Can you hold a ready action onto the next round?

[gameogre]

Can you ready a action(I'm going to shot that giant Hawk when it comes into range) and if the entire round went by and he didn't come into range continue to ready your action into the next round?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Can you ready a action(I'm going to shot that giant Hawk when it comes into range) and if the entire round went by and he didn't come into range continue to ready your action into the next round?

AFB, but I would say "yes, you can hold a readied action for as long as you like, as long as you do absolutely nothing else"

[Shining Wrath]

I'm with Ninja_prawn. AFB, but my memory of the "Ready an action" action suggests that you can hold until until your next turn in the initiative sequence, when you could once again ready the same action. An example given is "If the cultist steps on the trap door I throw the lever", which clearly could take several rounds to be satisfied.

[ProphetSword]

Can you ready a action(I'm going to shot that giant Hawk when it comes into range) and if the entire round went by and he didn't come into range continue to ready your action into the next round?

Technically, no. You can't hold the Ready action, as it resets when your turn resets. However, nothing prevents you from using the Ready action again using the exact same trigger as before.

So, by the rules, you can't. But in practice, you can. I allow my players to do it if they just tell me they want to continue holding the action.

[CNagy]

Can you ready a action(I'm going to shot that giant Hawk when it comes into range) and if the entire round went by and he didn't come into range continue to ready your action into the next round?

According to the book, no. "You can take the Ready Action on your turn so that you can act later in the round as a reaction." If the round is over, the Ready Action is lost. You still have your Reaction, though, should you find an opportunity to use it in the new round for an Opportunity Attack or a Shield spell.

But because the Ready Action option has basically cannibalized Delay from previous editions, I wouldn't be opposed to letting a player retarget their readied action at the end of a round if it was general enough to do so; like "I fire an arrow at the first person to walk through the door" or "I cast firebolt at the rope when the ogre steps under the chandelier." I would allow the player to fire their arrow/release the firebolt at another target of their choosing.

With spells it actually gets kind of tricky. Ready Action states that you act later in the round. Readying a spell involves casting the spell but holding it in hand. It takes up concentration, and considering how long characters can hold concentration on a spell it makes no sense that they are bound by the "later in the round" wording of Ready Action. The dev team cut Delay to trim space in the book, but unfortunately in doing so they created a bit of a contradiction in readied action spells.

[ImSAMazing]

Can you ready a action(I'm going to shot that giant Hawk when it comes into range) and if the entire round went by and he didn't come into range continue to ready your action into the next round?

I'd say until the giant hawk comes into your range, you don't do anything, you just say readied.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I suppose this is something that's better to adjudicate on the fly. If players start taking liberties, you could always ask for Constitution checks to keep the bow aimed at the door or keep concentration on a stalled spell. Maybe even a Wisdom check if there are distractions to ignore.

[rhouck]

According to the book, no. "You can take the Ready Action on your turn so that you can act later in the round as a reaction." If the round is over, the Ready Action is lost. You still have your Reaction, though, should you find an opportunity to use it in the new round for an Opportunity Attack or a Shield spell.

I was remembering that it lasts until your next turn (which would be the next round), but I agree that all I can find is that wording about it being until the end of the round. That means if you're late in the initiative order, then you're just screwed and can never use the Ready option... which is kind of lame. I don't see anything wrong with allowing someone to hold it until the beginning of their next turn, with the caveat that you still only get one reaction per round.

[ProphetSword]

I was remembering that it lasts until your next turn (which would be the next round), but I agree that all I can find is that wording about it being until the end of the round. That means if you're late in the initiative order, then you're just screwed and can never use the Ready option... which is kind of lame. I don't see anything wrong with allowing someone to hold it until the beginning of their next turn, with the caveat that you still only get one reaction per round.

Rounds run from the beginning of your turn until the start of your next turn. No one gets screwed with the Ready action, regardless of initiative order.

[rhouck]

Rounds run from the beginning of your turn until the start of your next turn. No one gets screwed with the Ready action, regardless of initiative order.

Where are you seeing that? That has never been my understanding.


A typical combat encounter is a clash between two
sides, a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries,
footwork, and spellcasting. The game organizes the
chaos of combat into a cycle of rounds and turns. A
round represents about 6 seconds in the game world.
During a round, each participant in a battle takes a
turn. The order of turns is determined at the beginning
of a combat encounter, when everyone rolls initiative.
Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to
the next round if neither side has defeated the other.


Combat Step by Step
1. Determine surprise. The DM determines whether anyone
involved in the combat encounter is surprised.
2. Establish positions. The DM decides where all the
characters and monsters are located. Given the
adventurers’ marching order or their stated positions in
the room or other location, the DM figures out where the
adversaries are—how far away and in what direction.
3. Roll initiative. Everyone involved in the combat encounter
rolls initiative, determining the order of combatants’ turns.
4. Take turns. Each participant in the battle takes a turn in
initiative order.
5. Begin the next round. When everyone involved in the
combat has had a turn, the round ends. Repeat step 4 until
the fighting stops.

[ProphetSword]

You know, I could swear I read that somewhere, but now I can't find it. Weird.

[rhouck]

You know, I could swear I read that somewhere, but now I can't find it. Weird.

I looked back under Reactions and maybe that was the source of confusion:


When you take a reaction, you can’t take another one
until the start of your next turn.

So Reactions reset based on your turn, rather than on rounds. And when you Ready an action, to USE the readied action you have to use your reaction.

The issue is that, as written, your reaction isn't actually expended until the trigger occurs and you decide to spend your reaction taking the readied action (you can choose to ignore the trigger). And the Ready action uses that "end of round" language. Again, I think it is just poor wording as, since it's hinged to reactions (which reset based on your turn), it should last until your next turn and not until the end of the round. That's certainly how I would rule it.

[rhouck]

FYI:


Ready (p. 193). You have until the start
of your next turn to use a readied action.

http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/Errata_PH.pdf

So the "end of round" language was a mistake.

[ProphetSword]

FYI:



http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/Errata_PH.pdf

So the "end of round" language was a mistake.

Just came here to post this.

I think the thing I referenced above (rounds going from your turn until your next turn in regards to many effects in the game like the Ready action) might have come from developer tweets. So, I'm not surprised to see it in the errata.