PHB Ch1 Combat - Your Turn - Interacting with Things
I have a player who claims that because the rule states you can draw a sword with this, it means the equip or unequip as part of an Attack action consumes the free object interaction. In other words, the one object interaction for free text is sort of globally limiting object interactions unless you use the Utilize action.
Per 2024 RAW, you can draw a weapon either before or after each attack you make as part of the attack action, plus your free object interaction.
That is not an accurate interpretation of the rules as written. You have added words that change the meaning, and you have chosen to ignore the very specific rules for "Time-Limited Object Interactions." What you are referring to is the Rules Glossary entry for the Attack action. It reads:
Attack [Action]
When you take the Attack action, you can make one attack roll with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike.
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.
Moving between Attacks. If you move on your turn and have a feature, such as Extra Attack, that gives you more than one attack as part of the Attack action, you can use some or all of that movement to move between those attacks.
The "Moving between Attacks" section does not grant you extra movement. It just clarifies that you can split your movement up before, after, and between each of your attacks. Similarly, the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" section does not grant you extra object interactions. It just clarifies that, if you haven't already used your one free object interaction, that you may use it to either equip or unequip one weapon during the Attack action. If you have already used your one free object interaction, than you may not even do that. You definitely cannot equip or unequip a different weapon with each attack or even equip and unequip the same weapon if you have multiple attacks.
Any such interpretation would essentially make the "Quick Draw" feature of the Dual Wielder feat virtually meaningless. It would also greatly diminish the value of the Fast Hands feature of the Thief subclass of Rogues.
More importantly, it would violate the intent of the object interaction rules which very clearly state:
Time-Limited Object Interactions
When time is short, such as in combat, interactions with objects are limited: one free interaction per turn. That interaction must occur during a creature’s movement or action. Any additional interactions require the Utilize action, as explained in “Combat” later in this chapter.
You added the word "each" and you claimed that this is in addition to your free object interaction. Neither of those is in the RAW, and neither is justified based on the RAW. It does not say that these weapon interactions are in addition to your one free object interaction. Yet, the above quote from "Time-Limited Object Interactions" clearly states that any additional interactions require the Utilize action." That would indicate that, unless this requirement for the Utilize action is somehow overridden with explicit language making clear that additional interactions are being granted, that no such interactions are allowed.
The "Equioping and Unequipping Weapons" section of Attack action Rules Glossary entry should be rewritten as follows to clarify:
Equipping and Unequipping Weapons. You can either equip or unequip one weapon when you make an attack as part of this action, provided you have not already used your free object interaction for another purpose [emphasis mine]. You may 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.
As another example of why my interpretation above is the correct one, let's look at another Rules Glossary term. Specifically, let's look at "Hit Points".
Hit Points
Hit Points (HP) are a measure of how difficult it is to kill or destroy a creature or an object. Damage reduces Hit Points, and healing restores them. You can’t have more Hit Points than your Hit Point maximum, and you can’t have less than 0. See also “Breaking Objects” and chapter 1 (“Damage and Healing”).
The above says: "Damage reduces Hit Points, and healing restores them."
I could easily say by adding a few words or generously interpreting the above, that "and any healing restores all of them". That is synonymous with "and healing restores them." But, given the rest of the rules in the game, that would be an absurd interpretation. It would make anything greater than a single goodberry a total waste of resources.
But, my generous interpretation of that phrase quite obviously does not override the very explicit rules elsewhere that specify exactly how many hit points are restored by various methods of healing. So why would anyone's generous interpretation of the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" phrasing be considered sufficient to override the very specific rules of "Time-Limited Object Interactions" and the "Quick Draw" feature of the "Dual Wielder" feat? In short, it wouldn't.
The entire purpose of the Rules Glossary was to provide ready access to the most frequently asked information about a specific topic in one place. By doing so, they thought they were making this easier. However, in this case, they just introduced unnecessary confusion.
PHB Ch1 Combat - Your Turn - Interacting with Things
I have a player who claims that because the rule states you can draw a sword with this, it means the equip or unequip as part of an Attack action consumes the free object interaction. In other words, the one object interaction for free text is sort of globally limiting object interactions unless you use the Utilize action.
I say he's wrong according to RAW.
Please help settle the dispute.
TBH, it shouldn't matter what random people on the internet say. It's your game and your table, so you as the DM are there to interpret the rules. If the player has designed their character around a particular assumption about how the rules will be interpreted you should offer them a chance to rebuild and redesign their character given their new understanding of how the rules will be interpreted. But also be sure you are interpreting the rules in that way for a reason other than "I don't like how that player's character is acting in combat".
