Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Does the Equipping/Unequipping Weapons rule apply to Improvised Weapons? I guess there are two parts to this question:
1) Can I equip/unequip an improvised weapon if I am already carrying the thing I want to use?
2) Can I pick-up, break off a table leg, or otherwise make/get an improvised weapon as part of the attack?
Equipping and Unequipping Weapons. You can either equip or unequip one weapon when you make an attack as part of this action. You do so either before or after the attack. If you equip a weapon before an attack, you don’t need to use it for that attack. Equipping a weapon includes drawing it from a sheath or picking it up. Unequipping a weapon includes sheathing, stowing, or dropping it.
Improvised Weapons
An improvised weapon is an object wielded as a makeshift weapon, such as broken glass, a table leg, or a frying pan. A Simple or Martial weapon also counts as an improvised weapon if it's wielded in a way contrary to its design; if you use a Ranged weapon to make a melee attack or throw a Melee weapon that lacks the Thrown property, the weapon counts as an improvised weapon. An improvised weapon follows the rules below.
Weapon Equivalents. If an improvised weapon resembles a Simple or Martial weapon, the DM may say it functions as that weapon and uses that weapon's rules. For example, the DM could treat a table leg as a Club.
I would say it depends on what you are trying to use as a weapon. Improvised weapons are so varied in their nature (since they could literally be anything you can pick up), that I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all answer to these questions.
Could you equip a weapon you see near you that just requires picking up? Should be doable.
Can you rip a door off of a wardrobe then use it to bludgeon someone in the same turn? Probably not.
Ultimately, it will be a call for your DM to make based on the situation.
An Improvised Weapons being an object that you use as makeshift weapon, how i interpret it, you could equip or unequip such object only if attacking with it before or after. Otherwise manipulating it in other circumstances require the Free Item Interaction like any object as you're not using it to attack.
I was thinking more like if you had a frying pan hanging on the outside or your backpack or if you wanted to attack someone by hitting them with your backpack.
That seems like a reasonable way to limit abuse although it is not RAW since the equipping / unequipping rules say you do NOT need to attack with the weapon. Also an object becomes a makeshift weapon just by wielding / holding it in such a way: "improvised weapon is an object wielded as a makeshift weapon".
You can equip/unequip a staff as part of a normal attack without any interpretation (since the staff is a weapon). It only takes a small tweak using a Heavy Rod from Quickstone to equip/unequip a Rod as a club within a normal attack.
Certain other items are wielded in a very different way if being used as a weapon vs. being used as intended (e.g., you would likely hold a shield with both hands to bash someone with it rather than strapping it to your arm to use for defense - shields are probably a bad example since there are specific equipping rules for them).
Other items are more ambiguous and represent the slippery slope - like preparing to maybe stab someone in the eye with a wand might / could involve holding it the same way as you would when casting a spell with it.
That seems perfectly fine by RAW.
If you equip a weapon before an attack, you don’t need to use it for that attack.
RAW a Weapon is an object that is in the Simple or Martial weapon category while an Improvised Weapons is an object wielded as a makeshift weapon. So by strict RAW a frying pan is never a weapon by definition you may equip or unequip it as part of the Attack action but i don't go that literally and allow a character to equip a frying pan before attacking with it.
But i wouldn't allow a character bypassing the Free Item Interaction by manipulating all kinds of objects during the the Attack action without even attacking with them simply by pretending they wield them as makeshift weapon be merely holding them. You're more than free to disagree with my interpretation.
To elaborate a little further on this, the Equipment section refers to Improvised Weapons as object you don't just hold but use as weapon, which to me means attacking with the frying pan, differentiating with when its instead used to cook for example. Otherwise every object you manipulate with would be a makeshift weapon at all time. A specific context make them so and this where i interpret it to mean attacking with object.
The rest of the text under improvised weapon does refer to it as a weapon so I do think the object becomes classified as a weapon, at least while being wielded as such.
Improvised Weapons (Rules Glossary)
An improvised weapon is an object wielded as a makeshift weapon, such as broken glass, a table leg, or a frying pan. A Simple or Martial weapon also counts as an improvised weapon if it's wielded in a way contrary to its design; if you use a Ranged weapon to make a melee attack or throw a Melee weapon that lacks the Thrown property, the weapon counts as an improvised weapon. An improvised weapon follows the rules below.
Proficiency. Don't add your Proficiency Bonus to attack rolls with an improvised weapon.
Damage. On a hit, the weapon deals 1d4 damage of a type the DM thinks is appropriate for the object.
Range. If you throw the weapon, it has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
Weapon Equivalents. If an improvised weapon resembles a Simple or Martial weapon, the DM may say it functions as that weapon and uses that weapon's rules. For example, the DM could treat a table leg as a Club.