Opportunity Attacks and Qick Draw

[crysist]

Sorry if this has been brought up before but I have note been able to find anything in the forums thus far.

One of my players is an archery based ranger who tool the Quick Draw feat. He wants to know if he can use it to draw a one handed weapon and make an opportunity attack while wielding a longbow. His reasoning is that unarmed attacks are treated as weapons in 4E so therefore he should threaten the squares adjacent to him.

I ruled against this because the longbow is a 2 handed weapon that does not have the versatile attribute, therefore he is assumed to be using both hands for the weapon at all times while in combat. For example, readying his next arrow or actually drawing for the next shot.

I'd like to get a few opinions on this and possibly some other examples of using Quick Draw during an opportunity attack.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I think...

A quick draw is part of the action you use the item for...you use the melee weapon for the attack...so as part of the opp attack you can draw the weapon...so I think it works...it just seams like it shouldn't

 

[Gloombunny]

Quick-drawing a sword to make an opportunity attack if you have an empty hand should certainly work. The real question is whether you can take a hand off of a two-handed weapon like that. I see no reason not to permit it, personally.

 

[TheMagus]

Actually Quick Draw is very useful in 4e.

My favorite is that it will also let you retrieve an object in a pouch or bandolier, etc.

So drinking a potion is a minor action, with Quick Draw, retrieving and drinking a potion is a single minor action, and you are still able to both move and attack.

And yes, using Quick draw for an Opportunity Attack seems completely valid since you threaten unarmed, if you want to make the OA with another weapon just draw it as part of the attack.

Unfortunately the Initiative bonus doesn't stack with Improved Initiative, but hey, you can't have everything.

 

[Palladion]

PH 290, Opportunity Attack, "An opportunity attack is a basic melee attack." PH 287, Melee Basic Attack. PH 200, Quick Draw, "You can draw a weapon... as part of the same action used to attack with the weapon..."

Free action to take your hand off a two-handed weapon (and re-wielding as well) is generally accepted (to be technical, PH 289, "Drop held items", you just happen to be holding it with your other hand and PH 269, "You can take any number of free actions on other combatants' turns..."), Quick Draw allows the archer to draw and attack for the opportunity attack.

Only thing the archer needs to do during his turn to figure out what to do with the weapon he just drew.

 

[crysist]

thanks for the info

Thanks for the timely responses. Seems that I may need to rethink my original ruling on this. Worse comes to worse, we can go with it for awhile and see if it becomes a balance issue.

 

[Oompa]

And..

even with an reach weapon, you still threat every square around you...

 

[Cendragon]

The only problem is that a longbow is not an off-hand weapon, so if you are holding it with one hand and wielding a one-handed weapon in your other hand, then you cannot attack effectively. The rules don't talk about what happens when you do this, but I would assign a -2 penalty to someone wielding two, one-handed weapons (unless they were a two-bladed ranger) and a -4 penalty if they are wielding a one-handed weapon in one hand and holding a two-handed weapon in the other hand.

However, if the character dropped their bow as a free action, then they could get the OA without penalty.

 

[Mort_Q]

The rules don't talk about what happens when you do this, but I would assign a -2 penalty to someone wielding two, one-handed weapons (unless they were a two-bladed ranger) and a -4 penalty if they are wielding a one-handed weapon in one hand and holding a two-handed weapon in the other hand.

However, if the character dropped their bow as a free action, then they could get the OA without penalty.

Why?

There is no penalty for holding two weapons in 4e, and no need to add one.

You can hold the bow in your off hand and attack with a one handed weapon in your main hand. No penalty.

You're not wielding the bow, the way 4e uses the word wield. No need to drop it.

 

[mlooney]

I ruled against this because the longbow is a 2 handed weapon that does not have the versatile attribute, therefore he is assumed to be using both hands for the weapon at all times while in combat. For example, readying his next arrow or actually drawing for the next shot.

He's holding the bow in his left (or off hand, assuming right handed character) hand. He may or may not have an arrow in his right. He drops the arrow (free action, see page 267 PHB) and quick draws his sword and smacks the monster with an OA. He will have to use a minor action to put the sword back next turn, but loading a Long Bow is a free action, so that's no big deal. I would allow this in my game, in fact the RAW seem to imply that this sort of thing is what it was made for. With Quickdraw, drawing the weapon is part of the attack action.

You can hold the bow in your off hand and attack with a one handed weapon in your main hand. No penalty.

You're not wielding the bow, the way 4e uses the word wield. No need to drop it.

You are already holding it in your off hand,in normal use The "on" hand is holding the string/arrow and doing the aiming thing, when you're using it in a normal way, so, yeah, no need to drop it.

The only problem is that a longbow is not an off-hand weapon, so if you are holding it with one hand and wielding a one-handed weapon in your other hand, then you cannot attack effectively. The rules don't talk about what happens when you do this, but I would assign a -2 penalty to someone wielding two, one-handed weapons (unless they were a two-bladed ranger) and a -4 penalty if they are wielding a one-handed weapon in one hand and holding a two-handed weapon in the other hand.

However, if the character dropped their bow as a free action, then they could get the OA without penalty.

A bow isn't an two handed weapon like say a great sword is. It's a weapon that is held in the left hand (i.e. off hand) while the right hand (i.e. on hand) does fiddly bits with arrows and strings. There is no reason why you couldn't temporally hold the bow in the left hand while slashing about with a sword in the right hand. Now, of course, you can't fire the bow while holding the sword, hence the need of a minor action to put the sword back where it belongs before using a free action to load the bow again.