Per 2024 RAW, you can draw a weapon either before or after each attack you make as part of the attack action, plus your free object interaction.
That is not an accurate interpretation of the rules as written. You have added words that change the meaning, and you have chosen to ignore the very specific rules for "Time-Limited Object Interactions." What you are referring to is the Rules Glossary entry for the Attack action. It reads:
Attack [Action]
When you take the Attack action, you can make one attack roll with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike.
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.
Moving between Attacks. If you move on your turn and have a feature, such as Extra Attack, that gives you more than one attack as part of the Attack action, you can use some or all of that movement to move between those attacks.
The "Moving between Attacks" section does not grant you extra movement. It just clarifies that you can split your movement up before, after, and between each of your attacks. Similarly, the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" section does not grant you extra object interactions. It just clarifies that, if you haven't already used your one free object interaction, that you may use it to either equip or unequip one weapon during the Attack action. If you have already used your one free object interaction, than you may not even do that. You definitely cannot equip or unequip a different weapon with each attack or even equip and unequip the same weapon if you have multiple attacks.
Any such interpretation would essentially make the "Quick Draw" feature of the Dual Wielder feat virtually meaningless. It would also greatly diminish the value of the Fast Hands feature of the Thief subclass of Rogues.
More importantly, it would violate the intent of the object interaction rules which very clearly state:
Time-Limited Object Interactions
When time is short, such as in combat, interactions with objects are limited: one free interaction per turn. That interaction must occur during a creature’s movement or action. Any additional interactions require the Utilize action, as explained in “Combat” later in this chapter.
You added the word "each" and you claimed that this is in addition to your free object interaction. Neither of those is in the RAW, and neither is justified based on the RAW. It does not say that these weapon interactions are in addition to your one free object interaction. Yet, the above quote from "Time-Limited Object Interactions" clearly states that any additional interactions require the Utilize action." That would indicate that, unless this requirement for the Utilize action is somehow overridden with explicit language making clear that additional interactions are being granted, that no such interactions are allowed.
The "Equioping and Unequipping Weapons" section of Attack action Rules Glossary entry should be rewritten as follows to clarify:
Equipping and Unequipping Weapons. You can either equip or unequip one weapon when you make an attack as part of this action, provided you have not already used your free object interaction for another purpose [emphasis mine]. You may 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.
The Utilize action literally says that drawing a weapon is part of the attack action so doesn't use the Utilize action.
So No, the player is not correct; the free object interaction is not meant to be limiting the attack action equip/unequip. The free object interaction is for when you need to grap a weapon from the floor; or when you need to open a door etc.
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Per 2024 RAW, you can draw a weapon either before or after each attack you make as part of the attack action, plus your free object interaction.
I agree.
I think the "Time-Limited Object Interactions" rule is in addition to "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons", with this equip/unequip happening once per attack.
There are more, but two recent threads about this topic are:
EDIT: to me, this example from the PHB suggests that this is possible:
Russell: I drop my sword and pull out my warhammer [...]
Vulnerability. An attack that deals bludgeoning damage is deadly to skeletons. Shreeve knows this from past experience, which is why she drops her sword and switches to a Bludgeoning weapon. [...]
If it was intended that every instance of drawing or stowing a weapon used up your one free object interaction, then there would be no reason at all for the authors to even bother writing the entire section called "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons". When using the "Interacting with Things" rule, you are allowed to interact with an object or feature of the environment for free during either your move or action. This timeframe includes every possible timeframe that applies to the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" rule since that rule can only be used either before or after an attack that occurs during an Attack action. Every possible timeframe that occurs during an Attack action is encompassed within the timeframe of "during either your move or action", so why would the authors even write any of this if the same resource is expended by doing this activity?
The fact is that the Object Interaction resource is not expended when drawing or stowing a weapon in a manner that is consistent with the Equipping and Unequipping Weapons rule. Instead, this rule states that this is just something that happens (for free) "as part of this [Attack] action".
So, when a creature draws a weapon and attacks with it, that whole sequence IS their Attack action. Because all of those activities are happening as part of that action.
If instead a creature picks up a weapon off of a table and attacks with it, then they are using their Attack action to make an attack and they are also using their one Object Interaction during their action (but not part of that action) to pick up the weapon.
TBH, it shouldn't matter what random people on the internet say. It's your game and your table, so you as the DM are there to interpret the rules. If the player has designed their character around a particular assumption about how the rules will be interpreted you should offer them a chance to rebuild and redesign their character given their new understanding of how the rules will be interpreted. But also be sure you are interpreting the rules in that way for a reason other than "I don't like how that player's character is acting in combat".
