Monday, January 25, 2016

Deep dive: The Ready action in 5ED


I analyzed Ready an Action to prepare for those inevitable strange situations that come up during play. Analyzing not from an angle of locking things down, but permissively what can be done with it since Ready can drive interesting and flexible combat. Is it ever okay to perform both a move AND an action as part of Ready? The RAW implies no, you choose a move OR an action. The text implies but does not specifically state that you cannot do both. Generally this is fine, but edge cases can make this suck. I find it works best as a DM decision. Here are some usual occurrences of Ready:


  1. Can you move your full move as a readied action? Yes. (which could be a move, a ki point to dash, and action surge to dash again. Worst case Wood Elf = move 35 * 3 = 105'. Or Arakocra fly 50 * 3 = 150'.)
  2. Can you take a full action as a readied action? Yes. (which as a ridiculous case could at our level be an attack plus extra attack plus bonus attack riders plus action surge for attack plus extra attack plus ki point for monk flurry of blows.)
  3. Can you move your full move or full action and take a free action Interact with Object? Yes.
  4. Can you move your full move and take a full action? No.
  5. [note: confirm this does not fall under "Can I split my action" clarification in Sage Advice] What about bonus actions? Yes, because it is not specifically excluded, and the timing is dependent upon the trigger for the bonus action. For example, casting a BA spell like Healing Word occurs on your initiative. If using a BA rider on an attack, say the offhand weapon of 2-weapon style, then it occurs at the time of your attack action.

This simple yes/no works for many things. But not all things, and the edge cases get pretty horrible. Some contrived examples to highlight The Horrible:

  1. A player wants to pull two levers positioned 10' apart after the last party member runs through the portcullis. No, they can't do it. They can pull one lever as a free Interact with Object but they can't pull the second. Although they could take their full action to cast Mage Hand and pull the second level as long as they don't move. Or they could take 5 swipes at it with a reach weapon. Or a generous DM might let them climb the wall and "accidentally" kick the second lever on the way past.
  2. A player wants to leap off a ledge toward the flying demon when it comes close, to slash it with a weapon attack (and accepts that they will take falling damage). No, this is impossible RAW because it involves a ready, a move, and an attack action.
  3. A player wants to move 5 feet and leap over a railing, then club an orc on the head when it runs out from beneath. No, cannot do it. That's a Ready and a Move and an Action. (Amusingly, what happens in this case? Does the character hang in the air above the orc until the orc moves away?)
  4. A player wants to Ready to move 10 feet across a T-intersection and fire a shot at the orcs when they open the door. No, cannot do it, again that's a Ready and a Move and an Action.
Is there a way for these activities that common-sense should be fine to work under RAW?
Barely, and you need to really want it. There's just a very slight out that permits these edge cases. However, the basis of 5ED is much different than the restrictive attitude of 4ED, so that "The DM is always right" is in front of all rules. If you're not doing ALL of a move, or ALL of an action, then you're not really doing a move or an action. It implies that you choose one or the other, and especially the move states you may move "up to" your full movement, but the text does not firmly state that you cannot do part of each. Part of an action, and part of a move. DM discretion is required to decide how much movement and how much action can combine.