D&D 5E (2024) Using Action Surge to cast spells in 2024

[James Gasik]

Crawling just makes you move at half speed, so even then you don’t actually gain any extra movement by doing this.

No it was more the idea of being able to move closer to an archer while imposing disadvantage against their attacks. Not really optimal, just a weird interaction.

 

[James Gasik]

I think you are missing the point. You Ready the move.

Sure it isn't something you normally have on your turn, just like an AOO is not something you have on your turn. You take the ready action, which means you forgo other actions and then can move in response to the trigger.

It just struck me as weird that you can move on your turn and ready a move off turn when you shouldn't have any speed to work with. Though I do recall that there are reactions that let you move off turn already, like the Battlemaster's Maneuvering Attack. So Ready doesn't seem to care about what you did on your turn other than Ready. Maybe.

 

[Charlaquin]

This isn't true for DnD Beyond. See, eg

When you take the Magic action, you cast a spell that has a casting time of an action or use a feature or magic item that requires a Magic action to be activated.​

​

​

On your turn, you can move a distance up to your Speed and take one action. You decide whether to move first or take your action first.​

The main actions you can take are listed in “Actions” earlier in this chapter. A character’s features and a monster’s stat block also provide action options. “Movement and Position” later in this chapter gives the rules for movement.​

But I don't have a copy of the PHB to compare.

Huh… weird, I could have sworn it was capitalized… Nevermind, I guess

 

[Maxperson]

It doesn't say that either. The rules factually do not say this. You are misinterpreting them and believe this is what they mean, but they do no say this.



No it doesn't say this. The rules specifically say in writing that you can "Ready a spell" as part of the "Ready action" and they say you "cast the spell" on your turn when you do that.

What the rules don't say is that you use the "Magic action" when you use this specific use of the "Ready action" to "Ready a spell" ... that part you are making up.

Twist and turn, but you can't avoid that it directly says that when you use the Ready Action, you ready the action you want to take later. That means you can ready from the list of actions, and there is no Ready a Spell action on the list. Any exceptions are in that context and have to do with the OTHER action unless they explicitly say otherwise.

Explicit is not vague like you are claiming by the way. Explicit would be, "If you cast a spell, you instead use the Read Action to cast the spell on your turn." That would explicitly do what you want it to say. Without that explicit language, the context of "cast as normal" is with regard to the Magic Action.

 

[Maxperson]

"Ready" is in a table of the games "main actions"

True.

Ready is specifically refered to as "this action" in the description of ready

True.

Ready has specific rules for "Ready a spell"

False.

There is capitalization there, so it's not referring to the action itself. The context is the unavoidable rule that you must ready an action to take later, or the specific exception of readying a move.

Look at the first paragraph. When ready refers to itself, it capitalizes the word.

"To do so, you can take the Ready action on your turn,"

"When you ready a spell, you cast it as normal but..."

Note the difference. There is no such thing a "Ready a spell." You ready an action or a move. Period.

Those specific rules dor Ready a spell do not say anything about a "Magic action"

False. It's incorporated into the unavoidable rule that if you don't ready a move, you must ready an action. The only action that allows spellcasting is the Magic Action.

All his interpretation needs is to pay attention to what is actually written in the text.

False.

This is absolutely not true and it is countermanded multiple places. The text in Ready clearly says you can ready movement, and that you can Ready a spell.

False.

There is no such place in the action. You are capitalizing the R, the Ready Action does not, because it is not referring to itself there.

Further it gives two specific examples in the text - "pull a lever" and "I move" and neither of these things are defined actions or things you would typically use a main action for. Interact with an object is not a "main action" yet you can do it with Ready

It is an action you can do, though. It may not be a main action, but it is an action you can take in combat that is separate from Ready, and therefore something Ready can prepare for later.

The idea that you must chose another main action when you use the action Ready is patently false.

No more false than the idea that little r ready is referring to the Ready Action and not a different action.

There is no move action in 5E .... yet you can move with Ready!

Specific beats general. It calls out movement as a specific exception to needing to ready an action.

 

[Maxperson]

"Ready" is in a table of the games "main actions"

True.

Ready is specifically refered to as "this action" in the description of ready

True.

Ready has specific rules for "Ready a spell"

False.

There is capitalization there, so it's not referring to the action itself. The context is the unavoidable rule that you must ready an action to take later, or the specific exception of readying a move.

Look at the first paragraph. When ready refers to itself, it capitalizes the word.

"To do so, you can take the Ready action on your turn,"

"When you ready a spell, you cast it as normal but..."

Note the difference. There is no such thing a "Ready a spell." You ready an action or a move. Period.

Those specific rules dor Ready a spell do not say anything about a "Magic action"

False. It's incorporated into the unavoidable rule that if you don't ready a move, you must ready an action. The only action that allows spellcasting is the Magic Action.

All his interpretation needs is to pay attention to what is actually written in the text.

False.

