@JeremyECrawford Here’s how I handle potion use in D&D 5e. I’m not sure if this is RAW, RAI, or a house rule of mine (it’s open to some debate). I would argue it’s RAW, although maybe not RAI.
You sareAlfp_vy„e_dtp “interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action” (PHB 190). We’re given some examples of these interactions in the “Interacting with Objects Around You” sidebar. Two of the listed possibilities are:
– withdraw a potion from your backpack
– drink all the ale in a flagon
If you can drink an entire flagon of ale as one of these free interactions, I rule that you could also drink a potion as free interaction, 0,s,19,n_g_ag you have it in hand.
So, possible permutations of this:
1. You could on round 1 pull a potion out of your backpack as your free object interaction in that round. Then on round 2 you could drink the potion you now have in hand as the free object interaction for that round. Over the course of 2 rounds you mr_ea_bje_to pull out a potion and drink it, while still having your full action, bonus action, reaction, and movement for each round.
2. You could on round 1 pull the potion out of your backpack as your free object interaction, and then use your action to drink the potion. Allowing you to get the healing or buff in one round.
3. If you began combat with a potion already in hand, you could then drink the potion in round 1 using your free object interaction, and still have your full action, bonus action, reaction, and movement. I

Would you say this is RAW, RAI, or a house rule? #DnD @ChrisPerkinsDnD pic.twitter.com/ECyZhrC9cW

— Lex Starwalker (@LexStarwalker) December 3, 2016

@LexStarwalker @ChrisPerkinsDnDOther than balance reasons, I can’t imagine why drinking a potion would take more time than a flagon of ale. The rule for drinking a potion is in the section on potions in the DMG (p. 139).

— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 3, 2016

@LexStarwalker It's absolutely a game rule. It's not meant to simulate rates of liquid consumption.

— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 3, 2016

@LexStarwalkerGotcha! Makes sense! Kind of like how pouring a potion down an unconscious person’s throat doesn’t asphyxiate them. 😉 Indeed. D&D is not a physics engine.

— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 4, 2016

@LexStarwalkerThat said, do you think allowing this increased ease of potion use would cause any balance problems? Potions are effectively bottled spells. Do you want spells cast as non-actions in your game?

— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) December 4, 2016