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

[Brett Bussart]

How much does it cost to hire a 5th level wizard to accompany the party on the adventure, above and beyond the cost of every spell cast? How do we generate that character? Do we use a Mage NPC stat block or do we create a PC?

More importantly, in what world is that the simpler option?

The cost is between you and your DM. The hireling would likely want a signed contract promising payment regardless of the success or failure of the adventure. How the hireling is paid to cast spells is part of the contract, or you could just supply it with the scrolls, wands, staves, or rods you want them to cast spells from that you can't use because you can only attune to 3.

How you work out the NPC is between you and the DM.

Tasha's recommended using the sidekick level option. D&D Beyond has the quick build option. It's not like this has to take a long time or be overly detailed. How much or how little goes into it is up to you, and the DM.

It's simple because there are already rules for it. It is balanced out in the rules already, and since most players complain about having too much loose gold, it is a more than viable option to increase the parties power without having to make up new rules, playtest them and worry about things like "balance".

 

[Mistwell]

I had a player quit over this today.

RAW if you use ready action to cast a spell you need to hold concentration until the trigger event:

When you Ready a spell, you cast it as normal (expending any resources used to cast it) but hold its energy, which you release with your Reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of an action, and holding on to the spell’s magic requires Concentration, which you can maintain up to the start of your next turn. If your Concentration is broken, the spell dissipates without taking effect.

The player in question wanted to ready Truestrike while concentrating on Hex. I told him he had to drop concentration. The PC said that is unreasonable and I should houserule it. I would have been open to that discussion on making it a houserule during session 0, but not in the middle of a combat. He said no one plays that way and actually left the game over it.

What do you think?

Yeah we play it by the book. Spellcasters are a bit overpowered so it's one of the fair limitations to put on them.

 

[Brett Bussart]

I find it ironic that you call this particular setup min/maxing, while earlier another poster said it was "sub optimal" with "absolutely no synergy".

I don't understand what's ironic about it?

Leaving any score at it's minimum starting value is min/maxing.

Leaving any score at it's starting value is sub-optimal, and when that score is Dexterity, it does not have any synergy whatsoever with a fighter who did, and should have a reasonable expectation to use ranged weapons while in combat.

The only ironic part is that you player did this to his character and then expected you to change a rule when he realized his own folly.

All min/maxed, optimized, or combat focused player characters will eventually hit the game mechanic wall, in one way or another. Most optimizers know this, and try to avoid those situations as much as possible. I'm not surprised that your player hit that wall, I am surprised that he didn't see it coming.

 

[ECMO3]

I don't understand what's ironic about it?

Leaving any score at it's minimum starting value is min/maxing.

Leaving any score at it's starting value is sub-optimal, and when that score is Dexterity, it does not have any synergy whatsoever with a fighter who did, and should have a reasonable expectation to use ranged weapons while in combat.

Ok I misunderstood the connotation with which you use the term min/maxer, and he can use ranged weapons very well in combat, so that part is not very relevant.

What he could not do is ready a spell while concentrating on another spell and that limited the potential effectiveness of a ranged attack as a ready action in this corner case while concentrating on Hex. However, TBH he could still have simply dropped Hex and he would have been able to do make the ranged attack quite well, and still do better damage than any strength-primary PC who had not dumped dexterity. So even in this example his Ranged options were still better than a PC with a 16 Dexterity.

 

[Horwath]

Every one of those solutions is more complex and a bigger problem in play than deciding "casters can concentrate on a number of spells equal to half their Proficiency bonus."

or on a number of spell levels equal to their highest spell slot.

 

[Reynard]

or on a number of spell levels equal to their highest spell slot.

This feels weird because it goes up and down as you level up.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

This feels weird because it goes up and down as you level up.

I think you misunderstood him.

This number is steadily increasing from 1 up to 9 for a full caster.

He does not mean equal to the number of highest level spell slots.

 

[Reynard]

I think you misunderstood him.

This number is steadily increasing from 1 up to 9 for a full caster.

He does not mean equal to the number of highest level spell slots.

Oh. yeah. Ha.

9 feels like way too many tho.

 

[Maxperson]

Oh. yeah. Ha.

9 feels like way too many tho.

I don't think 9 spell levels is too many for a 17th level spellcaster. That's three 3rd level spells, or just Shapechange.

 

[Reynard]

I don't think 9 spell levels is too many for an 17th level spellcaster. That's three 3rd level spells, or just Shapechange.

Lol. I misunderstood it a SECOND time.

Not my best showing.

That system makes sense, but would require a tiny bit more book keeping.