[RPG] Can a character choose to do minimal damage when attacking a target under “Fiendish Charm” in order to allow a saving throw to end the charm

attackcharmeddamagednd-5e

Playing D&D 5e, but this Fiendish Charm was located in the DMsGuild adventure "The House of the Midnight Violet".

My party will soon be fighting a Fiend who has the "Fiendish Charm" ability. It says if the target suffers any harm , the target can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on success.

My question is – can the fellow players choose to do lower damage on a hit? like just straight up taking the minimum amount to help get their friend out of the charm, or are they at the mercy of the attacks and hope the player doesn't crit trying to dispel the charm?

Best Answer

You cannot intentionally lower weapon damage, but you have a weaker unarmed strike that deals less damage.

The only (officially published) fiend with the Fiendish Charm feature is the Cambion. The relevant portion reads:

If the target suffers any harm from the cambion or another creature or receives a suicidal command from the cambion, the target can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.

So the idea here is that our ally is charmed, and we want to do some damage to them (harm) in order to give them an opportunity to retry the saving throw. You cannot intentionally lower the damage of the attack, there is just no rule that allows that. The rules for Making an Attack state:

On a hit, you roll damage

And that's it. No ability to "pull your punches", so to speak, is given. However, punches may be a viable solution here. If you are not playing a monk that assigns a damage die to unarmed strikes, the following rule applies to all unarmed strikes (and optionally if you are a monk):

Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons). On a hit, an unarmed strike deals bludgeoning damage equal to 1 + your Strength modifier. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes.

This effectively minimizes the damage you do with a melee attack, which is essentially what you're looking for here. Instead of slapping your ally with your sword, give them a good kick in the pants for less damage.