I think you've hit the nail on the head with how it was in mind and intended by the original authors of the rules, and I'd love to see your first two sentences included as the first two lines of the rules in the PHB about Reactions. With that phrasing, it does come to pass that the "reaction" is given by the first half of each ability that I quoted above, "the trigger" and followed through with what that "Give" (the reaction) can then do. So (and I'm sorry for asking again) is that (your first two statements, David42), in print anywhere, or is that your (and the majority of the 6 million other DnD players/DMs out there) interpretation of what it should be logically?
Hahahaha, nope sorry, not really a Spanish speaker, really just like the word Claro, it has more panache than the word clear. But, I disagree, to take never really means "to do", unless of course the act of taking is the complete doing of the thing. But in all the other rules regarding actions and bonus actions, you are "given" the thing, then you take the thing to use and in the using you get to the "to do", it's a bit of shortcut to jump from take straight to to do, even though the taking is the first step in the chain of processes to get to the to do, and maybe my much too long time spent in the computing field has made my mind a bit extreme in the breaking down of "things" into the laundry list of actual steps moved through to get to the result. Still, I'm not confused, because the rules of combat are fairly standardized and clear about being "given" actions and bonus actions (Your Turn PHB pg 189 and Bonus Actions PHB pg. 189), although it can be a bit muddled for new players of 5E when they get to two attacks from a single action, but I digress, then the rules for using those actions. Although, the Your Turn section does defer to the detailed actions that the Action given can be used to do, including the Ready to create a "reaction" and its trigger. What I'm trying to establish is the one point/sentence/paragraph, written in a rule book somewhere, that is when a reaction is "given" so that it may be taken. Can you cite the book, section and paragraph that says, the player/character is given a reaction or the ability to use reaction or some such twist of the words? The reactions section of the PHB is oddly obtuse by omission.
I think the reply by David42, just before yours, is the language that I'm looking for or something very close to it, but is it published anywhere in any of the rule books?
I dunno what to tell you then, because the language in the "Reactions" section of the PHB is nearly identical to the language in the "Bonus Actions" section, and the language in the type of features that grant reaction options (maybe this is what you mean by being "given" a reaction?) is extremely similar to the language in features that grant Bonus Actions. They work alike. If you understand Bonus Actions but not Reactions, there's nothing more I can try to do for you there.
You're right and I've gotten too far afield of my original question added to this thread; "where does it say every player gets a Reaction each round? Can someone cite the source that explicitly states every character gets a reaction every round?"
And this question sprung from numerous sources on Youtube and blogs discussing reactions and the fact that everyone gets a reaction, including CharlesThePlant's post right after my question posted; "No specific abilities gives you a reaction, it is a basic thing that everyone gets," and that's where I'm seeking clarification and citation of a rule to reference.
But in my hashing this out with all of you, thank you, all of you by the way, and a rules lawyer player, whose arguments I've been using throughout my portions of this thread, I've gotten off the narrow track and I see that my real initial understanding, reinforced by all you, was right. A reaction is only "given" by a thing (ability/action/circumstance) in a specific way, not as a generic thing "everyone gets one, every round"
So, to all, thank you again.
The two rules really stripped to their essence; (PHB pg. 189-190)
Bonus Action - Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action.
Reactions - Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction.
You're right and I've gotten too far afield of my original question added to this thread; "where does it say every player gets a Reaction each round? Can someone cite the source that explicitly states every character gets a reaction every round?"
And this question sprung from numerous sources on Youtube and blogs discussing reactions and the fact that everyone gets a reaction, including CharlesThePlant's post right after my question posted; "No specific abilities gives you a reaction, it is a basic thing that everyone gets," and that's where I'm seeking clarification and citation of a rule to reference.
But in my hashing this out with all of you, thank you, all of you by the way, and a rules lawyer player, whose arguments I've been using throughout my portions of this thread, I've gotten off the narrow track and I see that my real initial understanding, reinforced by all you, was right. A reaction is only "given" by a thing (ability/action/circumstance) in a specific way, not as a generic thing "everyone gets one, every round"
So, to all, thank you again.
The two rules really stripped to their essence; (PHB pg. 189-190)
Bonus Action - Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action.
Reactions - Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction.
React : verb ; respond or behave in a particular way in response to something or some event.
every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction.
inherently every creature has an ability to respond or behave in a particular way ( action in relation to an event based on type of event that may or may not invoke a response ).
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You're right and I've gotten too far afield of my original question added to this thread; "where does it say every player gets a Reaction each round? Can someone cite the source that explicitly states every character gets a reaction every round?"
And this question sprung from numerous sources on Youtube and blogs discussing reactions and the fact that everyone gets a reaction, including CharlesThePlant's post right after my question posted; "No specific abilities gives you a reaction, it is a basic thing that everyone gets," and that's where I'm seeking clarification and citation of a rule to reference.
