D&D 5E Bonus action and reaction spell - rules advice from WotC contradicting each other

[miniaturehoarder]

Turn = a character's turn

Round = whole cycle of everyone's turns

Thus rogues sneak attack once per turn lets them sneak damage on their turn, then get it again on someone else's turn, provided a reaction lets it happen.

You should be able swift spell, Cantrip on your turn, then later throw up a Shield as a reaction after your turn is over just as a rouge can deal sneak attack as part of a reaction. So avoid drawing OAs after casting misty step.

 

[Ricochet]

Crawford is not actually wrong btw. PHB p. 202 under the heading, Bonus Action: "You can't cast another spell during the same turn (referring to spells cast as bonus actions), except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.

Ouch. This will hurt our party's cleric, who has cast a spell AND a Healing Word through his bonus action to save many a situation from going bad. Thanks for looking it up in the book!

Miniaturehoarder: Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Paraxis]

This only matters if the character is attacked on his turn with an AoO.

On his turn, move 15ft, misty step (bonus), multiattack (action), move 15ft away, at this point the character has cast a bonus action spell and can not cast any other spells on his turn, so if something during that last 15ft of movement provokes an AoO he can not cast shield as a reaction.

However once his turn is over and an enemy attacks him, he can cast shield at this point using his reaction since it is not his turn anymore.

 

[SigmaOne]

Jeremy Crawford @JeremyECrawford
@Ariamythe @mikemearls I'm giving you the by-the-book answer. He's giving you his answer as a DM. As a DM, you decide which way to go.
12:46 PM - 5 Oct 2014

This tweet by Crawford from a little further down the page is the universal response when he and Mearls disagree. Mearls has made it very clear that he doesn't worry terribly about nitpicking "by the book" rules when he DMs, but goes with the spirit of things, and that this filters into his responses. (I think this is evident to anyone who's followed his twitter feed for a while.)


The last sentence in the above tweet is the key detail, as far as I'm concerned. If its in the spirit of the game and doesn't create a bogus OP combo, then I think it's fine to do. Only if there's a dispute amongst the people at a table should RAW be paramount. (Note this may be the kind of response that incites a flame war on so-and-so's law and RAW etc, which I don't intend here... this is about how some people prefer to play the game, that's all. To each their own.)

 

[Dausuul]

Here's the link.
http://www.sageadvice.eu/tag/reaction/

Crawford says no, Mearls says yes (a short way down the page, October 22nd).

Which is it according to the PHB? I am waiting for mine in the mail but I have a sneaky suspicion this exact scenario will come up during tonight's session because our wizard just got Misty Step, already has Shield, and the group is facing Magic Missile wielding maniacs tonight.

The thing to keep in mind is that "round" and "turn" are two different things. A round is an entire initiative cycle. A turn is an individual combatant's segment of that cycle. So if you have a fighter, a wizard, a rogue, and a giant, each round would consist of four turns--one turn for each combatant.

The rules on spellcasting say that a bonus action spell precludes casting any other spells on that turn. What this means is that you cannot cast misty step and shield on the same turn. But you could cast shield later in the round.

As an example: Let's say you're playing an Eldritch Knight. You win initiative and use misty step to get next to an ogre. You then whale on the ogre with your sword, and move away using your regular movement. Moving away provokes an opportunity attack from the ogre. Because it's still your turn, and you've cast misty step already, you cannot cast shield in response to the OA.

You take the hit and end your turn. Now the ogre moves up to attack you. It's still the same round, but it's no longer the same turn, so you can cast shield against the ogre's regular attack.

As I read it, this is the disagreement between Crawford and Mearls: Crawford was applying the rules as described above, whereas Mearls was saying he'd allow you to use shield against the OA. Crawford is correct by RAW, but I think Mearls's ruling makes things simpler and more logical, and I'd probably go with it unless someone could point me to a way it could be abused.

 

[occam]

Man, I was really sure he said "doesn't preclude"- I guess this is a typo, because he's wrong about it.

I did the same as you, and mentally inserted a "not" before "preclude" when I read Jeremy's response, which confused me about the OP's question.

But I think Shadowdweller00 is right, according to RAW. The OA as you move away is still on your turn, as would be your reaction to cast shield. Since you've already cast misty step as a bonus action, the only other spell you could cast on your turn is a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.

 

[Saeviomagy]

The question is a bit unclear, and the answer doesn't help to make it clearer.

The correct question is
"Can Borngray move 15ft, misty step (bonus), multiattack (action), move 15ft away,& use shield spell (reaction) if targeted with an attack of opportunity during the move?"

To which the correct answer is
"Casting a bonus action spell does preclude casting a reaction spell on the same turn.If he's targeted with an attack after his turn finishes, he's free to use his reaction to cast shield."