Unleash Holy Fury: How Many Times Can You Smite in D&D 5e?
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The burning question on every Paladin’s mind – or any character who’s dipped into the Paladin class – is: How many times can I smite? The short answer is: as many times as you can successfully hit with a melee weapon attack and have the spell slots to fuel it. There’s no hard limit imposed by the rules beyond these two factors. You can potentially smite multiple times in a single turn, provided you can make multiple attacks and are willing to expend the required resources.
Let’s dive deeper into the mechanics and nuances of smiting in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.
Understanding the Mechanics of Divine Smite
The core of the Paladin’s smiting ability comes from the Divine Smite feature, gained at 2nd level. It’s a powerful and versatile ability that adds a burst of radiant damage to your melee weapon attacks. Here’s the breakdown:
- Activation: When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can choose to expend a spell slot to activate Divine Smite. It’s a choice, not an obligation.
- Resource Cost: Each Divine Smite requires the expenditure of one spell slot of any level. You can use spell slots gained from any class, a boon for multiclass characters.
- Damage: The extra damage is 2d8 radiant damage for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8 radiant damage.
- Undead and Fiends: Against undead or fiends, the damage increases by 1d8, to a maximum of 6d8 radiant damage.
- Critical Hits: If your attack is a critical hit, all damage dice are doubled, including those from Divine Smite. This can lead to truly devastating blows.
No Limits Beyond Resources
The crucial point to remember is that the only limitations on the number of Divine Smites you can use are:
- Number of Attacks: You need to make a successful melee weapon attack. If you only make one attack per turn, you can only smite once per turn. However, if you have Extra Attack, Action Surge (from the Fighter class), or other features that grant you multiple attacks, you can potentially smite multiple times.
- Available Spell Slots: Each Divine Smite requires a spell slot. If you run out of spell slots, you can’t smite.
Example Scenarios
Let’s consider some examples:
- Scenario 1: Paladin with Extra Attack. A 5th-level Paladin with Extra Attack hits with both attacks on their turn. They can choose to expend a spell slot to add Divine Smite damage to either attack, both attacks, or neither attack.
- Scenario 2: Paladin Fighter Multiclass. A Paladin/Fighter multiclass has Action Surge. They can make their normal attacks, then use Action Surge to make additional attacks, potentially smiting with each successful hit.
- Scenario 3: Running Out of Spell Slots. A Paladin is engaged in a long battle and has expended all their spell slots. They can no longer use Divine Smite until they take a long rest to recover their spell slots.
Smite Spells vs. Divine Smite
It’s important to differentiate between Divine Smite (the Paladin class feature) and Smite Spells (such as Thunderous Smite, Searing Smite, etc.). These are two separate mechanics with different rules.
- Smite Spells: These are spells that require a bonus action to cast and require concentration. They typically add extra damage and/or effects to your next melee weapon attack. Importantly, you can only have one Smite Spell active at a time due to the concentration requirement.
- Divine Smite: This is a class feature that can be activated on a successful hit and doesn’t require concentration.
You can use a Smite Spell and Divine Smite on the same attack. For example, you could cast Thunderous Smite as a bonus action, then hit with your attack and expend a spell slot to add Divine Smite damage.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Smiting
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about smiting in D&D 5e:
- Can you do multiple smites in a turn? Yes, if you have multiple attacks and spell slots available, you can use Divine Smite multiple times per turn.
- Do smite spells only work once? Smite spells are a buff that lasts until you hit with an attack or the spell’s duration ends. If you miss, the buff remains (as long as you maintain concentration).
- Is smite damage doubled on a critical hit? Yes, all damage dice, including the extra radiant damage dice from Divine Smite, are doubled on a critical hit.
- What are the rules for Divine Smite? Divine Smite allows you to expend a spell slot on a successful melee weapon attack to deal extra radiant damage. The damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, increasing by 1d8 for each higher level slot, up to a maximum of 5d8 (6d8 against undead and fiends).
- Can you Smite twice in a round? Yes, assuming you have multiple attacks and the necessary spell slots.
- Is Divine Smite unlimited? No, it’s limited by the number of attacks you can make and the number of spell slots you have available.
- How many times can you use smite? As many times as you can successfully hit with a melee weapon attack and have spell slots to expend.
- What is the maximum damage in divine smite? The maximum damage from Divine Smite is 5d8 radiant damage (or 6d8 against undead and fiends). This is before doubling on a critical hit.
- Can you smite twice in a round? Yes, this is a repetition but emphasizes the point due to its common nature in discussion.
- Can you twin smite spells? No. Because all smite spells have range: self, they cannot be used with twinned spell.
- Can you use 2 smites at once? You can use Divine Smite and a Smite Spell simultaneously, but you cannot stack multiple Smite Spells due to the bonus action and concentration requirements.
- Does smite take up a spell slot? Using a Smite Spell requires the use of a spell slot to cast the spell. Using Divine Smite requires the expense of a spell slot on a successful hit.
- Does rage prevent divine Smite? No, you can use Divine Smite while raging.
- What is the maximum Smite? The maximum Divine Smite damage is 5d8 (or 6d8 against undead/fiends) when using a 5th-level spell slot.
- Can you use divine smite and Eldritch smite at the same time? Yes, you can use both Divine Smite (from the Paladin class) and Eldritch Smite (from the Warlock class) on the same attack, provided you have the necessary spell slots.
Maximizing Your Smiting Potential
To truly maximize your smiting potential, consider the following:
- Multiclassing: Dipping into classes like Fighter (for Action Surge) or Barbarian (for advantage on attacks, increasing crit chance) can give you more opportunities to smite.
- Feats: Great Weapon Master can add significant damage to your attacks, making your smites even more impactful. Lucky can help turn misses into hits, giving you more chances to smite.
- Magic Items: Weapons with bonuses to attack rolls or extra damage can increase your overall damage output and improve your chances of hitting, leading to more smites.
- Party Composition: A party that can grant you advantage on attacks (such as through the Faerie Fire spell or flanking) will increase your chances of hitting and thus, smiting.
- Resource Management: Be mindful of your spell slot usage. Don’t blow all your spell slots on the first few encounters. Strategically choose when to smite to maximize your effectiveness.
By understanding the rules and mechanics of Divine Smite and other smiting abilities, you can become a fearsome force on the battlefield, unleashing holy fury upon your enemies.
Smiting and other aspects of role-playing games are often used in educational settings. For more information, check out the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org. Good luck, and may your dice rolls be ever in your favor!