Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Elothan Sep 06, 2014 10:45:43	I think I saw something about this earlier, but since the search function dont work for me, I just had to ask: If I have charather with a two handed weapon, can it hold (not wield or attack) in one hand, whil interactig with the enviroment , like pulling out a POH from a backpack, or pressing a button or whatnot ?   I assume the interaction needs a free hand, so a person with dual swords or sword and board would need to stow one, but I have problems vizualizing a char with a large axe nt beeing able to hold it in one hand while digging out something of a pouch with the other and thus needing to drop it.
#2 Noctaem Sep 06, 2014 11:57:08	Yes.  But as you noted you can't really do anything with the item until you resume holding with two hands.
#3 Elothan Sep 06, 2014 12:14:25	But on that note, could a char  using a shield and a sword hold the sword in the shield hand ?   And is there any action cost related to any of this ? I cant find anything in the rules either way.   The reason I am asking is offcource related to action economy, more spesific to how to handle weapons when grabbing something like a potion or such from a backpack.   I know there is one free interaction you can use, so if stowing your weapon, you need to use action to get the  potion,  and then on next turn you can use your action to drink it. If drop you weapon you can use the interaction to get the potion and then action to drink it, and then on next round, pick up your wapon with the interaction and fight with it normaly.   For a two handed weapon fighter, would it be considerd an interaction or a non-action, to let go of the weapon, and if so, would it be a interaction or non-action to grip it again ( and thus being able to attack with it)   Letting go seems to me that it should be a "free action", but reaserting the grip is the thing that is really puzzeling here.  If it is a non action, a THWF can basicly ignore the free hand requirements, but if seems a bit weird classifying it as severe as picking up a weapon from the ground as well.   Any thoughts ? (or textbook answer for that matter)
#4 Guest703856308 Sep 06, 2014 13:28:13	Elothan wrote:
#5 Prism Sep 06, 2014 13:35:57	Elothan wrote:
#6 Elothan Sep 06, 2014 13:45:02	I am not disagreeing on on the real life version of things, but if you could do that with the ingame abstracted actions (especially with two weapons) Why would there even be a cost to stow/draw, if you can hold them in the same hand with no/lower cost ?   If you look at the reality of it, it takes a person shorter time to draw a weapon than finding a bottle in a backpack as well. Not trying to sound rude (and sorry if I do, English is not my first language), but the abstract nature of the game does not always come out logical when compared to reality.   I think that the dex check would overly complicate things, on a fail, would you drop everything, whould the POH shatter against the floor, etc)? ( Could make for a good iIndina Jones resturant scene theme thing thou : )   I do realize now that there is no rules on this, so I guess Ill just have to talk to my players and let us work out what works best for us.
#7 Direach Sep 06, 2014 20:55:52	I've talked about this previously with some friends who do medieval battle recreations, Renaissance Festival jousting, etc. The consensus has been that once you have a shield strapped to your arm and gripped in your hand, there is very little else you can practically do with that hand. You might be able to hold something small, especially if it's flexible, but it's definitely not practical for holding something you really don't want to drop (like your sword). So, take that for what it's worth.
#8 PetardoMauriti Sep 07, 2014 14:51:26	What about the reactions? For example two handed Eldritch knight trying to cast shield when hit
#9 Kalani Sep 07, 2014 15:36:37	Direach wrote:
#10 Whir Sep 07, 2014 16:33:46	I would allow a player to move his weapon to his shield hand, even with a normal shield, to do something with his main hand -- but I might not let him do anything else with the main hand that turn, other than the action he/she took (retrieving and quaffing a potion, grabbing a wand and using it, etc). Even if it were a buckler (not appearing since playtest), I wouldn't let him/her attack on the same turn as the weapon swap slash item use slash interaction.   To qualify this, in my head, bucklers are strapped to the forarm, and can even be used by archers (though giving up the AC bonus when using a bow). Normal and heavy shields have a forearm strap AND a hand grip so that they can maneauver the shield properly and stop it from tilting due to top or bottom strikes.
#11 Kalani Sep 07, 2014 17:53:15	I agree. I never said I would let them swap the weapon back to their primary hand that turn. They only gain one free "object interaction" per round. They used said freebie to swap their weapon to their shield hand. They would need to wait until their next turn in order to use their freebie action to swap the weapon back to their primary hand... Being unable to make opportunity attacks until the start of their next turn.    Alternatively, if the PC used a bonus action in order to quaff said potion or cast a spell - they could then use the "Use an Item" action to swap the weapon back to their primary hand. If I was feeling decidedly generous - I might allow such a simple action to use their bonus action instead. Either way, it would cost them an action resource to return the weapon to their sword-hand, unless they are willing to wait until their next turn.