Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Drakthal Jun 30, 2015 5:34:05	Hello guys Me and my group are preparing to begin our first venture into the D&D rpg this thursday and i have been reading through the Players Handbook and Monster Manual. After reading i have one question. How do i know which abilities a monster can modify an attack with? For example if i look at Kobolds the only way i know that they can use dex for their meelee attacks and str for their ranged attacks are in the weapon list as daggers and slings respectively. But what is the rule with attacks that are not found as weapons, like claws bites and such. Do i just decide which ability to use or is there some rule ive missed? Best regards - Drakthal
#2 sim-h Jun 30, 2015 5:41:02	The stats for monsters include all the ability modifiers - you don't need to add anything else.
#3 iserith Jun 30, 2015 5:43:23	The monster's attack roll with a melee or ranged weapon (including natural weapons) is Strength or Dexterity bonus plus the monster's proficiency bonus. Sometimes, the designers use Dexterity in places you wouldn't imagine they should. You can typically figure out which ability score is being used by subtracting the proficiency bonus from the attack bonus, then comparing the result to its ability scores. Unless it's a tie (in which case it doesn't matter), you'll know which one to use for other attacks. The chart on page 8 of the Monster Manual has proficiency bonuses by challenge rating.
#4 Drakthal Jun 30, 2015 5:45:20	Well yes they do. But how do i know if an Adult Blue Dragon for example use its 25 STR or its 10 DEX for its tailswipe attack? Would i just allways presume its strength on meelee and dex on ranged unless its a weapon i have the statistics for? A kobold could in theory use DEX for its attack with a dagger and i guess it will because it is higher than its STR.
#5 Drakthal Jun 30, 2015 5:46:05	Ahh thanks Iserith