D&D 5E RAW: Spell attack rolls modifiers stack?

[machineelf]

My questions are:
1. What DM is giving out both of these items in one campaign?
2. Assuming there’s a good reason for these items both being awarded in a single campaign, what party is not sharing these items between two spellcasters?

To be fair, these questions are not really relevant to the question at hand, and they side-step the rules-question. It may not be likely that both weapons are discovered by a party in a single campaign, or given to the same player, but both things are totally possible.

 

[Harzel]

Conceptually, they stack since as others have said there is nothing RAW that says they don't. However, I'm not sure that the caster* would have the necessary hand free to make the gestures for a spell that has a Somatic component and/or hold material components or a spell focus for a spell that has Material components. Those considerations are part of RAW even though a fair number of DMs** are inclined to ignore them.

* Assuming he has two or fewer prehensile appendages
** Sometimes including me.

 

[WilliamCQ]

Harzel thank you. I already knew about the intricacies of dual-wielding 2 magical staff but I could just as well not knew about it.

 

[Li Shenron]

This. I think RAW allows them to stack, but I have no problem house ruling that in my game, and think any sane DM should do the same.

Why would I not be "sane" if I let them stack? They are both high-level magic items that count against your attunement limit and you need to wield them both simultaneously, which means you can cast only spells without somatic/material components.

I quickly checked from Donjon spells list and how many Warlock spells require an attack roll and no somatic/material components? Zero.

So I guess that this could be an issue only if your PC has a way to bypass those components. Maybe there's a Warlock invocation somewhere that allows so, but otherwise I think it would come up only in the very specific case of a multiclass Sorcerer/Warlock that has the right metamagic ability.

 

[pdegan2814]

This. I think RAW allows them to stack, but I have no problem house ruling that in my game, and think any sane DM should do the same.

This isn't how it works. The description for a +1 weapon says it gives you a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made WITH that weapon. The Rod and the Staff grant their bonus to your spell attack modifier simply by holding the items. They say nothing about limiting the bonus to when you use that item as an arcane focus.

 

[jaelis]

Obviously the DM decides how their table will play, and not letting the rod and staff stack seems reasonable to me.

But there is a RAW answer here, it is not ambiguous. It is spelled out explicitly in Xanathar's:

Different game effects can affect a target at the same time. For example, two different benefits can give you a bonus to your Armor Class. But when two or more effects have the same proper name, only one of them applies while the durations of the effects overlap.

If you disagree with that, does that mean you don't let a ring of protection stack with magic armor?

Also, both the rod and staff simply need to be held. They don't need to be wielded or used as a focus. And both can be used as a focus, though, so there is no problem with supplying S,M components (except for costly material components, perhaps).

 

[Caliban]

So I guess that this could be an issue only if your PC has a way to bypass those components. Maybe there's a Warlock invocation somewhere that allows so, but otherwise I think it would come up only in the very specific case of a multiclass Sorcerer/Warlock that has the right metamagic ability.

You can do a spells somatic components using the same hand you are holding a spellcasting focus with. A staff is an arcane spellcasting focus. Per the PHB, page 203:

A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell’s material components—or to hold a spellcasting focus—but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components.

The bit about holding a spellcasting focus is not in the 1st printing of the PHB, but it is in the errata document and later printings.

 

[Caliban]

This isn't how it works. The description for a +1 weapon says it gives you a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made WITH that weapon. The Rod and the Staff grant their bonus to your spell attack modifier simply by holding the items. They say nothing about limiting the bonus to when you use that item as an arcane focus.

You obviously didn't understand what I was saying.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

You can do a spells somatic components using the same hand you are holding a spellcasting focus with. A staff is an arcane spellcasting focus. Per the PHB, page 203:



The bit about holding a spellcasting focus is not in the 1st printing of the PHB, but it is in the errata document and later printings.

An Arcane Focus can be a staff, but that doesn't mean every staff is an arcane focus. RAW only the specific item listed as "Arcane Focus" in the PHB equipment list is actually an arcane focus, that and a few other items that are specifically listed as being a focus, such as the bladelock's Pact Blade. I couldn't find any rule saying that a magic staff works as an arcane focus, enlighten me if you know of such a rule.

 

[jaelis]

An Arcane Focus can be a staff, but that doesn't mean every staff is an arcane focus. RAW only the specific item listed as "Arcane Focus" in the PHB equipment list is actually an arcane focus, that and a few other items that are specifically listed as being a focus, such as the bladelock's Pact Blade. I couldn't find any rule saying that a magic staff works as an arcane focus, enlighten me if you know of such a rule.

Well, the staff of power says it is a staff, and a staff is a focus. Your argument sounds kind of like saying that a magic sword doesn't count as a martial weapon because it is a "magic sword" not a sword. Similarly for the rod.