I'd like to officially suggest in it's own thread the Dip action is modified so that adding elemental damage to a weapon requires the use of some kind of consumable. E.g. an oil or Alchemist's Fire or similar for fire.
Why?
Flavor - Setting metal weapons on fire by merely dipping them in fire is asinine. Same with wooden weapons not being destroyed. Using flames as small as a candle is really silly. That is not how fire works in Faerûn, or anywhere else.
- Dipping in poison makes sense but a small vial or a spider creating a permanent huge pool of poison for everyone to dip in does not.
- Flaming weapons are no longer cool or anything special if everyone uses them all the time.
Mechanics- I'd like Dip to be a proper tactical choice instead of a no-brainer thing to do always. Right now the mechanic is as deep as "Do you want to add 1d4 Fire damage to your weapon before attacking, Yes or No?"
- Duration could be made longer with a consumable
- Lighting up a torch and dropping it on the ground to dip should not be a free action. If anything, it negates the need for fun environmental synergies of using ground fires, braziers or wall mounted torches.
- It's too powerful for such little effort and no cost other than using a Bonus Action. E.g. fire for 3 turns on a Thief with 3 attacks = +8d4 = ~20 potential extra damage basically out of nowhere
