Alternate Spellcasting Foci

[Occasional Sage]

How does the Playground feel about a Bard using their weapon and shield as a percussion instrument to fulfill the "musical instrument" focus in place of material components?

My inclination is "No,unless you belong to the College of Valor. Let's make a 3rd level ability."

Thoughts?

[Silavor]

Without the Warcaster feat it doesn't really change much. If one hand has a weapon and the other holds a shield, the character lacks a free hand to complete the somatic components of their spells. There are very few spells on the bard list that specifically have a material component but no somatic component; most are either Verbal only, or require V,S,M. Feather Fall, Light, Mass Suggestion, Suggestion, and Tongues are the only spells that would even be affected (Teleportation Circle has a costly material component that cannot be replaced by music). Minor Illusion, meanwhile, can no longer be cast silently, since the character will be banging on a shield to fulfill the material component.

[Tenmujiin]

Without the Warcaster feat it doesn't really change much. If one hand has a weapon and the other holds a shield, the character lacks a free hand to complete the somatic components of their spells. There are very few spells on the bard list that specifically have a material component but no somatic component; most are either Verbal only, or require V,S,M. Feather Fall, Light, Mass Suggestion, Suggestion, and Tongues are the only spells that would even be affected (Teleportation Circle has a costly material component that cannot be replaced by music). Minor Illusion, meanwhile, can no longer be cast silently, since the character will be banging on a shield to fulfill the material component.

Actually your spellcasting focus can be used as the 'free hand' to cast I'm fairly sure

[Silavor]

The core rulebook makes it sound like the somatic component requires a free hand that can then be used for handling the material component at the end, since it says Material can also use Somatic's free hand, but not that Somatic can use Material's free hand, but http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/rules-spellcasting gives a very different view of things. Particularly this bit about shield clerics:

"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."

So I guess it does have more of an effect on the bard than I thought.

[Tenmujiin]

Ok yea, looks like by RaW it would let you cast any spelk with a material component with your 'percussion' but not spells without. Personally I'd just rule you can use a spellcasting foci for somantic components regardless because otherwise its just weird but other DMs may rule differently.

[Occasional Sage]

The focus replacing material but not somatic components, and therefore gishes being hamstrung without alternate rules, is a good but secondary topic that probably needs its own thread.

That said, can you see any imbalance in this? A Valor Bard needing to swap from lute to sword seems ludicrous! I suppose using a Versatile weapon and forgoing the focus clears this up, but I can't see that being less balanced.

[Occasional Sage]

I just ran through the first two spell levels for Bard and Paladin, and found... oddness.

Paladins get to use their shield as a focus (allowing VSM, VM, SM, and V spells). Despite this, without Warcaster they are unable to cast half their spells in combat using sword-and-board; 11 of the 22 spells are VS, which cannot be done with a focus.

Bards with a makeshift focus (hence using Paladin casting rules) are denied 13 of 43 spells.

Warcaster or a 2h weapon fixes all of this, of course, opening all spells in both cases.

A Bard using s+b without a makeshift focus can cast five of 43 spells. Warcaster makes that seven of 43.

(note this is all setting aside sheathe-and-draw hassles)

[Tenmujiin]

I'd say the intent is that material and somatic components can be made with a focus. And I see nothing wrong with a bard using a weapon ans shield.