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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7157860" data-attributes="member: 12731">I love role-playing games and I love D&D. With two exceptions: the insanely complex and fiddly rules for object interaction and spell-casting components.Take this question for instance: Can my Cleric cast her somatic spells while still holding stuff in both her hands at the same time?There is an answer, but finding out requires us to delve into a huge load of intricate and complex rules interactions... that basically are bullcrap. None of this makes sense in a game of such simplicity and accessibility as 5th Edition.Yet, here we are...The answer is...Yes. If one of the things you hold is a shield. That you're using as your Holy Symbol, your spell-casting focus. And the spell you're trying to cast has a... wait for it... material component.- If you would have preferred to emblazon your god's symbol on your armor, or your helmet, say, it doesn't work.- If you prefer a physical symbol like an amulet you wear around your neck, it doesn't work.- If you prefer to not use a focus at all (instead using a component pouch), it doesn't work.- If you're multi-classing into warlock, say, it only works for your Cleric spells.- And last but not least, it doesn't work for spells with no material component such as Cure Wounds.Or, rather, it actually does work. If you drop your mace, cast your spell and then pick up your mace again. Which is insane. But also RAW.And this is only one of many questions and corner cases that arise from the labyrinthine rules on hand use.You don't believe me. Read up on the rules for yourself with these handy links. But don't say I didn't warn ya!<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/4p1f26/how_the_spell_component_spellcasting_focus_and/" target="_blank">https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/4p1f26/how_the_spell_component_spellcasting_focus_and/</a><a href="https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/sage-advice/rules-spellcasting" target="_blank">https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/sage-advice/rules-spellcasting</a>To me, this is complete madness. Utterly bonkers. There is not a single thing about this that makes a lick of sense (as regards user-friendliness and ease of play). It's not an immersion issue. It's not a balance issue. The restrictions aren't logical. It's a huge clusterfrak. Everything would be strictly better and more fun if these rules did not exist.And before I reinvent the wheel, my first question is: do you know of any effort to rewrite the rules on what you can "do with your hands" in a simple, clean and easy way? You know, like the rest of 5e. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />RegardsZappPLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a thread wherein we defend the current rules. This thread assumes you basically agree it's a load of hog. Feel free to analyze and discuss them, but not defend them. This thread is about FIXING something broken. If you want to argue "it's fine as it is" or "there are reasons to keep it this way", do it in another thread. Thank you.</blockquote>

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