I was hoping someone might have already looked into this and be able to help me out, but I have done more digging and, honestly, I'm not super happy with what I found so far.
Drawing Two Weapons
I can only find equipping and unequipping weapons under the Attack action. What if you want to close on a monster by using your move and Dash, and then you want to draw a weapon? Is it impossible to draw a weapon without attacking with it?
The Utilize action isn't much help:
You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of the Attack action. When an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action.
I'm going to assume you can use your free interaction to draw a weapon. I would be happy to hear arguments for why this would not be the case though.
Arcane Focus or Magic Items
The Magic action is no help:
When you take the Magic action, you cast a spell that has a casting time of an action or use a feature or magic item that requires a Magic action to be activated.
It seems to assume that you already have the item in hand.
The rules specifically for the Spellcasting Focus is worthless:
A Spellcasting Focus is an object that certain creatures can use in place of a spell’s Material components if those materials aren’t consumed by the spell and don’t have a cost specified. Some classes allow its members to use certain types of Spellcasting Focuses. See also “Spells” (“
Casting Spells”).
It does say that it can be used in place of Material components, but the specific rules for Material components says this:
A Material component is a particular material used in a spell’s casting, as specified in parentheses in the Components entry. These materials aren’t consumed by the spell unless the spell’s description states otherwise. The spellcaster must have a hand free to access them, but it can be the same hand used to perform Somatic components, if any.
If a spell doesn’t consume its materials and doesn’t specify a cost for them, a spellcaster can use a Component Pouch (see “Equipment”) instead of providing the materials specified in the spell, or the spellcaster can substitute a Spellcasting Focus if the caster has a feature that allows that substitution. To use a Component Pouch, you must have a hand free to reach into it, and to use a Spellcasting Focus, you must hold it unless its description says otherwise (see “Equipment” for descriptions).
So it says it has to be held in your hand, but it says nothing about how you get it to be in your hand. Free interaction? I guess? Or Utilize action? Even though the Utilize action says that you normally interact with something while performing a different action, but not the Magic action, apparently.
The Shield
The shield is not a weapon, so you can't equip it as part of the Attack action. I mentioned using your free interaction, but then the specific rules for shields says this:
Shields require the Utilize action to Don or Doff. You gain the Armor Class benefit of a Shield only if you have training with it.
The word "require" seems to suggest that you can't use your one free interaction per turn, you MUST use the Utilize action. This makes the sword and board more difficult to play than the two-weapon fighter. The easiest thing to do is just have one giant weapon, which really doesn't make much sense as it is actually more difficult to draw and stow one two-handed weapon than two one-handed weapons. If you have ever tried it. They don't magically hover over behind your back.
Of course magic exsists in D&D, so you could have a spell or magic item that allows giant weapons (or anything else) hover behind your back like in video games, but there is nothing in the rules that allow that right now.
Backpacks, Pouches, Bags of Holding, and Heward's Handy Haversack
Going deeper, I tried to find how long it takes to get something out of your backpack. Honestly it should take a full minute, pouches would probably be easier, but I can't find rules for them anywhere.
The backpack rules has nothing.
A Backpack holds up to 30 pounds within 1 cubic foot. It can also serve as a saddlebag.
The pouch is just as useless:
A Pouch holds up to 6 pounds within one-fifth of a cubic foot.
I looked up the Bag of Holding and found this:
Retrieving an item from the bag requires a Utilize action.
So just the Utilize action. That's pretty generous. So how about Heward's Handy Haversack?
Retrieving an item from the haversack requires a Utilize action or a Bonus Action (your choice). When you reach into the haversack for a specific item, the item is always magically on top.
That's even better; you can use a Bonus Action instead if you want. But both have the word "require" so I guess neither can be used with the one free object interaction per round rule. Why is this important?
Potions
The Potion of Healing specifically says that you can drink or administer it as a Bonus Action.
This potion is a magic item. As a Bonus Action, you can drink it or administer it to another creature within 5 feet of yourself. The creature that drinks the magical red fluid in this vial regains 2d4 + 2 Hit Points.
Other potions don't have this verbage. It just says:
When you drink this potion...
They are all magic items, and to use a magic item requires the Magic action as a general rule. The Potion of Healing's specific rule overrides this.
But either way you have to have the potion in your hand to use it. Where you are getting your Potion from seems like it would be important. (Man! It really would be convienient if these were all in one place!)
Conclusion
I think Wizards really doesn't care that much about versimilitude in this case. I realize a lot of tables are going to handwave these things and just pretend that having a bow in your hand one second and then having a sword and shield in your hand the next makes sense. Or that the Potion of Healing you need magically appears in your hand from the bottom of your backpack, even though you don't have a Heward's Handy Haversack that
specifically give you the ability to draw an item as a Bonus Action. I don't accept that though, and I know some of my players don't either (not sure about all of them). That is what prompted me to look deeper into the rules and make this post.
For people like me that grew up reading fantasy books and picturing battles in my head I want rules that I can visualize. Otherwise it is like the infinite bullets in six-shooters that movies that people joke about. I have already discarded the "draw or stow one weapon per attack" rule. Now it looks like I am probably going to overhaul all of the rules for manipulating equipment during battles.
