D&D 5E Legal Ready action triggers and order of resolution

[Inglorin]

There is no good reason to pay that resource to ready the spell, though. Getting ready to do something is not the same as doing it.

Except that your are actually casting the spell on your turn. You just hold the energy back until your trigger occurs. That is relevant as well for the number of spells you are able to cast on your turn. If you ready a spell you cast it ON YOUR turn and therefor are subject to the bonus action/cantrip/spell level rule.

 

[Maxperson]

They don't work differently. They work the same, in terms of how they interact with the Ready action.

Casting doesn't work differently, but it does need further explanation. Without this, then we would be wondering and disagreeing about whether the slot has been used, or whether or not it takes your concentration.

Only because it's treated differently. Treat spells the same and no slot is used unless you use your action.

They didn't differentiate them.

Your position seems to be that the only fully explained example is Readying a spell, and that explanation shows that the all the time-consuming elements are completed on your own turn but are just executed when triggered, and somehow this means that, therefore, every other Readied action must work the opposite way?

And then you wonder why they had everything else work the opposite way?

They didn't! That's just in your head, not the PHB.

They did if you bother to read the section. The examples of non-spell readied actions have the FULL ACTION happening AFTER the trigger. The wording says that the ACTION (not partial action, because the rest is done) happens AFTER the trigger.

 

[Maxperson]

Except that your are actually casting the spell on your turn. You just hold the energy back until your trigger occurs. That is relevant as well for the number of spells you are able to cast on your turn. If you ready a spell you cast it ON YOUR turn and therefor are subject to the bonus action/cantrip/spell level rule.

The whole point of a readied action is to take an action as a reaction. That shouldn't require the spell to be cast on your turn. That's an arbitrary rule on their end. Readied actions are limited enough already in that they require specific triggers and can fail to happen, costing you your entire turn. There is no need or good reason to limit spells further.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

There is no good reason to pay that resource to ready the spell, though. Getting ready to do something is not the same as doing it.

There is a reason, by making readied actions unattractive (spells require concentration and pre-paying slots, weapon attacks don't benefit from Extra Attack) players are encouraged to take their actions on their turn rather than readying all the time for minor tactical benefits. This helps keep play going fast and smooth, since the turn order is not constantly interrupted by readied actions.

If you don't see any problem here then it's easy to houserule, but you shouldn't be thinking that there's no reason that the rules for readied actions are the way they are.

 

[Arial Black]

Only because it's treated differently. Treat spells the same and no slot is used unless you use your action.

Or treat the other actions the same as spells, and the Action In Combat is used on your own turn.

They did if you bother to read the section. The examples of non-spell readied actions have the FULL ACTION happening AFTER the trigger. The wording says that the ACTION (not partial action, because the rest is done) happens AFTER the trigger.

Why point out the section, and then misquote it in such a fashion that your misquote makes it seem one way when an actual accurate quote shows that it works the opposite way? Did you think I wouldn't bother looking it up?

You use your Action In Combat, on your own turn, to take the Ready action. This doesn't give your permission to take a different Action In Combat as a reaction; it lets you act on your reaction.

The 'act' you take may or may not resemble the thing a specific Action In Combat would give you permission to execute. In the examples given, one of them is 'pulling a lever' to open a trapdoor. But you don't need an Action In Combat to pull a lever on your own turn because you can pull a lever as a free object interaction. All the Ready action allows you to do is to pull the lever when it isn't your turn, in response to a trigger.

Here's an example where the distinction between 'Action In Combat' and 'act' matters: I have the Shield Master feat, and if I take the Attack 'Action In Combat' on my turn then I can use a bonus action to shove with my shield. I can execute the shove before I execute the attack (confirmed by JC). This is because it is not the actual execution of the attack that generates the bonus action, but simply 'taking the Attack Action'. I can take the Attack action now, and actually execute that attack at any time from 'as soon as I take the Action' to 'the end of my turn'. Once I have taken the Attack Action and the bonus action generated by taking it, I can execute the attack and the shove in any order I like at any time until the end of my turn.

How this matters is that I can Ready the Attack Action on my turn, which includes 'taking the Attack Action' on my turn (generating the shield shove bonus action), but the Ready action allows me to execute the attack allowed by taking the Attack Action later in the round in response to a trigger. Meanwhile, on my own turn, I can execute the shield shove.

The sequence of events is this: my turn starts, I take the Ready action to use the Attack action. At this point no attacks have been executed, but I now have generated a bonus action shield shove (because I took the Attack Action as part of the Ready action), and I have permission to execute that shield bash at any time during my turn, and I have permission to execute a single weapon attack, using my reaction, in response to a trigger.

