I ignore the entire last paragraph under Ready; if you want to cast a spell as your reaction, you can just do that, just like taking any other action. The extra complication of "holding" the spell with concentration is not worth the supposed benefit, not even close.
It seems unnecessarily complicated. It would be much easier to just say that the spell energy is not expended in the first place, if you don't actually cast the spell. The action economy should be enough to make sure that nobody abuses it.
It seems unnecessarily complicated. It would be much easier to just say that the spell energy is not expended in the first place, if you don't actually cast the spell. The action economy should be enough to make sure that nobody abuses it.
What I prefer to do instead is require the slot to be spent, but allow them to keep the spell readied from round to round until they release it, rather than saying that you lose the spell if you don't cast it before the start of your next turn.
Sure, why not? From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense that you didn't actually cast a spell yet, so there's nothing for you to be concentrating on.Are you are also doing away with the fact that it takes Concentration, since that's part of the holding spells?
If you are going to make a major change like that, don't hide it. If you aren't going to make a change like that, then the spell obviously was cast and the rationale for the proposal doesn't hold up.
Sure, why not? From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense that you didn't actually cast a spell yet, so there's nothing for you to be concentrating on.
I'd also be down for expanding the concentration system to cover any activity that requires your focused attention, so you couldn't concentrate on a spell while picking a lock (for example), and I'd also be fine with expanding that definition out to include readying actions in general. The game isn't so finely balanced that this change would ruin anything, regardless of how you rule it.
If you can hold it, does this mean you can pre-cast out-of-combat and hold it until a combat starts?
This gets you things like if you are expecting a combat casting a spell with the trigger "if I see a foe", and getting a reaction at the very top of initiative when they burst open a door (or whatever).
It could also lead to things like pre-casting a longer-than-one-round spell that you wouldn't be able to cast in combat and carrying it readied until a combat starts.