Despite the title I am not asking if you can hold a shield and keep firing a X-box, because this I already know it can't be done.
So my questions is: Starting with a Shield and a H.X.Bow -> Can I drop the Shield as a Free Action, attack with my action and with my bonus action (X.Bow expert) and after that use my Interaction with objetivo to get my shield back again? I mean, the semantics change but in essence this is basically the same of using H.X.Bow and Shield. (ok, in this case you can't move between attacks, but this is so small when you are using a Range Weapon). And been honest, if this work, maybe it's even "easier" to accept Shield + HXBow than listing to a player doing this routine time after time.
Shields aren't held, despite what the book says. They're donned/doffed, just like other armor. PHB, the Armor and Shields section, says it takes one action to either don or doff a shield. So no, you can't space-juggle your shield to get your free attacks with a hand crossbow every turn. The Repeating Shot infusion, theoretically, depending on how one interprets it, is what you need for a Glockbow.
What is this Free Action you are talking about anyway? From chapter 9 of PHB:
You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.
If you want to interact with a second object, you need to use your action. Some magic items and other special objects always require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions.
This is closest to "free action" I found and it describes what is generally known as a Interaction
What is this Free Action you are talking about anyway? From chapter 9 of PHB:
You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.
If you want to interact with a second object, you need to use your action. Some magic items and other special objects always require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions.
This is closest to "free action" I found and it describes what is generally known as a Interaction
Dropping an item simply held in hand is not considered “interacting” with an item, and therefore a character can theoretically drop an infinite number of things on their turn without impacting what all else they could do in their turn. Picking an object up however does constitute interacting with an object, so it would require ether the use of what is sometimes referred to as the character’s “one free item interaction per turn,” or their Action.
Shields aren't held, despite what the book says. They're donned/doffed, just like other armor. PHB, the Armor and Shields section, says it takes one action to either don or doff a shield. So no, you can't space-juggle your shield to get your free attacks with a hand crossbow every turn. The Repeating Shot infusion, theoretically, depending on how one interprets it, is what you need for a Glockbow.
Good Point.
Would that work with a melle weapon like Rapier? Keeping your range capacity at "max" and gain the chance of dealing attack of opportunity? It's not as good as having a shield, but... I f this work, it's probably better than stay with an empty hand.
Yes, theoretically it would work with a weapon, but keep in mind that if you move (or are moved) after dropping it, then you would have to move back before you could pick it back up.
Yes, theoretically it would work with a weapon, but keep in mind that if you move (or are moved) after dropping it, then you would have to move back before you could pick it back up.
I see... So basically you can move "before" or "after" the routine, but no during (unless you go back). I think it shouldn't be a problem, for a character with a Range Weapon.
Interestingly you don't have to drop the shield as the hand crossbow is only a single handed weapon as it doesn't have the 'Two-handed' property. Thus you are indeed able to use it with a shield, as weird as that may seem.
You mean, X-bow, not X-box right? I was trying to figure out what VR or haptic feedback rig you're running that would necessitate a shield against lethal or otherwise injurious CP 2077 glitches.
But more importantly, shields simply aren't governed by the object interaction or dropping rules. This is in the PHB (shield line bolded by me):
Getting Into and Out of Armor
The time it takes to don or doff a type of armor or a shield is shown in the Donning and Doffing Armor table.
Don. This is the time it takes to put on the item. You benefit from it's AC only if you take the full time to don it.
Doff. This is the time it takes to take off the item. If you have help removing armor, reduce this time by half.
Category
Don
Doff
Light Armor
1 minute
1 minute
Medium Armor
5 minutes
1 minute
Heavy Armor
10 minutes
5 minutes
Shield
1 action
1 action
So no, RAW you cannot just drop a shield as a free action (as doffing is an action) nor can you "pick your shield up" in a way that would restore you AC as an object interaction (as donning is an action).
Yes, theoretically it would work with a weapon, but keep in mind that if you move (or are moved) after dropping it, then you would have to move back before you could pick it back up.
I see... So basically you can move "before" or "after" the routine, but no during (unless you go back). I think it shouldn't be a problem, for a character with a Range Weapon.
While technically legal RAW, its so cheap and cheeseball that it kinda wanks. I mean, c’mon... really.... Honestly, if I were the DM and this was the kindof shenanigans players were trying to get up to, either we would need a serious talk or one of us soon would be looking for a different table.
You could always make your opportunity attacks without the shenanigans anyway, either by making an Unarmed Strike, or by using your hand crossbow as an improvised weapon. Either one would be both RAW legal, and in the spirit of the game. It wouldn’t even be hard to make either of those options at least as good as a dagger either.
