Disarm

Yes and no. Yes, there are other methods by which a clever player might disarm an enemy - however, the above suggestions are splitting hairs a bit. The OP was talking about a character who specializes in disarming enemies via a disarm style maneuver. Casting a spell (such as heat metal) is a very different mechanic, although it might achieve similar results. Generally speaking, when someone asks about disarming, they are referring to the mundane way - and usually because someone wishes to disarm opponents as a primary combat strategy that is repeatable, and usable in most battles (at least, those in which the enemy wields weapons).

Heat Metal for example, is a limited use option depending on spell slots, and can be used ~4x each day. Disarming someone of a weapon via a mundane maneuver can occur far more frequently. IIRC Telekinesis won't work however, as you cannot normally affect held objects with a spell (heat metal is one of the few exceptions).

kalani said:

Yes and no. Yes, there are other methods by which a clever player might disarm an enemy - however, the above suggestions are splitting hairs a bit. The OP was talking about a character who specializes in disarming enemies via a disarm style maneuver. Casting a spell (such as heat metal) is a very different mechanic, although it might achieve similar results. Generally speaking, when someone asks about disarming, they are referring to the mundane way - and usually because someone wishes to disarm opponents as a primary combat strategy that is repeatable, and usable in most battles (at least, those in which the enemy wields weapons).

Heat Metal for example, is a limited use option depending on spell slots, and can be used ~4x each day. Disarming someone of a weapon via a mundane maneuver can occur far more frequently. IIRC Telekinesis won't work however, as you cannot normally affect held objects with a spell (heat metal is one of the few exceptions).

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It's really not that different. The Fighting Styles start out at 4 per short rest, going up at several different levels.

True that Heat Metal starts out at 2x per day....but you can always upcast it. If that's his character's concept, that's definitely what he would do.

Because he's Cha based anyways, just 3 level dip into Sorc to Twin cast it for double disarm!

Honestly it's not that different. Both spells and disarm for the BM involve saves, and both are limited resources (albeit short rests).

For Telekinsis, you can definitely rip items from characters. "If the object is worn or carried by a creature, you must make an ability check with your spellcasting ability contested by that creature's Strength check. If you succeed, you pull the object away from that creature and
can move it up to 30 feel in any direction but not beyond the range of this spell."


Is it the same as a short rest Disarm from the BM? No, but in same ways it's better and other ways it's worse. But it's still an AL-enforceable disarm for non-Fighters.

RulesJD, yes, you're right in that Battlemaster Maneuvers are just as limited a resource as spells.

But that is Kalani's point!

Her answer was directed at a wish for something significantly different - the DMG's disarm option.

As something
1) every character can do and
2) they can do it every round, all day long
it would have a profound impact on weapon-using monsters ability to perform as expected.

I don't think Kalani meant "The Battlemaster is the ONLY way to ever separate a monster from his weapon", only that "The Battlemaster is the only AL-legal way to access an approximation of the DMG Disarm variant".

At least I know that's what I meant when I wrote it...

CapnZapp said:

So, let's summarize the succinct reply:

If you want to consistently play a "if I want a weapon, I'll take a weapon" character, you should play a Battlemaster Fighter.

No other AL-legit character can be expected to do this across all tables.

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The last sentence was a reference to how individual DMs could (and still can) allow it on a ad-hoc basis. It wasn't meant to be read as "no other AL-legal character build, such as spellcasters".

Best regards,

Ahhhhh gotcha, misunderstood. So no way to do the original request (Disarm all day, e'ry day), but several ways to get a close approximation (so often that it's good enough).