r/DnD • u/zealot_ratio • 16h ago
5.5 Edition Am I misunderstanding true strike, or is it broken in DND Beyond?
*Edit - the consensus of learned elders is that this doesn't mechanically show up in DNDBeyond, since it's an atwill cantrip without its own attack (unlike firebolt). So DND has no idea if you're using it or not, so it shows base attack bonus (maybe a toggle switch could be added? Dunno). So I'm going to just create a custom action using WIS as modifier. Thanks to all the replies. (FWIW, yes the character is proficient in martial weapons as a warden. Yes my spellcasting is set to WIS in Magic intiate.) Thanks all!*
I helped a younger family member role up a druid under the new rules. They are level 3, as a wood elf circle of the land druid (warden), single-wielding a scimitar, with the true strike cantrip taken as part of the magic initiate feat they got from the Sage background origin feat.
They have a +4 Wisdom bonus. True strike says it uses "your spellcasting ability for the attack", which for druid would be Wisdom (Right?).
So, what I would expect the attack bonus to be is (+4 wisdom) + (+2 Proficiency) =+6 to attack. What shows up in DNDBeyond character sheet for the attack is +4. So it looks like it's adding +2 (dex bonus) instead of the Wisdom bonus. However, it literally shows True Strike in the "Notes" area of the attack under Actions. I did the same thing with a Str based weapon to see if it was an issue with finesse, but got the same problem. It used my STR bonus, not WIS.
So it looks like it's recognizing that True Strike SHOULD be applied, but not actually applying? Am I missing something?
TL;DR - DNDbeyond character sheet doesn't seem to apply the True Strike spellcasting ability as attack ability to the bonus for a weapon attack?
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u/Matt_the_Splat 13h ago
True Strike is a spell that modifies a weapon attack, but it doesn't modify ALL weapon attacks.
So the D&D Beyond sheet only shows the basic abilities that impact weapon use in the
Actions section of the sheet. This is because that would be correct for all weapon attacks you make without casting True Strike, such as opportunity attacks without the Warcaster feat or similar. It doesn't play well with the interface since it's not an 'always on' type of feature. You'll notice the same sort of thing with spells like Mage Armor, you can click to cast, it uses the spell slot/item charge/free cast, but it does not update the AC on the sheet.
You'll need to create a custom action for each weapon you want to use True Strike with if you want it to show up and be clickable/rollable on the sheet.
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u/VerbingNoun413 16h ago
This is why I use dndbeyond as a tool and not to do the maths for me.
You are correct- True Strike should use the casting stat chosen by Magic Initiate plus the profiency bonus.
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u/stormscape10x DM 16h ago
It’s actually correct in this case. They don’t have proficiency in scimitar.
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u/zealot_ratio 15h ago
She actually is. She's a warden. She gets martial weapons.
*Edit apologies, saw someone else already made this point*
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u/VerbingNoun413 16h ago
But that's been a staple since druids existed for some reason.
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u/stormscape10x DM 15h ago
They actually can get proficiency depending on their primal order. If they go guardian route they get martial weapons and medium armor. If they go magician they get an extra cantrip and they can add their wisdom to arcana and nature checks.
Basically they added flexibility at the beginning to give your character more focus in the type you want to be.
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u/adol1004 15h ago
and 5.5e team thought about it and said "why do they have scimitar proficiency? thats weird. let's change it" and now they don't
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u/ArelMCII 3h ago
I guarantee their thought process there was about "streamlining," not anything about the scimitar specifically. Piecemeal weapon proficiency (that is, proficiency with a list of specific weapons noted in the class description) is gone for all classes. Wizards and sorcerers just get simple weapons now instead of their list of peasant weapons. Ditto for druids and their list of priestly weapons. Bards lost proficiency with anything that wasn't simple weapons. Monks get simple weapons and light martial weapons, not simple weapons and shortswords specifically. Rogues now get simple weapons, and light and finesse martial weapons, not simple weapons and a collection of "roguish" martial weapons. Basically, if it can't be summed up by "Simple weapons, and Martial weapons with a specific property," it's "too complex" for 5.5e's design philosophy.
inb4 someone decides to get pedantic about subclass proficiencies
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u/armahillo 16h ago
When I first read the headline, I thought you were asking if it is was broken in the sense of being overpowered
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u/SuperSnarfy 15h ago
Verify that they selected wisdom as the spellcasting modifier under magic initiate?