But in my hashing this out with all of you, thank you, all of you by the way, and a rules lawyer player, whose arguments I've been using throughout my portions of this thread, I've gotten off the narrow track and I see that my real initial understanding, reinforced by all you, was right. A reaction is only "given" by a thing (ability/action/circumstance) in a specific way, not as a generic thing "everyone gets one, every round"
So, to all, thank you again.
The two rules really stripped to their essence; (PHB pg. 189-190)
Bonus Action - Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action.
Reactions - Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction.
React : verb ; respond or behave in a particular way in response to something or some event.
every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction.
inherently every creature has an ability to respond or behave in a particular way ( action in relation to an event based on type of event that may or may not invoke a response ).
The interesting thing here:
You state "every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction."
But the rules you quote state: "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction."
ONLY certain special abilities, spells and situations allow a character to take a special action called a reaction. Characters do NOT have a reaction they get to use whenever they want - they may have an option to take a Reaction IF it is granted by "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations". It is the same story with bonus actions. If a character doesn't have a special ability giving them something to do with a bonus action then they don't have one.
The only action that every character has is their Action. Characters may have a bonus action or a reaction depending on the abilities of the character and the situation.
This is why there is NO rule that states that every character has a bonus action OR a reaction. Characters do NOT have these unless a special ability or situation gives it to them.
I think you've hit the nail on the head with how it was in mind and intended by the original authors of the rules, and I'd love to see your first two sentences included as the first two lines of the rules in the PHB about Reactions. With that phrasing, it does come to pass that the "reaction" is given by the first half of each ability that I quoted above, "the trigger" and followed through with what that "Give" (the reaction) can then do. So (and I'm sorry for asking again) is that (your first two statements, David42), in print anywhere, or is that your (and the majority of the 6 million other DnD players/DMs out there) interpretation of what it should be logically?
I think the closest you are going to get to "in print" is the quote above from the basic rules or PHB.
"Reactions
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else's. The opportunity attack, described later in this section, is the most common type of reaction."
The first sentence in the section on reactions states VERY clearly that it requires "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations" to allow a character to take a Reaction. I'm not sure how much more clear you need. There is no rule stating that every character gets a reaction because they don't. A Reaction is only allowed to a character when provided by "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations".
Fairly certain: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Ready grants an ability to define a reaction to an event, thus inherently granting a creature the ability to react, and is limited in the ability to react to any single possible event.
I’m all for a cleaner better defined “in print” explanation of reactions, and possibly even a dedicated section that gives a general overview of the mechanics.
But till such time, we can only do the best we can given what we have to work with, and not majorly break ourselves getting into absolute semantics.
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Fairly certain: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Ready grants an ability to define a reaction to an event, thus inherently granting a creature the ability to react, and is limited in the ability to react to any single possible event.
I’m all for a cleaner better defined “in print” explanation of reactions, and possibly even a dedicated section that gives a general overview of the mechanics.
But till such time, we can only do the best we can given what we have to work with, and not majorly break ourselves getting into absolute semantics.
Absolutely. However, if the character doesn't take the Ready action then they do NOT have a Reaction to take. Taking the Ready Action - gives the character the Reaction that may be taken when the trigger is fulfilled. Without making use of a special ability or circumstance (in this case the Ready action) a character doesn't have a Reaction to take.
The rules could have chosen to say that characters have an Action, a Bonus Action and a Reaction ... which can be used each turn ... but they didn't. Instead they chose to write the rules in such a way that characters do not have a Bonus Action or a Reaction UNLESS they have some specific ability, spell or situation that gives the character the ability to use a Bonus Action or Reaction.
Semantically they are the same ... a character has a Bonus Action but if they don't have something that can be done using a bonus action then they can't use it that turn OR a character ONLY has a bonus action IF they have some ability that says they can do something as a Bonus Action. In practice, the two different ways of saying it are functionally the same. In terms of how they chose to write the rules - characters only have a bonus action or reaction if they have something that specifically gives it to them.
Essentially, two different ways of looking at the same game mechanic except that the rules themselves are written from one perspective - which is why there is NO rule in the PHB that says each character has a Bonus Action and a Reaction on their turn - rather, the option to use these special actions is allowed by the specific rules that give them. If the special rules don't apply, the character doesn't have one to use.
The Ready action is one of those special rules that allows the character to use a Reaction.
"No specific abilities gives you a reaction," - Agreed, citing your first sentence.
And here is the heart of the matter; " it is a basic thing that everyone gets," - Where does it say this? (again, your first sentence).