This is absolutely correct. The DM sets the rules. And, in our game I would respect those rules no matter what they are. Being a DM is difficult, and I wouldn't want to make it more difficult by arguing about rules.
However, this was a discussion about Rules as Written. It is a question outside the context of a specific DM's decision on rules.
The Utilize action literally says that drawing a weapon is part of the attack action so doesn't use the Utilize action.
No one was making the argument that drawing a weapon as part of an Attack action uses the Utilize action.
What does the Rules Glossary actually say about the Utilize action?
Utilize [Action]
You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of the Attack action. When an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action.
It confirms exactly what I've been saying. It says that you normally interact with an object while doing something else. That is already clear from the Time-Limited Object Interactions rules that I already posted above, where it specifically says: "When time is short, such as in combat, interactions with objects are limited: one free interaction per turn. That interaction must occur during a creature’s movement or action."
What else does it tell us? It makes clear that drawing a sword as part of the Attack action is "interact[ing] with an object". Therefore, it counts as an Object Interaction as specified in the Time-Limited Object Interactions rules.
Is there anything more? It tells us that "when an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action." When does that occur? Once again, we look to the Time-Limited Object Interactions rule to find out. This rule very clearly says: "any additional interactions [beyond the one free object interaction allowed per turn as part of your movement or action] require the Utilize action" (emphasis added).
Per 2024 RAW, you can draw a weapon either before or after each attack you make as part of the attack action, plus your free object interaction.
I agree.
I think the "Time-Limited Object Interactions" rule is in addition to "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons", with this equip/unequip happening once per attack.
There are more, but two recent threads about this topic are:
EDIT: to me, this example from the PHB suggests that this is possible:
Russell: I drop my sword and pull out my warhammer [...]
Vulnerability. An attack that deals bludgeoning damage is deadly to skeletons. Shreeve knows this from past experience, which is why she drops her sword and switches to a Bludgeoning weapon. [...]
The example given here is actually the only argument I've seen that is worthwhile.
However, Russel's character Shreeve could easily have the Dual Wielder feat, which grants the Quick Draw feature enabling him to equip or unequip two weapons (i.e. - allows him two weapon object interactions) when he could normally have only one.
If it was intended that every instance of drawing or stowing a weapon used up your one free object interaction, then there would be no reason at all for the authors to even bother writing the entire section called "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons". When using the "Interacting with Things" rule, you are allowed to interact with an object or feature of the environment for free during either your move or action. This timeframe includes every possible timeframe that applies to the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" rule since that rule can only be used either before or after an attack that occurs during an Attack action. Every possible timeframe that occurs during an Attack action is encompassed within the timeframe of "during either your move or action", so why would the authors even write any of this if the same resource is expended by doing this activity?
They wrote it because they wanted to put answers to questions about rules in one simple glossary format so that you could look up those rules more easily. How do I know that? Because Chris Perkins talked about it in the Player's Handbook launch video.
In the past, people had questions about whether they could draw a second weapon between their first and second attack, or whether they could draw a second weapon even if they weren't using the weapon as part of their Attack action. There were also cases where people tried to weasel the rules by dropping a weapon and not counting that as an object interaction. So, they wanted to put answers about what kind of weapon object interactions were allowed as part of the Attack action. They didn't want to replicate the entire Time-Limited Object Interaction section though. It is assumed that you know that rule and you understand that:
1. Only one object interaction is allowed per turn 2. That object interaction must occur as part of your move or action 3. If you want a second object interaction, you need to use the Utilize action
None of what was said in the equipping/unequipping guidance overrides these above statements. If they did, they would have explicitly said so, as they do in the Dual Wielder feat, or the Fast Hands feature of the Rogue.
So, when a creature draws a weapon and attacks with it, that whole sequence IS their Attack action. Because all of those activities are happening as part of that action.
That is correct. It very clearly states in the Time-Sensitive Object Interactions rule that object interactions must occur as part of your move or action. So, this is no different. Your free object interaction is occurring as part of the Attack action. That does NOT mean that this object interaction doesn't count as a object interaction. The only way for you to get a second object interaction in this case would be to use the Quick Draw feature of the Dual Wielder feat, or to use a Bonus Action Utilize by leveraging the Fast Hands feature of the Rogue.
If instead a creature picks up a weapon off of a table and attacks with it, then they are using their Attack action to make an attack and they are also using their one Object Interaction during their action (but not part of that action) to pick up the weapon.