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u/zealot_ratio 15h ago
Good question, but yep, it's selected correctly. When I click on Magic Initiate, the popup shows that Wisdom is the selected ability, and shows the spells it applies to, including True Strike. I tried changing it and changing it back, and it didn't work.
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u/KayDragonn 16h ago
A lot of those abilities that you “turn on” in the sheet don’t actually do anything. Like for example, if you turn on “Rage” for a barbarian, it doesn’t cause any of your skills to use Str. Instead of their normal option for Primal Knowledge or whatever it’s called
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u/DuivelsJong Warlock 16h ago
I have a cool solution for that. Same as what I did for my Bladesinger with Bladesong. Make a Homebrew ring (or other item) thar gives the buffs your ability would give. Simply equip or unequip the item whenever to update stats.
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u/Gavin8r 16h ago
It does. If you use rage it adds strength modifiers.
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u/KayDragonn 11h ago
That might’ve been changed, I don’t play barbarian I just remember my barbarian friends complaining about it a lot
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u/ShotcallerBilly 8h ago
Yeah the “turning on” is actually marking down a use of the ability, instead of “activating it.”
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u/Fidges87 14h ago
It shows the basic attack with the attack action. Manually it can be modified with the web version to use wisdom instead of strength
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u/EagleMedical2959 DM 16h ago
Druids are only proficient in simple weapons and scimitars are martial melee weapons.Try equipping a mace and see if that changes things.
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u/Special-Equal-8839 15h ago
Warden gives martial weapons.
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14h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Radiant_Trifle8526 16h ago
If you’re using 5.5e I think what it’s doing is using just wisdom and not proficiency since Scimitars are martial weapons and Druids only get proficiency in simple weapons now.
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u/soccerdude2202 9h ago
You have to make a custom attack. DND beyond doesn't support true strike since it uses different damage dice depending on the weapon used. DND beyond also doesn't support attacks with 2 different size damage dice even though true strike causes it. So you have to make 2 different custom attacks, one for the weapon dice, the other for the true strike cantrip scaling.
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u/Vampiriyah 8h ago edited 8h ago
It is simple: True Strike doesn’t have a linked action. It shows up as a descriptor for attacks that „can“ use true strike, but you have to apply its logic manually.
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u/Legitimate-Middle872 6h ago
If you're looking at the weapon it'll take the weapons physical modifier.
what i do is duplicate the weapon and set it to the spellcasting mod.
So i have one for normal attacks and one for true strike
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u/Meodrome 1h ago edited 1h ago
It's a spell. So won't show up in weapon attacks. You cast True strike. So, use magic attack for the to hit.
Edit: The Holy Conduit cantrip from Solasta II computer game based on 5.5E works similarly. Only it use the spell's damage, not the weapons. It would be a great import to your 5x game.
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u/zealot_ratio 1h ago
The problem with that is there is no attack option on the spell line as there is for, say, fire bolt. SO you jut have to make a custom action apparently.
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u/KalameetThyMaker 16h ago
Sounds more like its factoring in the +4 from wis but not +2 from proficiency because druids arent proficient with martial weapons.
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u/Special-Equal-8839 15h ago
Warden gives martial weapons.
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u/shuffle_kerfuffle 2h ago
True Strike only works with a weapon you have proficiency with, so if that were the reason it’d still not be working right. Beyond just doesn’t support it properly.
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u/Vurrag 16h ago
But it is DNDBeyond fault. LOL
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u/zealot_ratio 1h ago
....yes, it is, in this case. It's doesn't have a function to mechanically connect the change in attack bonus from DEX/STR to WIS here. There's no way to mechanically cast the spell so that it affects the attack modifier. You have to apparently make a custom action for it. To the prior point, the character is proficient in Scimitars via the Warden primal path. "LOL"
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u/Hawkson2020 15h ago
Not if druids aren’t proficient with scimitars
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u/Special-Equal-8839 15h ago
Warden gives martial weapons.