"The difference is, like the bonus action, you can only use a reaction when an ability or spell TELLS you it can be done as a bonus action.So when wondering if something can be done as a reaction, search the ability text for the phrase "as a reaction." - Disagree, the exact text of the two abilities I quoted, make no mention of a bonus action, use of bonus action as a reaction or any such wording, they specifically state that you can use "your reaction" to do blah blah blah.
I'm not using the bonus action example to say a bonus action can be a reaction. I am simply using it as an example of the text of an ability telling the user how it's meant to be used. In the instance of this example, let's say if your question had been "how do I know if I can do something as a bonus action?"-- that's how. It tells you. Same with reactions.
As for "where does it say reactions are part of the game?"
It would be some pretty strange game design to include all these abilities and spells and feats that work off the reaction without actually giving it to anyone. If you don't think the reaction is available to all characters, my question would be to you: where do you think people are getting them from?
As for the literal text, the reaction description is below "your turn" since it doesn't describe something happening on your turn most of the time. Reactions are right after "Other Activity on your Turn" which is after "Bonus Actions" which itself is right after "Your Turn". I would go back and read the sections more carefully since it's all spelled out there, but specifically the reaction section reads:
"Reactions
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else’s. The opportunity attack is the most common type of reaction. When you take a reaction, you can’t take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature’s turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction."
Essentially what this means by "certain spells, abilities, and situations" is that when you can use one, the spell or ability will tell you, or the rules (see AoO) will tell you. What it means by "allow you to take a special action called a reaction" is that you are you, and it is referring to you, and if it says you can do it and that you are you, then you can do it. It doesn't say "fighters can take a special action..." or "humans can take a special action..." It says you. No matter who "you" are when reading these rules, it allows you to "take a special action called a reaction" when the criteria are met.
You're right and I've gotten too far afield of my original question added to this thread; "where does it say every player gets a Reaction each round? Can someone cite the source that explicitly states every character gets a reaction every round?"
And this question sprung from numerous sources on Youtube and blogs discussing reactions and the fact that everyone gets a reaction, including CharlesThePlant's post right after my question posted; "No specific abilities gives you a reaction, it is a basic thing that everyone gets," and that's where I'm seeking clarification and citation of a rule to reference.
But in my hashing this out with all of you, thank you, all of you by the way, and a rules lawyer player, whose arguments I've been using throughout my portions of this thread, I've gotten off the narrow track and I see that my real initial understanding, reinforced by all you, was right. A reaction is only "given" by a thing (ability/action/circumstance) in a specific way, not as a generic thing "everyone gets one, every round"
So, to all, thank you again.
The two rules really stripped to their essence; (PHB pg. 189-190)
Bonus Action - Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action.
Reactions - Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction.
React : verb ; respond or behave in a particular way in response to something or some event.
every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction.
inherently every creature has an ability to respond or behave in a particular way ( action in relation to an event based on type of event that may or may not invoke a response ).
The interesting thing here:
You state "every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction."
But the rules you quote state: "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction."
ONLY certain special abilities, spells and situations allow a character to take a special action called a reaction. Characters do NOT have a reaction they get to use whenever they want - they may have an option to take a Reaction IF it is granted by "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations". It is the same story with bonus actions. If a character doesn't have a special ability giving them something to do with a bonus action then they don't have one.
The only action that every character has is their Action. Characters may have a bonus action or a reaction depending on the abilities of the character and the situation.
This is why there is NO rule that states that every character has a bonus action OR a reaction. Characters do NOT have these unless a special ability or situation gives it to them.
But here's the thing:
There are at least two situations that grant a reaction that literally all players, monsters, and npc's have access to: the reaction you get from the Ready action, and an Attack of Opportunity. There are no creatures that cannot do one or both of them (unless another special circumstance prevents them, like the Slow spell or the Disengage action).
And because the circumstances that ALLOW for a reaction are available to literally every creature, you can see that from a language point of view, it may be technically true that a reaction must be granted by an ability or etc, it's not USEFUL to say that therfore not everyone gets a reaction, when everyone DOES get at least two abilities that allow for a reaction.
You reach a point where you're being SO specific that it actually obfuscates the rules verses making them any clearer.
By the transitive property (if a=b and b=c then a=c), if nobody just gets a reaction but abilities can grant a reaction, and everyone has an ability that can grant a reaction, THEN essentially, everyone gets a reaction and as the Reaction section clarifies you can do one per round. It is just more useful when discussing the rules to treat it this way.
Note there are several ways to get more reactions. Chief among them is being a 17th level Rogue (Thief). They get two full turns every (first) round, there by gaining a second reaction.
Note there are several ways to get more reactions. Chief among them is being a 17th level Rogue (Thief). They get two full turns every round, there by gaining a second reaction.
