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

[the Jester]

I did this wrong for about a year and a half, then never bothered to change it in my game afterward. So no, we don't use concentration.

 

[Seramus]

Just curious, not judging: do you allow characters to Ready outside of combat?

Yes. It's pretty normal for my players to wander around dungeons with readied cantrips, or to ready something controlling or blasting before the big guy kicks down the door in a breaching action where enemies are known to lurk.

I do enforce noise for readied cantrips. I avoid the narrative silliness of someone casting them over and over every single round by allowing them to keep a cantrip readied (if they are not concentrating on something else), but rule it makes the same amount of noise as if you were casting it every single round.

 

[Tessarael]

I wasn't aware that concentration was required when readying a spell to cast. Given that you lose the spell slot if the triggering event doesn't happen, I wouldn't typically ready any spell other than a cantrip anyway.

I can understand why a player of a Warlock character would get annoyed over having to drop concentration on Hex to ready the True Strike cantrip. That said, it seems a relatively rare combat situation, so not something worth quitting over.

IMHO, it is unlikely to break anything if one allows a non-concentration cantrip to be readied without breaking concentration on an existing spell. This seems a reasonable house rule. Or you could require an Arcana skill check to pull it off in this circumstance.

 

[Reynard]

. The 'I phase away before you can hit me' fight has always been kind of BS,

That's not how bonus actions work. Every other round, the PCs get a full cycle before he can bam out again. If you are going to be angry, at least get the rules right.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

The PC said that is unreasonable and I should houserule it.

Alright, I'm sure you meant the player, but I really like the image of a player character yelling up to the heavens admonishing god to change the rules of the universe. Honestly it's kind of what the heroes do in Homer.

"Oh thou mightiest of gods, I call on thee, for thine divine order is unjust. Grant me the boon of a houserule at once!"

 

[Tigris]

Wait, so the DM using phase spiders against a party is a BS encounter? Worthy of rage quitting?

I actually like monsters like these because they require the group to think tactically as opposed to just do the standard - wail on the monster until it's goo.

Yes. If a GM makes a low level encounter where 1 or more participants just cant meaningfull participate (in half+ the turns) then its a BS encounter for sure.


It is 5E, the game is not really tactical to begin with, this is just making encounters boring for 1 person. And a "too bad you cant do anything" is not tactical. Its the same when in an encounter a werebeast is while martials have no magical weapons yet.


"The party just has to be tactical", means often the party has exactly 1 choice in what to do/ characters have extremly limited choices. And when it requires "an experienced party" aka metagaming, then its even worse. People play 5E because they like heroic fantasy.


Also for me it is already BS if people are forced in 5E to start at level 1 instead of 3, now that with 5.24 even the DMG suggests 3 as starting level, since level 1 just feels not like D&D is sold and is just awfull to play, and if then a DM makes encounters even more of a pain, then I would also really see no point in continuing as a player.

 

[Mort]

Yes. If a GM makes a low level encounter where 1 or more participants just cant meaningfull participate then its a BS encounter for sure.


It is 5E, the game is not tactical to begin with, this is just making encounters boring for 1 person. And a "too bad you cant do anything" is not tactical. Its the same when in an encounter a werebeast is while martials have no magical weapons yet.

But that's not this case at all.

The player was contributing fine, or was able to. It was just this edge case where they couldn't use one of their spells at that particular time.

 

[Tigris]

But that's not this case at all.

The player was contributing fine, or was able to. It was just this edge case where they couldn't use one of their spells at that particular time.

What are you talking about?

Half (rounded up) the turns the warlock could do pretty much nothing. All he could do is prepare shooting with a ranged weapon, in which he sucks. And this even using the complicated and annoying "I prepare an action" which was forced on players to use by this encounter taking away possibilities in the first place.


If a GM would find it fine that I contribute in such a way in a level 1 fight (which should since 5.24 not happen anyway, since level 1 and 2 are just awfull to begin with and now only for beginners), then I am pretty sure I would not have fun in this campaign.


I would also not call this "ragequit" its more "preventing one self from a (for oneself) frustating GM"

 

[Mort]

What are you talking about?

Half (rounded up) the turns the warlock could do pretty much nothing. All he could do is prepare shooting with a ranged weapon, in which he sucks. And this even using the complicated and annoying "I prepare an action" which was forced on players to use by this encounter taking away possibilities in the first place.


If a GM would find it fine that I contribute in such a way in a level 1 fight (which should since 5.24 not happen anyway, since level 1 and 2 are just awfull to begin with and now only for beginners), then I am pretty sure I would not have fun in this campaign.

In this one edge case, the turns where the monster phased, the warlock (assuming that's what the PC is) could still get a relatively normal attack by readying his action. Not being able to losses out on 1d6 here, not an entire attack. And if he catches the monster when it didn't phase, he could cast hex.

And he doesn't actually suck with a ranged weapon he's doing crossbow damage (1d8ish) plus casting stat, or normal to hit and damage.

Player chose to have a Dex of 8 and to compensate with true strike, which in most cases works great (actually even better as levels increase), but nothing wrong where there might be an edge case with a minor consequence.

 

[Tigris]

In this one edge case, the turns where the monster phased, the warlock (assuming that's what the PC is) could still get a relatively normal attack by readying his action. Not being able to losses out on 1d6 here, not an entire attack. And if he catches the monster when it didn't phase, he could cast hex.

And he doesn't actually suck with a ranged weapon he's doing crossbow damage (1d8ish) plus casting stat, or normal to hit and damage.

Player chose to have a Dex of 8 and to compensate with true strike, which in most cases works great (actually even better as levels increase), but nothing wrong where there might be an edge case with a minor consequence.

Yeah and a GM thinking this is a minor consequence or in any way fun leads to the minor consequences that a player being harassed in this way will leave.


Having to use a crossbow is already a plan B (which you kinda get for free at character creation). And this is before you also need to also use reaction and cant use movement to position yourself for the shot properly.


Being forced by the GM to have to use plan B (removing player agency) is already not fun. There is no choice in what you do because thats the only thing you can do to have any effect.


But this is not enough, this forced plan B with no player choice was made even more miserable by reducing the damage by 1/2 and by decreasing the hit chance by -20% which is almost 45% less hits. So your DPR outbut was reduced to almost 1/4th. So you are forced to do action X, which also really sucks. Oh and maybe the spider comes back in a position where she has cover to give another -10% hit chance.


Also this removes in addition any options for bonus actions or reactions because you need both for this sad plan B. Also with a GM enforcing rules strictly, this maybe forces the player to use plan B on the other turns because "actually you can't draw your weapon for free for preparing an attack since thats not the attack action" or something like this.


At this point, why not just preroll the attacks for the player before and subtract the HP from the enemy, this saves at least time, if the players choice doesn't matter anyway.