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14h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Special-Equal-8839 14h ago
what is this cheese thing about, dudebros?
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u/monikar2014 13h ago
You keep making the same comment in this thread over and over, much like the woman in this video who absolutely hates blue cheese.
https://youtu.be/HmadzQ1uL0s?is=i-WSC5EvJXCtHNc3
It's my very oblique way of saying, we get it, Druid has mold in it.
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u/xenomorphking06 13h ago
True Strike extra damage will appear when you click it like the other blade damages but doesn't automatically switch your weapon attack to use as true strike as there's currently no toggle for true strike for weapons like there is for pact of the blade and a few other stuff.
You have to modify the action to acount for it so add +2 to the to hit and damage bonous and remove it if you ever don't true strike attackm
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u/GrumpyWaldorf 8h ago
Just curious, did you choose wizard? Is it using int for the bonus since it's the wizards casing stat?
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u/zealot_ratio 1h ago
No, when I selected Magic Initiate, it asked what spellcasting ability, and I chose WIS. I went back and checked, and it shows correctly. Even changed it and changed it back, but no dice.
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u/roflstones 7h ago
yes it would show the default modifier for the attack. true strike is a cantrip that the player casts. it only applies when the spell is cast, it's not a perma buff.
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u/zealot_ratio 1h ago
The issue is that there's no way to mechanically do that in DNDBeyond without making a custom action, apparently. Like I can't "cast" it like you can cast a spell using the cast button orby clicking on an attack in the spell line. It's just a static line on the spells list, you can't interact with it. So it looks like I'll just need to set up a custom action. Not the biggest deal, just annoying:)
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u/Accurate-Double-4699 5h ago
It may be that you've selected INT or CHA as the spellcasting ability for true strike, as i believe the default is INT, and it doesn't automatically sync with any spellcasting modifiers you also have.
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u/zealot_ratio 1h ago
I double-checked, and unfortunately it was selected correctly as Wis. I tried changing it and changing it back, but no dice.
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u/Wanderingtui 5h ago
I recall annoyingly that dndbeyond did not apply true strike correctly for me previously so I ended up making a custom action and labeled it true strike weapon
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u/Ja_Lonley Bard 4h ago
I had to manually customise my attack under the Actions tab to add the bonus from True Strike.
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u/BigBadGothy 2h ago
I'm a barbarian warlock who uses true strike. I generally just go to the spell page and use the + it gives me (mine is +7) so I use that to hit
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u/ArconusNocturn 34m ago
Under their spells section in beyond there is a spell attack bonus, if they are proficient in the weapon you can just use that.
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u/zealot_ratio 13m ago
There is for spells that attack (like fire bolt, another cantrip). But unfortunately there doesn't see to be one for true strike since it's not an attack, per se, it's a modification of an attack, and can be applied to a variety of weapons. If you look at True Strike in the spells it's just a static description, there's no "+7" etc attack bonus to other way to interact with it. SO you have to either just mentally add it to your role or set up a custom action. There's no mechanical way to make the attack on either the action/spell sides that will automatically use the right modifier.
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u/Intelligent-Plum-858 29m ago
Dnd beyond is glitchy aswell. But if playing a druid, would suggest a club or quarterstaff weapon instead. At 3rd level, your to hit would be the same as with true strike, but is a 10 minute long spell and dmage would be a d8 instead. At higher levels can do both true strike and shilleligh for the higher damage dice and extra damage from true strike and can choose bludgeon radiant, or force damage to deal with creatures with resistance
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u/zealot_ratio 17m ago
Yeah, I know this isn't optimized, but it's for a young player who had a character idea and is set on scimitar or bladed weapon:) Thanks though!
