TOPIC: Focus weapon clairification

Druegar wrote:

jedibcg wrote: if we ever get a ranged set piece my understanding would be then you could be locked out of casting by having a locked in melee weapon and locked in range. Is that correct?

no
I cannot predict the future nor can I read Jeff's mind, but I feel extraordinarily confident in saying you will never be "locked out" of casting because you have both ranged- and melee-based set bonuses.

Okay what does being locked in mean then if you drop or stow your weapons.

jedibcg wrote:

Druegar wrote:

jedibcg wrote: if we ever get a ranged set piece my understanding would be then you could be locked out of casting by having a locked in melee weapon and locked in range. Is that correct?

no
I cannot predict the future nor can I read Jeff's mind, but I feel extraordinarily confident in saying you will never be "locked out" of casting because you have both ranged- and melee-based set bonuses.

Okay what does being locked in mean then if you drop or stow your weapons.

I could be wrong but I suspect locked-in just means you can't have another one of those.
So if you have a locked in melee weapon you have to have it when you melee. You could still stow it as it doesn't magically affix to your hand but if you want to melee you couldn't use anything different.

jedibcg wrote: what does being locked in mean then if you drop or stow your weapons.

It means this (emphasis added):
When a set bonus is achieved by equipping a weapon, shield, orb, or anything held in (not worn on) the hand, the hand-held item is "locked in" for that mode of combat. Therefore:

• If you equip a hand-held item in a melee slot to fulfill a set bonus, you must keep that specific hand-held item equipped when engaging in melee combat.
• If you equip a hand-held item in a ranged slot to fulfill a set bonus, you must keep that specific hand-held item equipped when engaging in physical ranged combat.

None of that means you can't drop/swap/stow/whatever a hand-held item to cast a spell.

valetutto wrote:

jedibcg wrote:

Druegar wrote:

jedibcg wrote: if we ever get a ranged set piece my understanding would be then you could be locked out of casting by having a locked in melee weapon and locked in range. Is that correct?

no
I cannot predict the future nor can I read Jeff's mind, but I feel extraordinarily confident in saying you will never be "locked out" of casting because you have both ranged- and melee-based set bonuses.

Okay what does being locked in mean then if you drop or stow your weapons.

I could be wrong but I suspect locked-in just means you can't have another one of those.
So if you have a locked in melee weapon you have to have it when you melee. You could still stow it as it doesn't magically affix to your hand but if you want to melee you couldn't use anything different.

That makes perfect sense.

The "locked-in" rule was created to prevent sleazes where people would swap out weapons to qualify for multiple weapon-inclusive sets.

Druegar wrote: The "locked-in" rule was created to prevent sleazes where people would swap out weapons to qualify for multiple weapon-inclusive sets.

Yeah I know why it was created and it makes perfect sense to have to prevent sleaze. The potential ramifications related to casting (which now sound like there are none) was all that we were concerned about.


Okay I guess more clarification for locked in. Does it mean that I cannot equip anything else in that slot or that I cannot perform combat with anything else in that slot.

I am a wizard and I equip Scepter of Might and Orb of Might and some other random Might token to get me to level 5. Can I hold a Focus Staff as long as I don't melee attack with it? I would think not but just want to double check.

Just saw your post above....okay based on it it sounds like you can cast sleaze then in the manner I described.

jedibcg wrote: Just saw your post above....okay based on it it sounds like you can cast sleaze then in the manner I described.

Please elaborate.

Cleric has Scepter of Might and Orb of Might equiped and some other random Might item to gain level 5.

She stows her items and pulls out her Baton of Focus to do some healing. She is not 'engaging in melee combat' but instead healing someone. Wouldn't that be sleazy?

jedibcg wrote: Cleric has Scepter of Might and Orb of Might equiped and some other random Might item to gain level 5.

She stows her items and pulls out her Baton of Focus to do some healing. She is not 'engaging in melee combat' but instead healing someone. Wouldn't that be sleazy?

Thank you for explaining.
I guess it could be considered sleazish... You're allowed to swap weapons, so personally (not officially) I don't see it as overly egregious. Remember, swapping that weapon is going to cost a Free Action.

There's another cost involved as well. Since our caster didn't declare the Focus weapon during coaching, their magic stats won't reflect it. So every time the caster casts healing or damage, they'll need to inform the DM, wasting precious time. Furthermore, the caster will need to show the DM the token and the DM may ask why that wasn't included on the character sheet--wasting even more time.

Except that healing in my experience is never been reviewed by a DM. I know it is on the party card NOW but the amount of HP to supply had been something the casting character relayed. It could be DM will now be making sure the correct amount of healing is being done, but this seems like it would a big change.

GaryM wrote: I'm pretty sure I'm more confused now then i was before reading this thread. Reasons to love being a barbarian.

When this insanity/inanity concludes (whenever it may be and hopefully more than just a week before con). Can a condensed and referable copy of the ruling(s) be posted to coaches/DMs?. I've admit i've been both amused and confused at times reading this thread. Just figuring at some point its going to get referenced this year in the coaching/training rooms regarding changes/wording clarifications.

jedibcg wrote: Except that healing in my experience is never been reviewed by a DM. I know it is on the party card NOW but the amount of HP to supply had been something the casting character relayed.

I tweaked your example from cleric to caster to be more inclusive, but you're right. DMs rarely concern themselves with HP. Since HP is tracked by players, if they're going to cheat, they're going to cheat. The outcome of this discussion won't change that.