This is also incorrect. There is no difference between drawing a weapon and picking it up. It even explicitly says under the Attack Action's Equipping and Unequipping Weapons guidance that: "Equipping a weapon includes drawing it from a sheath or picking it up. Unequipping a weapon includes sheathing, stowing, or dropping it."
The fact is that the Object Interaction resource is not expended when drawing or stowing a weapon in a manner that is consistent with the Equipping and Unequipping Weapons rule. Instead, this rule states that this is just something that happens (for free) "as part of this [Attack] action".
You are just making things up that aren't actually there in the rules.
What in the world are you talking about? I have been quoting the rules directly via cut-and-paste directly from the rules text. That is the exact opposite of making things up.
The Utilize action literally says that drawing a weapon is part of the attack action so doesn't use the Utilize action.
No one was making the argument that drawing a weapon as part of an Attack action uses the Utilize action.
What does the Rules Glossary actually say about the Utilize action?
Utilize [Action]
You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of the Attack action. When an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action.
It confirms exactly what I've been saying. It says that you normally interact with an object while doing something else. That is already clear from the Time-Limited Object Interactions rules that I already posted above, where it specifically says: "When time is short, such as in combat, interactions with objects are limited: one free interaction per turn. That interaction must occur during a creature’s movement or action."
What else does it tell us? It makes clear that drawing a sword as part of the Attack action is "interact[ing] with an object". Therefore, it counts as an Object Interaction as specified in the Time-Limited Object Interactions rules.
Is there anything more? It tells us that "when an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action." When does that occur? Once again, we look to the Time-Limited Object Interactions rule to find out. This rule very clearly says: "any additional interactions [beyond the one free object interaction allowed per turn as part of your movement or action] require the Utilize action" (emphasis added).
Absolutely not. The above is just a complete and total misinterpretation of these written rules.
Whenever a rule says that you can do something, you can just do it. If some sort of resource expenditure is required, then that rule would say so explicitly.
By default, as per the description of the Utilize action, if a rule says that you can interact with an object as part of some other activity, then it's exactly that -- it's part of that activity. You can just do it when you are doing that other activity. Besides drawing and stowing weapons as part of an Attack action, one of the other common examples of this is that whenever you cast a spell with a Material component, you are required to use a free hand to "access" that material component or a spellcasting focus or a component pouch and the rules for spellcasting describe that you do this as part of the process of casting a spell. You don't use an action to cast a spell and then potentially also have to use a Utilize action (if you've used up your one free interaction) in order to cast that same spell. The entire activity is all happening as part of the one action that you are taking to cast the spell.
So, again:
Step 1: By default, whenever you are interacting with an object as part of some other activity, you perform that interaction for free (like, actually for free, not using "one free" object interaction).
Step 2: Once you've determined that the interaction is NOT happening as part of some other activity, then you must take the Utilize action to perform this interaction.
Step 2a: As an exception to Step 2, one time on your turn, instead of taking the Utilize action to interact with an object as its own standalone activity (not as part of some other activity) at some point during your movement or action, you can perform one such interaction "for free" by using up this One Free Object Interaction resource instead of taking the Utilize action.
As stated earlier by someone else, this is all clear from the description of the Utilize action:
Utilize [Action]
[Step 1:] You normally interact with an object [for free] while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of the Attack action. [Step 2:] When [step 1 does not apply because the interaction is not happening while doing something else, then that means that] an object requires an action for its use, [in such cases] you take the Utilize action.
The Interacting with Things Rule (also written slightly differently in another section referred to as Time-Limited Object Interactions) only applies to activities that would actually require an action to perform -- specifically, the Utilize action in this case. Whenever you are trying to do something that requires the Utilize action, depending on what you are trying to do you might be able to make use of the one-time per turn exception that is given in the Time-Limited Object Interactions rule whereby one such activity can be performed without using the Utilize action. If the interaction does not require using an action in the first place, then this rule does not apply to that interaction.
Another way to see what I am talking about is in the general rules where it is described what you are allowed to do on Your Turn:
-- Move a distance up to your Speed.
-- Take one action.
-- Briefly communicate.
-- Interact with one object or feature of the environment.
So, this rule that describes that you can interact with one object on your turn is in addition to taking your action. If something explicitly declares that a certain activity happens as part of a particular action, then that activity is happening within the "Take one action" portion of the above list. At that point, all you have done so far on your turn is that you've used your action. You still have the rest of the list of things that you can do on your turn (move, communicate, one object interaction) available for you to use on this turn.
