Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 vonklaude Aug 25, 2015 16:07:02	On PHB193 under Ready you may "...ready a spell, you cast it as normal but hold its energy, which you release with your reaction when the trigger occurs." So what happens when the trigger doesn't occur in that round? Can the caster keep holding the spell for the next round i.e. take the ready action with it again? Or is the spell expended because they "cast it as normal"?   A RAI of allowing the caster to keep holding the spell for further rounds feels fair, but leads to the problem of what happens if the combat ends without their trigger ever occurring? I think they must count the spell expended at that point... but what if the caster doesn't want it expended? If I've allowed them to hold it for more than one round, just how many rounds can they hold it for?!   Hence I fear one might need to RAI that the spell is gone - cast or not - at the end of the round it was readied. What do others think?
#2 Macv12 Aug 25, 2015 17:26:08	I would allow them to hold it turn after turn by continuing to spend their actions and maintain concentration. They'd probably lose it after a while, like 10 min to an hour maybe, just because of strain. Like if you wanted to "ready" fireball and use it as a torch for a while, then be able to throw it the moment some bad guys appear, I'd say that sounds neat and let them hold it.   If you don't let them hold it until the next round, I would at least recommend letting them cast it right before their turn. Their character knows that they're just about to lose control, and it's either use it or lose it. Of course conditions might not be what they wanted, but too bad.
#3 Slagger_the_Chuul Aug 26, 2015 0:00:40	There doesn't appear to be any case in which the spell dissipates prematurely other than when your concentration is broken, but you only have a trigger to deliver it during rounds in which you ready.   So as long as you kept your concentration the whole time, you could use the ready action to set a new trigger in a later round.  Technically, that should require casting of a new spell, but I'd probably allow that to be skipped if you've already got one in hand.  In any round you didn't ready, you'd just be using your concentration on holding the spell (which prevents you from using it for anything else).  I don't think this is RAW or even RAI, but it makes sense for RAF.   RAW/RAI-wise I think you just lose the spell if you don't use it.  It's part of the gamble you take when readying.
#4 Coolossus2123 Aug 26, 2015 1:32:36	Actually in the errata, which means this will appear in future printings of the PHB, it does says "Ready (p. 193). You have until the start of your next turn to use a readied action." and this applies for all readied actions. Many people I have seen also rule that you can hold it turn to turn like Macv12 said, but by RAW (or is errata considered RAI?) when your next turn starts, the readied action dissipates.
#5 vonklaude Aug 26, 2015 2:57:24	Coolossus2123 wrote:
#6 sim-h Aug 26, 2015 3:08:48	Anyone know why it is ruled like this? Why not just allow the caster to use Ready as their action, and only cast the spell if the trigger occurs, without any question marks about holding energy and expending spell slots?
#7 El_Condoro Aug 26, 2015 3:11:38	If the round (from ready to next character turn) ends, the character would declare a new ready action on their next turn. For the sake of the narrative, it might be more dramatic to say they continue to hold the spell but from a mechanical point of view the character is taking a new ready action each turn. The spell "dissipates without taking effect" if concentration is broken but there is no mention of losing the spell slot.
(Reply to #6) Coolossus2123	sim-h wrote:
#9 Slagger_the_Chuul Aug 26, 2015 4:23:40	Coolossus2123 wrote:
#10 El_Condoro Aug 26, 2015 5:01:33	The answer from Jeremy Crawford is not necessarily RAW ("I would allow...") but the RAI seems clear here.
#11 Quad_Hund Aug 26, 2015 8:24:31	Coolossus2123 wrote:
#12 Noctaem Aug 26, 2015 8:46:07	vonklaude wrote:
#13 Saeviomagy Aug 26, 2015 17:13:02	I think the train of thought that lead to losing the action is probably the same as that which makes mucking around with initiative in general hard (ie - no delay, losing attacks when you ready etc). The designers thought changing initiative was a big hassle, and so the rules actively discourage doing it.
#14 vonklaude Aug 26, 2015 18:23:57	El_Condoro wrote:
#15 vonklaude Aug 26, 2015 18:28:30	tl;dr version of above -  if I am prepared to say that casters can keep their spell ready turn-on-turn per Jeremy's ruling then I think that is best treated as functionally equivalent to saying that the spell is not cast until (and unless) the triggering event occurs. That means anything that can affect the cast  such as an attacker being within 5' of you must be considered at that same moment. Readying consumes your action: the spell cast (if triggered) consumes your reaction.   That RAI more extensively overwrites RAW than perhaps is Jeremy's intent, unfortunately. But if you read my post above then maybe you'll agree it's a fair consequence of working it that way.
(Reply to #14) Macv12	vonklaude wrote:
#17 vonklaude Aug 27, 2015 4:38:01	Macv12 wrote:
#18 Noctaem Aug 27, 2015 5:36:43	*the trigger does not eventuate
#19 vonklaude Aug 27, 2015 16:07:41	Bolstering the idea of simply letting the spell itself be cast with your reaction is War Caster. With that feat you can use your reaction to cast spells with a cast time of 1 action. The game mechanics tolerate it.   Why wasn't that the ruling for Ready in the first place?! (Credit to sim-h for raising that question.)
(Reply to #17) Macv12	vonklaude wrote:
#21 vonklaude Aug 27, 2015 21:35:22	Macv12 wrote:
#22 vonklaude Aug 29, 2015 0:27:12	vonklaude wrote:
#23 Rya.Reisender Aug 29, 2015 1:41:36	I'd allow to keep the spell if the players continues to ready it. Not being able to do any other action is already a high enough price, no need to punish it further by expending spell slots.
#24 El_Condoro Aug 29, 2015 9:50:56	It seems a spell that is readied and not used due to its trigger not occurring, does lose its slot. See reply from Jeremy Crawford here.
(Reply to #24) ezrider23	El_Condoro wrote:
#26 vonklaude Aug 29, 2015 16:46:57	ezrider23 wrote: