D&D 5E (2014) Thoughts on bonus action potions?

[M_Natas]

Potions are not 250 ml they are 1 ounce, 30 ml, of liquid according to the DMG. For weight they've obviously rounded up.

Healing Potions have a weight in the adventuring gear table of 1/2 lbs. Also in the item description. Of course some.if that can be the glass, but the glass is not 7/8 of the whole weight.
The DMG part speaks about potions in general. But the weight for healing g potions is specific. And in D&D 5e specific beats general rules.

 

[AlViking]

Healing Potions have a weight in the adventuring gear table of 1/2 lbs. Also in the item description. Of course some.if that can be the glass, but the glass is not 7/8 of the whole weight.
The DMG part speaks about potions in general. But the weight for healing g potions is specific. And in D&D 5e specific beats general rules.

There is no rule for healing potions that differentiates them from other potions. The only reason we have the weight for a healing potion is because it's listed under equipment. Since no one is going to track weight to the ounce (and I doubt many track those half pound potions either) the obvious and simple solution is that they rounded up. Do you really think every halberd weighs exactly 6 pounds, not an ounce more or less?

You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[billd91]

Healing Potions have a weight in the adventuring gear table of 1/2 lbs. Also in the item description. Of course some.if that can be the glass, but the glass is not 7/8 of the whole weight.
The DMG part speaks about potions in general. But the weight for healing g potions is specific. And in D&D 5e specific beats general rules.

Maybe you should look up potions in the DMG. There, it says:

An item in the Potion category might be a magical brew that must be imbibed or an oil that must be applied to a creature or an object. A typical potion consists of 1 ounce of liquid in a vial. [emphasis mine]

That's just as specific as the 1/2 pound weight of the potion of healing in the equipment list. Moreover, what's the smallest weight of anything in the adventuring equipment list? Yeah, it's 1/2 lb. So they basically don't want to bother tracking anything lighter than that weight, yet they don't want people carrying unlimited numbers of potions (if they use the encumbrance rules). So, no, the potion isn't more than 1 oz of liquid in typical cases (no telling what an exception might be - one crafted by giants for giant use, I suppose?).

(And yes, technically a dart is 1/4 lb, but it seems to be about the ONLY thing in the tables less than 1/2 lb to my old eyes, anyway.)

 

[M_Natas]

There is no rule for healing potions that differentiates them from other potions. The only reason we have the weight for a healing potion is because it's listed under equipment. Since no one is going to track weight to the ounce (and I doubt many track those half pound potions either) the obvious and simple solution is that they rounded up. Do you really think every halberd weighs exactly 6 pounds, not an ounce more or less?

You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

They have vials of poison and vials of perfume in the same adventuring gear table at a weight of - (zero).
We also have oil, which is one pint (473 ml) of oil and weighs a pound.

So we have shot sized vials, who weigh nothing, and pint sized flasks, who weigh a pound.
A healing potion is the only liquid in the adventuring gear table that weighs 1/2 pound, making it reasonable to assume that it is half a pint of liquid.

Those are the RAW readings.
Shot size is definitely homebrew and also not RAI, because the intention is that drinking it is an action, so it must be way mkre than a shot (20ml in most bars I know, 40mll is a double shot).

 

[Crimson Longinus]

They have vials of poison and vials of perfume in the same adventuring gear table at a weight of - (zero).

I bring ten thousand gallons of perfume! Weighs nothing!

 

[AlViking]

They have vials of poison and vials of perfume in the same adventuring gear table at a weight of - (zero).
We also have oil, which is one pint (473 ml) of oil and weighs a pound.

So we have shot sized vials, who weigh nothing, and pint sized flasks, who weigh a pound.
A healing potion is the only liquid in the adventuring gear table that weighs 1/2 pound, making it reasonable to assume that it is half a pint of liquid.

Those are the RAW readings.
Shot size is definitely homebrew and also not RAI, because the intention is that drinking it is an action, so it must be way mkre than a shot (20ml in most bars I know, 40mll is a double shot).

The DMG clearly states that an ounce of liquid is in a potion. Calculations based on weight are not needed.

If you want to make up a house rule saying they're 8 times as much feel free.

 

[M_Natas]

The DMG clearly states that an ounce of liquid is in a potion. Calculations based on weight are not needed.

If you want to make up a house rule saying they're 8 times as much feel free.

No, the dmg says a potion is typically 1 ounce. Not that all potions ever are 1 ounce.

And then the adventuring gear table and the (dnd beyond) items description say, that healing potions weighs 1/2 lbs. The specific weight rule of healing potion weight beats the general rule of "most potions weighs 1 ounce".

 

[James Gasik]

In that case, a greater healing potion, superior healing potion, and supreme healing potion are 1 oz of liquid because they're not listed as equipment in the PHB?

 

[cbwjm]

We used the bonus action potion fairly early on. In regard to healing potions, it was a bonus action to drink it yourself, an action to give it to a downed comrade.

In another campaign, not sure if this was a house rule or one picked up from 5.5 or another game, but if you drank a healing potion with an action then you gained the maximum amount of healing instead of having to roll.

In regard to the amount of liquid in a healing potion, people don't measure liquids in pounds so I'm going with the advice of 1 ounce per potion as mentioned in the DMG. Maybe that healing potion bottle is made of especially thick glass to help protect it from the adventuring lifestyle.

 

[TwoSix]

A healing potions weighs half a pound. That's around 250ml of Liquud. So a smallish glass. If you are not trained to drink that, it will take you 9 seconds, if you get proficiency in drinking you can do it in 5 seconds: Drinking Actual-Size D&D Potions *SWIRL Method #dungeonsanddragons #dnd

To be fair, assuming it’s 250 mL is making a lot of assumptions.

The potion bottle could be a lot of heavy, shatter resistant glass with relatively little volume. The liquid itself, which is magical, could be much higher density than the 1g/mL of water.

If you want to make a bonus action reasonable, just say the actual volume is only 20-30 mL.