[SoP] Custom Drawback: Hand Signs

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Usually if you want to indicate that a casting tradition uses their hands you give them Somatic Casting. But that kind of armor restriction has always felt weird to me, so I want to design a Drawback that lets you wear any armor but still restricts you to needing free hands.

Hand Signs
You must have both hands free to cast your spells. Armor does not restrict your casting, but you may not be holding anything other than required spell components or foci, nor may you cast while your hands are bound.
Special: This casting tradition may not be taken by any character with less than two manipulatory appendages.

[Dragonborn3]

So it is just how Vancian divine casters work, except one extra hand? Not much of a drawback, but still a neat idea.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Dragonborn3 wrote:

Not much of a drawback, but still a neat idea.

I was trying to model how much of a drawback it was based on Magical Signs, which is also kind of narrow.

Anyway, I wrote it before reading how you can modify Somatic Casting 1 to let it work in Light and Medium but not with a shield. Using that variant would work almost as well, and then just assuming heavy armor always requires restrictive gauntlets.

[Dragonborn3]

Magical Signs is pretty obvious though, so while it doesn't seem like much of one, everyone will know.