Beatdown with a focus item?

[Pyrophilios]

Somatic components can be a pain if you want to swing a weapon and have a shield or another weapon in your hand.

So I'm wondering, can you use a focus item as a weapon?
Adventuring gear p.150 PH lists staff as a possible focus item to replace components. DMG p. 140 says all staffs can be used as quarterstaffs unless otherwise specified.

So, it's pretty sure, that swinging a staff around with Shillelagh already qualifies.

What about wands or rods? Can they be made into the form of clubs? Batons? From the description they sure sound heavy and sturdy enough.

[Mr Adventurer]

I'd allow rods as improvised clubs. Wands are too fragile.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Holy amulet as a sling?

A druid could scratch someone up pretty bad with a sprig of sacred hawthorn...

Wizards should definitely be chucking orbs around, Zenyatta style!

[Joe the Rat]

Rods and Staves for Clubs and Q-Staves. I'd favor metal or metal-reinforced rods.
Wand is a no, unless you are going for the eyes.

Orbs, crystals, sprigs, holy symbols - dicey. Throwing an orb has potential, but that's a good way for your stone/crystal orb to get fractured. Orichaclum Rune-Orb on a chain? Oh yes.

Lute - Absolutely, though it may not survive the enconuter
Zulkoon - That's more of a dex save, Daffy.

When in doubt, Shillelagh.

[CheddarChampion]

I don't know if this answers your question but a "Ruby of the War Mage" can help.

[MrCharlie]

In general the DM could always say no, but using a wand as a club seems obvious enough. If it's magic breakage should be virtually impossible, too.

As an aside; I've always wondered if you could use magic wands/rods as arcane foci, as the rules don't clearly state that they are such but it seems like a logical usage.

[nickl_2000]

The Harry Potter Movies taught us that you can use a Wand as an improvised weapon on a Trolls nose.

[Ninja_Prawn]

As an aside; I've always wondered if you could use magic wands/rods as arcane foci, as the rules don't clearly state that they are such but it seems like a logical usage.

I certainly allow it.

[No brains]

A funny thing about wands and clubs. The clubs on playing cards evolved from the wands on tarot cards, so a wand that is robust enough to be considered a club isn't entirely inconceivable.

As a DM, I would allow this, but I might have the PC pay the cost for both focus and weapon for an item that can do both.

[greenstone]

A quarterstaff weapon is 2sp. A staff focus is 5gp. Sure, you can use your nice, decorated, carved spell focus as a weapon to apply a beating, but do you really want to…?

That wand focus cost you 10gp. What happens when you whack the orc with it and the arcane crystals on the end get out of alignment? Next time you use it to cast a spell, something bad™ happens.

Take that holy symbol of your deity. Yes, you know the one, the fingerbone of a saint in a golden locket. You hit the ogre with it and the amulet broke, dropping the relic into the dirt. How holy do you think it is now?


As an aside; I've always wondered if you could use magic wands/rods as arcane foci, as the rules don't clearly state that they are such but it seems like a logical usage.

I rule that if the wand or rod requires attunement by a class then that class can use it as a spellcasting focus. So, yes for a wand of binding; no for a wand of magic missiles.

[Pyrophilios]

Considering that you regularly put your holy symbol on your shield and have it actively be hit by people who really want to hurt you, I don't think that is a particular valid concern.
Also, there is no reason to make your wands, rods and staffs not from a more durable material with runes etched into steel.

[Greywander]

Somatic components can be a pain if you want to swing a weapon and have a shield or another weapon in your hand.

So I'm wondering, can you use a focus item as a weapon?
Spell foci are used for material components, not somatic. RAW, you can only use a spell focus to perform somatic components if the spell also has material components. If a spell only has somatic components, you can't perform them with a hand holding a spell focus. Warcaster is what you're looking for here.

However, this does address sort of the reverse of this problem. Say you have Warcaster, so somatic components aren't an issue, but you want to cast a spell with a material component. If your hands are full of swords and shields, you're out of luck. But if your weapon or shield is a spell focus, then you're good to go.

Staves have already been mentioned, and holy symbols can be put on shields. I think that's about it for RAW. I like to think that rods can be used as a mace (see the Rod of Lordly Might, which is a magic mace). Druids can use a "wooden staff", which is somehow separate from the "staff" that wizards use. Either can probably be used as a quarterstaff, the question is if a staff can be both an arcane focus and a druidic focus at the same time?

[Pyrophilios]

Are you sure about that? If you can perform somatic components for spells with material components, why would you be unable to perform them when there are no components needed? If anything it should be easier to do.

[Joe the Rat]

The ExplanationTM given is that S,M Somatic is different from S Somatic.

When Material components are involved, that component is a key element. You are swish-and-flicking your wand, or making a particular fabulous sprinkling motion with your Sleep glitter. Somatic is about moving the Material component.
(This idea suggests that if you were to ignore just the M aspect of a spell - UA Psionic Soul Sorcerer, for example), the S component should be allowable with a busy hand)

S Spells involve more intricate or specific gestures - Think Doctor Strange warding gestures, or the Zodiac-based Hand Seals from Naruto (all other elements aside, this was one of the best examples of Somatic components in media). It's complex enough that it takes special training (Warcaster feat) to make the complex gestures and movements with your hands full, or cast the spell with a simpler gesture sequence.