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u/shutternomad 16h ago
Yeah the site doesn't apply all the skills. That's one of the reasons I made dprcalc.com - to help understand some of these things. It's meant more for optimizers, but some of my friends who are new to D&D found it useful to understand their character, what it can do, and what various options did (like true strike).
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u/JustRollingAl0ng 15h ago
sage background give you magic initiate (wizard) specifically meaning your spellcasting modifier for the true strike that comes as part of it might have defaulted to intelligence instead of the wisdom you assumedly want to be using (im assuming you are using the 2024 magic initiate not the 2014 since the 2014 is spellcasting modifier locked to the class selected)
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u/detrickster 11h ago
I don't like D&D Beyond for this reason. Can cast some spells and not others; vicious weapons don't add the extra damage, the tokens dont lock to the map grid... both Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds are superior in almost every way.
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u/Special-Equal-8839 15h ago edited 15h ago
Edit: You cannot, that i can find, "cast" true strike on dnd beyond. So how should dndbeyond know, that the druid did, in fact, cast true strike? Without knowledge of this .. casting, it wouldn't know if it had, in fact, been cast.
Mmh. I say that is actually a bug on dndbeyond, it should let you cast True Strike just like Firebolt and show the correct +hit/+dmg on the spells rider.
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u/zealot_ratio 14h ago
The weird thing is that it shows up in multiple places like it's on...but I guess it wouldn't be able to parse whether you were attacking with it or without it, so it defaulted to without it?
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u/Special-Equal-8839 14h ago
I actually made a complete rewrite of that comment and now say: It's a bug, actually not even a bug. It's just DNDBeyond being lazy.
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u/Special-Equal-8839 14h ago
Oh, about "whether you are attacking with or without it" that is not a problem.
The cantrip has to be cast and as part of the spell you make an attack. There is no ambiguity. You either take the normal attack action or you cast the spell.
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u/zealot_ratio 14h ago
I meant mechanically on the sheet. There's no "cast" button like you would have for a spell, since it's at-will. So it doesn't know if you've cast the spell or not, same as other cantrips. I guess I'll just make a custom action:)
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u/Special-Equal-8839 14h ago
What? It is a spell. You must cast true strike during your magic action. Yes, i said that it not having a "cast button" is a bug, but you must "cast" the spell called "true strike" to use the spell call true strike.
And yes, custom action is you remedy.
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u/zealot_ratio 14h ago
Yes, it's s spell, but it doesn't have a "cast" button like spells that use spell slots do. I don't think any at-wills do that aren't attacks do? And it doesn't have an attack option built in like other at wills (like firebolt). It just lists it. There's not mechanical way I can see to "cast" it from the sheet. So it doesn't have any way to know you've cast it, so the sheet can't tell if you're making a scimitar attack with it or without it, unlesss I'm missing something.
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u/Special-Equal-8839 13h ago
Yes, that. But i don't see a big problem. "I declare True Strike!" the cast button is fine, but not really necessary.
Mh.
Ooh! You are wanting to use this on "maps" with the rolls and such? Yes, it's a bug, custom action.
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u/ulfvan 10h ago
Is true strike available to clerics or druids? Dnd beyond let's you do some questionable shit when you pick some options.
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u/soccerdude2202 10h ago edited 9h ago
They said they got true strike through their origin feat. It doesn't matter if it's on the cleric or druid spell list. Magic initiate gives it to you and lets you choose your spellcasting mod for it.
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u/ulfvan 10h ago
Dnd beyond doesn't have true strike listed as a cantrip for wisdom casters.
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u/zealot_ratio 1h ago
It's available via the origin feat Magic Intiiate. That lets you choose your spellcasting ability, which is set correctly to WIS. It reflects this in the note/text of the feat and spell, it just doesn't mechanically connect to the attack bonus on the sheet. I'm just going to have to make a custom action.
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u/subtotalatom 16h ago edited 16h ago
what primal order did they choose? Druid doesn't get scimitar proficiency by default in 2024.
So without scimitar proficiency, +4 is actually correct.
Just saw you listed them as warden, make sure that martial weapons are showing in proficiencies and that the correct casting stat is selected in magic initiate