Two full turns in round 1, not every round. It's still quite good, but not quite as good.
The second paragraph is part of the rule that is actually lending to my confusion. "When you take a reaction" Where is it given, so it can be taken? And yes, I agree to the idea that I'm seeing "trigger" as a vocabulary word, but synonyms would do in a pinch, but that isn't necessarily the heart of what I'm looking for. Every external source I've looked at; YouTubers videos, blog posts and Q&A forums (including here) all say that every character gets a reaction every round, but the rules don't say that, anywhere I can find and if they do, where?
The Ready action is crystal clear, the player takes the Ready action and defines what they're waiting for, then reacts. Claro! No questions here, this is an exceptionally clear exchange of the normal action for a reaction that can interrupt an opponents turn (and if the opponent survives, can continue their turn).
I'm starting to think that this has become a de facto standard rule of sorts and the awarding of the reaction is the implied granting of it via the first sentence of the second paragraph you have pointed out; "When you take a reaction, you can’t take another one until the start of your next turn." (PHB pg 190)
Well, first, Consider the specific example of the fighting styles you mentioned, though.
When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
What confuses me is why, in your view, "When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you" is not a trigger. If it isn't, and if a reaction may only be used when a "trigger" exists, then the phrasing of this fighting style is at least misleading and potentially outright inaccurate. It describes two conditions that must be the case for you to take this reaction, but there is hypothetically a third and unrelated one, a "trigger," that is never mentioned. It could be that you're expected to remember that the general description of a reaction calls for a "trigger," but...
Second, I'll cite the specific beats general principle:
This book contains rules, especially in parts 2 and 3, that govern how the game plays. That said, many racial traits, class features, spells, magic items, monster abilities, and other game elements break the general rules in some way, creating an exception to how the rest of the game works. Remember this: If a specific rule contradicts a general rule, the specific rule wins.
Exceptions to the rules are often minor. For instance, many adventurers don’t have proficiency with longbows, but every wood elf does because of a racial trait. That trait creates a minor exception in the game. Other examples of rule-breaking are more conspicuous. For instance, an adventurer can’t normally pass through walls, but some spells make that possible. Magic accounts for most of the major exceptions to the rules.
PHB, pg. 7 (found my hard copy). The description of a specific reaction and when you may take it is more specific than the description of what a reaction is overall.
Third, it says a trigger "of some kind," suggesting generality, but in theory only one rule actually creates a trigger. It does let the player choose the trigger, but that's not quite of some kind, that's of your choice.
Fourth, if the only known way to obtain a "trigger" is through the Ready action, then it would seem that no reaction can be taken unless the Ready action is taken first. This means that no reaction must be taken unless you consider that you might need it several turns in advance (Is this even possible for something like intercepting a single attack, or a counterspell that you'd have to cast against a spell that hasn't been cast yet?), and sacrifice your action so that you can do it. That's a huge gamble for every single reaction, one that's almost never going to be worth it, given the importance of the action economy. Yes, reactions could be poorly balanced, but you would think that some of them would be much stronger.
Fifth, the only example of a reaction that the core description of reactions cites is an opportunity attack. And:
You can rarely move heedlessly past your foes without putting yourself in danger; doing so provokes an opportunity attack.
PHB pg. 195. If the only way to use a reaction is with a defined "trigger" only available through the Ready action, then... you can usually move heedlessly past your foes without putting yourself in danger. They'd need to Ready first to use an opportunity attack against you. This specific wording is partially for flavor, but it does characterize why the opportunity attack concept exists, a purpose defeated if it can only be done with a "trigger" which as far as we can tell only exists if the attacker gives up their action in advance.
Sixth, the designers have had a decade of the "trigger is the condition specified in the particular reaction's description, not an independent factor which is separately needed" interpretation being near-universal to release a clarifying errata on this point, and none has materialized. That also seems telling to me.
The short version of my argument is that I think you're asking for proof of a negative: That "trigger" is not a defined term which you must have precisely before you can take a reaction. I, on the other hand, think the evidence that there is such a defined concept is weak, as it's not treated with the clarity a defined term typically would be and is conspicuously absent from most other rules on the subject.
You're right and I've gotten too far afield of my original question added to this thread; "where does it say every player gets a Reaction each round? Can someone cite the source that explicitly states every character gets a reaction every round?"
And this question sprung from numerous sources on Youtube and blogs discussing reactions and the fact that everyone gets a reaction, including CharlesThePlant's post right after my question posted; "No specific abilities gives you a reaction, it is a basic thing that everyone gets," and that's where I'm seeking clarification and citation of a rule to reference.
