Does the paladin's Improved Divine Smite do additional damage to fiends and undead?

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The paladin's Improved Divine Smite 11th-level feature gives every melee weapon attack an extra 1d8 radiant damage.



Their 2nd-level Divine Smite feature does 1d8 additional damage to fiends and undead when they expend a spell slot to smite.



Does Improved Divine Smite deal additional damage to fiends and undead as Divine Smite does, without expending a spell slot to use Divine Smite?






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    Tangentially related: Improved Divine Smite Differentiation, How does Improved Divine Smite change the Divine Smite damage cap?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Also: What is the maximum damage done by Divine Smite?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago
















up vote
2
down vote

favorite












The paladin's Improved Divine Smite 11th-level feature gives every melee weapon attack an extra 1d8 radiant damage.



Their 2nd-level Divine Smite feature does 1d8 additional damage to fiends and undead when they expend a spell slot to smite.



Does Improved Divine Smite deal additional damage to fiends and undead as Divine Smite does, without expending a spell slot to use Divine Smite?






dnd-5e class-feature damage undead paladin







share|improve this question



















  • 1




    Tangentially related: Improved Divine Smite Differentiation, How does Improved Divine Smite change the Divine Smite damage cap?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Also: What is the maximum damage done by Divine Smite?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago












up vote
2
down vote

favorite









up vote
2
down vote

favorite











The paladin's Improved Divine Smite 11th-level feature gives every melee weapon attack an extra 1d8 radiant damage.



Their 2nd-level Divine Smite feature does 1d8 additional damage to fiends and undead when they expend a spell slot to smite.



Does Improved Divine Smite deal additional damage to fiends and undead as Divine Smite does, without expending a spell slot to use Divine Smite?






dnd-5e class-feature damage undead paladin







share|improve this question















The paladin's Improved Divine Smite 11th-level feature gives every melee weapon attack an extra 1d8 radiant damage.



Their 2nd-level Divine Smite feature does 1d8 additional damage to fiends and undead when they expend a spell slot to smite.



Does Improved Divine Smite deal additional damage to fiends and undead as Divine Smite does, without expending a spell slot to use Divine Smite?






dnd-5e class-feature damage undead paladin




dnd-5e class-feature damage undead paladin






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share|improve this question













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edited 2 hours ago









V2Blast

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asked 2 hours ago









David Hunsicker

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  • 1




    Tangentially related: Improved Divine Smite Differentiation, How does Improved Divine Smite change the Divine Smite damage cap?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Also: What is the maximum damage done by Divine Smite?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago












  • 1




    Tangentially related: Improved Divine Smite Differentiation, How does Improved Divine Smite change the Divine Smite damage cap?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    Also: What is the maximum damage done by Divine Smite?
    – V2Blast
    2 hours ago







1




1




Tangentially related: Improved Divine Smite Differentiation, How does Improved Divine Smite change the Divine Smite damage cap?
– V2Blast
2 hours ago




Tangentially related: Improved Divine Smite Differentiation, How does Improved Divine Smite change the Divine Smite damage cap?
– V2Blast
2 hours ago




1




1




Also: What is the maximum damage done by Divine Smite?
– V2Blast
2 hours ago




Also: What is the maximum damage done by Divine Smite?
– V2Blast
2 hours ago










2 Answers
2






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No, Improved Divine Smite does not do extra damage to fiends and undead



Improved Divine Smite says:




By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




There is no mention of extra damage for fiends and undead so no extra damage is done (beyond the 1d8 extra it does to every creature of course). Contrast this with Divine Smite which says:




Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.




Without that line of text there is no reason to think that Improved Divine Smite does the same thing. The two abilities are completely separate from each other despite the similarity in the names.



However, note the last line of Improved Divine Smite which states that Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite can be used together and thus the extra damage against fiends and undead can be added to Improved Divine Smite albeit at the cost of a spell slot.






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    up vote
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    No, it doesn't have any special effect on fiends/undead



    The Improved Divine Smite feature description says:




    By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




    The feature does what it says it does: 1d8 extra radiant damage on every hit with a melee weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. It has no real connection to how Divine Smite works other than the source of the power/effect in D&D lore.



    (The last sentence of the IDS description is simply meant to clarify that the damage from Improved Divine Smite does not count against the Divine Smite feature's 5d8 maximum damage limit. And the max damage limit of regular Divine Smite goes up to 6d8 against undead or fiends.)



    In short: Improved Divine Smite doesn't do any additional extra damage to fiends or undead on its own beyond the regular 1d8 that it does to every other creature. You'd have to use Divine Smite for that.






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      2 Answers
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      2 Answers
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      No, Improved Divine Smite does not do extra damage to fiends and undead



      Improved Divine Smite says:




      By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




      There is no mention of extra damage for fiends and undead so no extra damage is done (beyond the 1d8 extra it does to every creature of course). Contrast this with Divine Smite which says:




      Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.




      Without that line of text there is no reason to think that Improved Divine Smite does the same thing. The two abilities are completely separate from each other despite the similarity in the names.



