This is loosely mentioned in the Dual Wielder feat, but what type of Action is involved in drawing or swapping weapons? Dual Wield states that 2 can be drawn as part of a Bonus Action, but does that imply that a single weapon is drawn as a Bonus Action without the feat? For the life of me, I can't find it anywhere.
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Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
You can draw/stow one weapon as a free action normally. If you were to draw/stow a second weapon it would fall under the Use Object Action.
With the Dual Wielding feat it allows you to draw/stow 2 weapons, making a third weapon fall under the Use Object Action.
Page 165 PHB: Dual Wielder: You can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one.
Page 190 PHB: Here are a few examples of the sorts of thing you can do in tandem with your movement and action: • draw or sheathe a sword
Page 193 PHB: Use an Object You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of an attack. W hen an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action. This action is also useful w hen you want to interact with more than one object on your turn.
So the drawing/sheathing motion is essentially a free action in conjunction with a Move or Attack Action, right? However, taking the motion with more than 1 or doing both opposing motions in the same turn would consitute a full Use Object Action (steathing a bow & drawing a sword, or drawing two weapons for two-weapon fighting).
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
That's my understanding, yes. I do give a little grace in that it's possible to pull out your bow, change your mind, drop the bow and draw your sword. The trick here is now your bow is on the ground, not stowed, which would require a Use Object to pick up if you wanted to get it back, or an NPC/Monster/Player could snatch it away.
Gotcha, I've been in a similar predicament with a ship-to-ship battle. With a bow, shield, and sword to start: carried bow and shield and took cover until enemy attacked, dropped shield and fired bow, then dropped bow and picked up shield and drew sword (basically just a quick-swap of shield and bow), proceeded through melee until enemy boarders were dead, sheathed sword and dropped shield, picked up and threw a dead boarder's axe, then slung the shield and leaped across the gap to grab the enemy side-rigging and start climbing to board their ship.
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Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
I'm not sure what inspiration struck me, but I impressed out DM by finding a way: Draw an arrow and hold it with the bow hand while defending with the shield. An Attack with the bow was Readied, so the shield would just be dropped on the ground (free action), and the arrow could realistically be fired immediately because it's already held to the bow.
As for the Action needed to Don or Doff a shield, that's a tricky bit of detail that 5e tries to over-simplify and I simply leave to player imagination when it first comes up. Historically, shields could have, regardless of size, an off-set handle and arm strap, or a central handle. As a player, I was told dropping a shield was more than a free action because I described my shield as the first - off-set handle, strapped to arm. I agreed with this because you would want a firm hold to the forearm for stability, so removal is a process. For the center-handled variety (as I used in the bow-and-shield combo), dropping is a very simple matter, but stowing it to be carried would mean utilizing an attached strap for carrying on the back.
To simplify the above regarding the Action needed to don and doff a shield, dropping should be a Bonus Action if the player describes it as being strapped to the arm, but a Free Action if not. If they want to stash it to be carried and drawn later, then absolutely a full Action is needed.
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Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Yeah, I mean, if it works in your game then neato, but to be clear those are not the rules. If at the start of a turn you are wielding a shield and benefiting from its +2 AC bonus, then two things are true: that shield is fully occupying one hand, and it takes a full action to doff that shield and free up the hand (whether the shield is stowed or dropped is of no consequence). Generally that will always mean that to go from shield to not-shield (or vice versa) in combat will waste almost an entire turn. That is a price to be paid, and it is not something that has any official shortcuts.
This is loosely mentioned in the Dual Wielder feat, but what type of Action is involved in drawing or swapping weapons? Dual Wield states that 2 can be drawn as part of a Bonus Action, but does that imply that a single weapon is drawn as a Bonus Action without the feat? For the life of me, I can't find it anywhere.
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
As I understand it:
You can draw/stow one weapon as a free action normally. If you were to draw/stow a second weapon it would fall under the Use Object Action.
With the Dual Wielding feat it allows you to draw/stow 2 weapons, making a third weapon fall under the Use Object Action.
Page 165 PHB: Dual Wielder: You can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one.
Page 190 PHB: Here are a few examples of the sorts of thing you can do in tandem with your movement and action:
• draw or sheathe a sword
Page 193 PHB: Use an Object
You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of an attack. W hen an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action. This action is also useful w hen you want to interact with more than one object on your turn.
So the drawing/sheathing motion is essentially a free action in conjunction with a Move or Attack Action, right? However, taking the motion with more than 1 or doing both opposing motions in the same turn would consitute a full Use Object Action (steathing a bow & drawing a sword, or drawing two weapons for two-weapon fighting).
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
That's my understanding, yes. I do give a little grace in that it's possible to pull out your bow, change your mind, drop the bow and draw your sword. The trick here is now your bow is on the ground, not stowed, which would require a Use Object to pick up if you wanted to get it back, or an NPC/Monster/Player could snatch it away.
Gotcha, I've been in a similar predicament with a ship-to-ship battle. With a bow, shield, and sword to start: carried bow and shield and took cover until enemy attacked, dropped shield and fired bow, then dropped bow and picked up shield and drew sword (basically just a quick-swap of shield and bow), proceeded through melee until enemy boarders were dead, sheathed sword and dropped shield, picked up and threw a dead boarder's axe, then slung the shield and leaped across the gap to grab the enemy side-rigging and start climbing to board their ship.
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Keep in mind donning and doffing a shield requires an action. Bows and shields don't mix well mid-combat.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
I'm not sure what inspiration struck me, but I impressed out DM by finding a way: Draw an arrow and hold it with the bow hand while defending with the shield. An Attack with the bow was Readied, so the shield would just be dropped on the ground (free action), and the arrow could realistically be fired immediately because it's already held to the bow.
As for the Action needed to Don or Doff a shield, that's a tricky bit of detail that 5e tries to over-simplify and I simply leave to player imagination when it first comes up. Historically, shields could have, regardless of size, an off-set handle and arm strap, or a central handle. As a player, I was told dropping a shield was more than a free action because I described my shield as the first - off-set handle, strapped to arm. I agreed with this because you would want a firm hold to the forearm for stability, so removal is a process. For the center-handled variety (as I used in the bow-and-shield combo), dropping is a very simple matter, but stowing it to be carried would mean utilizing an attached strap for carrying on the back.
To simplify the above regarding the Action needed to don and doff a shield, dropping should be a Bonus Action if the player describes it as being strapped to the arm, but a Free Action if not. If they want to stash it to be carried and drawn later, then absolutely a full Action is needed.
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
I don't think that would fly at my table, but props for your creativity and if everyone is cool with it, then you have indeed solved the problem.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Yeah, I mean, if it works in your game then neato, but to be clear those are not the rules. If at the start of a turn you are wielding a shield and benefiting from its +2 AC bonus, then two things are true: that shield is fully occupying one hand, and it takes a full action to doff that shield and free up the hand (whether the shield is stowed or dropped is of no consequence). Generally that will always mean that to go from shield to not-shield (or vice versa) in combat will waste almost an entire turn. That is a price to be paid, and it is not something that has any official shortcuts.
For specifics on why shield/bow combos don't work that way, see this link:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/equipment#GettingIntoandOutofArmor