[RPG] Will anything break if I allow the Warlock pact weapon to be called with a bonus action instead of an action

action-economyclass-featurednd-5ehouse-ruleswarlock

I have a Warlock in my group that rarely ever gets his pact blade out, since it takes an action to summon it. Given that drawing a regular weapon doesn't even take a bonus action, is there anything in the rules that could break if I allow the weapon to be summoned using a bonus action instead?

The use case is to seem as harmless as possible – none of the Warlocks features are openly visible or rely on bulky equipment. But if there is a fight, time is of the essence and wasting a round's action on calling the weapon seems too ineffective.

Best Answer

There might be some synergy issues with other melee or Warlock abilities- Hex is a nice potential chunk of Warlock DPR and takes a Bonus Action to cast/retarget, while Polearm Mastery's extra attack or Great Weapon Fighting's cleave also take that extra attack. But if your Warlock is willing to give that up, I don't see much problem.

That said, I can't tell from your question if your Warlock knows s/he doesn't need to resummon the weapon every combat? Once the weapon is summoned, it stays with the character like any regular weapon, and can be safely sheathed or stowed like a regular sword/axe/spear/staff/hammer or whatever. I don't have my book on hand to find the quote, but the pact weapon is only dismissed by staying a certain distance from the warlock for a minute, or by the Warlock's conscious choice (no action required). This shouldn't be any more of a problem than a fighter drawing his sword.