Your free object interaction is occurring as part of the Attack action. That does NOT mean that this object interaction doesn't count as a object interaction.
Again, as per the above list of the four things that you can always do on Your Turn, your above statement here is impossible. The free object interaction is something that you can do in addition to the action that you can take. It never ever ever ever happens as part of the action. They are separate action economy resources that are mutually exclusive from each other.
Free Item Interaction as part of movement or action
Utilize Action
Attack Action Equip & Unqeuip before or after an attack
Drawn Thrown Weapon as part of an attack
Draw Ammunition as part of an attack
You get one free object interaction per turn. Free means that it does not require the use of the Utilize action.
The free object interaction must be taken as part of a move or action. That means you can't claim an object interaction as part of Reactions or Bonus Action unless a feature explicitly grants that.
You can equip or unequip one weapon as part of the Attack action, but that counts as your one free object interaction. Equipping includes drawing or picking up a weapon. Unequipping includes stowing, sheathing, or dropping a weapon.
You can draw and throw a weapon with the Thrown property as part of your attack, but that still counts as your free object interaction. You cannot draw and throw a second weapon unless you have the Dual Wielder feat.
You can draw ammunition as part of a ranged attack, but equipping a weapon with the Ammunition property still requires a use of your object interaction.
For those interested, the Weapon Properties section also reiterates the message above. It clearly spells out that both drawing and throwing are part of the Attack for a thrown weapon. They clearly point out that the use of Ammunition is part of attacking with that weapon. They make no mention of granting special exceptions to the Time-Sensitive Object Interaction rules for Finesse, Heavy, Light, Two-Handed, Ranged, or Versatile weapons.
Properties
Here are definitions of the properties in the Properties column of the Weapons table.
Ammunition
You can use a weapon that has the Ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from it. The type of ammunition required is specified with the weapon’s range. Each attack expends one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition is part of the attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon). After a fight, you can spend 1 minute to recover half the ammunition (round down) you used in the fight; the rest is lost.
Finesse
When making an attack with a Finesse weapon, use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
Heavy
You have Disadvantage on attack rolls with a Heavy weapon if it’s a Melee weapon and your Strength score isn’t at least 13 or if it’s a Ranged weapon and your Dexterity score isn’t at least 13.
Light
When you take the Attack action on your turn and attack with a Light weapon, you can make one extra attack as a Bonus Action later on the same turn. That extra attack must be made with a different Light weapon, and you don’t add your ability modifier to the extra attack’s damage unless that modifier is negative. For example, you can attack with a Shortsword in one hand and a Dagger in the other using the Attack action and a Bonus Action, but you don’t add your Strength or Dexterity modifier to the damage roll of the Bonus Action unless that modifier is negative.
Loading
You can fire only one piece of ammunition from a Loading weapon when you use an action, a Bonus Action, or a Reaction to fire it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make.
Range
A Range weapon has a range in parentheses after the Ammunition or Thrown property. The range lists two numbers. The first is the weapon’s normal range in feet, and the second is the weapon’s long range. When attacking a target beyond normal range, you have Disadvantage on the attack roll. You can’t attack a target beyond the long range.
Reach
A Reach weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for Opportunity Attacks with it.
Thrown
If a weapon has the Thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack, and you can draw that weapon as part of the attack. If the weapon is a Melee weapon, use the same ability modifier for the attack and damage rolls that you use for a melee attack with that weapon.
Two-Handed
A Two-Handed weapon requires two hands when you attack with it.
Versatile
A Versatile weapon can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property. The weapon deals that damage when used with two hands to make a melee attack.
For only two of the properties, Ammunition and Thrown do they mention that you can draw or load "as part of the attack". For Thrown weapons, you can draw and throw as part of the attack. But, consistent with past versions, this still counts as an object interaction.
If they had intended to make all melee weapons capable of being drawn "as part of the attack" without any limit imposed by the Time-Sensitive Object Interactions rule, they would have said so here, with all the other weapon properties. But, they did not.
@arrinos you're adding limitations that aren't in the 2024 PHB.
The general free interaction described under "Time-Limited Object Interactions" is separate from the rule included in the Attack Action, and "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" is a clear example of Exceptions Supersede General Rules.
General rules govern each part of the game. For example, the combat rules tell you that melee attacks use Strength and ranged attacks use Dexterity. That’s a general rule, and a general rule is in effect as long as something in the game doesn’t explicitly say otherwise.
