The Eldritch Knight Fighter archetype has the ability Weapon Bond where they bond with a weapon, making it summonable and you cannot be disarmed of it. My question is, can you make a bond with an improvised weapon, such as a chair leg or a lamp?
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asked Oct 8, 2015 at 15:26
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3 Answers
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This is one of those situations that the rules don't really cover and as such would be left up to the decision of the DM.
Personally, I'd allow it for the sheer amusement of the player(s) but it would very much depend on what exactly is being used as the improvised weapon.
From the Improvised Weapons section on page 147 of the PHB:
In many cases, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club.
By this statement a DM could definitely treat objects similar to actual weapons as weapons for the purpose of a weapon bond.
However, the Improvised Weapons section also says:
An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead goblin.
By this statement the players could find a lot of things that wouldn't fall within the "similar to actual weapons" clause and allowing "any object you can wield with one or two hands" to be subject to the rules of the weapon bond could create some pretty hairy situations.
As such I would allow improvised weapons to be bonded but would restrict it to objects that are similar to actual weapons and "common place" objects.
Also, this isn't defined within the rules but I see improvised weapons as just that, improvised, makeshift, and temporary. They are objects that wouldn't normally be classified as weapons except for under certain circumstances. As such it would be reasonable to say that Weapon Bond wouldn't work with improvised weapons because they aren't normally classified as weapons.
answered Oct 8, 2015 at 16:34
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13\$\begingroup\$ +1, but then again, for a certain type of game (dark comedy, mostly), I could totally see a character having a Weapon Bond with a dead goblin. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 20:45
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1\$\begingroup\$ As a note, I see no (gameplay balance/design) problem with using a dead goblin as a bound weapon. The problem arises when you bind a dead ally. Eldritch Knights can summon their weapons to them at will, right? Suddenly you don't have to haul the corpse around for resurrection-- bury it and teleport it in later. For that reason alone this shouldn't be allowed. \$\endgroup\$– PassageCommented Jun 25, 2016 at 0:14
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1\$\begingroup\$ While not for quite this specific scenario, Crawford recently clarified that a staff, which can be used as a quarterstaff per DMG p.140, counts as a weapon. I believe this lends some credence to your interpretation that improvised weapons that are similar enough to actual weapons to be "treated as such" could be bonded. \$\endgroup\$– CTWindCommented Jan 4, 2017 at 3:31
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2\$\begingroup\$ Crawford has clarified that improvised weapons are only considered "improvised weapons" when being used as one to attack (e.g. using a ranged weapon for a melee attack, using a chair leg to club someone, etc.): "An improvised weapon is, indeed, a weapon, but only the moment it's used as such. A chair/shield/etc isn't a weapon otherwise." \$\endgroup\$– V2BlastCommented Mar 27, 2018 at 22:36
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1\$\begingroup\$ @V2Blast Even more on topic, Crawford said specifically that improvised weapons don't count for the Weapon Bond feature: "Weapon Bond works with a bona fide weapon ("Behold, my sword!"), not an improvised weapon ("Look, a stool!")." \$\endgroup\$– KirtCommented Aug 5, 2023 at 20:09
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My reading is that the EK can, but there is little point.
First, improvised weapons are, well, improvised. You pick up whatever is around and smack someone with it. If you have a class power that lets you summon any weapon, why would you not use it for a real weapon?
Second, improvised weapons are fragile. A lamp can be used as a club, but probably only for one hit. A chair is going to disintegrate after a few hits. A table leg might be good for a couple of combats. Why would a fighter spend an hour bonding to a weapon that's going to break in the first fight?
That said, a fighter who has weapon-bonded their grandmother's favourite frying pan is an interesting idea, and interesting ideas should generally be rewarded.
answered Oct 10, 2015 at 23:56
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I would say yes if it made sense. A frying pan or even a rock could be like a club. If the DM doesn't like it, they can come up with a creative way to make it not work before or during the bonding process. Perhaps a wooden chair leg splinters apart or the dead goblin gets smashed to a pulp.
