Fast Hands ideas for using

[Tanarii]

Thief Feature: Fast Hands
"Starting at 3rd level, you can use the bonus action granting by your Cunning Action to make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, use your thieves' tools to disarm a trap or open a lock, or take the Use an Object action."
(Posting it direct since it's available online content)

The PHB seems to be packed with Equipment I'd kind of tuned out that is just custom built for a Thief using this class Feature.
Acid, Alchemists Fire, Ball Bearings, Caltrops, Holy Water are obvious combat enhancers. Also Oil in one round, then setting it on fire with a Tinderbox the next (or just doing both in a single round). Healers Kit and Potion of Healing are great defensively. Applying Basic Poison quickly at the start of combat. Two I almost missed are: Hunting Trap (area denial); Climbers Kit, anchor yourself during combat while climbing to prevent falling, you can easily remove it, move, and reapply it without losing actions.

Also the entire "Interacting with Objects Around You" PHB side-bar on pg 130 should apply if you want to take a second action in a round after using up your first free object interaction. That's especially interesting for sheathing two weapons, opening AND closing a door instead of just leaving it open behind you. Maybe picking up the 2nd and 3rd weapons your Fighter just disarmed from adjacent foes (assuming he nabbed the first), or grabbing a second item from the environment around you.

Looking for other interesting ways to use this ability, or better yet interesting ways you've seen it used or put it to use. Primarily interested in the Use an Object action, especially since the DMG states that it cannot be used with magic items. :/ But also Sleight of Hand. Combat Trap disarms and Lock picking are pretty self-explanatory but if you got a innovative example of use let 'er rip.

[Mr.Moron]

1) Ask GM to define the duration of a round in real time (This was 6 seconds in 3.P, try to start with this as a base).
2) Build or have built a box, with a crank you can turn and adjustable tension/resistance.
3) Ask GM how fast you can turn crank with a casual effort interacting with it.
4) Increase tension
5) Repeat steps 3 & 4 until the time taken to turn the crack is sufficiently long (20-30 seconds should do, but you can do as long as you want)
6) Use "Interact with item" as a bonus action during your turn.
7) Since doing this takes 30 seconds, or 6 rounds clearly 6 rounds are occurring during your bonus action. Since 6 rounds have past, you get 6 actions and 6 bonus actions. Since per the wording of fast hands you can interact with an object as AN (read: one[1])bonus action only one of these is consumed by the crank turning. Since other creatures obviously can't take turns during your turn (this would defy the definition of a turn), you can take all 6 actions and bonus actions before they do anything.

NOTE: Be careful. A lame DM who wants to ruin your fun and cares about "Realism" more than player agency and you being awesome and doing cool stuff might rule after your succesive actions the monsters get just as many, since 6 rounds have passed for them too. Always be sure to set the crank to a sufficient level to generate enough actions to finish anything that might be hostile for the next number of rounds equal to the number you take during your bonus action.

[steppedonad4]

I have a thief concept based on being a 'barber', which is like a hackney surgeon. He carries scalpels instead of daggers and syringes instead of darts. With the Healer feat, he can stab you in the heart with adrenaline when you're unconscious and then force-feed you a horrid concoction of cocaine, mercury, lithium and hemlock that will instantly heal you up.

He's also a Charlatan who sells people ridiculous and experimental remedies which may or may not work, depending on how much he's been able to test it on... err... 'willing' subjects.

For inspiration, I use sites like this: http://listverse.com/2013/07/31/10-bizarre-medieval-medical-practices/

[JoeJ]

1) Ask GM to define the duration of a round in real time (This was 6 seconds in 3.P, try to start with this as a base).
2) Build or have built a box, with a crank you can turn and adjustable tension/resistance.
3) Ask GM how fast you can turn crank with a casual effort interacting with it.
4) Increase tension
5) Repeat steps 3 & 4 until the time taken to turn the crack is sufficiently long (20-30 seconds should do, but you can do as long as you want)
6) Use "Interact with item" as a bonus action during your turn.
7) Since doing this takes 30 seconds, or 6 rounds clearly 6 rounds are occurring during your bonus action. Since 6 rounds have past, you get 6 actions and 6 bonus actions. Since per the wording of fast hands you can interact with an object as AN (read: one[1])bonus action only one of these is consumed by the crank turning. Since other creatures obviously can't take turns during your turn (this would defy the definition of a turn), you can take all 6 actions and bonus actions before they do anything

And if you use all 6 of those bonus actions to turn the crank, you now have 36 actions, along with 36 bonus actions, which you can use to keep turning the crank to get even more actions and bonus actions. For all practical purposes, you can stop time for as long as you keep turning the crank. Just one little gadget can turn your 3rd level thief into Hiro Nakamura. (And then he gets hit by lightning and dies, but it'll be fun while it lasts.)