But in my hashing this out with all of you, thank you, all of you by the way, and a rules lawyer player, whose arguments I've been using throughout my portions of this thread, I've gotten off the narrow track and I see that my real initial understanding, reinforced by all you, was right. A reaction is only "given" by a thing (ability/action/circumstance) in a specific way, not as a generic thing "everyone gets one, every round"
So, to all, thank you again.
The two rules really stripped to their essence; (PHB pg. 189-190)
Bonus Action - Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action.
Reactions - Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction.
React : verb ; respond or behave in a particular way in response to something or some event.
every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction.
inherently every creature has an ability to respond or behave in a particular way ( action in relation to an event based on type of event that may or may not invoke a response ).
The interesting thing here:
You state "every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction."
But the rules you quote state: "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction."
ONLY certain special abilities, spells and situations allow a character to take a special action called a reaction. Characters do NOT have a reaction they get to use whenever they want - they may have an option to take a Reaction IF it is granted by "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations". It is the same story with bonus actions. If a character doesn't have a special ability giving them something to do with a bonus action then they don't have one.
The only action that every character has is their Action. Characters may have a bonus action or a reaction depending on the abilities of the character and the situation.
This is why there is NO rule that states that every character has a bonus action OR a reaction. Characters do NOT have these unless a special ability or situation gives it to them.
But here's the thing:
There are at least two situations that grant a reaction that literally all players, monsters, and npc's have access to: the reaction you get from the Ready action, and an Attack of Opportunity. There are no creatures that cannot do one or both of them (unless another special circumstance prevents them, like the Slow spell or the Disengage action).
And because the circumstances that ALLOW for a reaction are available to literally every creature, you can see that from a language point of view, it may be technically true that a reaction must be granted by an ability or etc, it's not USEFUL to say that therfore not everyone gets a reaction, when everyone DOES get at least two abilities that allow for a reaction.
You reach a point where you're being SO specific that it actually obfuscates the rules verses making them any clearer.
By the transitive property (if a=b and b=c then a=c), if nobody just gets a reaction but abilities can grant a reaction, and everyone has an ability that can grant a reaction, THEN essentially, everyone gets a reaction and as the Reaction section clarifies you can do one per round. It is just more useful when discussing the rules to treat it this way.
I agree that it is mostly semantics. The OP was looking for a statement in the rules saying that every creature has a reaction and the reason why that statement won't be found in the rules is because it is not true.
Reactions are given by special abilities or circumstances. That is what the rules actually say: "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction." It does not say that every character has a reaction every turn that they might be able to use on something. The latter would have players asking the DM - "I have this reaction. What can I use it for this turn?" and the DM replying "Nothing at the moment."
You mention the Ready action and attacks of opportunity as examples of reactions that everyone could take. These are ONLY available to these creatures under specific circumstances - otherwise they don't have those reactions at all.
Ready action requires the creature to use their Action on their turn to define a trigger and what they will do in response to that trigger. If and when the trigger occurs, the creature has the option to use a reaction (assuming they haven't already done something that required the use of a reaction) to take the defined Readied action. In the case of opportunity attack - a creature is allowed to make an attack against a creature that they can see when it leaves their reach. If they can't see it - no opportunity attack - no possibility to have a reaction. There are many circumstances blocking sight. Darkness, fog, heavily obscured, heavy foliage, invisibility. So an opportunity attack is not a reaction that is available to every creature - it is a reaction available to some creatures under specific circumstances.
Basically, unless there is a rule/ability/circumstance that specifically states a creature can use a reaction given a specific trigger - the creature doesn't have a reaction since there is nothing they can do that would use a reaction.
Semantically, it is pretty much the same as saying every creature has a reaction but they only get to use it if there is something that has specifically given them an ability to use their reaction. However, since they can't use a reaction without the special ability/circumstance - there is no difference between saying they don't have a reaction vs they have a reaction but they can ONLY use it when something specifically says they can. The designers chose the former since it saves trying to explain to players that they have this action called a reaction or this action called a bonus action but honestly you really don't have anything you can do with them unless a rule specifically tells you that you can do something with them.
However, since they can't use a reaction without the special ability/circumstance - there is no difference between saying they don't have a reaction vs they have a reaction but they can ONLY use it when something specifically says they can. The designers chose the former since it saves trying to explain to players that they have this action called a reaction or this action called a bonus action but honestly you really don't have anything you can do with them unless a rule specifically tells you that you can do something with them.
The way bonus action is worded in 5e is horribly confusing and should never have been done (and while we're at it, 'bonus' action is a terrible name; 'swift' from 3.5e or 'minor' from 4e is better because neither implies it's an extra action).
What if it's a player trying to make a reaction of something they could do due to PC experience but are not granted. Like recognizing their teammate about to cast fireball but using a reaction to run, up to half their speed, out of the AoE?