      However, note the last line of Improved Divine Smite which states that Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite can be used together and thus the extra damage against fiends and undead can be added to Improved Divine Smite albeit at the cost of a spell slot.






      share|improve this answer


























        up vote
        4
        down vote













        No, Improved Divine Smite does not do extra damage to fiends and undead



        Improved Divine Smite says:




        By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




        There is no mention of extra damage for fiends and undead so no extra damage is done (beyond the 1d8 extra it does to every creature of course). Contrast this with Divine Smite which says:




        Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.




        Without that line of text there is no reason to think that Improved Divine Smite does the same thing. The two abilities are completely separate from each other despite the similarity in the names.



        However, note the last line of Improved Divine Smite which states that Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite can be used together and thus the extra damage against fiends and undead can be added to Improved Divine Smite albeit at the cost of a spell slot.






        share|improve this answer
























          up vote
          4
          down vote










          up vote
          4
          down vote









          No, Improved Divine Smite does not do extra damage to fiends and undead



          Improved Divine Smite says:




          By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




          There is no mention of extra damage for fiends and undead so no extra damage is done (beyond the 1d8 extra it does to every creature of course). Contrast this with Divine Smite which says:




          Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.




          Without that line of text there is no reason to think that Improved Divine Smite does the same thing. The two abilities are completely separate from each other despite the similarity in the names.



          However, note the last line of Improved Divine Smite which states that Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite can be used together and thus the extra damage against fiends and undead can be added to Improved Divine Smite albeit at the cost of a spell slot.






          share|improve this answer














          No, Improved Divine Smite does not do extra damage to fiends and undead



          Improved Divine Smite says:




          By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




          There is no mention of extra damage for fiends and undead so no extra damage is done (beyond the 1d8 extra it does to every creature of course). Contrast this with Divine Smite which says:




          Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.




          Without that line of text there is no reason to think that Improved Divine Smite does the same thing. The two abilities are completely separate from each other despite the similarity in the names.



          However, note the last line of Improved Divine Smite which states that Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite can be used together and thus the extra damage against fiends and undead can be added to Improved Divine Smite albeit at the cost of a spell slot.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 1 hour ago

























          answered 2 hours ago









          Rubiksmoose

          38.2k5190293




          38.2k5190293






















              up vote
              0
              down vote













              No, it doesn't have any special effect on fiends/undead



              The Improved Divine Smite feature description says:




              By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




              The feature does what it says it does: 1d8 extra radiant damage on every hit with a melee weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. It has no real connection to how Divine Smite works other than the source of the power/effect in D&D lore.



              (The last sentence of the IDS description is simply meant to clarify that the damage from Improved Divine Smite does not count against the Divine Smite feature's 5d8 maximum damage limit. And the max damage limit of regular Divine Smite goes up to 6d8 against undead or fiends.)



              In short: Improved Divine Smite doesn't do any additional extra damage to fiends or undead on its own beyond the regular 1d8 that it does to every other creature. You'd have to use Divine Smite for that.






              share|improve this answer
























                up vote
                0
                down vote













                No, it doesn't have any special effect on fiends/undead



                The Improved Divine Smite feature description says:




                By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




                The feature does what it says it does: 1d8 extra radiant damage on every hit with a melee weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. It has no real connection to how Divine Smite works other than the source of the power/effect in D&D lore.



                (The last sentence of the IDS description is simply meant to clarify that the damage from Improved Divine Smite does not count against the Divine Smite feature's 5d8 maximum damage limit. And the max damage limit of regular Divine Smite goes up to 6d8 against undead or fiends.)



                In short: Improved Divine Smite doesn't do any additional extra damage to fiends or undead on its own beyond the regular 1d8 that it does to every other creature. You'd have to use Divine Smite for that.






                share|improve this answer






















                  up vote
                  0
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  0
                  down vote









                  No, it doesn't have any special effect on fiends/undead



                  The Improved Divine Smite feature description says:




                  By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




                  The feature does what it says it does: 1d8 extra radiant damage on every hit with a melee weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. It has no real connection to how Divine Smite works other than the source of the power/effect in D&D lore.



                  (The last sentence of the IDS description is simply meant to clarify that the damage from Improved Divine Smite does not count against the Divine Smite feature's 5d8 maximum damage limit. And the max damage limit of regular Divine Smite goes up to 6d8 against undead or fiends.)



                  In short: Improved Divine Smite doesn't do any additional extra damage to fiends or undead on its own beyond the regular 1d8 that it does to every other creature. You'd have to use Divine Smite for that.






                  share|improve this answer












                  No, it doesn't have any special effect on fiends/undead



                  The Improved Divine Smite feature description says:




                  By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous might that all your melee weapon strikes carry divine power with them. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also use your Divine Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Divine Smite.




                  The feature does what it says it does: 1d8 extra radiant damage on every hit with a melee weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. It has no real connection to how Divine Smite works other than the source of the power/effect in D&D lore.



                  (The last sentence of the IDS description is simply meant to clarify that the damage from Improved Divine Smite does not count against the Divine Smite feature's 5d8 maximum damage limit. And the max damage limit of regular Divine Smite goes up to 6d8 against undead or fiends.)



                  In short: Improved Divine Smite doesn't do any additional extra damage to fiends or undead on its own beyond the regular 1d8 that it does to every other creature. You'd have to use Divine Smite for that.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 2 hours ago









                  V2Blast

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