Drawing an item: Sword and board vs. two-handed

[brehobit]

Hi all,
It looks as if they went out of their way to balance two-handed weapons vs. sword and board. But...

As far as drawing an item goes, does the two-hander have an advantage? Say you want to quaff a potion:
Two hander:
* put weapon in one hand (free)
* draw item (minor)
* quaff (minor)
* return weapon to two hands (free)

Sword and board:
* Put weapon away (minor)
* draw item (minor)
* quaff (minor)
* draw weapon (minor)

Is that right?

 

[Scalding]

Looks right to me. Of course, the Sword & Board fighter could:

* drop weapon (free)
* draw item (minor)
* quaff (minor)
* pick up sword (minor)

This has the advantage that it can be accomplished in 1 round of combat. It has the disadvantage that the character must drop the weapon. Unless the NPC's can interrupt and take/move the sword, this is a minimal disadvantage.

Looks like it's time to take the Quick Draw feat.

 

[DerekSTheRed]

Don't forget the new quickdraw you can draw as part of another action IIRC. It kind of evens things out since the 2 hander will only use a minor but the s&b will use 2. The 2 hander still has an advantage, but it's a slight advantage.

Two hander:
* put weapon in one hand (free)
* draw item and quaff (minor)
* return weapon to two hands (free)
* attack move still available

Sword and board:
* Put weapon away (minor)
* draw item and quaff (minor)
* draw weapon and attack or move (standard or move)

Derek

 

[VannATLC]

Drop your weapon.

Picking it up is minor, as is drawing it. Dropping it is free. More importantly, you can hold a weapon in your shield hand, I believe, you just can't attack with it.

 

[ValhallaGH]

More importantly, you can hold a weapon in your shield hand, I believe, you just can't attack with it.

Only with a Light shield. With a Heavy you can't hold anything in your shield hand.

 

[Green Knight]

You want to talk PITA? Try switching between longbow and sword & shield. Minor Action to sheathe your longsword. Standard Action to put away your shield. Minor Action (Move Action) to draw your Longbow. An entire round to switch all that out, and no chance to attack. Even if you have Quickdraw it doesn't matter, since putting away that shield is a Standard Action.

Gonna have to invest in Throwing Axes and such. Forget the Crossbow, Handcrossbow, Shortbow, and Longbow.

 

[Evenglare]

Is it really that much harder to type Shield?
Why do people use that term? Sword and Board? Sounds so retarded.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Why not use Javelins?

 

[brehobit]

Good point on the dropping. Seems odd, but...

Still, this is a fairly major disadvantage for shield users. As noted, you'll want to do this both for potions and for throwing weapons. Basically one extra minor action for the shield person.

Mark

 

[FadedC]

Is it really that much harder to type Shield?
Why do people use that term? Sword and Board? Sounds so retarded.

It's pretty common slang for sword and shield, most slang sounds retarded to someone who isn't used to it. Not 100% sure where it came from, but I first heard the term at at a LARP.