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This answer is specifically about the 2014 wording, now shown as Legacy content in many rules databases. A separate current Crusher entry exists for the revised rules, so confirm the text your table is using before applying every benefit.
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The short rules answer
The 2014 Crusher feat works with a qualifying unarmed strike. A punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow is an unarmed strike. Although the 2014 rules explicitly say that an unarmed strike is not a weapon, a hit with one deals bludgeoning damage. Crusher asks whether you hit with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage, not whether you used a weapon.
That distinction resolves the apparent conflict. “Unarmed strike” describes the attack’s rules category; “bludgeoning” describes its damage type. Crusher uses the damage type and the fact that the attack hit as its relevant conditions. Nothing in the 2014 trigger adds a weapon requirement.
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Which Crusher feat are you using?
Edition labels matter because the rules now contain two entries with the same feat name. D&D Beyond’s feat index lists a Crusher from the current Player’s Handbook and a separate Legacy Crusher from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. The Legacy label identifies the older 2014 feat text.
| Question | 2014 Legacy Crusher | Current rules entry |
|---|---|---|
| What this article establishes | The unarmed-strike interaction and the benefits described below | The exact revised wording was not available in the material used for this explanation |
| How to identify it | Crusher from the 2014 rules, now presented as Legacy content | Crusher listed with the current Player’s Handbook |
| Can you assume every benefit is identical? | No; use the wording of the selected version | No; check the current text at your table |
The revision changelog explains that 2014 feats remain available as Legacy content and may be used with the 2024 rules in many cases. “May be used” is not the same as “has identical wording.” If your character sheet, campaign document, or digital compendium does not identify the edition, ask the Dungeon Master which text governs before resolving a disputed trigger.
Why an unarmed strike satisfies the 2014 trigger
An unarmed strike is not a weapon
The 2014 combat rules separate unarmed strikes from weapons. Your character can make an unarmed strike with a punch, kick, head-butt, or comparable blow, but the attack is not treated as a weapon for rules that specifically require a weapon.
The hit still deals bludgeoning damage
On a hit, the 2014 unarmed-strike rule assigns bludgeoning damage. That is the classification Crusher needs. The feat does not say “when you hit with a weapon that deals bludgeoning damage,” and it does not say “when you make a weapon attack.” It says, in substance, “when you hit a creature with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage.” An unarmed strike is an attack, and a successful one deals bludgeoning damage.
Apply the conditions in order
- Declare and resolve the unarmed strike.
- Confirm that the attack hits.
- Confirm that the hit deals bludgeoning damage.
- Apply Crusher’s once-per-turn movement option if the target and destination meet its requirements.
If any of those conditions fails, the 2014 Crusher movement option does not trigger for that attack. A miss never qualifies, and an effect that changes the damage so it is no longer bludgeoning would not satisfy the stated damage-type condition.
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What the 2014 movement benefit does
Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can move that creature 5 feet to an unoccupied space. The target can be no more than one size larger than you.
Size restriction
The size comparison is relative to the attacker. A Small character can move a Small or Medium target; a Medium character can move a Medium or Large target. A target two or more size categories larger than the attacker is outside this benefit, even if the unarmed strike itself can hit it.
Destination requirement
The destination must be unoccupied. Crusher does not let you place the creature in a square, space, or area already occupied by another creature or an object that blocks the space under the table’s normal movement rules. You choose a legal 5-foot destination, subject to the battlefield’s other constraints.
Once per turn means once, not once per hit
The movement option is limited to once per turn. If you hit the same target several times with unarmed strikes during your turn, you can use the movement benefit only once during that turn. If you have not used it earlier, you can choose the hit that gives you the best tactical result; the feat does not require you to push on the first qualifying hit.
The limit is tied to your turn, not to a single round in the everyday sense. After your next turn begins, you have a new once-per-turn opportunity. A reaction or another off-turn attack can raise timing questions at the table, so track whose turn it is and whether you have already used the benefit on that turn.
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What happens on a critical hit
The 2014 feat also grants a separate benefit. When you score a critical hit that deals bludgeoning damage to a creature, attack rolls against that creature have advantage until the start of your next turn.
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- The attack must be a critical hit.
- The critical hit must deal bludgeoning damage.
- The advantage applies to attack rolls against that creature.
- The duration ends at the start of your next turn.
A critical hit with a qualifying unarmed strike can therefore activate this benefit. The fact that the strike is not a weapon does not remove it from the feat’s wording; the conditions are a critical hit and bludgeoning damage.
Who receives the advantage?