The game also includes elements—class features, feats, weapon properties, spells, magic items, monster abilities, and the like—that sometimes contradict a general rule. When an exception and a general rule disagree, the exception wins. For example, if a feature says you can make melee attacks using your Charisma, you can do so, even though that statement disagrees with the general rule.
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PHB Ch1 Combat - Your Turn - Interacting with Things
I have a player who claims that because the rule states you can draw a sword with this, it means the equip or unequip as part of an Attack action consumes the free object interaction. In other words, the one object interaction for free text is sort of globally limiting object interactions unless you use the Utilize action.
I say he's wrong according to RAW.
Please help settle the dispute.
Per 2024 RAW, you can draw a weapon either before or after each attack you make as part of the attack action, plus your free object interaction.
That is not an accurate interpretation of the rules as written. You have added words that change the meaning, and you have chosen to ignore the very specific rules for "Time-Limited Object Interactions." What you are referring to is the Rules Glossary entry for the Attack action. It reads:
Attack [Action]
When you take the Attack action, you can make one attack roll with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike.
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.
Moving between Attacks. If you move on your turn and have a feature, such as Extra Attack, that gives you more than one attack as part of the Attack action, you can use some or all of that movement to move between those attacks.
The "Moving between Attacks" section does not grant you extra movement. It just clarifies that you can split your movement up before, after, and between each of your attacks. Similarly, the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" section does not grant you extra object interactions. It just clarifies that, if you haven't already used your one free object interaction, that you may use it to either equip or unequip one weapon during the Attack action. If you have already used your one free object interaction, than you may not even do that. You definitely cannot equip or unequip a different weapon with each attack or even equip and unequip the same weapon if you have multiple attacks.
Any such interpretation would essentially make the "Quick Draw" feature of the Dual Wielder feat virtually meaningless. It would also greatly diminish the value of the Fast Hands feature of the Thief subclass of Rogues.
More importantly, it would violate the intent of the object interaction rules which very clearly state:
Time-Limited Object Interactions
When time is short, such as in combat, interactions with objects are limited: one free interaction per turn. That interaction must occur during a creature’s movement or action. Any additional interactions require the Utilize action, as explained in “Combat” later in this chapter.
You added the word "each" and you claimed that this is in addition to your free object interaction. Neither of those is in the RAW, and neither is justified based on the RAW.
It does not say that these weapon interactions are in addition to your one free object interaction. Yet, the above quote from "Time-Limited Object Interactions" clearly states that any additional interactions require the Utilize action." That would indicate that, unless this requirement for the Utilize action is somehow overridden with explicit language making clear that additional interactions are being granted, that no such interactions are allowed.
The "Equioping and Unequipping Weapons" section of Attack action Rules Glossary entry should be rewritten as follows to clarify:
Equipping and Unequipping Weapons. You can either equip or unequip one weapon when you make an attack as part of this action, provided you have not already used your free object interaction for another purpose [emphasis mine]. You may 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.
As another example of why my interpretation above is the correct one, let's look at another Rules Glossary term. Specifically, let's look at "Hit Points".
Hit Points
Hit Points (HP) are a measure of how difficult it is to kill or destroy a creature or an object. Damage reduces Hit Points, and healing restores them. You can’t have more Hit Points than your Hit Point maximum, and you can’t have less than 0. See also “Breaking Objects” and chapter 1 (“Damage and Healing”).
The above says: "Damage reduces Hit Points, and healing restores them."
I could easily say by adding a few words or generously interpreting the above, that "and any healing restores all of them". That is synonymous with "and healing restores them." But, given the rest of the rules in the game, that would be an absurd interpretation. It would make anything greater than a single goodberry a total waste of resources.
But, my generous interpretation of that phrase quite obviously does not override the very explicit rules elsewhere that specify exactly how many hit points are restored by various methods of healing. So why would anyone's generous interpretation of the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" phrasing be considered sufficient to override the very specific rules of "Time-Limited Object Interactions" and the "Quick Draw" feature of the "Dual Wielder" feat? In short, it wouldn't.
The entire purpose of the Rules Glossary was to provide ready access to the most frequently asked information about a specific topic in one place. By doing so, they thought they were making this easier. However, in this case, they just introduced unnecessary confusion.
TBH, it shouldn't matter what random people on the internet say. It's your game and your table, so you as the DM are there to interpret the rules. If the player has designed their character around a particular assumption about how the rules will be interpreted you should offer them a chance to rebuild and redesign their character given their new understanding of how the rules will be interpreted. But also be sure you are interpreting the rules in that way for a reason other than "I don't like how that player's character is acting in combat".
