking at Shocking Grasp - hitting an enemy with weapon damage + spell damage and then retreating with no opportunity attack, as often as I want (because it's a cantrip), seems pretty useful. – Tin Wizard Aug 07 '15 at 21:41
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    There's the Eldritch Knight's War Magic. This doesn't answer the question but it allows a Bonus Action weapon attack after casting a cantrip. I think it's the closest you'll get without the various Homebrew classes that attempt the combo. – Jason_c_o Aug 07 '15 at 21:59
  • You're probably right, but I was hoping I could incorporate my weapon's reach. Sounds like it'll basically come down to convincing my GM to house rule it, but I'll leave this question up to see if anyone has any more ideas. – Tin Wizard Aug 07 '15 at 23:16
  • This was discussed on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/31wo05/5e_shocking_grasp_cantrip/ – Ruut Aug 10 '15 at 08:55

5 Answers5

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You get:

  • 1 move,
  • 1 action,
  • 1 bonus action, and
  • 1 reaction (generally not on your turn).

That's it, that's all, there ain't no more! (Exc: the fighter's action surge)

Attacking always requires the Attack action. Two weapon fighting uses the bonus action but requires the Attack action to be used first.

Most spells need the Cast Spell action; there are some that use a bonus action and even fewer that use the reaction. Many of the bonus action spells (e.g. Hail of Thorns) can make an attack using the Attack action more effective. As far as I know, none of the bonus action spells have a range of "touch".

Putting this together means that as written, there is no way to combine an attack with a touch spell.

The PHB has this to say about touch spells:

Some spells can target only a creature (including you) that you touch.

Now, this says nothing about what you have to touch them with. Does this have to be a hand or is a foot or the head or ... something else OK? Or does it have to be a body part at all or can we use the ubiquitous 10 foot pole? Well. The rules don't say so the DM needs to decide.

Dale M
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This is the closest I could find:

Eldritch Knight: War Magic

Beginning at 7th level, when you use your action to cast a cantrip, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

There's also an Improved War Magic version at level 18.

You state in your comments: ... I was hoping I could incorporate my weapon's reach.. For which you should note the following feat.

War Caster

You can perform the somatic components of spells even when you have weapons or a shield in one or both hands. ... (and some other abilities)

So to use a two-handed reach weapon in such a way you would at least need the above feat. But you also need some way to make both a Cast Action and an Attack Action. You can definitely ask the DM for some specific exceptional ruling, but there's clearly a balance issue here.

A spell like Shocking Grasp takes one action and provides a reasonable amount of damage for that action (from 1d8 to 4d8 depending on level). What you're looking for would "power-up" this action by adding weapon damage on top and it would increase your to-hit if the target was wearing/using metal.

Personal opinion

I would be very leery of translating the Duskblade/Magus ability to 5e. The problem with these classes is that they simply outshine the fighting classes at fighting (Ranger/Fighter/Barbarian) and get spells to boot. A well-tuned Duskblade/Magus will have better attack and damage bonuses than a Fighter and will have access to spells like Mirror Image to make up for their slight AC disadvantage.

In 5e, the Fighter and Rogue both have perfectly usable archetypes that allow for casting spells while still being balanced.

Community
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Gates VP
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  • Duskblades don't outshine Barbarians unless that person playing a Barbarian doesn't utilize Lion Spirit Totem. – Ruut Aug 10 '15 at 08:57
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Enabling a PC to perform a weapon attack concurrently with casting a cantrip that has the speed of 1 action would imbalance the game.

The noted example of the Eldritch Knight getting an melee attack as a bonus action following the casting of a cantrip as an action is at best an exchange. Instead of multiple attacks during the round, the fighter can fold in Blade Ward, Shocking Grasp, etc.

Addressing your comment: the best method to utilize a spell like shocking grasp at a range greater than melee is via Find a Familar (Owl), and casting the cantrip through the Owl.

Drunk Cynic
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It is not currently possible with any features currently released. The closest thing currently is the ability of an eldritch Knight to cast spells and make weapon attacks on the same round.

The upcoming Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide has been confirmed to contain a class option called "blade singer" which may have something to this effect, but we can only speculate right now about the specific features of the class option.

Update: the Sword Coast Adventurer Guide contains cantrips for Sorcerers, Warlocks and Wizards that include making a melee weapon attack as part of casting the cantrip.

Derek Stucki
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  • It's still confusing for myself....at 5th level the an Eldritch Knight (fighter) gains a 3rd attack. Can they then cast as spell (say Shocking Grasp) using a sword for touch and then attack twice? – Fogcutter Sep 28 '15 at 16:12
  • At 5th level, a fighter gains a second attack when they use their action to take the Attack Action on their turn. Spells can only be cast using your action to take the Cast a Spell action (for spells with a casting time of one action). Under no circumstances can they cast a spell as part of the Attack Action. – Derek Stucki Sep 28 '15 at 17:46
  • That makes sense however, my player has the two weapon fighting style which gives her two attacks with an inherent/inferred bonus action. So what you're saying that even with the 3rd attack they would have to use that for an attack and not casting a spell? – Fogcutter Sep 28 '15 at 18:32
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    With her action, she can either use the Attack Action to attack twice (at level 5), or the Cast a Spell action. If she has any spells that can be cast as a bonus action, she can do so the same turn as either of those actions. If, and only if, she takes the Attack Action, she can use her bonus action to make a single weapon attack. So, unless she has a spell that has a casting time of one bonus action, there is no way to attack and cast a spell on the same turn until a class feature specifically says otherwise. – Derek Stucki Sep 28 '15 at 18:40
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The Paladin's smite spells might be what your looking for. Bonus actions to cast and can be used with your weapon attack.

Guillianink
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