The text benefits attack rolls against the creature, so the advantage is useful to allies as well as to you. It lasts until the start of your next turn, giving the party a window that can include other characters’ turns before your next turn begins. Do not extend it beyond that point or treat it as a general bonus against every enemy.
Worked examples
One qualifying punch
A Medium monk hits a Medium goblin with an unarmed strike. The hit deals bludgeoning damage. The monk may move the goblin 5 feet to an unoccupied space, provided the monk has not already used Crusher’s movement on that turn. The monk could pull the goblin away from an ally, place it within another character’s reach, or open a path through a doorway if the destination is legal.
Several attacks on one turn
The same character hits with three unarmed strikes. Each hit deals bludgeoning damage, but Crusher’s movement can be used only once during that turn. The player can wait until the third hit to choose the final position, as long as the movement has not already been spent.
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A target that is too large
A Small character hits a Huge creature with an unarmed strike. The strike still hits and deals bludgeoning damage, but the target is more than one size larger than the attacker. Crusher’s 5-foot movement is unavailable for that hit. The attack remains a normal successful unarmed strike; only the feat option fails.
A critical unarmed strike
A character scores a critical hit with a punch, and the critical hit deals bludgeoning damage. Attack rolls against that creature have advantage until the start of the attacker’s next turn. The movement benefit is a separate choice and still requires a legal target size, an unoccupied destination, and an unused once-per-turn use.
A hit that does not deal bludgeoning damage
If an effect changes the damage type so the hit no longer deals bludgeoning damage, the 2014 Crusher trigger is not met. The decisive question is the damage type actually dealt by the qualifying attack, not the character’s identity, class, or the fact that the attack began as an unarmed strike.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common arguments and how to resolve them
“Unarmed strikes are not weapons, so Crusher cannot work.”
This argument would be correct only if the feat required a weapon. The 2014 trigger instead refers to an attack that deals bludgeoning damage. The unarmed-strike rule’s “not a weapon” sentence prevents you from treating the strike as a weapon for a weapon-only rule; it does not erase the strike’s bludgeoning damage type.
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“Crusher says bludgeoning attack, so it must mean a weapon attack.”
Do not add words that are not in the trigger. “An attack that deals bludgeoning damage” includes any attack meeting those conditions unless another rule narrows it. The 2014 text does not narrow the phrase to weapon attacks.
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“The target moved 5 feet already, so I can use Crusher again.”
The relevant limit is your use of Crusher, not how many times the target has moved for other reasons. Once you have used the feat’s movement during your turn, further qualifying hits do not provide another Crusher movement until a new turn gives you another use.
“The current feat must work exactly the same way.”
That conclusion is not established. The current Player’s Handbook entry and the Legacy Tasha’s version are separate entries. Read the current text if your campaign uses the revised rules; do not import the older movement or critical-hit language automatically.
A table procedure for disputed turns
- Identify the feat entry: current Player’s Handbook or Legacy 2014 text.
- Write down the attack that hit and its final damage type.
- Check whether the target is no more than one size larger than the attacker.
- Check whether the proposed destination is unoccupied and exactly 5 feet away under the map’s geometry.
- Check whether Crusher’s once-per-turn movement has already been used.
- If the hit was critical, apply the separate advantage window only after confirming that the critical hit dealt bludgeoning damage.
This checklist keeps the two benefits separate. A character can have a critical hit that grants advantage but cannot move the target because it is too large; conversely, a normal qualifying hit can move a legal target without granting the critical-hit advantage.
What to put on your character sheet
Record the feat’s edition beside its name, especially if your group uses a mixture of 2014 and 2024 material. Add a reminder that an unarmed strike is eligible when it hits and deals bludgeoning damage. During combat, mark Crusher’s movement when you use it, and clear that mark at the start of your next turn. If you score a qualifying critical hit, note the end point of the advantage period: the start of your next turn.
For a rules discussion, quote the exact version your table selected rather than relying on a feat name alone. That avoids applying Legacy wording to a current entry or assuming that a revised benefit has the same timing, target, or size language.
Bottom-line ruling for the 2014 feat
A normal unarmed strike can trigger the 2014 Crusher feat because it is an attack that deals bludgeoning damage on a hit. The strike’s status as “not a weapon” matters only when a rule specifically demands a weapon; the 2014 Crusher trigger does not. Its movement benefit remains once per turn, moves a qualifying target 5 feet to an unoccupied space, and is limited to a creature no more than one size larger than the attacker. A critical hit that deals bludgeoning damage separately gives attack rolls against that creature advantage until the start of the attacker’s next turn.
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