[Tanarii]

Lol@ Mr.Moron I think you missed something between steps 3 and 4. If you increase the tension, the amount of rotation each action turns the crank should go down. It'd just take more actions to turn the crack once.

Nice reworking of Zeno's paradox though. :)

[Coffee_Dragon]

I've been pondering this as well, since I find the common suggestions either don't make sense, don't work very well, or don't work outright. Problems with Fast Hands include:

* Anything magic isn't allowed by the rules (but do talk to your DM).
* Lots of stuff logically requires one or two hands, which you may not have available, thereby cutting into your action economy and offsetting the gains.
* Lots of stuff that involves precision work, standing still, other people standing still, or all of the above, would not reasonably fit inside a combat round with orcs swatting at you at any moment. (Solution: crank!?)
* Using items like oil or acid could get gimmicky pretty soon. (Using holy water is one thing I can get behind, since it's more situational.)

[Coidzor]

Oil + Green Flame Blade is one way to pull it off in the same round without sacrificing the chance for sneak attack.

[MaxWilson]

I have a thief concept based on being a 'barber', which is like a hackney surgeon. He carries scalpels instead of daggers and syringes instead of darts. With the Healer feat, he can stab you in the heart with adrenaline when you're unconscious and then force-feed you a horrid concoction of cocaine, mercury, lithium and hemlock that will instantly heal you up.

"Benjamin Barker!!!!!"

[Tanarii]

IMO being gimmicky is the whole point. :)

It'll be limited somewhat by opportunity costs: gp cost & weight and availability (during long treks/dungeon delves) will make it a depletable resource. And its using your bonus action that'll you'll often want to use to Dash, Disengage, or Hide. Also a lot of the 'attacks' like Acid and Alchemists Fire are improvised attacks, and they don't add Sneak Attack damage. The last is especially important, if your first attack missed making an off-hand attack to try and get your SA in becomes important.

But I like the extra option, even if it's gimmicky. I'd pretty much been overlooking the Use an Object aspect Fast Hands previously. I thought it was there primarily for using magic items. But that's not possible to do with Fast Hands, which made me take another look at it.

[steppedonad4]

* Anything magic isn't allowed by the rules (but do talk to your DM).
Huh?


* Lots of stuff logically requires one or two hands, which you may not have available, thereby cutting into your action economy and offsetting the gains.
* Lots of stuff that involves precision work, standing still, other people standing still, or all of the above, would not reasonably fit inside a combat round with orcs swatting at you at any moment. (Solution: crank!?)
* Using items like oil or acid could get gimmicky pretty soon. (Using holy water is one thing I can get behind, since it's more situational.)
None of that is rules-based. What you're doing here is inserting your own preferences in place of rules and saying, "That can't work!"

[Coffee_Dragon]

Huh?

It's in the DMG. Fast Hands explicitly doesn't work with magical items, including potions.


None of that is rules-based. What you're doing here is inserting your own preferences in place of rules and saying, "That can't work!"

We can't talk about anything that isn't completely "rules-based"? That just, like, your own preference.

[djreynolds]

Oil + Green Flame Blade is one way to pull it off in the same round without sacrificing the chance for sneak attack.

That's just evil and awesome

[Tanarii]

That adds some interesting possibilities. But unfortunately I'd been thinking mostly about Wands, and maybe a few other action activated chargeless items if they became available. Scrolls too, although I can't recall offhand if I'd come to the conclusion that even with UMD a Thief couldn't use them.

Of course, the availability of such would be incredibly DM dependent anyway.

[Hudsonian]

I really like the role play, "I pull the orc's pants down around his ankles" option (heavily DM dependent). Disadvantage on Dex saves, requires a bonus action to pull up his pants. Particularly rude comments about the mobs manhood gives the next attack advantage.


But that's just me having fun.

(also, loot the living body)

[Reshazedek]

Had a dm that allowed combining items. Caltrops+Oil+Ball bearings = Slippery Pokey Burny surface.