D&D 5E dropping - drawing - wacking and other weaponry thingies

[Horwath]

I wouldn't call changing one weapon set per round overpowered.

I.E. sheath a sword and draw a bow as one free object interaction is fine by me if not by RAW.

 

[Mercule]

To me that's where the "line" lies. dropping and drawing is a free action, but sheathing and drawing is "too much" and takes an action. So the player has a choice - drop and draw and risk losing the weapon, or sheath and draw and lose valuable time.

Agreed. I think some of it is a hold over from 3E, but my players always drop their sword if they want to shoot a bow (and vice versa).

 

[Zardnaar]

You can go with the following rule from Basic:

"You can also interact with one object or feature of the
environment for free, during either your move or your
action. For example, you could open a door during your
move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your
weapon as part of the same action you use to attack"

Dropping an object can hardly be considered an interaction, and is normally just handwaved. So you can drop your weapon #1 and draw your weapon #2 in your turn without taking any action.

Probably by the RAW if you want to carefully sheather weapon #1 before drawing weapon #2 (so altogether a "proper" weapon switch) your DM may require you to use your action, and therefore you don't attack in this turn.

But check with the DM because many DMs wouldn't give a about this rule and would let you switch for free. It's hardly game-breaking anyway.




You should get used to 5e terminology of actions, so that you will avoid misunderstandings with others:

- movement is not a separate action (more similar to 3.0 than 3.5)
- "action" is your main activity
- "bonus action" is the extra you might have from special abilities (always max 1/turn)
- "reaction" is out of your turn, and always triggered by external events (always max 1/round)
- no such thing as a free action, but rather minor stuff that you can safely not count

It makes a big change to GWM as RAW they more or less have to put a weapon down/put it away and then draw a weapon on the next round. I consider it a fair trade off for uber damage that they can't be awesome all of the time.

 

[Jediking]

I wouldn't call changing one weapon set per round overpowered.

I.E. sheath a sword and draw a bow as one free object interaction is fine by me if not by RAW.

Agreed. I think some of it is a hold over from 3E, but my players always drop their sword if they want to shoot a bow (and vice versa).

I think both of these aren't an issue when changing one melee to one ranged weapon. The choice/consequence comes in when switching from dual-wielding melee weapons to a ranged weapon, or vice versa, on the same turn. Or when heavy weapons come into it.

It's a choice between limiting what a player/creature can do and being loose and flexible. It's a judgment call and both have good uses depending on preference.

 

[TheLoneRanger1979]

As after all there could be potential exploits of making holstering/drawing different weapons possible without investment, i would still rule against it. But dropping seams fine, especially with the added risk of not getting it back in some circumstances....

 

[Li Shenron]

It makes a big change to GWM as RAW they more or less have to put a weapon down/put it away and then draw a weapon on the next round. I consider it a fair trade off for uber damage that they can't be awesome all of the time.

So you require an action to switch a weapon only when it's a 2-handed weapon?

Otherwise the GWM has the same penalty for switching weapons as everybody else.

For me it's ok to require an action, and it's ok also to not require an action. IMXP the most common case is from a ranged weapon to a melee weapon, when you start an encounter from the distance and then close in. All other cases are much more rare.

 

[Zardnaar]

So you require an action to switch a weapon only when it's a 2-handed weapon?

Otherwise the GWM has the same penalty for switching weapons as everybody else.

For me it's ok to require an action, and it's ok also to not require an action. IMXP the most common case is from a ranged weapon to a melee weapon, when you start an encounter from the distance and then close in. All other cases are much more rare.

It makes the duel wielder feat a bit weaker as part of that feat is explicit about drawing an extra weapon. So if you use 2 weapons carry 1 around and you can put it away and draw a bow or draw another sword if you want to melee. GWM already deals uber damage I do not see why making their life easier to deal damage at range is a good thing.