If the Ready action could not also include taking another Action In Combat as part of taking the Ready action, then you wouldn't have permission to do anything on your reaction if that act would normally require an Action In Combat to execute while in combat rounds. If Ready forced you to do something that requires an Action In Combat, then you couldn't do things like pull levers or say a phrase.

If the act that you want to take in response to a trigger is an act which would require an Action In Combat to execute, then you take that Action as part of taking the Ready action, and this happens on your own turn. Without the Ready action, you would only be allowed to execute that act during the turn you took the Action that allowed that act, but Ready allows you to execute that act in response to a trigger and allows you to execute that act when it isn't your turn.

The Ready action does not let you 'take an Action In Combat' per se as a reaction; it lets you execute the act as a reaction. In colloquial English, we don't say 'execute the act', we say 'perform an action'. But in this case 'perform an action' means 'executing an act' rather than 'take an Action In Combat', since, by RAW, you can only take Actions In Combat on your own turn. Ready doesn't change when you 'take Actions In Combat', it just changes when you execute the act allowed by that Action In Combat that you took on your turn.

 

[Plaguescarred]

How this matters is that I can Ready the Attack Action on my turn, which includes 'taking the Attack Action' on my turn (generating the shield shove bonus action), but the Ready action allows me to execute the attack allowed by taking the Attack Action later in the round in response to a trigger. Meanwhile, on my own turn, I can execute the shield shove.

No this is not how Ready works. When you take the Ready action, you don't take the Attack action or any other action, you choose which action you will take in response to the trigger when it arise.

Ready: First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response to it.

 

[seebs]

No this is not how Ready works. When you take the Ready action, you don't take the Attack action or any other action, you choose which action you will take in response to the trigger when it arise.

Ready: First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response to it.

Except that if it were a spell, you'd actually cast the spell, and then just "hold" it for the turn. So the action actually happened. So if you had a thing that happens when you "cast a spell", I might conclude that it triggers at that time. (Say, if you're an abjurer, the autoshield proc might happen from casting.)

 

[Plaguescarred]

Except that if it were a spell, you'd actually cast the spell, and then just "hold" it for the turn. So the action actually happened. So if you had a thing that happens when you "cast a spell", I might conclude that it triggers at that time. (Say, if you're an abjurer, the autoshield proc might happen from casting.)

Spellcasting is exceptional so I agree but you still wouldn't take the Cast A Spell action so things that would happen upon taking the Cast A Spell action wouldn't happen.

 

[Corwin]

While you have all the rights to think it is and run it this way at your table, you have to understand that it is not the case as written for the Ready an Action in general, except for spellcasting.

As written you could even Ready an Action to attack if the rogue moves, and decide if you do a melee or ranged attack, and with which weapon when using your reaction, since it doesn't specifically ask that you pick ahead of time, like for spellcasting. Similarly, you don't have to declare where you''ll move if you readied that you'll move if the rogue moves, you'll decide where and how you move (walk, fly, burrow) when taking your reaction.

Although I can see how one might be able to read the Ready Action rules the way you are choosing to, I don't think it is as clear cut as you make it out to be.

What it says is:

First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response to it.

When it says, "choose the action you will take in response to that trigger," I read that to include the *a*ction you are taking. Not the *A*action you are taking. So, you don't just say, "If the rogue moves I will take the Attack Action." To me, I read it as you must say something like, "I ready to shoot my bow at the rogue if he moves."

That's probably where our biggest difference of opinion originates.

 

[Plaguescarred]

Although I can see how one might be able to read the Ready Action rules the way you are choosing to, I don't think it is as clear cut as you make it out to be.

When it says, "choose the action you will take in response to that trigger," I read that to include the *a*ction you are taking. Not the *A*action you are taking. So, you don't just say, "If the rogue moves I will take the Attack Action." To me, I read it as you must say something like, "I ready to shoot my bow at the rogue if he moves."

That's probably where our biggest difference of opinion originates.

I never said you need to take the Attack action....i even said the opposite that when you take the Ready action you're not taking the Attack action or the Cast a Spell action. What i meant is that when you take the Ready action and say you'll attack if the rogue moves, you can decide who you attack and how so at the time of taking your reaction if you want. No capital A action not to be confound with. I'm thinking Ready use a more common usage of the word "action" that you choose to take, not referring to Action In Combat like Arial Black seems to think.

While you certainly can put more precision into the action you choose to take, who you will attack and with what etc..., it's not an obligation. Similarly, you also don't need to select the target of your spell at the moment of taking the Ready action and casting it neither.