Personally, I think that from an image standpoint, firing your bow, then throwing it on the ground to keep your hands free for something else, then later on summoning your bow back to your hand is kind of bad ass in its own way :) I know that doesn't help any of our arguments here, but I really like the mental image it evokes.
Any player that relies on dropping weapons during combat should, at some point, have an enemy or two that picks up their weapon. If a DM described an enemy as dropping and picking up weapons while standing in one spot, you can surely bet that a PC will attempt to grab one. Enemies should do the same.
My brother suggested to me roleplaying wise, that intentionally discarding a bonded weapon should break the bond. Just like how she can't be disarmed of it, the weapon should never be intentionally relinquished. Homebrew rule, obviously.
I kinda liked the idea, but I usually prefer that players determine the lore behind class abilities. At minimum, another Eldritch Knight can come by and be a dick to her about her abusing her bonded weapon, as if it were a sentient creature which could be offended by the abuse.
I've never been a fan of how dropping weapons is handled either. While I do agree that simply dropping a weapon--or any item--should be not be considered an object interaction, I don't agree with the assumption that it simply falls without incident. Objects don't always fall straight down and land flat where they impact, and the process of dropping something in combat is haphazard. They twist from imperfect distribution of mass and external forces like air resistance. They bounce and slide from impacting the ground. If you're taking the time to carefully drop something from a state of equilibrium, you're taking an action.
A house rule I'm fond of is having the DM roll percentile dice when a player drops an item in this manner to determine what actually happens to the item. It might land in the player's square without incident, but it's more probable that options such as these will happen:
Item bounces and comes to a stop in an adjacent square
Item lands on a slope, and slides (x) squares away
Item bounces/twists while falling and hits the player dealing 1d4 damage of type appropriate for the weapon/item
The item finishes landing in the player's square
Item lands on a rock and breaks
Item becomes stuck in the ground, and requires an action to dislodge it
It could be set up as a straight roll to determine outcome. It could also be a sequence such as rolling percentiles to determine success/failure of dropping, and then rolling a d20 to determine the effect of a botched drop. I like using a botch table, and setting the success range on the percentile roll between 60-100 or 70-100.
Anything that redirects players from abusing loopholes & omissions--while still preserving the option--is good in my book.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
I've never been a fan of how dropping weapons is handled either. While I do agree that simply dropping a weapon--or any item--should be not be considered an object interaction, I don't agree with the assumption that it simply falls without incident. Objects don't always fall straight down and land flat where they impact, and the process of dropping something in combat is haphazard. They twist from imperfect distribution of mass and external forces like air resistance. They bounce and slide from impacting the ground. If you're taking the time to carefully drop something from a state of equilibrium, you're taking an action.
A house rule I'm fond of is having the DM roll percentile dice when a player drops an item in this manner to determine what actually happens to the item. It might land in the player's square without incident, but it's more probable that options such as these will happen:
Item bounces and comes to a stop in an adjacent square
Item lands on a slope, and slides (x) squares away
Item bounces/twists while falling and hits the player dealing 1d4 damage of type appropriate for the weapon/item
The item finishes landing in the player's square
Item lands on a rock and breaks
Item becomes stuck in the ground, and requires an action to dislodge it
It could be set up as a straight roll to determine outcome. It could also be a sequence such as rolling percentiles to determine success/failure of dropping, and then rolling a d20 to determine the effect of a botched drop. I like using a botch table, and setting the success range on the percentile roll between 60-100 or 70-100.
Anything that redirects players from abusing loopholes & omissions--while still preserving the option--is good in my book.
Technically speaking, the rules say nothing of what happens when you drop an item (right?), so while "it lands safely in the player character's square" is a simple, safe way of handling it, it's not the only rules-conforming way.
I like your suggestion, although I wouldn't roll every time something is dropped, necessarily, if only in the interest of streamlining gameplay. On the other hand... thinking back, I don't think we drop many things at our table. (Well, we do, but not our characters!) Worst offender was my Crossbow Expert Battle Master, who switched between heavy and hand crossbows depending on the range to the enemy (so he started with heavy crossbow, for the range, then dropped that and drew his hand crossbow when in range, for the extra attack, then switched if/when the enemy moved away, etc.). Apart from that, I'm pretty sure all the weapon switching that goes around is "throw thrown weapon, draw melee weapon". The Eldritch Knight in the group uses a polearm, so there's no need to drop/stow weapon for casting.
It's hilarious that this tactic exists. And even funnier that Sage Advice abets it. Sure, there might be a few items not negatively affected by being dropped (quarterstaff being one of them), but nobody in their right mind drops a sword or crossbow in the middle of combat unless they were okay with abandoning it altogether.
