2024/5.5e Pact of the Blade (dismissal of the pact blade)

Hi there,

Pact of the Blade says:

“Your bond with the weapon ends if you use this feature’s Bonus Action again…”

A conjured weapon then disappears when the bond ends.

However, the Bonus Action described earlier in the feature normally lets you either:

1. conjure a pact weapon, or
2. bond with a magic weapon you touch.

Question: Can a Warlock use that same Bonus Action simply to end the current bond and dismiss an already-conjured pact weapon, without conjuring or bonding with a replacement weapon?

I am specifically asking about a conjured pact weapon, not a physical magic weapon that has been bonded.

The reason I ask is that “the bond ends if you use this feature’s Bonus Action again” seems to establish ending the bond as a consequence of using the Bonus Action, but the feature never explicitly says whether using it solely for dismissal is permitted.

Is there an official RAW/RAI clarification on this, or would this simply fall within reasonable DM ruling?

Thanks for your insight!

Quote from bankimate >>

Hi there,

Pact of the Blade says:

“Your bond with the weapon ends if you use this feature’s Bonus Action again…”

A conjured weapon then disappears when the bond ends.

However, the Bonus Action described earlier in the feature normally lets you either:

1. conjure a pact weapon, or
2. bond with a magic weapon you touch.

Question: Can a Warlock use that same Bonus Action simply to end the current bond and dismiss an already-conjured pact weapon, without conjuring or bonding with a replacement weapon?

I am specifically asking about a conjured pact weapon, not a physical magic weapon that has been bonded.

The reason I ask is that “the bond ends if you use this feature’s Bonus Action again” seems to establish ending the bond as a consequence of using the Bonus Action, but the feature never explicitly says whether using it solely for dismissal is permitted.

Is there an official RAW/RAI clarification on this, or would this simply fall within reasonable DM ruling?

Thanks for your insight!

 As I read the feature, I see no way to use a Bonus Action to break the bond. However, the bond ends if the weapon is more than 5 feet from you, so you could just drop the weapon and walk away, breaking the bond. 

If you are asking due to a specific instance where you want to use your action and free item interaction in a turn, but you need your hand free for the item interaction (such as to Dash across the room and pull a lever), RAW I don't think there is any way to do so.

Thanks!

I’m really just looking for a more elegant way to dismiss it than casually dropping the blade in the middle of a city and waiting for it to disappear, especially before my character develops a reputation for leaving random swords lying around everywhere he goes :)

Quote from bankimate >>

Thanks!

I’m really just looking for a more elegant way to dismiss it than casually dropping the blade in the middle of a city and waiting for it to disappear, especially before my character develops a reputation for leaving random swords lying around everywhere he goes :)

Sequilonis is correct about how the rules work officially, but it is worth pointing out that in practice a lot of DMs would probably be happy to let you, as a house rule, use your bonus action to just make the weapon go away without summoning a new one. I'd certainly allow it.

Perfect, thanks guys!