Eldritch Archer, Spell Combat and Material Components

[baggageboy]

So, the eldritch archer archetype is built around casting spells while wielding a two handed ranged weapon. To that end it allows using the hand holding your bonded weapon to complete somatic components. Which is all well and good, but what about material and focus components?

Is an eldritch archer just supposed to take eschew components in addition the the ridiculous number of ranged combat feats? Or simply not cast any spells with material components?

[willuwontu]

Spell Components wrote:

Somatic (S)

A somatic component is a measured and precise movement of the hand. You must have at least one hand free to provide a somatic component.

Material (M)

A material component consists of one or more physical substances or objects that are annihilated by the spell energies in the casting process. Unless a cost is given for a material component, the cost is negligible. Don’t bother to keep track of material components with negligible cost. Assume you have all you need as long as you have your spell component pouch.

Focus (F)

A focus component is a prop of some sort. Unlike a material component, a focus is not consumed when the spell is cast and can be reused. As with material components, the cost for a focus is negligible unless a price is given. Assume that focus components of negligible cost are in your spell component pouch.

Choosing a Spell wrote:

To cast a spell, you must be able to speak (if the spell has a verbal component), gesture (if it has a somatic component), and manipulate the material components or focus (if any). Additionally, you must concentrate to cast a spell.

If we look at it purely RAW, nothing says that you need a free hand to manipulate Focus and Material components.

[Derklord]

Well, you surely can't manipulate components with your mind, so unless you have a prehensile tail or a tentacle or something, you still need a hand.

Of course, the second hand doesn't touch the bow most of the time, so it's not actually a problem. And ungripping and regripping a two-handed weapon are free actions anyway.

[blahpers]

Nothing states that the same hand that uses the somatic components cannot also manipulate the material and/or focus components. The process of casting the spell is only defined in terms of action and components; it isn't specified whether, for example, you have to make gestures with your free hand at the same time as waggling that licorice root or whether you first gesture then licorice-waggle (or vice versa), nor whether the the waggling of the licorice is itself part of the somatic component.

All I know is that if one free hand isn't sufficient to handle both somatic and material components, then staves, metamagic rods, and many arcane bonds would simply not work when casting spells with both somatic and material components. I doubt that the design team intended such an outcome, so I read it more permissively.

[Cavall]

I wouldn't overthink it, given it's written to work well enough as it is. Games never corrected it because honestly it may not need correcting.

They reach in to their pouch and cast before using their hand on the bow string. Could be just as simple as that.

[Claxon]

The archetype pretty clearly expects that spell casting will work even if you have a two-handed ranged weapon.

I wouldn't overthink this as others point out.

I agree with Cavall that the eldritch archer reaches into their pouch and manipulates components/foci and casts the spell and then uses their bow.