D&D 5E Can you use misty step to arrest a fall?

[Maxperson]

I would arrive at a ruling like this

1. Magic need not obey scientific principles (in fact, magic ought to disobey scientific principles)
2. RAW allows a reaction to be taken to falling, for example feather fall uses a reaction and is intended to soften a fall
3. By RAW you can't ready misty step, but you could ready a different teleportation spell - one that is cast with an action
4. I would rule that the character takes only the falling damage they were due up to the cast - 2d6 - albeit they could just as easily have triggered their reaction at the start of their fall and taken no damage (the falling 20' part first is peculiar: was it chosen to make the case more interesting?)

So I would allow it to work in principle, but not with misty step. @Galandris None of your solutions 1-7 capture my reasons, although I agree any solution will present problems and that some will be lesser than others.

Ready is specifically a combat action, so we're already outside of RAW by allowing it for someone jumping off of a cliff. It makes sense for someone to be able to do, so I'd definitely allow readying of spells and such outside of combat. Also, Misty Step is a bonus action which is just an additional action that you can take on your turn. I see nothing in Ready that prohibits you from readying a bonus action as what you will do when the perceivable circumstance happens.

 

[Maxperson]

I think most of you are overthinking this waaaaaaaaaay too much.

By "waaaaaaaaaay to much," do you mean 25%, 28%, 33%, 42%, 59%, 76%, 84%, 99% or some other number? Was there some reason you used 10 a's, instead of say 9 or 11? I normally think about things a lot, so is my normal level overthinking, or am I thinking about this more than I usually do?

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Ready is specifically a combat action, so we're already outside of RAW by allowing it for someone jumping off of a cliff. It makes sense for someone to be able to do, so I'd definitely allow readying of spells and such outside of combat. Also, Misty Step is a bonus action which is just an additional action that you can take on your turn. I see nothing in Ready that prohibits you from readying a bonus action as what you will do when the perceivable circumstance happens.

Bonus actions are only available on your turn (check out PHB p 189 and p 193). They cannot be readied to happen as a reaction during another's turn.

 

[Lyxen]

Ready is specifically a combat action, so we're already outside of RAW by allowing it for someone jumping off of a cliff.

It might be in combat though, and as my personal paradigm is that combat and non-combat are not two different worlds, I am in favour of any solution that does not mean a distinction here.

It makes sense for someone to be able to do, so I'd definitely allow readying of spells and such outside of combat. Also, Misty Step is a bonus action which is just an additional action that you can take on your turn. I see nothing in Ready that prohibits you from readying a bonus action as what you will do when the perceivable circumstance happens.

Actually, the RAW prohibits readying a bonus action: "To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of 1 action"

But then I think we will agree that we can ignore RAW in this case and allow it for a bonus action (while still forbidding it for longer castings, of course), as long as we also agree that it does not change the fact that it behaves the same way (it's not in any way "quicker" to prepare or to complete).

 

[Baron Opal II]

For example, on your turn you use movement to jump off of a 50 foot cliff. Then after you have dropped 20 feet you use misty step to misty step to the ground and land without taking any falling damage.

Would you allow this?

As a bonus action, it can remove 30 ft. of falling damage on your turn. If somehow usable as a reaction, the the same but at any time.

 

[Deset Gled]

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Sorry, couldn't resist.

If no one gets this, I'll feel old.

 

[Maxperson]

Bonus actions are only available on your turn (check out PHB p 189 and p 193). They cannot be readied to happen as a reaction during another's turn.

So is every teleport spell, fireball, firebolt, and so on. The purpose of Ready is to interrupt the other person's turn and then cast a spell out of turn as an exception to the rules. I'd allow Misty Step, since it seems silly not to. I just don't see a good reason why it shouldn't be able to be readied.

 

[Maxperson]

It might be in combat though, and as my personal paradigm is that combat and non-combat are not two different worlds, I am in favour of any solution that does not mean a distinction here.

Same here, which is why I said I'd allow it.

Actually, the RAW prohibits readying a bonus action: "To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of 1 action"

You're right. I'd still allow it, though. It seems unreasonable to exclude bonus action spells due to casting time.

But then I think we will agree that we can ignore RAW in this case and allow it for a bonus action (while still forbidding it for longer castings, of course), as long as we also agree that it does not change the fact that it behaves the same way (it's not in any way "quicker" to prepare or to complete).

 

[Deset Gled]

So is every teleport spell, fireball, firebolt, and so on. The purpose of Ready is to interrupt the other person's turn and then cast a spell out of turn as an exception to the rules. I'd allow Misty Step, since it seems silly not to. I just don't see a good reason why it shouldn't be able to be readied.

I think this is incorrect. The SRD says "To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of 1 action". Also, I don't have an SRD quote for it, but WotC has been pretty consistent that you cannot sub in a bonus action for an action; the two are not equivalent. Thus, you cannot ready a bonus action.

 

[Maxperson]

I think this is incorrect. The SRD says "To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of 1 action". Also, I don't have an SRD quote for it, but WotC has been pretty consistent that you cannot sub in a bonus action for an action; the two are not equivalent. Thus, you cannot ready a bonus action.

And yet nothing I said there was wrong.

"So is every teleport spell, fireball, firebolt, and so on." - Barring some other specific rule changing things, these can only be cast on your turn.

"The purpose of Ready is to interrupt the other person's turn and then cast a spell out of turn as an exception to the rules." - This is true. The purpose of Ready is to provide a specific rule to allow the casting a spell(or other action) out of turn.

"I'd allow Misty Step, since it seems silly not to." - This is also true.

"I just don't see a good reason why it shouldn't be able to be readied." - And another truth.

Do you have a good reason other than what it says about casting times? Because that doesn't seem like a good reason to deny a spell to me.