@David42
I think you've hit the nail on the head with how it was in mind and intended by the original authors of the rules, and I'd love to see your first two sentences included as the first two lines of the rules in the PHB about Reactions. With that phrasing, it does come to pass that the "reaction" is given by the first half of each ability that I quoted above, "the trigger" and followed through with what that "Give" (the reaction) can then do. So (and I'm sorry for asking again) is that (your first two statements, David42), in print anywhere, or is that your (and the majority of the 6 million other DnD players/DMs out there) interpretation of what it should be logically?
@Mdhe
Hahahaha, nope sorry, not really a Spanish speaker, really just like the word Claro, it has more panache than the word clear. But, I disagree, to take never really means "to do", unless of course the act of taking is the complete doing of the thing. But in all the other rules regarding actions and bonus actions, you are "given" the thing, then you take the thing to use and in the using you get to the "to do", it's a bit of shortcut to jump from take straight to to do, even though the taking is the first step in the chain of processes to get to the to do, and maybe my much too long time spent in the computing field has made my mind a bit extreme in the breaking down of "things" into the laundry list of actual steps moved through to get to the result. Still, I'm not confused, because the rules of combat are fairly standardized and clear about being "given" actions and bonus actions (Your Turn PHB pg 189 and Bonus Actions PHB pg. 189), although it can be a bit muddled for new players of 5E when they get to two attacks from a single action, but I digress, then the rules for using those actions. Although, the Your Turn section does defer to the detailed actions that the Action given can be used to do, including the Ready to create a "reaction" and its trigger. What I'm trying to establish is the one point/sentence/paragraph, written in a rule book somewhere, that is when a reaction is "given" so that it may be taken. Can you cite the book, section and paragraph that says, the player/character is given a reaction or the ability to use reaction or some such twist of the words? The reactions section of the PHB is oddly obtuse by omission.
I think the reply by David42, just before yours, is the language that I'm looking for or something very close to it, but is it published anywhere in any of the rule books?
I dunno what to tell you then, because the language in the "Reactions" section of the PHB is nearly identical to the language in the "Bonus Actions" section, and the language in the type of features that grant reaction options (maybe this is what you mean by being "given" a reaction?) is extremely similar to the language in features that grant Bonus Actions. They work alike. If you understand Bonus Actions but not Reactions, there's nothing more I can try to do for you there.
@Mdhe
You're right and I've gotten too far afield of my original question added to this thread; "where does it say every player gets a Reaction each round? Can someone cite the source that explicitly states every character gets a reaction every round?"
And this question sprung from numerous sources on Youtube and blogs discussing reactions and the fact that everyone gets a reaction, including CharlesThePlant's post right after my question posted; "No specific abilities gives you a reaction, it is a basic thing that everyone gets," and that's where I'm seeking clarification and citation of a rule to reference.
But in my hashing this out with all of you, thank you, all of you by the way, and a rules lawyer player, whose arguments I've been using throughout my portions of this thread, I've gotten off the narrow track and I see that my real initial understanding, reinforced by all you, was right. A reaction is only "given" by a thing (ability/action/circumstance) in a specific way, not as a generic thing "everyone gets one, every round"
So, to all, thank you again.
The two rules really stripped to their essence; (PHB pg. 189-190)
Bonus Action - Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action.
Reactions - Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction.
React : verb ; respond or behave in a particular way in response to something or some event.
every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction.
Thus given : https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Reactions -
inherently every creature has an ability to respond or behave in a particular way ( action in relation to an event based on type of event that may or may not invoke a response ).
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The interesting thing here:
You state "every creature inherits an ability known as a React action, it’s commonly known as a reaction."
But the rules you quote state: "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction."
ONLY certain special abilities, spells and situations allow a character to take a special action called a reaction. Characters do NOT have a reaction they get to use whenever they want - they may have an option to take a Reaction IF it is granted by "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations". It is the same story with bonus actions. If a character doesn't have a special ability giving them something to do with a bonus action then they don't have one.
The only action that every character has is their Action. Characters may have a bonus action or a reaction depending on the abilities of the character and the situation.
This is why there is NO rule that states that every character has a bonus action OR a reaction. Characters do NOT have these unless a special ability or situation gives it to them.
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I think the closest you are going to get to "in print" is the quote above from the basic rules or PHB.
"Reactions
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else's. The opportunity attack, described later in this section, is the most common type of reaction."
The first sentence in the section on reactions states VERY clearly that it requires "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations" to allow a character to take a Reaction. I'm not sure how much more clear you need. There is no rule stating that every character gets a reaction because they don't. A Reaction is only allowed to a character when provided by "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations".
