One player wants to pass a potion to another player in the middle of combat. What kind of actions are needed?
[RPG] Passing an item in combat
combatdnd-3.5e
Related Solutions
Seeing as the combat is in hand the bard could focus on doing something non combat related. Some suggestions are:
- Start searching the room (you never know when you might turn up a secret door)
- Search/loot the fallen opponents if any
- Peer into the next room
Otherwise as others have said Ready an Action, Delay etc and hope the situation changes. In our party if the bard had nothing to do he would start singing of our great achievements and how we are going to win this battle or some other roleplaying colour.
Sometimes you just need to accept that there is nothing constructive this turn you can do, try and set yourself up for a better position next time, think about what would have been useful to have with you now and make sure that you have it with next time. In 3.5 sometimes the best thing you can do in a combat is pass your turn so that the combat gets finished faster and you can move on to something more interesting.
Yes.
Anyone can attempt to use Sleight of Hand to steal something mid-combat. For most PCs, this will require their action to make this attempt. Others may be able to use their bonus action.
As for whether or not the creature uses its passive Perception or a contested check would largely fall to the DM's discretion. Personally, I would look to the description in the rogue class for this sort of action since two of the roguish archetypes in the PHB specifically call out Sleight of Hand.
First, the Thief archetype on PHB p.97:
Fast Hands
Starting at 3rd level, you can use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action to make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, user your thieves' tools to disarm a trap or open a lock, or take the Use an Object action.
and on PHB p.98 under the Arcane Trickster archetype (emphasis mine):
Mage Hand Legerdemain
Starting at 3rd level, when you cast mage hand, you can make the spectral hand invisible, and you can perform the following additional tasks with it:
- You can stow one object the hand is holding in a container worn or carried by another creature.
- You can retrieve an object in a container worn or carried by another creature.
- You can use thieves' tools to pick locks and disarm traps at range.
You can perform one of these tasks without being noticed by a creature if you succeed on a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested by the creature's Wisdom (Perception) check.
In addition, you can use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action to control the hand.
In the case of Fast Hands, it is not specified and the choice of passive/contested would therefore be left up to the DM. For Mage Hand Legerdemain, it specifically states that it would be a contested check.
As a DM, I would first consider whether the creature was aware of your presence. In a case where you have not been seen (you were hiding before combat began), I would probably use the passive perception. However, if the creature is aware you are out there somewhere (you hid after it initially saw you) then it makes sense to me to use a contested check because the creature would be actively looking for threats at that point. If you weren't hidden at all and attempted to steal an item while engaged with the creature, I would probably also apply disadvantage if you couldn't give me a reasonable explanation of how you might do it without them noticing (see examples below). And of course, there are some items that I may rule were impossible to steal at that point in time.
Example 1:
The PC moves as if to grab the jailer, but it is really a distraction so he can palm the key sticking out from the jailer's vest pocket.
Example 2:
A rogue attacks with his main hand. At the end of his attack action, while the creature is still distracted by the attack weapon, his off hand darts in during his bonus action to steal a potion.
Example 3:
The barbarian attempts to steal a dagger from their opponent's belt sheath without any distraction at all.
In examples 1 and 2, I would allow them to roll contested checks. Example 3 would be rolled at disadvantage.
One last note, I would apply these same principles to any Sleight of Hand attempt used outside combat as well.
Best Answer
Free action for the giver, move action for the receiver
The closest I've seen the rules come to this is the general rule for manipulating items:
Examples of "moving or manipulating" that relate to this are:
However, that's just one side of the equation. Two people are involved in passing along an item. And we have this rule:
Since picking up an item off the ground is a move action, one character just needs to drop the item in question into an adjacent space, and the other character can move to that space and pick it up.
In light of this, it would be silly to require a move action to "manipulate" the item from yourself to your ally. I would rule that handing over an item is a move action for the receiver and a free action for the giver.
But only if it's already held
Don't forget that since it's a move action to draw an item out of a backpack, belt, etc, the giver may need additional actions in order to actually get the item into his hands.