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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Volund" data-source="post: 7553379" data-attributes="member: 6872597">In our group we stick fairly close to RAW and RAI, but after some discussion agreed that it wasn't fun to keep track of which spells needed an arcane/divine focus and an empty hand. We use the following rules for VSM components:1) Casters are able to cast spells if they are able to freely speak and move their hands - i.e. not bound and gagged by physical or magical means.2) If a generic material component or focus is required, we assume the character has it readily at hand in a way that makes sense for that character. For any caster class that has built-in sword and board or two-weapon fighting, it makes sense for the shield or weapon to be the material component.3) If a spell requires a specific material component that would not normally be at hand, you need a free hand to retrieve it and use it. For example, a cleric would not be able to cast Holy Aura unless they had a free hand to hold the holy reliquary while casting the spell.This speeds up play while not making casters any more powerful, and the War Caster feat is still popular for its other benefits. To us, XGtE was a tacit admission by the 5e team that the rules for S&B or TWF casters in the PHB needed to be tweaked, but since they have a policy of not re-writing any rules in previously published material, they would just make do with fixing it going forward. Exhibit A is the College of Swords, which gets to use a weapon as an arcane focus to enable their TWF option. Sucks to be you, Valor Bard, with your weapon and shield proficiency but still needing an instrument in hand to cast spells! Exhibit B was the Improved Pact Weapon invocation that made the pact blade an arcane focus. Between the first and second UA playtests the minimum level was dropped from 5th to become immediately available when the warlock got the pact weapon boon at 3rd level. Why do this unless the designers recognized that a hexblade with a shield and weapon required an exception to the "empty hand for an arcane focus" rule? There was enough there for us to conclude that the RAI are that these sorts of characters should be able to cast spells while holding their combat gear.</blockquote>

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