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Can a cleric use his weapon as a spellcasting focus?
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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 7864363" data-attributes="member: 53980"><p>The War Caster feat only allows you to use a hand with a weapon in it for somatic components. It doesn't actually allow you to use the item as a focus (or substitute for material components). Although, clerics can use shields as a focus, so I agree that allowing a weapon with an engraved holy symbol or such isn't unreasonable.</p><p></p><p>That said, you actually don't need a hand free for somatic components when using a focus. PHB 203 (under Material) states that, "A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell's material components - or to hold a spellcasting focus - but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components". So, leaving aside costly components, the same hand used for your spell focus can be used for somatic components. The cleric may have to drop or stow their weapon when casting a spell with costly components, but those spells are in the minority anyway, so it probably won't come up that much.</p><p></p><p></p><p>As for a way to cast a spell into a weapon, which you can then cast when you hit someone? I think in earlier editions there used to be a magic item called a Weapon of Spell Storing that allowed exactly that. I don't think I've seen it in 5e, but you could use that as a template for homebrewing your own version.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 7864363, member: 53980"] The War Caster feat only allows you to use a hand with a weapon in it for somatic components. It doesn't actually allow you to use the item as a focus (or substitute for material components). Although, clerics can use shields as a focus, so I agree that allowing a weapon with an engraved holy symbol or such isn't unreasonable. That said, you actually don't need a hand free for somatic components when using a focus. PHB 203 (under Material) states that, "A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell's material components - or to hold a spellcasting focus - but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components". So, leaving aside costly components, the same hand used for your spell focus can be used for somatic components. The cleric may have to drop or stow their weapon when casting a spell with costly components, but those spells are in the minority anyway, so it probably won't come up that much. As for a way to cast a spell into a weapon, which you can then cast when you hit someone? I think in earlier editions there used to be a magic item called a Weapon of Spell Storing that allowed exactly that. I don't think I've seen it in 5e, but you could use that as a template for homebrewing your own version. [/QUOTE]
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Can a cleric use his weapon as a spellcasting focus?
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