D&D 5E Drop bow and unsheathe sword: still get to attack?

[Azzy]

In my last session I allowed the fighter to drop his bow, unsheathe his sword, and still attack on the same turn. The PHB only mentions unsheathing the sword as an example of a free object interaction, but I figured dropping an object adds hardly any further complexity to the undertaking (certainly no more than reaching into a backpack to pull out a potion bottle, which is allowed). Legit ruling?

That's the way I've ruled it in the past.

 

[Oofta]

So how do either of you rule it and how un-RAW does it get. Do you allow a pc to stow a bow, draw a weapon, and attack?

I can't speak for the others but in my campaign, stowing a bow would be one of your free actions. It's one thing to let go of something, another to sling it over your shoulder.

 

[Satyrn]

So how do either of you rule it and how un-RAW does it get. Do you allow a pc to stow a bow, draw a weapon, and attack?

I do.

My DM has also been fine with us doffing our shield - and stowing it - then attacking with our versatile weapons twohanded.

 

[Satyrn]

Oh! And then there was the time my gnome battlemaster, mounted on his dog (which turns out to have been my halfling druid), swapped out his shield and sword to attack with a bow.

Totally broke the "action economy" but had zero negative impact on the game.

 

[John Brebeuf]

I do.

My DM has also been fine with us doffing our shield - and stowing it - then attacking with our versatile weapons twohanded.

Pretty liberal DM. The PHB says doffing a shield is a full action.

 

[24Fanatic365]

Does anyone roll for bow or crossbow damage if dropped? Pretty sure I saw Adam do that on either Adventurer's League or Old School Adventures once. Wasn't sure if that was RAW or just something he did in the moment. I don't recall seeing anything about this anywhere in the 5e PHB, or the first 15% or so that I've read of the DMG. Sometimes he can kinda hose his players, and I thought this may have been an instance of that.

 

[Oofta]

Pretty liberal DM. The PHB says doffing a shield is a full action.

Maybe his DM doesn't know what the word "doffing" means and he's too embarrassed to admit he'd have to look it up?

Seriously, I go back and forth on this myself since it penalizes the sword-and-board type for their particular style. A great weapon fighter never has to deal with it, and neither do the archers of the world. Not a big deal at lower levels but once you get to higher levels the ability to fire multiple arrows while only able to attack with only one thrown weapon per round becomes a pretty big penalty (and one I've never completely agreed with).

So I compromise - donning/doffing a shield takes an action but you can throw multiple javelins/daggers/etc per round.

 

[John Brebeuf]

Does anyone roll for bow or crossbow damage if dropped? Pretty sure I saw Adam do that on either Adventurer's League or Old School Adventures once. Wasn't sure if that was RAW or just something he did in the moment. I don't recall seeing anything about this anywhere in the 5e PHB, or the first 15% or so that I've read of the DMG. Sometimes he can kinda hose his players, and I thought this may have been an instance of that.

That seems overly severe to me, as well as a needless complication. Besides, recurve bows can certainly handle a 2-3 foot drop, and I'm sure a crossbow can too.

 

[Satyrn]

Pretty liberal DM. The PHB says doffing a shield is a full action.

The group just doesn't care much about that sort of fiddlyness. Especially in this case since we don't swap weapons and shields as any sort of routine. It comes up like once every dozen sessions that we do more than the rules would allow, so it's just not worth bothering to care what the rules allow.

It's not the only case where we disregard what the rules say an action be. We've made it quicker to drink potions, too. .

 

[24Fanatic365]

Yeah, I kinda thought it was a bit much, too. I was just wondering if anyone else did it or not. Thanx!