Carrying and Using Items

A character carries items in three ways: held, worn, and stowed. Held items are in your hands; a character typically has two hands, allowing them to hold an item in each hand or a single two-handed item using both hands. Worn items are tucked into pockets, belt pouches, bandoliers, weapon sheaths, and so forth, and they can be retrieved and returned relatively quickly. Stowed items are in a backpack or a similar container, and they're more difficult to access. Drawing a worn item or changing how you're carrying an item usually requires you to use an Interact action (though to drop an item, you use the Release action instead). Changing Equipment lists some ways that you might change the items you're holding or carrying, and the number of hands you need to do so. Many ways of using items require you to spend multiple actions. For example, drinking a serum worn at your belt requires using an Interact action to draw it and then using a second action to drink it as described in its Activate entry (Serums). ### Changing Equipment Change Hands Action Draw or put away a worn item, swap one item for another, or pick up an item 1 1 or 2 Interact Pass an item to or take an item from a willing creature 2 1 or 2 Interact Drop an item to the ground 1 or 2 Release Detach a shield or item strapped to you 1 Interact Change your grip by removing a hand from an item 2 Release Change your grip by adding a hand to an item 2 Interact Retrieve an item from a backpack 3 , sack, or similar container 2 Interact 1 If you retrieve a two-handed item with only one hand, you still need to change your grip before you can wield or use it. 2 A creature must have a hand free for someone to pass an item to them, and they might then need to change their grip if they receive an item requiring two hands to wield or use. 3 Retrieving an item stowed in your own backpack requires first taking off the backpack with a separate Interact action.