light shield and wand?

[DrSpunj]

could anyone give me a reference for the switching of a weapon to the shield hand?

I'd very much appreciate seeing the RAW on this as well. There have been situations where passing something from your weapon hand to your "light shield" hand seemed fine (as in, free), but I remember at least one time at the end of the turn I was faced with the player saying "Now I switch my weapon back to my primary hand, that's a free action, too, right?". I couldn't find anything in the rules to say otherwise, and I don't remember the specific scenario, but at the time I remember thinking it seemed very much like having your cake and eating it, too.

I know the DM can limit the number of Free Actions in a round, and I honestly can't remember if I invoked that at the time or not, but I'm still interested to see if I missed something in the rules addressing this.

Thanks.

DrSpunj

 

[MichaelH]

FRCS has potion belts that allow you retrieve one potion per round as a free action. Potion belts hold up to 6 potions and masterwork potion belts hold up to 10. This is one of the few things I use from FR in my Greyhawk campaign.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I know the DM can limit the number of Free Actions in a round, and I honestly can't remember if I invoked that at the time or not, but I'm still interested to see if I missed something in the rules addressing this.

AFAIK, the closest thing to rules on the subject is Gruntharg's Law in the 3E Main FAQ, which indicates that changing grips on a weapon (one-handed to two-handed or back) is a free action.

-Hyp.

 

[Darklone]

Sometimes, in cases like these... and quickened spells... I really start to think this swift action in the MiniHB was a good idea.

 

[DrSpunj]

AFAIK, the closest thing to rules on the subject is Gruntharg's Law in the 3E Main FAQ, which indicates that changing grips on a weapon (one-handed to two-handed or back) is a free action.

Umm, I just looked and I must have deleted the last 3E (not 3.5E) Main FAQ. Anyone know where I can download a copy?

And Hyp., thanks. I'll probably go with "first switch is Free, second switch is a Move Action" if it comes up again on a player's turn.

DrSpunj

 

[Nail]

Yep. Good call.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Umm, I just looked and I must have deleted the last 3E (not 3.5E) Main FAQ. Anyone know where I can download a copy?

Wizards.com.

-Hyp.

 

[DrSpunj]

Wizards.com.

I guess I didn't give Wizards enough credit to even bother checking the FAQ page figuring they'd drop all their 3.0 stuff trying to force everyone to go 3.5!

Thanks for the link!

DrSpunj

 

[Li Shenron]

A quick question and an apology if its been covered before, but can you use a wand in the hand of your shield arm if its a light shield? The SRD says "Shield, Light, Wooden or Steel: You strap a shield to your forearm and grip it with your hand. A light shield’s weight lets you carry other items in that hand, although you cannot use weapons with it." I don't know that a wand has to be manipulated in any special way that would make it equivelent to a weapon, so would ther be any trouble with my cleric, for instance, holding her wand of cure ready in her shield hand?

Kahuna Burger

Even if it mentions only weapons that you cannot use, it still specifically allows to carry items in the shield hand. As a rule of thumb, you can consider using these:

Bucklers = let you use an item (but you lose the AC bonus for the round if you do)
Light Shields = let you carry an item but not use it
Heavy Shields = don't let you even carry an item