[RPG] Can the shove from the Minotaur race’s Hammering Horns trait knock an enethe prone

actionsdnd-5eminotaurproneracial-traits

The minotaur playable race has the Hammering Horns trait, which says (Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica, p. 19):

Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to shove that target with your horns. The target must be no more than one size larger than you and within 5 feet of you. Unless it succeeds on a Strength saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier, you push it up to 10 feet away from you.

I am thinking that this is similar to the Shield Master feat (Player's Handbook, p. 170), the first benefit of which says:

If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to try to shove a creature within 5 feet of you with your shield.

I am fairly certain Jeremy Crawford has ruled that you can knock prone after an attack, which I am fine with. Would this same ruling apply to Hammering Horns?

The rules in the PHB/basic rules on shoving a creature state:

Using the Attack action, you can make a special melee attack to shove a creature, either to knock it prone or push it away from you. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them. The target of your shove must be no more than one size larger than you, and it must be within your reach. You make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics).

It seems to be that Hammering Horns references these rules and just adds specifics to note that the target makes a saving throw instead, the push option pushes it 10 feet, and it uses a bonus action instead of one attack in the Attack action. All the rest still would apply, including the option to shove prone instead of pushing the target.

Can Hammering Horns knock the target prone? Or am I misinterpreting the rules?

Best Answer

Hammering Horns is its own specific action with its own rules

As you've quoted, the Hammering Horns trait of the minotaur player race is specific in how it works and what it does. It unequivocally states that you start with 'unlocking' the ability by taking the Attack action (my emphasis):

Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to shove that target with your horns.

After you've unlocked the ability, you can now attempt the Hammering Horns trait, which states:

Unless it succeeds on a Strength saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier, you push it up to 10 feet away from you.

Yes, it's called a shove, but it is not the standard PHB shove. It is Hammering Horns, which gives you a bonus action to push someone up to 10 feet away from you.

So is this the Shove listed in the PHB or not?

Well, it's not. It's close, but it's inherently a different action because the results are different.

A standard shove is only a 5-foot shove. Hammering Horns lets you push someone up to 10 feet. As I've noted above, it also doesn't state you can knock prone.

But the real difference is in that pushing distance. If this was an error, it would be much more likely that the push distance would be the same 5 feet.

In this, the ability gives you greater range for shoving, but at the expense of no option for prone.

But that's not all. It's also not an opposed contest, but a Strength save.

In all, it's a different mechanic than the PHB attack shove.

But that's silly! Why wouldn't I just use one of my attacks in the Attack action to shove?

Well, you can! But you're giving up a weapon attack to do it. Hammering Horns allows you take all of your normal weapon attacks you have in the Attack action and then grants you a bonus action that you normally don't have. And that bonus action only can shove 10 feet away as the ability states.