Wizard wanted to use mage hand to take a weapon


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Can a Wizard with Thievery as a skill use Mage Hand for pick pocketing? Disarming traps? Open lock? Sleight of Mage Hand?

These seem reasonable to me, but potentially too useful in the hands of a clever player. There are many applications of the skill where the STR 2 won't hinder much.

I could see trying to use Heal with Mage Hand as well, but depending on the details that seems less likely to work, since you need some force and/or equipment to make Heal work.
 

mrtomsmith said:
Can a Wizard with Thievery as a skill use Mage Hand for pick pocketing? Disarming traps? Open lock? Sleight of Mage Hand?

These seem reasonable to me, but potentially too useful in the hands of a clever player. There are many applications of the skill where the STR 2 won't hinder much.

I could see trying to use Heal with Mage Hand as well, but depending on the details that seems less likely to work, since you need some force and/or equipment to make Heal work.
He can to pick pocket/sleight of hand/etc., but remember that the spell creates a glowing disembodied hand. The target may not notice, but people around the target should!
 

Regicide said:
More than sufficient to steal all the orc's arrows.
Yesterday night, running Keep on the Shadowfell, the mage in my party used mage hand to tip out all the crossbow bolts from a goblin's quiver.

I gave him a normal intelligence check against the goblin's reflex defense - the goblin might be able to notice the hand and stop it doing it if it moved fast enough.
 

20 pounds isn't too bad. It is a pair of Glaives, or 2 spiked chains, or a tent.

Personally I would make able to do anything the wizard could do manually, but instead of strength I would use intelligence.

Any attempt to resist the effects should be against Will instead of Reflex or Fortitude.

The other thing is I would make any of these actions stilll use the normal type of action it would require. (or at least a Minor Action because it takes an minor action to sustain the Mage Hand.)


GRAB (with Mage Hand)

GRAB: STANDARD ACTION.

Target: You can attempt to grab a creature smaller, same size, or one size larger than you.

Intelligence Attack: Make an Intelligence vs. Reflex. You must have at least one hand free to make a grab attempt (use the force Luke.)
Hit: The enemy is immobilized until it escapes or you end the Grab.
Your enemy can attempt to Escape on its turn.

Sustaining a Grab: You sustain a Grab as a minor action (Not free action - it takes a minor action to sustain a Mage Hand.)

Effects that End a Grab: If you are effected by a condition that prevents you from taking opportunity actions (such as dazed, stunned, suprised, or unconscious), you immediately let go of a grabbed enemy. If the target's distance exeeds the range of the Mage Hand the Grab ends. If the target is subjected to a pull, a push, or a slide effect the Grab ends.

ESCAPE (Mage Hand):

You attempt to escape from an enemy who has grabbed you (with Mage Hand.) Other immobilizing effects might let you make escape attempts.

ESCAPE: MOVE ACTION

+ Acrobatics or Athletics: Make an Acrobatics check vs. Will or an Athletics check vs. Will against the (Mage Hand) that effected you.

+ Check: Resolve your check. Success: You end the grab and can shift as part of this move action.
Failure: You are still grabbed.


Other attempted actions with the Mage Hand can easily be converted like this.

As for disrupting another's actions I would say the Mage Hand can nevver cause more than a +1/-1 effect and require a standard action to do so.

I would not allow a disarm because the wizard is not capable of doing that physically. It is an action that is not open to him anyway.

Any sort of attack that would cause damage should never be greater than 1d4, but probably no greater than 1d2 or 1d3 would be best - without Intelligence bonus to damage.
 
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TimeOut said:
If it was a combat situation, I would use the same rule that is listed under Prestidigitation: "Nothing you create with this cantrip can deal damage, serve as a weapon or a tool, or hinder another creature's actions." (PHB, page 159, Prestidigitation)

Edit: So, no. That is not gonna work. Use your combat abilities like the others, and don't try to turn this into some sort of "but wizards are all about creative spell usage"-game like 3e.

(Sorry, if that sounds a little bit harsh, but I don't like it if someone tries to exploit such things.)

If it was a sleeping Orc or some non-combat situation, I would have allowed it. Maybe a check like you did according to the situation.

I completely agree with this interpretation. Wrestling or moving any weapon of a creature in combat clearly violates the rule on cantrips.
 


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