The Utilize action literally says that drawing a weapon is part of the attack action so doesn't use the Utilize action.
So No, the player is not correct; the free object interaction is not meant to be limiting the attack action equip/unequip. The free object interaction is for when you need to grap a weapon from the floor; or when you need to open a door etc.
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I agree.
I think the "Time-Limited Object Interactions" rule is in addition to "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons", with this equip/unequip happening once per attack.
There are more, but two recent threads about this topic are:
- Balor Vard changing weapons
- Do weapon swapping rules allow for 2 swaps mid-turn?
EDIT: to me, this example from the PHB suggests that this is possible:
Most common ways to draw or stow items are;
If it was intended that every instance of drawing or stowing a weapon used up your one free object interaction, then there would be no reason at all for the authors to even bother writing the entire section called "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons". When using the "Interacting with Things" rule, you are allowed to interact with an object or feature of the environment for free during either your move or action. This timeframe includes every possible timeframe that applies to the "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" rule since that rule can only be used either before or after an attack that occurs during an Attack action. Every possible timeframe that occurs during an Attack action is encompassed within the timeframe of "during either your move or action", so why would the authors even write any of this if the same resource is expended by doing this activity?
The fact is that the Object Interaction resource is not expended when drawing or stowing a weapon in a manner that is consistent with the Equipping and Unequipping Weapons rule. Instead, this rule states that this is just something that happens (for free) "as part of this [Attack] action".
So, when a creature draws a weapon and attacks with it, that whole sequence IS their Attack action. Because all of those activities are happening as part of that action.
If instead a creature picks up a weapon off of a table and attacks with it, then they are using their Attack action to make an attack and they are also using their one Object Interaction during their action (but not part of that action) to pick up the weapon.
This is absolutely correct. The DM sets the rules. And, in our game I would respect those rules no matter what they are. Being a DM is difficult, and I wouldn't want to make it more difficult by arguing about rules.
However, this was a discussion about Rules as Written. It is a question outside the context of a specific DM's decision on rules.
No one was making the argument that drawing a weapon as part of an Attack action uses the Utilize action.
What does the Rules Glossary actually say about the Utilize action?
Utilize [Action]
You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of the Attack action. When an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action.
It confirms exactly what I've been saying. It says that you normally interact with an object while doing something else. That is already clear from the Time-Limited Object Interactions rules that I already posted above, where it specifically says: "When time is short, such as in combat, interactions with objects are limited: one free interaction per turn. That interaction must occur during a creature’s movement or action."
What else does it tell us? It makes clear that drawing a sword as part of the Attack action is "interact[ing] with an object". Therefore, it counts as an Object Interaction as specified in the Time-Limited Object Interactions rules.
Is there anything more? It tells us that "when an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action." When does that occur? Once again, we look to the Time-Limited Object Interactions rule to find out. This rule very clearly says: "any additional interactions [beyond the one free object interaction allowed per turn as part of your movement or action] require the Utilize action" (emphasis added).
The example given here is actually the only argument I've seen that is worthwhile.
However, Russel's character Shreeve could easily have the Dual Wielder feat, which grants the Quick Draw feature enabling him to equip or unequip two weapons (i.e. - allows him two weapon object interactions) when he could normally have only one.
Therefore, even this argument fails.
Dual Wielder wouldn't help Russell because it allow you to draw or stow 2 weapons instead of one, not draw one and stow another.
They wrote it because they wanted to put answers to questions about rules in one simple glossary format so that you could look up those rules more easily. How do I know that? Because Chris Perkins talked about it in the Player's Handbook launch video.
In the past, people had questions about whether they could draw a second weapon between their first and second attack, or whether they could draw a second weapon even if they weren't using the weapon as part of their Attack action. There were also cases where people tried to weasel the rules by dropping a weapon and not counting that as an object interaction. So, they wanted to put answers about what kind of weapon object interactions were allowed as part of the Attack action. They didn't want to replicate the entire Time-Limited Object Interaction section though. It is assumed that you know that rule and you understand that:
1. Only one object interaction is allowed per turn
2. That object interaction must occur as part of your move or action
3. If you want a second object interaction, you need to use the Utilize action
None of what was said in the equipping/unequipping guidance overrides these above statements. If they did, they would have explicitly said so, as they do in the Dual Wielder feat, or the Fast Hands feature of the Rogue.