Interestingly you don't have to drop the shield as the hand crossbow is only a single handed weapon as it doesn't have the 'Two-handed' property. Thus you are indeed able to use it with a shield, as weird as that may seem.
A crossbow, hand has the ammunition property which necessitates a free hand to load the weapon. And since loading the weapon is considered part of the act of firing a weapon, that means you could fire once as long as the weapon was pre-loaded, and that’s all she wrote.
Yes, theoretically it would work with a weapon, but keep in mind that if you move (or are moved) after dropping it, then you would have to move back before you could pick it back up.
I see... So basically you can move "before" or "after" the routine, but no during (unless you go back). I think it shouldn't be a problem, for a character with a Range Weapon.
While technically legal RAW, its so cheap and cheeseball that it kinda wanks. I mean, c’mon... really.... Honestly, if I were the DM and this was the kindof shenanigans players were trying to get up to, either we would need a serious talk or one of us soon would be looking for a different table.
You could always make your opportunity attacks without the shenanigans anyway, either by making an Unarmed Strike, or by using your hand crossbow as an improvised weapon. Either one would be both RAW legal, and in the spirit of the game. It wouldn’t even be hard to make either of those options at least as good as a dagger either.
Hmm, thanks for the links. So apparently according to J. Crawford (which seems to be the only RAWish source), it is indeed free. However as was pointed in some of the links and by existence of this thread it leads to some pretty silly loopholes (like "emulating" part of the war caster feat).
Yes, theoretically it would work with a weapon, but keep in mind that if you move (or are moved) after dropping it, then you would have to move back before you could pick it back up.
I see... So basically you can move "before" or "after" the routine, but no during (unless you go back). I think it shouldn't be a problem, for a character with a Range Weapon.
While technically legal RAW, its so cheap and cheeseball that it kinda wanks. I mean, c’mon... really.... Honestly, if I were the DM and this was the kindof shenanigans players were trying to get up to, either we would need a serious talk or one of us soon would be looking for a different table.
You could always make your opportunity attacks without the shenanigans anyway, either by making an Unarmed Strike, or by using your hand crossbow as an improvised weapon. Either one would be both RAW legal, and in the spirit of the game. It wouldn’t even be hard to make either of those options at least as good as a dagger either.
Good as a Dagger, How so?
Well, if you are a Tabaxi, your unarmed strikes are already 1d4+Str Slashing and you’re automatically proficient with them.
A 1 level dip into Monk makes your unarmed strikes 1d4+Str/Dex and you’re proficient.
If you take the Tavern Brawler feat you become proficient with Improvised Weapons. If are using a Hand Crossbow +1, whenever you attack with the crossbow as an improvised melee weapon it would still get the benefits of the +1.
But honestly, the crossbow expert feat removes disadvantage for ranged attacks if you have an enemy within 5 feet. As a DM, I would be more inclined to houserule that character the ability to use their hand crossbow to make a ranged attack as an opportunity attack than o would ever be inclined to allow that incessant sword dropping nonsense.
Even if you were to drop the shield on the ground as a free action, a shield is usually round (no tower shield in D&D?), so it might well roll away from out of your reach by the time you want to pick it up again :)
Anyone in my game who is planning their build around dropping things to get around the action cost of stowing just might find themselves in the following situations:
fighting in shallow water with a strong current
fighting in a spooky graveyard with waist-high, vision-blocking mist
fighting on an incline
fighting grabby little monsters who would love a free rapier
fighting on a rickety rope bridge with gaps between the steps
And so on and so forth. I'm totally fine letting someone drop their blade for a bow if they're caught with nothing to do, but if you plan to do this stuff as a rule? I'm going to make it cost something. Maybe not every fight, but it will come up.
If your shield is worn strapped to your arm there is really no reason why you couldn’t use that hand to load the crossbow bolt. Yes I know that’s not RAW. But it makes sense.
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Despite the title I am not asking if you can hold a shield and keep firing a X-box, because this I already know it can't be done.
So my questions is:
Starting with a Shield and a H.X.Bow -> Can I drop the Shield as a Free Action, attack with my action and with my bonus action (X.Bow expert) and after that use my Interaction with objetivo to get my shield back again?
I mean, the semantics change but in essence this is basically the same of using H.X.Bow and Shield. (ok, in this case you can't move between attacks, but this is so small when you are using a Range Weapon). And been honest, if this work, maybe it's even "easier" to accept Shield + HXBow than listing to a player doing this routine time after time.
So, can this be done or I am missing something?
Thanks for your time and answer guys!