@Sigred I really like the percentile dice (or maybe a 1d20) rolled when someone drops their item intentionally. Do you know where to find the table for that? I would love to have a copy, if convenient to share.
Another way to curb this type of behavior, if its undesired, is by introducing a house rule that gives creatures the ability to use their reaction to interact with an object if it is dropped within their reach. That way, a creature can pick up a dropped weapon, or kick it out of reach, if it's dropped. That might disincentivize players from dropping weapons to mess with action economy, while not outright banning it or making it prohibitive, and also offering an extra tactical option ("Hm, maybe if I drop my weapon, they'll try to pick it up, and that way I can run away without generating an opportunity attack...").
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Personally, I think that from an image standpoint, firing your bow, then throwing it on the ground to keep your hands free for something else, then later on summoning your bow back to your hand is kind of bad ass in its own way :) I know that doesn't help any of our arguments here, but I really like the mental image it evokes.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Any player that relies on dropping weapons during combat should, at some point, have an enemy or two that picks up their weapon. If a DM described an enemy as dropping and picking up weapons while standing in one spot, you can surely bet that a PC will attempt to grab one. Enemies should do the same.
And as the GM, if you feel this is screwing up your game, change the rules. You can do that.
My brother suggested to me roleplaying wise, that intentionally discarding a bonded weapon should break the bond. Just like how she can't be disarmed of it, the weapon should never be intentionally relinquished. Homebrew rule, obviously.
I kinda liked the idea, but I usually prefer that players determine the lore behind class abilities. At minimum, another Eldritch Knight can come by and be a dick to her about her abusing her bonded weapon, as if it were a sentient creature which could be offended by the abuse.
This particular combo seems like it is trying to stretch the rules too far. I would also houserule that these shenanigans do not happen.
It is also solvable after the first time an enemy sees them do this by:
"The enemy readies an action".
Then later when they drop their weapon
"the enemy picks up your staff"
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I've never been a fan of how dropping weapons is handled either. While I do agree that simply dropping a weapon--or any item--should be not be considered an object interaction, I don't agree with the assumption that it simply falls without incident. Objects don't always fall straight down and land flat where they impact, and the process of dropping something in combat is haphazard. They twist from imperfect distribution of mass and external forces like air resistance. They bounce and slide from impacting the ground. If you're taking the time to carefully drop something from a state of equilibrium, you're taking an action.
A house rule I'm fond of is having the DM roll percentile dice when a player drops an item in this manner to determine what actually happens to the item. It might land in the player's square without incident, but it's more probable that options such as these will happen:
It could be set up as a straight roll to determine outcome. It could also be a sequence such as rolling percentiles to determine success/failure of dropping, and then rolling a d20 to determine the effect of a botched drop. I like using a botch table, and setting the success range on the percentile roll between 60-100 or 70-100.
Anything that redirects players from abusing loopholes & omissions--while still preserving the option--is good in my book.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Technically speaking, the rules say nothing of what happens when you drop an item (right?), so while "it lands safely in the player character's square" is a simple, safe way of handling it, it's not the only rules-conforming way.
I like your suggestion, although I wouldn't roll every time something is dropped, necessarily, if only in the interest of streamlining gameplay. On the other hand... thinking back, I don't think we drop many things at our table. (Well, we do, but not our characters!) Worst offender was my Crossbow Expert Battle Master, who switched between heavy and hand crossbows depending on the range to the enemy (so he started with heavy crossbow, for the range, then dropped that and drew his hand crossbow when in range, for the extra attack, then switched if/when the enemy moved away, etc.). Apart from that, I'm pretty sure all the weapon switching that goes around is "throw thrown weapon, draw melee weapon". The Eldritch Knight in the group uses a polearm, so there's no need to drop/stow weapon for casting.
Anyhoo, I like it!
It's hilarious that this tactic exists. And even funnier that Sage Advice abets it. Sure, there might be a few items not negatively affected by being dropped (quarterstaff being one of them), but nobody in their right mind drops a sword or crossbow in the middle of combat unless they were okay with abandoning it altogether.
@Sigred I really like the percentile dice (or maybe a 1d20) rolled when someone drops their item intentionally. Do you know where to find the table for that? I would love to have a copy, if convenient to share.
Another way to curb this type of behavior, if its undesired, is by introducing a house rule that gives creatures the ability to use their reaction to interact with an object if it is dropped within their reach. That way, a creature can pick up a dropped weapon, or kick it out of reach, if it's dropped. That might disincentivize players from dropping weapons to mess with action economy, while not outright banning it or making it prohibitive, and also offering an extra tactical option ("Hm, maybe if I drop my weapon, they'll try to pick it up, and that way I can run away without generating an opportunity attack...").