D&D 5E (2024) Does your table use concentration with Ready a Spell?

[ECMO3]

Which is a house rule.
Not even a good one. Only in some special circumstances.

Characters in movies often reaact before the combat triggering action is resolved.

Usually advantage vs disadvantage simulates it corretly.

In one campaign I actually started using initiative on social encounters. I was DMing a campaign for a group of friends (I was not in the friend group) and one of them was playing a Barbarian who just talked over everyone and took over every social situation. To make matters worse he had a terrible Charisma and no social skill proficiencies and they had Bards and Rogues at that table with expertise in Charisma skills.

After talking about it and after some at the table complained it did not stop. So I just started using initiative, you only talk on your turn as your action or as a reaction to someone addressing you (and NPCs could do the same). So if you won initiative you said something (action), then the guy you said it to talked back to you (reaction), then you could reply to him (reaction), then it would move to the next person. It was very clunky but it fixed the problem.

A few discussions transitioned to combat and we just picked up from where we were in initiative.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

At between level 1 when you have exceedingly limited options? Yeah, yeah it is BS to use that

If he only has one cast of hex, he only has one cast of level 1 spells. So that tells us this is a level 1 character. Remember, its not 'he burnt his spell slots on other things', its 'he only has one cast of hex for the day'.

He only has one casting of hex because he's using a reddit approved "build" with shadow touched to get more juice than the feat should really grant. He'd probably already dealt 50 damage with his spell, far exceeding any other option.

This is my usual complaint that Hex and Hunter's Mark should never have been spells.

 

[Seramus]

LOL.

This pretty much tells how the Ready rules are such a failure in game design terms. By RAW your players cannot ready anything like these because "Ready" is a combat-only action. You can't use Ready outside the Initiative rounds of combat.

And yet your players are thinking in the most natural way, that their characters want to be "ready" before combat starts.

Yeah, we have a saying that sees a lot of use across multiple gaming systems "I do it anyway."

It's meant in partial jest, but whenever a rule "prevents" something you could do in real life... we bust through it like the Kool-Aid Man. Like, the rules say you can't target a locked door with acid splash? Well, I still cast it and point it in the direction of the lock!

Now, I could be a jerk and insist acid splash can't even be cast without a creature to target, but I just roll with it and arbitrate acid splashing against the lock.

Obviously acid splash isn't something you can do in real life, but I mean pointing an acid generating thing at a lock.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Yeah, we have a saying that sees a lot of use across multiple gaming systems "I do it anyway."

It's meant in partial jest, but whenever a rule "prevents" something you could do in real life... we bust through it like the Kool-Aid Man. Like, the rules say you can't target a locked door with acid splash? Well, I still cast it and point it in the direction of the lock!

Now, I could be a jerk and insist acid splash can't even be cast without a creature to target, but I just roll with it and arbitrate acid splashing against the lock.

Obviously acid splash isn't something you can do in real life, but I mean pointing an acid generating thing at a lock.

I'm totally down with acid splashing a lock.

The problem with readying a cantrip at all times is then the DM is encouraged to have all monsters in the dungeon ready an action as well. Because why wouldnt they?

Ready is a combat only action for the good of the game. You want to ready a fireball for when the door gets kicked in? Great, that's what intiative is for.

 

[Silam]

Yeah, we have a saying that sees a lot of use across multiple gaming systems "I do it anyway."

It's meant in partial jest, but whenever a rule "prevents" something you could do in real life... we bust through it like the Kool-Aid Man. Like, the rules say you can't target a locked door with acid splash? Well, I still cast it and point it in the direction of the lock!

Now, I could be a jerk and insist acid splash can't even be cast without a creature to target, but I just roll with it and arbitrate acid splashing against the lock.

Obviously acid splash isn't something you can do in real life, but I mean pointing an acid generating thing at a lock.

You need to carry a little canister of ants, then make some of them walk into the lock. Then attack the ant inside the lock with Acid Splash, and let the lock receive collateral damage. Simple!

 

[UngeheuerLich]

The fact that it requires the Bonus Action every round is already a fairly big check on its power…

Yes

BTW, they could have simply replaced concentration by Bonus Action on all spells and it could have been a fine design too.

I like that idea.

I really do not deny that they should really have done better in 2024 rules with spell balancing. And maybe even reshuffling of bonus action and concentration.

Maybe you are right. Maybe no spells should cost concentration and bonus action. Would really have helped the ranger.

 

[Tigris]

The fact that it requires the Bonus Action every round is already a fairly big check on its power…

BTW, they could have simply replaced concentration by Bonus Action on all spells and it could have been a fine design too.

This is how it was in 4E with "concentration" definitly a cleaner design but they did not wanted too muich 4e in 5E

 

[Mecheon]

He only has one casting of hex because he's using a reddit approved "build" with shadow touched to get more juice than the feat should really grant. He'd probably already dealt 50 damage with his spell, far exceeding any other option.

This is my usual complaint that Hex and Hunter's Mark should never have been spells.

Hunter's Mark I'll agree with (i'm a WoW player, hunters mark over there isn't magic) but hex is like, the archetypal spell, up there with 'curse'. That's proper spell territory there

 

[ECMO3]

This is my usual complaint that Hex and Hunter's Mark should never have been spells.

I love Hex. It is one of my favorite 1st level spells personally. Hunter's Mark .... not so much!

 

[Zardnaar]

I love Hex. It is one of my favorite 1st level spells personally. Hunter's Mark .... not so much!

I prefer hunters mark now it applies to spells. Undead are fairly common.

Hex is a bit easier to aquire.