Are Somatic Components enforced at your table?

[Firechanter]

RAW, you need at least one hand free to perform the gestures of a spell with Somatic component.
In 5E, the War Caster feat is there specifically to let you get by that limitation and cast, for instance, while wielding a weapon and shield. But do keep in mind that feats are an optional rule.

_However_, I don't think this has ever been strictly enforced in any game I participated in. The topic was addressed during the planning of our current game, and again it was decided that particularly Clerics can cast while wielding a shield and, whatever, mace.

It's also not a problem for GWFers since they can always take one hand off their weapon to perform any somatic components.
For pure Wizards etc it's not an issue either since they don't dual-wield anyway and have no shield proficiency.
It might be a notable boon for EKs or other non-GWF Gishes, since it saves them a feat tax.

Many Clerics -- about half of the Domains -- get certain boons for attacking with a weapon. Clerics are proficient with shields, but hardly any two-handed weapons worth mentioning. So they are clearly _meant_ to wade into melee brandishing sword&board (or rather, mace&board). And it goes without saying that they are meant to cast spells. It's hard enough to find volunteers for playing a Cleric as it is (at least in my gaming group); absolutely no point in making the class totally unattractive by making half their class features contradict each other. So we have a consensus that Clerics and fight and cast without any problem.

We haven't had a Gish with ambitions to go Sword&Board or Dual-Wield yet, so there hasn't been any need to make a call on these cases.

So, how do you handle this?

[Tanarii]

In my current game, yes.

But we're also using variant encumbrance with strict tracking, strict ammo tracking, strict supplies tracking, and strict movement/time tracking. And wandering monster checks. So it's not as out of place for this campaign as it might seem in others.

[CantigThimble]

It isn't actually much of a problem for clerics, they can stow or draw a weapon for free every turn and use their shield as a holy symbol focus. So I stow my mace and cast cure wounds one turn. I cannot make opportunity attacks with my mace during the enemy turns. Next turn I draw my mace and attack.

At 5th level my knowledge cleric stopped using his mace entirely and just kept one hand free constantly.

[JumboWheat01]

I know the PHB says you can draw your weapon as part of the action used to attack with it, so couldn't you, by that logic, sheath the weapon as part of the action to cast a spell, and then use your free Item Interaction to just draw your weapon again?

As for your topic question, yes, all the games I've played in have enforced somatics (with bonus points for actually performing some gestures and negative bonus points for knocking over someone's drink in the process.) I don't think it's actually caused us much problems, the only cleric played so far has been a Light one, so I can't really say for sure when it comes to the more martial ones. Of course, the two really martial domains, Tempest and War, get Martial Weapons for free, which means all those nasty two-handed weapons, so maybe they're not really ones to go by.

[fenrir227]

Personally, using a "light" enforcement is what works best for us.

Normal battle? whatever, you cast (assume they stow, cast, then draw next turn.)

Underwater, poison gas, critical hit knocks the wind out of you? Can't cast spells with verbal components.

Climbing, tied up, holding something other than a weapon or focus? Spells with somatic are usually out.

[Coffee_Dragon]

I know the PHB says you can draw your weapon as part of the action used to attack with it, so couldn't you, by that logic, sheath the weapon as part of the action to cast a spell, and then use your free Item Interaction to just draw your weapon again?

Sheathing the weapon would be the free interaction (like drawing the weapon is the free interaction in the example).

[Firechanter]

It isn't actually much of a problem for clerics, they can stow or draw a weapon for free every turn and use their shield as a holy symbol focus. So I stow my mace and cast cure wounds one turn. I cannot make opportunity attacks with my mace during the enemy turns. Next turn I draw my mace and attack.

True, that technically works. We just don't keep track of whether the Cleric can make an AoO or not. Which is not a big deal, since the situation hardly ever arises anyway.



Personally, using a "light" enforcement is what works best for us.

Normal battle? whatever, you cast (assume they stow, cast, then draw next turn.)

Underwater, poison gas, critical hit knocks the wind out of you? Can't cast spells with verbal components.

Climbing, tied up, holding something other than a weapon or focus? Spells with somatic are usually out.

We allow casting underwater if the character can breathe underwater.
I'd say nothing prevents you from casting with verbal components while in poison gas. You have already "paid" for breathing in the gas by rolling your Con save and taking damage. (Note how for instance Cloudkill also damages you if you don't even breathe)
And lastly, nothing in the rules prevents you from casting after soaking a Crit, as long as you have at least 1HP left. If something hits you so hard you can't breathe/speak, you shouldn't be able to do anything else either. I'd strongly object to such a houserule in my group.

And yeah, the last bit is where the Somatics would also kick in in our group; if you're tied up or anything you can't cast S spells, just like you can't cast V spells if you're gagged etc.

[Sigreid]

We enforce the specific, costly components. Between the spell component pouch and the focus 5e is designed to not worry about them too much. As far as the cleric issue, I believe that they are allowed to have their holy symbol painted on their shield and use that, so no issue really.

[Inevitability]

I let people wielding a two-handed weapon temporarily take one hand off to cast a spell, but sword-and-boarders and dual-wielders are out of luck.