[RPG] About “dropping” a weapon after an attack

actionsdnd-5efighter

Let's say that after making an attack with my lance by stabbing it into an enemy, I leave the lance there (stab it into the enemy and just let go). Is this considered dropping the lance? And as such, am I able to take out my longsword and attack with it (Fighter lvl 6 has the Extra Attack class feature).

Best Answer

There are no rules (to my knowledge) that govern what happens if you let go of a weapon after an attack; as far as I know, you'd simply drop it to the ground.

If you are of a class that has the Extra Attack feature and are high enough level to make multiple attacks as part of your Attack action, then it would be possible to attack with one weapon, drop it, then draw another weapon and make your additional attack(s) from the Extra Attack feature.

You would have to make your first attack with an already-drawn lance (note that if you attack with a lance, you do so at disadvantage if the target is within 5 feet of you), drop/let go of the lance, use your free object interaction for the turn (not a bonus action) to draw the longsword, and then attack with it.

Rules designer Jeremy Crawford unofficially confirms in this tweet from January 2018 that you can use different weapons for the multiple attacks granted by the Extra Attack feature, reiterating what he stated in this tweet from December 2014.

It's also confirmed in an official ruling in the Sage Advice Compendium:

When you use Extra Attack, do you have to use the same weapon for all the attacks?

Extra Attack imposes no limitation on what you use for the attacks. You can use regular weapons, improvised weapons, unarmed strikes, or a combination of these options for the attacks.