Potion-drinking for Dummies

[woolybearundertaker]

How do you all adjudicate drinking potions in combat?

According to the 3.5 SRD:
Activation:…Drinking a potion or using an oil on an item of gear is a standard action... Using a potion or oil provokes attacks of opportunity. A successful attack (including grappling attacks) against the character forces a Concentration check (as for casting a spell). If the character fails this check, she cannot drink the potion. An enemy may direct an attack of opportunity against the potion or oil container rather than against the character. A successful attack of this sort can destroy the container.

So the “drinking” action is standard, but does this cover the “pulling potion off of belt” part of the action?

In other words, to drink a potion, does one ALSO have to “Retrieve stored item” as a move equivalent action?

In the latter case, sword and board and two-wpn fighters would be at a major disadvantage, since they would have to drop their weapon (or wait another action to re-sheathe it) in order to free a hand up to drink the potion.

 

[James McMurray]

Right on all counts. You can get a masterwork bandolier to put the potions on and it would then be a free action to retrieve one. You'd still need a free hand of course.

 

[MichaelH]

Potion belts also allow you to retrieve one potion per round as a free action. They hold up to six potions. Masterwork potion belts hold up to 10 potions. As always, you need a free hand to retrieve the potion.

 

[dcollins]

Are those potion belts part of 3.5 core rules, or are they still FR-only?

 

[MichaelH]

They are not in the 3.5 core rules, AFAIK. The only book I have that includes them is the FRCS. I play a Greyhawk game and include them in my house rules.

 

[Darklone]

Use a light shield and hold the potion in your hand at the beginning of the battle.

 

[Felix]

The potion belts only make drinking the potion a free action, of course, and do not remove the AoO provoked by quaffing... right?

 

[Wormwood]

The potion belts only make drinking the potion a free action, of course, and do not remove the AoO provoked by quaffing... right?

Right.

As for retrieving a potion from your belt (or whatever):

[SRD quote]:
Manipulate an Item
In most cases, moving or manipulating an item is a move action.
This includes retrieving or putting away a stored item, picking up an item, moving a heavy object, and opening a door. Examples of this kind of action, along with whether they incur an attack of opportunity, are given in Table: Actions in Combat. [/SRD quote]

According to the table, it would draw an AoO to grab a potion...as would drinking it.

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

The potion belts only make drinking the potion a free action, of course, and do not remove the AoO provoked by quaffing... right?

The FRCS potion belts make the retreiving a free action (rather than a move action)... Still a standard action to to drink it.

 

[Lamoni]

In the latter case, sword and board and two-wpn fighters would be at a major disadvantage, since they would have to drop their weapon (or wait another action to re-sheathe it) in order to free a hand up to drink the potion.

Do you really have to drop a 2-handed weapon? I have always figured that you can hold and carry a 2-handed weapon just fine with one hand. You only need 2 hands when you want to fight with it. Is this wrong according to the rules?