Shields aren't held, despite what the book says. They're donned/doffed, just like other armor. PHB, the Armor and Shields section, says it takes one action to either don or doff a shield. So no, you can't space-juggle your shield to get your free attacks with a hand crossbow every turn. The Repeating Shot infusion, theoretically, depending on how one interprets it, is what you need for a Glockbow.
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What is this Free Action you are talking about anyway? From chapter 9 of PHB:
This is closest to "free action" I found and it describes what is generally known as a Interaction
Dropping an item simply held in hand is not considered “interacting” with an item, and therefore a character can theoretically drop an infinite number of things on their turn without impacting what all else they could do in their turn. Picking an object up however does constitute interacting with an object, so it would require ether the use of what is sometimes referred to as the character’s “one free item interaction per turn,” or their Action.
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Can you quote the source for this?
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/rules-game-mechanics/6288-is-dropping-an-item-actionless
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/4dlegv/does_dropping_a_weapon_count_as_an_interaction_5e/
https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/70237/is-dropping-a-weapon-free-in-terms-of-action-cost
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Good Point.
Would that work with a melle weapon like Rapier? Keeping your range capacity at "max" and gain the chance of dealing attack of opportunity?
It's not as good as having a shield, but... I f this work, it's probably better than stay with an empty hand.
Yes, theoretically it would work with a weapon, but keep in mind that if you move (or are moved) after dropping it, then you would have to move back before you could pick it back up.
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I see... So basically you can move "before" or "after" the routine, but no during (unless you go back). I think it shouldn't be a problem, for a character with a Range Weapon.
Interestingly you don't have to drop the shield as the hand crossbow is only a single handed weapon as it doesn't have the 'Two-handed' property.
Thus you are indeed able to use it with a shield, as weird as that may seem.
- Loswaith
You mean, X-bow, not X-box right? I was trying to figure out what VR or haptic feedback rig you're running that would necessitate a shield against lethal or otherwise injurious CP 2077 glitches.
But more importantly, shields simply aren't governed by the object interaction or dropping rules. This is in the PHB (shield line bolded by me):
So no, RAW you cannot just drop a shield as a free action (as doffing is an action) nor can you "pick your shield up" in a way that would restore you AC as an object interaction (as donning is an action).
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
While technically legal RAW, its so cheap and cheeseball that it kinda wanks. I mean, c’mon... really.... Honestly, if I were the DM and this was the kindof shenanigans players were trying to get up to, either we would need a serious talk or one of us soon would be looking for a different table.
You could always make your opportunity attacks without the shenanigans anyway, either by making an Unarmed Strike, or by using your hand crossbow as an improvised weapon. Either one would be both RAW legal, and in the spirit of the game. It wouldn’t even be hard to make either of those options at least as good as a dagger either.
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A crossbow, hand has the ammunition property which necessitates a free hand to load the weapon. And since loading the weapon is considered part of the act of firing a weapon, that means you could fire once as long as the weapon was pre-loaded, and that’s all she wrote.
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Good as a Dagger, How so?
Hmm, thanks for the links. So apparently according to J. Crawford (which seems to be the only RAWish source), it is indeed free. However as was pointed in some of the links and by existence of this thread it leads to some pretty silly loopholes (like "emulating" part of the war caster feat).
Well, if you are a Tabaxi, your unarmed strikes are already 1d4+Str Slashing and you’re automatically proficient with them.
A 1 level dip into Monk makes your unarmed strikes 1d4+Str/Dex and you’re proficient.
If you take the Tavern Brawler feat you become proficient with Improvised Weapons. If are using a Hand Crossbow +1, whenever you attack with the crossbow as an improvised melee weapon it would still get the benefits of the +1.
But honestly, the crossbow expert feat removes disadvantage for ranged attacks if you have an enemy within 5 feet. As a DM, I would be more inclined to houserule that character the ability to use their hand crossbow to make a ranged attack as an opportunity attack than o would ever be inclined to allow that incessant sword dropping nonsense.
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Even if you were to drop the shield on the ground as a free action, a shield is usually round (no tower shield in D&D?), so it might well roll away from out of your reach by the time you want to pick it up again :)
Anyone in my game who is planning their build around dropping things to get around the action cost of stowing just might find themselves in the following situations:
And so on and so forth. I'm totally fine letting someone drop their blade for a bow if they're caught with nothing to do, but if you plan to do this stuff as a rule? I'm going to make it cost something. Maybe not every fight, but it will come up.
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In my game, if you want to pick your weapon up off the ground ti will cost you your action.
Why? Because if it doesn't, it makes disarming meaningless.
So you can go ahead and drop whatever you want, but if you want it back, spend your action.
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If your shield is worn strapped to your arm there is really no reason why you couldn’t use that hand to load the crossbow bolt. Yes I know that’s not RAW. But it makes sense.