This is absolutely not true and it is countermanded multiple places. The text in Ready clearly says you can ready movement, and that you can Ready a spell.

False.

There is no such place in the action. You are capitalizing the R, the Ready Action does not, because it is not referring to itself there.

Further it gives two specific examples in the text - "pull a lever" and "I move" and neither of these things are defined actions or things you would typically use a main action for. Interact with an object is not a "main action" yet you can do it with Ready

It is an action you can do, though. It may not be a main action, but it is an action you can take in combat that is separate from Ready, and therefore something Ready can prepare for later.

The idea that you must chose another main action when you use the action Ready is patently false.

No more false than the idea that little r ready is referring to the Ready Action and not a different action.

There is no move action in 5E .... yet you can move with Ready!

Specific beats general. It calls out movement as a specific exception to needing to ready an action.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Which, would be better phrasing if the intent was not for Ready to be an Action in itself. Ergo, I think it is most natural to conclude that Ready is intended to be an Action in itself.

I think you are free to state your opinion. I am not sure that this is a sound conclusion though.

I rather think it was what the designers thought was convenient at the time of writing and didn't think of the consequences.

Which can easily happen, because rules were rewritten more than once.

On thing on reddit: bigby's hand can now be pushed aroundwithout resistance, because you can now shove objects which always fail saving throws.

You can now shove around any object with no chance of failure. Because all lack str and so fail strength saving throws... a heavy (large) boulder... To heavy to lift or push? No problem. Use unarmed strike and the shove option because that somehow does not restrict it to creatures.
Does that sound RAI? I don't think so.

I usually go by a variation of Hanlon's razor:
"Never attribute to intention that which is adequately explained by carelessness."

 

[ECMO3]

Twist and turn, but you can't avoid that it directly says that when you use the Ready Action, you ready the action you want to take later.

You need to differentiate between "action" and "main action" you mean "main action" here where the PHB in the section you quoted means any action at all. When we use the term "action" in this forum typically we mean one of the 12 "main actions"

If you read the PHB section on Actions, There are 12 "main actions". These mean actions include things like Magic, Attack, Influence, Study, Utilize, Ready etc. But these are not the only actions in the game. This is clear in the text of Actions:

"Player characters and monsters can also do things not covered by these [main] actions. Many class features and other abilities provide additional action options, and you can improvise other actions."

That means you can ready from the list of actions,

No not just from the list, which is a the list of main actions, but rather any action at all.

In the way this section is referring to action, it is talking about the thing you are doing in response to the trigger. The action you are choosing in response to the trigger when you "pull the lever" is "pull the lever", not one of the 12 main actions on the list. The action you are using when you "Ready a spell" is likewise "release the energy" as noted in the wording of Ready.

and there is no Ready a Spell action on the list.

Yes, just like there is no "pull the lever" on the list of "main actions"

Explicit is not vague like you are claiming by the way. Explicit would be, "If you cast a spell, you instead use the Read Action to cast the spell on your turn."

I think it is explicit and using the Magic action to cast it, when you have already used the Ready action is against the rules.

 

[Maxperson]

You need to differentiate between "action" and "main action" you mean "main action" here where the PHB in the section you quoted means any action at all. When we use the term "action" in this forum typically we mean one of the 12 "main actions"

If you read the PHB section on Actions, There are 12 "main actions". These mean actions include things like Magic, Attack, Influence, Study, Utilize, Ready etc. But these are not the only actions in the game. This is clear in the text of Actions:

"Player characters and monsters can also do things not covered by these [main] actions. Many class features and other abilities provide additional action options, and you can improvise other actions."



No not just from the list, which is a the list of main actions, but rather any action at all.

In the way this section is referring to action, it is talking about the thing you are doing in response to the trigger. The action you are choosing in response to the trigger when you "pull the lever" is "pull the lever", not one of the 12 main actions on the list. The action you are using when you "Ready a spell" is likewise "release the energy" as noted in the wording of Ready.



Yes, just like there is no "pull the lever" on the list of "main actions"



I think it is explicit and using the Magic action to cast it, when you have already used the Ready action is against the rules.

Can you get around the fact that "ready a spell as normal" is not referring to the Ready Action due to it's lower case r? You can see that they use upper case R when referring to the Ready Action.

 

[ECMO3]

Can you get around the fact that "ready a spell as normal" is not referring to the Ready Action due to it's lower case r?

You have this backwards. It is not lower case, it is upper case:

"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." PHB p. 373

Also if we are parsing words like this, the name of the action is technically "Ready" not "Ready Action", same with "Magic", "Attack", "Study" etc

I don't believe the text "Ready Action" is ever used in the PHB with both a capital R and capital A. The term "Ready action" with a capital R and lower case a is I believe only used twice, once in the rules glossary and once in the combat section labeled "Your Turn"

You can see that they use upper case R when referring to the Ready Action.

Yes, they use the upper case R in the paragraph "Ready a spell".