@dpnorton Ranger wielding two daggers is able to cast a spell requiring an S component without having to sheathe either weapon first? The ranger would normally need to sheathe one of the daggers, unless the DM or a special ability says otherwise.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) September 16, 2014
@dpnorton Thanks! The focus/component/free hand distinctions are difficult to tease out, and have inspired much confusion. 🙂 The intent: you need a hand free for an S component, unless the spell has an M component and the component/focus is in hand.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) September 17, 2014
Sigh, I have abandoned the 5E rules-set as it just continues to ruin the actual gaming with all of it’s ridiculous nerfing! Plus, the game died off with low attendance. A spell caster would likely need both hands free for somantic motions and holding components, unless the spell specifically states you only use one hand for just somantics then you can wield a dagger in the other. There are no spell focuses in my games unless you have reached god status, then you can attempt to manufactor a focus, but you only then have a 5% chance it will work.