Can I start combat with a potion* in each hand (no actions), drink them (two actions), then drop the empty vials (free action) on a hard floor to create a two caltrop-like hazards in two adjacent squares before Striding away (one action)?
Why or why not?
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Caltrops are metal, with long spikes. Broken glass isn't getting through most shoes/boots, especially not the sturdy traveling boots of explorers clothing. Breaking the windows worked against John McClain in Die Hard because he was barefoot. I think most ancestries that tend to go barefoot instead of wear shoes probably have tough enough soles to treat about the same.
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You must eat the vial like a normal person. What are you even talking about? No vials remain after you drink potions!
Exactly.
Which is also why you can drink potions underwater with no problems.
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It is always questionable why people use the word 'drink' for potions.
And we're talking about coke bottles more than lab beakers. These flasks, many of which adventurers hang on their outfits, have to endure a lot of circumstances far worse than being dropped on a hard surface from a modest height.
And if specifically choosing weaker vials, what kind of strength could the shards have to penetrate? As noted above, it's not like soft-soled, barefoot creatures are engaging in these battles. But sure, if in some noble's manor and trying to hurt the feet of a maiden who awoke in haste and ran out into the hall, then yeah, you might have a point. :-P
More interesting IMO than trying to milk this radish would be to develop an actual item made to do this. Whether it's magical, alchemical, or mechanical doesn't matter IMO, but I'd have it cost at least an action to throw down. This would save a draw action for what that's worth.
Or really any other things that could be contained in a vial or flask.
Where does it say bottles and flasks are made of glass? Personally I'd get something that wasn't quite as breakable that a simple 3' drop would break them. PF2 doesn't list material as far as I know and PF1, for instance, lists glass, steel and iron vials as an available potion bottle/vial option.
Secondly, to agree with Unicore, caltrops are L bulk metal objects specifically made to stick up into the foot while glass vails are L items when full, so I'd say negligible Bulk empty, and might not break in a way to have any glass pointing up. I'd accept a caltrop-like effect or difficult terrain if something like a shelf of glassware was knocked over into a square but not from an off vial or 2.
Well, now you got me digging up my Reformulated homebrew.
I had the exact same temptation to make something out of the used vials.
Bear in mind, this is an early game capstone (L8) "Field Fusion Feat" for a Bomber <--> Chirurgeon pairing. So it's supposed to be rather a potent option.
Thunderstone Glassware: Chiurgeon-Bomber Fusion Discovery
The union of your dual interest in assistive elixirs and harmful bombs has resulted in a simple and effective discovery. By using shaped thunderstone in place of typical glass, you can hurl your spent elixirs as weapons. Gain the following Additive.Thunderglass: Additive X
Trigger: You create an infused elixir
The elixir’s empty container can be thrown as a bomb, using the statistics of a thunderstone matching the Additive’s level. However, this bomb’s splash damage is instead the slashing of fragmented glass, and there is no potential deafening effect. The awkward shape reduces the range increment to 15 ft.
Treat the thunderglass as a separate item from the elixir. Any other Additives may only affect either the elixir half or bomb half of the created item.
When the elixir is Activated, consider the item to have become the specified bomb, potentially being stowed and thrown at a later time. Holding one’s own Thunderglass elixir enables the following action.Dumping Throw: 1 Action, manipulate, attack, flourish.
With 5 ft less reach than normal, you Activate the elixir in a hurry. Then, you Strike with the empty container in an aggressive flourish, taking a -1 untyped penalty to the attack roll.