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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Meeki" data-source="post: 3884653" data-attributes="member: 17257">I think some people are taking this far beyond what D&D is, an abstraction of reality, oh also a game.From what I can tell with the new rules compendium definition you can ready against anything, however you need to know what is going on before you do anything.  BUT in D&D everything happens in rounds, 6 seconds, however you can have an infinite number of people acting in one round.  They all act in the same 6 seconds.A readied action is you going that split second before the other guy goes.  Thus your initiative is above his; however you are reacting to what you specified in your readied action.  If you specified you try to jump 10 feet if he casts fireball then you would need to know he was casting fireball.  The fireball casting may take 3 seconds BUT it also happens the same time you jump out of the way, the cleric heals a comrad, your ally wizard casts magic missile at hte same wizard casting the fireball.  The magic missile doesn't do antyhing to interrupt the casting of the fireball later in that round BUT it still takes place in the same time frame.  You move before the fireball is cast, somehow, because its an abstraction of reality, it is D&D that is how it works.  Assuming what hypersmurf has been quoting over and over, the rules seem fairly clear that the targetting of the spell happens when it is cast; after the readied action goes off.  The wiz declares he's casting fireball -> you move -> he casts fire ball; fireball is instantaneous regardless of what the fluff says, once it is cast it explodes.  The bead may move but it is in an instant time frame.   Instant just like the description of instantaneous says in the SRD.  I didnt see any new definition of it quoted on this thread from the RC.  This makes spells better than melee/ranged but that should not factor into the issue at hand.It may not make sense in reality but thats how D&D does it, you just know your opponent is going to do something, so you move, then he does it.   If targetting of a spell occurs when its cast then it doesnt occur when its not cast, i.e. before the readied action.    TO put it in a "reality perspective" he is casting while you move and while the fighter attacks and while the cleric heals and while the expert weaves a blanket, all in the same 6 seconds.  But in game terms the spell is only cast after you move, and targetting of spells comes in during the cast.</blockquote>

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