[RPG] Does haste’s extra attack get triggered when you cast haste on yourself

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My question here is what is the right combination of the answers from these two questions:

Assuming I'm a level 5 fighter / level 5 wizard and I cast haste on myself.

It's clear from the second question I can then proceed to use the attack action as per haste. My interpretation:

  • RAW is you get only one attack and extra attack does not get triggered as per the answer to the first question.

RAI it looks like that particular line "one weapon attack only" was intended to limit attack explosion on the fighter:

The "one attack only" stipulation is preventing the use of the extra attack feature in the additional action, so a character with extra attack could use his regular action to make 2 attacks and use the additional action granted by haste to attack once more. This is to prevent say, a fighter at level 20 who gets 3 extra attacks from having 8 attacks in a single turn on top of a possible bonus action.

As specified in the answer of this other question.

Is there any indication (by WOG or similar in either direction) as to where in this particular scenario the fighter would get the extra attack? Which would mean, if you cast haste on yourself on your turn, the effect of casting haste is you get to do your turn as normally without the benefit of haste but also without having lost the action into casting haste.

Best Answer

You would not normally get the benefit of Extra Attack on the turn you cast Haste

Some background:

  • Characters are normally limited to one action per turn.

  • Fighters at level five get an ability called Extra Attack, which allows them to make one additional attack, whenever they take the Attack action, as part of that same action.

  • The spell Haste grants an extra action which is limited to certain specified uses. This extra action (lower case) which you can use to take the Attack action is nothing to do with Extra Attack (upper case) the aforementioned Fighter feature.

Now, into the detail of your question:

  1. On the turn that you cast Haste on yourself, you have done so using the Cast a Spell action so could not, on that same turn, take the normal Attack action, and therefore benefit from the Fighter's Extra Attack feature. You could however, immediately use the additional action granted by Haste to make a single attack. The hasted Attack action is limited to one weapon attack only, so that precludes applying your Extra Attack feature.

  2. On any subsequent turns, while Haste was still active, you'd be able to take both a normal Attack action, eligible for Extra Attack in addition to your hasted Attack action (not eligible for Extra Attack).

  3. In addition to all of the above, as a Fighter, once per short rest on any given turn, you can use Action Surge to get another extra action - of unrestricted use. This is therefore eligible for Extra Attack and could be used on the same turn which you intially cast Haste or any subsequent turn.

  4. Becoming a Sorcerer instead of a Wizard would allow you to use Extra Attack on the first turn you cast Haste. As a Sorcerer, you could spend sorcery points and use Quickened Spell to cast Haste as a bonus action, not an action. This would free up your action that turn to be used for attacking, as well as your Hasted action - and potentially an Action Surged action too!

Putting all of the above together a bit more explicitly, in one turn, by burning a few resources, a Fighter 5 / Sorcerer 5 could:

  • Use Quickened Spell and Bonus Action cast Haste on yourself.
  • Attack twice for your normal Attack action, using Extra Attack (Attacks 1 & 2)
  • Attack once your hasted Attack action (Attack 3)
  • Attack twice with your Action Surge Attack action, using Extra Attack (Attacks 4 & 5)
  • Then, make three attacks a turn thereafter, as long as Haste lasted.

That said, at level 11 a single classed Fighter could make three attacks per Attack action as standard - so it's not that ridiculous a combination.

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