How should I respond to a player wanting to catch a sword between their hands?

I'm taking into account that this is impossible in real life (TV Tropes link warning), but also that we are talking fantasy and magic anyway.

Can a character try to achieve this feat? I mean, should I allow a player to try it out, or just say, "Nah, that's impossible"?

Assuming they can, how can it be modeled mechanically in the game?

Certain characters can perform a bare-handed parry

The exact technique of catching a sword between one's bare palms in this manner is not explicitly listed in the game rules. However, some characters possess the ability to deflect or block a blade bare-handed.

• The Battle Master fighter can learn the maneuver Parry, which allows you to reduce the damage of an incoming hit, possibly to zero damage. You do not need to be armed to Parry.


• A monk of third level or higher can catch and deflect incoming ranged weapon attacks, but not a melee attack from something like a sword, which is usually what is described in a sword catch situation.

In terms of things any character might try, which may represent a sword catch:

• The Dodge action (PHB p.192) allows the player to focus entirely on avoiding attacks, spending one's entire action, and the result is that all attacks made against you have disadvantage (and you make Dexterity saving throws with advantage).


• Ready an action to grapple, although this doesn't represent a block, but rather the after-effect of grabbing the enemy by the sword

Some monsters have a Parry action which allows them to increase their AC against one melee attack which would hit, as a reaction. However, this is a monster-specific ability, and also require them to be holding a melee weapon.

I'd recommend using something like the dodge action. You have to spend your entire action, but if you do, the opponent has disadvantage. If that causes him to miss, good job! You caught the sword.

This makes more sense with a character like a monk. However, a non-bare-handed catch or block wearing gloves or gauntlets, or even grabbing a non-moving sword bare-handed, is more feasible. Historical Perspective on Blade Grabs - Showcasing HEMA
Half-swording - Why grabbing a sharp blade in a sword fight is not crazy.

RAW, this cannot be done

There are no rules that I am aware of that allow such a thing to be done.

A monk has the closest related feature

A level 3 monk has the class feature Deflect Missile, which says (PHB, p. 78):

Starting at 3rd level, you can use your reaction to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.

If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free. [...]

However, this only works with ranged weapon attacks, so this would not stop a sword in the way that you describe.

Just narrate blocking this way

If this is just for flavour and the player does not expect to actually disarm the opponent or anything, you could simply describe a near miss being stopped by the PC in this way. That way, mechanically, the enemy simple missed, but the player gets a cool narration.

As the DM, you are responsible for setting and enforcing the tone of the campaign

As NathanS and Quadratic Wizard have noted, a character might say "I catch the sword in my hands" as a way of narrating a dodge or parry. This is mechanically sound within the rules as written, but that does not mean that you as the DM are obliged to allow it.

The DM's Authority to Set the Tone

As the DM, you are largely responsible for setting the tone of the campaign world. For example, you can decide if the world is high or low fantasy. Often, this decision is made in collaboration with the players, to make sure the setting will be something they are interested in. In recognition of the higher time/effort investment required in the DM role, however, the DM is sometimes allowed a certain amount of supremacy in this: after all, you can't force the DM to create a world that they don't want to create, and if a player feels strongly about playing in a certain setting, they should volunteer to create it themselves. All of this comes down to the social norms of your particular group.

Once a tone is agreed upon, it is your job to enforce that tone. If your group agrees on a gritty realistic Euro-medieval setting, and a player narratively describes dodging an attack with an anime-style wall run, it's up to you to shut that down. If your group agrees on a fun, goofy, gonzo adventure-romp, and a player narrates a melee attack in which they castrate an enemy, it's up to you to shut that down. The DM must maintain the integrity and immersiveness of their world; part of that means making sure the players exist within that world's reality.

Your situation

Ideally, there is a discussion about setting tone and expectations during Session Zero. If there was a decision at the start of the campaign that this world would not be the type of place where people can catch swords, remind the player of this. If your group did not have a Session Zero, or have otherwise never discussed expectations of tone, then now is the time to decide. Consider the previous section in this answer: what is the norm for DM power in your group? Is this a decision you as the DM would typically make on your own?

From your post, it sounds like you might be open to giving the players some discretion in setting the tone. If this is the case, consult the entire group to see how fantastical they want the setting to be. Once a tone is agreed upon, you will be better equipped for adjudicating your players' narrative descriptions.