[RPG] What’s the mechanical difference (as related to somatic components) between a holy symbol on a donned shield and a focus held in the hand

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I want to play a Hexblade Tomelock with a shield and rod without the War Caster feat. And I want to shoot sparklies out of my rod.

I understand the general rules of components and the examples of wizard & a cleric given in sage advice.

What I don't have neatly put together is this series of tweets by Mr. Crawford.

  • This one makes it seem that a hand with a focus is free when a spell requires only somatic (no material) components.

  • In this one, Mr. Crawford seems to make a distinction between a holy symbol (or other focus) and a symbol emblazoned on a shield.

So, can a Hexblade Warlock use one hand hold a shield, the other a rod, and still cast Eldritch Blast?

Best Answer

You ask in the title: What's the mechanical difference (as related to somatic components) between a holy symbol on a donned shield and a focus held in the hand?

Answer: From the point of view of spellcasting, there is no difference.
(The shield has the non-spell-related advantage of providing a bonus to your AC, but can only be used as a focus by clerics & paladins.)

You ask at the end of your explanation: can a Hexblade Warlock use one hand hold a shield, the other a rod, and still cast Eldritch Blast?

Answer: You have it right there in your own background info.

The Sage Advice page that you linked says:

Another example: a cleric’s holy symbol is emblazoned on her shield. She likes to wade into melee combat with a mace in one hand and a shield in the other. She uses the holy symbol as her spellcasting focus, so she needs to have the shield in hand when she casts a cleric spell that has a material component. If the spell, such as aid, also has a somatic component, she can perform that component with the shield hand and keep holding the mace in the other.

If the same cleric casts cure wounds, she needs to put the mace or the shield away, because that spell doesn’t have a material component but does have a somatic component. She’s going to need a free hand to make the spell’s gestures. If she had the War Caster feat, she could ignore this restriction.

Eldritch Blast has no Material Component, so you'll need a free hand to make the somatic gestures. You'll have to put down either the shield or the rod.

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