Fairly certain: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#Ready grants an ability to define a reaction to an event, thus inherently granting a creature the ability to react, and is limited in the ability to react to any single possible event.
I’m all for a cleaner better defined “in print” explanation of reactions, and possibly even a dedicated section that gives a general overview of the mechanics.
But till such time, we can only do the best we can given what we have to work with, and not majorly break ourselves getting into absolute semantics.
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Absolutely. However, if the character doesn't take the Ready action then they do NOT have a Reaction to take. Taking the Ready Action - gives the character the Reaction that may be taken when the trigger is fulfilled. Without making use of a special ability or circumstance (in this case the Ready action) a character doesn't have a Reaction to take.
The rules could have chosen to say that characters have an Action, a Bonus Action and a Reaction ... which can be used each turn ... but they didn't. Instead they chose to write the rules in such a way that characters do not have a Bonus Action or a Reaction UNLESS they have some specific ability, spell or situation that gives the character the ability to use a Bonus Action or Reaction.
Semantically they are the same ... a character has a Bonus Action but if they don't have something that can be done using a bonus action then they can't use it that turn OR a character ONLY has a bonus action IF they have some ability that says they can do something as a Bonus Action. In practice, the two different ways of saying it are functionally the same. In terms of how they chose to write the rules - characters only have a bonus action or reaction if they have something that specifically gives it to them.
Essentially, two different ways of looking at the same game mechanic except that the rules themselves are written from one perspective - which is why there is NO rule in the PHB that says each character has a Bonus Action and a Reaction on their turn - rather, the option to use these special actions is allowed by the specific rules that give them. If the special rules don't apply, the character doesn't have one to use.
The Ready action is one of those special rules that allows the character to use a Reaction.
I'm not using the bonus action example to say a bonus action can be a reaction. I am simply using it as an example of the text of an ability telling the user how it's meant to be used. In the instance of this example, let's say if your question had been "how do I know if I can do something as a bonus action?"-- that's how. It tells you. Same with reactions.
As for "where does it say reactions are part of the game?"
It would be some pretty strange game design to include all these abilities and spells and feats that work off the reaction without actually giving it to anyone. If you don't think the reaction is available to all characters, my question would be to you: where do you think people are getting them from?
As for the literal text, the reaction description is below "your turn" since it doesn't describe something happening on your turn most of the time. Reactions are right after "Other Activity on your Turn" which is after "Bonus Actions" which itself is right after "Your Turn". I would go back and read the sections more carefully since it's all spelled out there, but specifically the reaction section reads:
"Reactions
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else’s. The opportunity attack is the most common type of reaction.
When you take a reaction, you can’t take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature’s turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction."
Essentially what this means by "certain spells, abilities, and situations" is that when you can use one, the spell or ability will tell you, or the rules (see AoO) will tell you. What it means by "allow you to take a special action called a reaction" is that you are you, and it is referring to you, and if it says you can do it and that you are you, then you can do it. It doesn't say "fighters can take a special action..." or "humans can take a special action..." It says you. No matter who "you" are when reading these rules, it allows you to "take a special action called a reaction" when the criteria are met.
That means, by "you", it means anyone.
But here's the thing:
There are at least two situations that grant a reaction that literally all players, monsters, and npc's have access to: the reaction you get from the Ready action, and an Attack of Opportunity. There are no creatures that cannot do one or both of them (unless another special circumstance prevents them, like the Slow spell or the Disengage action).
And because the circumstances that ALLOW for a reaction are available to literally every creature, you can see that from a language point of view, it may be technically true that a reaction must be granted by an ability or etc, it's not USEFUL to say that therfore not everyone gets a reaction, when everyone DOES get at least two abilities that allow for a reaction.
You reach a point where you're being SO specific that it actually obfuscates the rules verses making them any clearer.
By the transitive property (if a=b and b=c then a=c), if nobody just gets a reaction but abilities can grant a reaction, and everyone has an ability that can grant a reaction, THEN essentially, everyone gets a reaction and as the Reaction section clarifies you can do one per round. It is just more useful when discussing the rules to treat it this way.
Note there are several ways to get more reactions. Chief among them is being a 17th level Rogue (Thief). They get two full turns every (first) round, there by gaining a second reaction.
Correction (as per Pantagruel below)
Two full turns in round 1, not every round. It's still quite good, but not quite as good.
Well, first, Consider the specific example of the fighting styles you mentioned, though.
What confuses me is why, in your view, "When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you" is not a trigger. If it isn't, and if a reaction may only be used when a "trigger" exists, then the phrasing of this fighting style is at least misleading and potentially outright inaccurate. It describes two conditions that must be the case for you to take this reaction, but there is hypothetically a third and unrelated one, a "trigger," that is never mentioned. It could be that you're expected to remember that the general description of a reaction calls for a "trigger," but...
