Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Azedenkae Mar 04, 2015 20:59:32	Say I have a Mage Hand floating about.   And let's say I have a crossbow in one hand.   And let's say I don't want to/can't use my other hand to reload for whatever reason.   Can I use the Mage Hand to reload the crossbow for me? XD   Whilst we are on that topic, can the Mage Hand do somatic gestures for me?
#2 Archon007 Mar 04, 2015 21:24:28	By RAW it takes your action to make the Mage hand do anything so if you give up your action to reload yes. As far as somatic I'd say no again because it takes an action to cast a spell and an action to make the Mage hand do something and you only have 1 action per round.
(Reply to #2) Azedenkae	Archon007 wrote:
#4 Azedenkae Mar 04, 2015 21:56:34	Actually whilst we are on this topic, iirc a longbow, say, requires two hands to use, but only one hand to hold onto it right?
(Reply to #4) FrogReaver	Azedenkae wrote:
(Reply to #5) Azedenkae	FrogReaver wrote:
#7 pudd Mar 05, 2015 1:13:08	I believe Arcane Tricksters can control their mage hand with a bonus action.
(Reply to #4) Macv12	Azedenkae wrote:
#9 Noctaem Mar 05, 2015 6:45:56	Macv12 wrote:
#10 Kalani Mar 05, 2015 7:07:00	Hold up a sec Noctaem, I'll get it (I saw something to that effect over on Sage advice).   Hmm.... that particular post is not searchable by the keywords I was using (but I do recall seeing it). I do recall the gist of what it said though - something to the effect of:   Long/shortbows are two-handed because it requires two hands to use the weapon (one to hold, one to knock the arrow). You can hold them in one hand fine, but you cannot attack with it if you have something in your other hand. Maybe it wasn't uploaded to the Sage Advice, and someone had just reposted one of Jeremy's twitter responses.
#11 Macv12 Mar 05, 2015 15:31:25	https://mobile.twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/516978109342445569   Not a Sage Advice, but confirmation that the "requires two hands to use" language is meaningful and intended.   EDIT: I just noticed that address contains the word "mobile," so it may only work on phones or whatever. Sue me, it's early. Anyway, the quote: Yeah, I would allow it too. A two-handed weapon needs two hands to be used, but not necessarily two to be carried.
#12 Coredump00 Mar 05, 2015 15:40:32	Plus, Crawford has also said you need a 'free hand' to reload crossbows, which means you can hold the crossbow in one hand, while the 'free' one reloads. If it is free to reload, it is free to do other things also.   Besides, the reason the designers used items we know, is because we... know them.  Everyone knows you can hold a bow in just one hand.
#13 Azedenkae Mar 06, 2015 11:57:44	Good enough for me. That's my line of thought as well. But of course as always sometimes a game has weird counterintuitive rules. >.> Possibly.
#14 lkwpeter Mar 24, 2015 3:55:22	Regarding Mage Hand and stowing objects the RAW say: "You can stow up one object the Mage Hand is holding in a container worn or carried by another creature."   As it is possible for *another* person, is it also possible on my *own* person? I know it is not said by the rules, but wouldn't it be logical, because it costs less afford to achieve the task on my own person? Thinking of hiding a dagger or my Thieve's Tools due an inspectation for example...   Peter
#15 Veleria Mar 24, 2015 11:58:33	Just a side note. You can hold anything in one hand if you are capable of carrying it.  Two handed sword? No problem. Grappling a person? No problem. The only time the game specifies you need 2 hands for anything is when you use something, see two handed sword again.
#16 lkwpeter Mar 25, 2015 2:36:04	Thanks fpr you answer. Maybe I got this wrong due to langueage problems. I thought this means: "You can hide something that is carried by the Mage Hand."   Does the item that the invisible mage hand holds also become invisible?   Peter
#17 Yag007 Mar 25, 2015 15:00:55	is there a ruling that you can't issue a continuous command to your mage hand? Im AFB, but could you not command it to "reload my xbox when I fire a bolt, continue to do this until I give you a new command"
(Reply to #17) transcendantviewer	Yag007 wrote: