Thief Stuff

[elyktsorb]

Is there a list of all the items a thief can use with their bonus action (and by that I mean stuff that has a tangible use at all, not like stuff I'd have to improve with), or am I just going to have to comb through all the stuff in the game myself?

[stoutstien]

Pretty much anything under adventuring gear is fair game with the exception of healing potions. The healer feat supplements the action already available for the healing kit as well. There is a few class features that provide items that can be used with it such as the spell soaring item.

What can't be used with fast hands are magical items which have their own special action.

[nickl_2000]

Draw two weapons on a turn
Pull an extra item out of your backpack
two environmental object interactions on a turn
use a healing kit on someone
Drop caltrops
Drop ballbearings
Apply poison to weapons
Light a torch
Raise or lower the hood of a hooded lantern
Drinking a healing potion (This one is up for debate still I believe)

[Xetheral]

Acid, alchemist's fire, and oil can all be used with fast hands. You can also apply a poison to a weapon or attack with an inhaled poison.

[kaervaak]

Reverse pickpocket can be fun. Coat the handle of their weapon with contact poison, plant a scorpion on them, put lit explosives in their back pocket.

You can also use fast hands to mess with people - tie their shoe laces together, douse them in oil (+5 damage whenever they take fire damage), swap their healing potions with acid, attach a manacle to their hand or foot, steal their arrows/arcane focus/component pouch, set a trap (hunter's trap, caltrops, grease trap). Lot's of fun stuff.

[Man_Over_Game]

Put simply:

Any item that requires use of an Action, or has a use for an Action (such as a shield, as stated below)
Any item that requires use of an Object Interaction.

Magic items are exempt from this, because they do not use the Use an Object Action (and instead are "Activated" with your Action). This includes wands and potions.

Yes, you heard me. You cannot use Fast Hands with a Potion: DMG p.141

It is ambiguous as to whether throwing a flask is considered part of the Attack Action or not, but the general idea is that, if a flask:

• Can be thrown as part of the Attack Action, you cannot use Fast Hands with it.
• Requires an Action for anyone to throw it, you can use Fast Hands with it (assuming it's not a magic item).

One's a buff for martial diversity but a nerf for the thief, and the other is the opposite, so choose wisely.

Just to be clear, these are RAW, and I'm of the opinion that anything should be able to be done with the Thief's Bonus Action, as anything they could do is inherently throttled by the DM (as any items, environmental effects, or most consequences are all filtered through the DM, since there are so few rules to do anything in 5e...).


Personally, the best use of a Thief I've seen isn't with the standard gear, but with the environment and goal-swapping. You can run over and untie the hostage, pick up the McGuffin, and break the unholy ritual all in the same turn. Someone else has the key item in their pack? Run over and grab it! Anything that requires a specific item, skill check, person, etc. in combat that isn't solved with brute force is made insanely easy with a Thief. Given, those kinds of scenarios can be rare for some tables, so YMMV.

[tatsuyashiba]

Don/doff shield. See sage advice: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/12/24...-don-a-shield/

[elyktsorb]

Don/doff shield. See sage advice: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/12/24...-don-a-shield/

Rogues don't get shield proficiency tho? I mean I guess I could.

[nickl_2000]

Rogues don't get shield proficiency tho? I mean I guess I could.

A single level into Fighter, Cleric, Ranger, or Hexblade will take case of that for you though. One level into fighter it pretty amazing for the rogue.

[Misterwhisper]

Don/doff shield. See sage advice: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/12/24...-don-a-shield/

To note, as was pointed out to him in other places, that ruling is completely wrong.

Donning and Doffing a shield is an action all on it's own, not an object interaction.
Donning armor/shield is donning armor action.
It is NOT interact with an object.

JC just refuses to admit he is wrong despite having the exact phrase in the book shown to him.

Also you can't throw alchemical items at an enemy with it either, that is making an attack.

[tatsuyashiba]

To note, as was pointed out to him in other places, that ruling is completely wrong.

Interesting. Can you post a link?

[Tanarii]

Don/doff shield. See sage advice: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/12/24...-don-a-shield/

Yup. Works for the same reason Acid and Alchemists Fire does.

[Man_Over_Game]

Just for everyone's sanity:

Player's Handbook, page 193:
"When an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action."

Dungeon Master's Guide, page 141:
"If an item requires an action to activate, that action isn't a function of the Use an Object action, so a feature such as the rogue's Fast Hands can't be used to activate the item."

The key word here is "Activate", which is also in the DMG on the same page, and is specific to magical items (and it explicitly includes drinking a potion).

So the only reason you couldn't use Fast Hands on an item was if:

• Your DM says you're not using the Use an Object Action (which may be the case if he considers throwing a flask the same as throwing an improvised weapon with the Attack Action).
• The item in question is magical.

[Misterwhisper]

Just for everyone's sanity:

Player's Handbook, page 193:
"When an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action."

Dungeon Master's Guide, page 141:
"If an item requires an action to activate, that action isn't a function of the Use an Object action, so a feature such as the rogue's Fast Hands can't be used to activate the item."

The key word here is "Activate", which is also in the DMG on the same page, and is specific to magical items (and it explicitly includes drinking a potion).

So the only reason you couldn't use Fast Hands on an item was if:

• Your DM says you're not using the Use an Object Action (which may be the case if he considers throwing a flask the same as throwing an improvised weapon with the Attack Action).
• The item in question is magical.

Same with donning and doffing.

Putting it on and taking it off are not using an object, the action is just a list of how long it takes to be done. There is no “using armor” to put it on, it takes X amount of time.

[Man_Over_Game]

Same with donning and doffing.

Putting it on and taking it off are not using an object, the action is just a list of how long it takes to be done. There is no “using armor” to put it on, it takes X amount of time.

To be honest, it's a pretty thin line between:

• Use an Object Action is any use of an Action that's defined by that item (***)
• Use an Object Action is any use of an Action to utilize an item (***).

***: when the item is neither magical or used for an attack.


It's so thin of a line that it took me a good 5 minutes to figure out how to write out those differences in a way that made sense.

More importantly, though...why not? Not only does it make the rules a lot simpler (Now an UaOA is "Any Action" rather than "Any Defined Action", which is basically the difference between "Improv" and "Premade mechanics made by the DM/book"), but it also helps the Thief (an otherwise unpopular Rogue subclass). Everything gets better, at least that's what it seems to me.

[Hytheter]

So the only reason you couldn't use Fast Hands on an item was if:

• Your DM says you're not using the Use an Object Action (which may be the case if he considers throwing a flask the same as throwing an improvised weapon with the Attack Action).

Alright, but in that case they better let me throw two flasks if I have Extra Attack or I'll be throwing two flasks at them IRL. :P