That is correct. It very clearly states in the Time-Sensitive Object Interactions rule that object interactions must occur as part of your move or action. So, this is no different. Your free object interaction is occurring as part of the Attack action. That does NOT mean that this object interaction doesn't count as a object interaction. The only way for you to get a second object interaction in this case would be to use the Quick Draw feature of the Dual Wielder feat, or to use a Bonus Action Utilize by leveraging the Fast Hands feature of the Rogue.
That interpretation of the rules completely invalidate Extra Attack using ranged weapons and thrown weapons.
This is also incorrect. There is no difference between drawing a weapon and picking it up. It even explicitly says under the Attack Action's Equipping and Unequipping Weapons guidance that: "Equipping a weapon includes drawing it from a sheath or picking it up. Unequipping a weapon includes sheathing, stowing, or dropping it."
What in the world are you talking about? I have been quoting the rules directly via cut-and-paste directly from the rules text. That is the exact opposite of making things up.
Absolutely not. The above is just a complete and total misinterpretation of these written rules.
Whenever a rule says that you can do something, you can just do it. If some sort of resource expenditure is required, then that rule would say so explicitly.
By default, as per the description of the Utilize action, if a rule says that you can interact with an object as part of some other activity, then it's exactly that -- it's part of that activity. You can just do it when you are doing that other activity. Besides drawing and stowing weapons as part of an Attack action, one of the other common examples of this is that whenever you cast a spell with a Material component, you are required to use a free hand to "access" that material component or a spellcasting focus or a component pouch and the rules for spellcasting describe that you do this as part of the process of casting a spell. You don't use an action to cast a spell and then potentially also have to use a Utilize action (if you've used up your one free interaction) in order to cast that same spell. The entire activity is all happening as part of the one action that you are taking to cast the spell.
So, again:
Step 1: By default, whenever you are interacting with an object as part of some other activity, you perform that interaction for free (like, actually for free, not using "one free" object interaction).
Step 2: Once you've determined that the interaction is NOT happening as part of some other activity, then you must take the Utilize action to perform this interaction.
Step 2a: As an exception to Step 2, one time on your turn, instead of taking the Utilize action to interact with an object as its own standalone activity (not as part of some other activity) at some point during your movement or action, you can perform one such interaction "for free" by using up this One Free Object Interaction resource instead of taking the Utilize action.
As stated earlier by someone else, this is all clear from the description of the Utilize action:
The Interacting with Things Rule (also written slightly differently in another section referred to as Time-Limited Object Interactions) only applies to activities that would actually require an action to perform -- specifically, the Utilize action in this case. Whenever you are trying to do something that requires the Utilize action, depending on what you are trying to do you might be able to make use of the one-time per turn exception that is given in the Time-Limited Object Interactions rule whereby one such activity can be performed without using the Utilize action. If the interaction does not require using an action in the first place, then this rule does not apply to that interaction.
Another way to see what I am talking about is in the general rules where it is described what you are allowed to do on Your Turn:
-- Move a distance up to your Speed.
-- Take one action.
-- Briefly communicate.
-- Interact with one object or feature of the environment.
So, this rule that describes that you can interact with one object on your turn is in addition to taking your action. If something explicitly declares that a certain activity happens as part of a particular action, then that activity is happening within the "Take one action" portion of the above list. At that point, all you have done so far on your turn is that you've used your action. You still have the rest of the list of things that you can do on your turn (move, communicate, one object interaction) available for you to use on this turn.
Again, as per the above list of the four things that you can always do on Your Turn, your above statement here is impossible. The free object interaction is something that you can do in addition to the action that you can take. It never ever ever ever happens as part of the action. They are separate action economy resources that are mutually exclusive from each other.
For those interested, the Weapon Properties section also reiterates the message above. It clearly spells out that both drawing and throwing are part of the Attack for a thrown weapon. They clearly point out that the use of Ammunition is part of attacking with that weapon. They make no mention of granting special exceptions to the Time-Sensitive Object Interaction rules for Finesse, Heavy, Light, Two-Handed, Ranged, or Versatile weapons.
For only two of the properties, Ammunition and Thrown do they mention that you can draw or load "as part of the attack". For Thrown weapons, you can draw and throw as part of the attack. But, consistent with past versions, this still counts as an object interaction.
If they had intended to make all melee weapons capable of being drawn "as part of the attack" without any limit imposed by the Time-Sensitive Object Interactions rule, they would have said so here, with all the other weapon properties. But, they did not.
@arrinos you're adding limitations that aren't in the 2024 PHB.
The general free interaction described under "Time-Limited Object Interactions" is separate from the rule included in the Attack Action, and "Equipping and Unequipping Weapons" is a clear example of Exceptions Supersede General Rules.