Second, I'll cite the specific beats general principle:
PHB, pg. 7 (found my hard copy). The description of a specific reaction and when you may take it is more specific than the description of what a reaction is overall.
Third, it says a trigger "of some kind," suggesting generality, but in theory only one rule actually creates a trigger. It does let the player choose the trigger, but that's not quite of some kind, that's of your choice.
Fourth, if the only known way to obtain a "trigger" is through the Ready action, then it would seem that no reaction can be taken unless the Ready action is taken first. This means that no reaction must be taken unless you consider that you might need it several turns in advance (Is this even possible for something like intercepting a single attack, or a counterspell that you'd have to cast against a spell that hasn't been cast yet?), and sacrifice your action so that you can do it. That's a huge gamble for every single reaction, one that's almost never going to be worth it, given the importance of the action economy. Yes, reactions could be poorly balanced, but you would think that some of them would be much stronger.
Fifth, the only example of a reaction that the core description of reactions cites is an opportunity attack. And:
PHB pg. 195. If the only way to use a reaction is with a defined "trigger" only available through the Ready action, then... you can usually move heedlessly past your foes without putting yourself in danger. They'd need to Ready first to use an opportunity attack against you. This specific wording is partially for flavor, but it does characterize why the opportunity attack concept exists, a purpose defeated if it can only be done with a "trigger" which as far as we can tell only exists if the attacker gives up their action in advance.
Sixth, the designers have had a decade of the "trigger is the condition specified in the particular reaction's description, not an independent factor which is separately needed" interpretation being near-universal to release a clarifying errata on this point, and none has materialized. That also seems telling to me.
The short version of my argument is that I think you're asking for proof of a negative: That "trigger" is not a defined term which you must have precisely before you can take a reaction. I, on the other hand, think the evidence that there is such a defined concept is weak, as it's not treated with the clarity a defined term typically would be and is conspicuously absent from most other rules on the subject.
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
I agree that it is mostly semantics. The OP was looking for a statement in the rules saying that every creature has a reaction and the reason why that statement won't be found in the rules is because it is not true.
Reactions are given by special abilities or circumstances. That is what the rules actually say: "Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction." It does not say that every character has a reaction every turn that they might be able to use on something. The latter would have players asking the DM - "I have this reaction. What can I use it for this turn?" and the DM replying "Nothing at the moment."
You mention the Ready action and attacks of opportunity as examples of reactions that everyone could take. These are ONLY available to these creatures under specific circumstances - otherwise they don't have those reactions at all.
Ready action requires the creature to use their Action on their turn to define a trigger and what they will do in response to that trigger. If and when the trigger occurs, the creature has the option to use a reaction (assuming they haven't already done something that required the use of a reaction) to take the defined Readied action. In the case of opportunity attack - a creature is allowed to make an attack against a creature that they can see when it leaves their reach. If they can't see it - no opportunity attack - no possibility to have a reaction. There are many circumstances blocking sight. Darkness, fog, heavily obscured, heavy foliage, invisibility. So an opportunity attack is not a reaction that is available to every creature - it is a reaction available to some creatures under specific circumstances.
Basically, unless there is a rule/ability/circumstance that specifically states a creature can use a reaction given a specific trigger - the creature doesn't have a reaction since there is nothing they can do that would use a reaction.
Semantically, it is pretty much the same as saying every creature has a reaction but they only get to use it if there is something that has specifically given them an ability to use their reaction. However, since they can't use a reaction without the special ability/circumstance - there is no difference between saying they don't have a reaction vs they have a reaction but they can ONLY use it when something specifically says they can. The designers chose the former since it saves trying to explain to players that they have this action called a reaction or this action called a bonus action but honestly you really don't have anything you can do with them unless a rule specifically tells you that you can do something with them.
Maybe the rules that address reactions might be here in plain sight :
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/combat#ActionsinCombat
sounds like the devs made a default catch-all to improvised reactions.
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The way bonus action is worded in 5e is horribly confusing and should never have been done (and while we're at it, 'bonus' action is a terrible name; 'swift' from 3.5e or 'minor' from 4e is better because neither implies it's an extra action).
What if it's a player trying to make a reaction of something they could do due to PC experience but are not granted. Like recognizing their teammate about to cast fireball but using a reaction to run, up to half their speed, out of the AoE?
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Almost every character can use their Action to Ready, granting a Reaction.
Anyone that is holding two light melee weapons in their hand can decide to do TWF, granting a Bonus Action attack.
While you are not 'entitled' to a Bonus Action or a Reaction, it is incredibally easy to get them.
But can you use a reaction such as hellish rebuke after you die
No, because you have the Incapacitated condition.