Can't equip gauntlet with other weapon

[kwiqsilver]

When I equip a gauntlet and another weapon, I get a validation error. That should be a legal combination.

[Minous]

It works for me, as long as they are not in the same hand.

[Azhrei]

Originally Posted by kwiqsilver

When I equip a gauntlet and another weapon, I get a validation error. That should be a legal combination.

Agreed. HL complains and it shouldn't.

I even asked my Pathfinder Captain and he said that a gauntlet in the same hand as a weapon is fine. You can't use both at the same time, but that's typically not the point.

[Minous]

Originally Posted by Azhrei

Agreed. HL complains and it shouldn't.

I even asked my Pathfinder Captain and he said that a gauntlet in the same hand as a weapon is fine. You can't use both at the same time, but that's typically not the point.

The reason HL complains is that when you check that box on the gauntlet you are saying "I am using this as a weapon, and in which hand". Lets say you have a gauntlet in the left hand and a rapier in the right, and equip both, HL calculates the two weapon penalties for you. If you are not actively using it as a weapon don't check the box. Please do not rely on HL to think for you, it is a useful tool but isn't flawless.

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by Minous

The reason HL complains is that when you check that box on the gauntlet you are saying "I am using this as a weapon, and in which hand". Lets say you have a gauntlet in the left hand and a rapier in the right, and equip both, HL calculates the two weapon penalties for you. If you are not actively using it as a weapon don't check the box. Please do not rely on HL to think for you, it is a useful tool but isn't flawless.

Precisely. As far as weapons go, the equip checkbox for HL doesn't mean "I'm holding this" it means "I am using this to attack". A monster with a bite attack and holding a weapon, who only intends to bite, should not check the weapon's box or else the bite will incorrectly be made a secondary natural attack. This is also why shields appear with different checkboxes on the armor and weapon tab.

[Azhrei]

All true. But if I'm wearing a gauntlet in my left hand (which I also use to hold my bow), I should threaten the 8 squares around me. But I can't (technically) because I can't equip both at once.

I do see your point, but it's misleading to not equip the gauntlet as that implies I'm not wearing it and don't have it "in hand", so to speak.

[Minous]

You cannot hold/Use a ranged weapon and threaten with the same hand using a gauntlet. Its a tradeoff that the game designers built in. Similar to having a two handed reach weapon and a gauntlet, You either threat 10 feet out, or just 5. Not both since doing so requires at least a free action to ready the weapon of choice. Since it is not your turn you cannot take that free action. Thus you cannot threaten.

[Mathias]

Azhrei - since the bow is a 2-handed weapon you need to perform a free action to take the gauntleted hand off the bowstring in order to threaten with your gauntlet, and then at the beginning of your next turn, you take another free action to grab an arrow and nock it to the bowstring with that hand, letting you fire. In most cases, it's a standing order - "I end each turn by making sure I threaten with my gauntlet". In Hero Lab terms, you switch your equip state at the end and beginning of each of your turns or if you want to punch during a round (although since the gauntlet defaults to showing the 1-handed equip, you don't actually need to do so - just leave it on the bow, and the stats of the gauntlet should be correct for if you were taking a punch at someone).

In game terms, this is why there are so many ways to get around this - Empty Quiver Style, to let you thwack them with your bow, Snap shot to let you threaten with a shot arrow, or Zen Archer, so that your legs and elbows threaten while you've still got both hands on the bow.

[ShadowChemosh]

Its misleading for the "equip" option but you quickly learn you rarely need to tell HL which weapon is actually equipped. The only times its important is when TWF, using a one-handed weapon in two hands, or when you have natural attacks.

In all other cases simply do NOT equip weapons and the attack values will be displayed correctly. This allows a MUCH easier method when you have multiple weapons like a bow and gauntlet then spending time clicking the checkbox.

The iPad even gets a special option of "Display" but don't equip allowing several weapons to easily be for-front for your character.

[Ualaa]

If you want to equip each option, and switch between them, you can use the 'Equipment Sets' at the bottom of the weapon section.

If you check the box, it will print each of the weapon sets you have created, right on the character sheet.
So you could have both Weapon + Shield (as a one-handed weapon and a defensive shield) and have that same combo as Weapon + Shield Bash (with the correct penalties, on attack, for two-weapon fighting with the appropriate off-hand weight consideration).

Having all of the combinations, that a given character might regularly use, on the character sheet is nice.