My dm stated my spellcaster was unable to cast while 'restrained' or 'grappled' and I was unsuccessful at pointing out the actual rules (of which there are none that concern spellcasters, I think). I believe it's a by-product of 3.5 along with the definition of the words. Are there any dms out there that will let me cast a spell whilst restrained?
Grappled just makes your speed 0. There's no reason/rule that would prevent you from performing a somatic component. Restrained adds to that with disadvantage for attack rolls, but doesn't prevent them. So if you can load a crossbow and shoot it while restrained, then I would think you could still cast a spell. Nothing in the restrained condition prevents spell casting. Now depending on the situation, a DM my consider your restrained condition too much to cast spells. That would be something probably outside of normal combat (special trap, homebrew creature, etc.).
RAW there is no condition that prevents Somatic components without completely incapacitating you; there's no cross-talk between the two sets of rules. Now, that said, if you were explicitly shackled to a wall or hogtied or something along those lines, it'd be reasonable to nix Somatic components, but that's not likely to come up in combat. However, DM's do have a prerogative to interpret the rules differently, so mileage will vary on trying to "umm, actually" this point. Definitely talk with your DM if you have concerns, but if they're not actively looking to punish/shut down your character with this interpretation you might have to decide if this is a breaking point with you or not.
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Before I start, thank you for any replies.
My dm stated my spellcaster was unable to cast while 'restrained' or 'grappled' and I was unsuccessful at pointing out the actual rules (of which there are none that concern spellcasters, I think). I believe it's a by-product of 3.5 along with the definition of the words. Are there any dms out there that will let me cast a spell whilst restrained?
Grappled just makes your speed 0. There's no reason/rule that would prevent you from performing a somatic component. Restrained adds to that with disadvantage for attack rolls, but doesn't prevent them. So if you can load a crossbow and shoot it while restrained, then I would think you could still cast a spell. Nothing in the restrained condition prevents spell casting. Now depending on the situation, a DM my consider your restrained condition too much to cast spells. That would be something probably outside of normal combat (special trap, homebrew creature, etc.).
RAW there is no condition that prevents Somatic components without completely incapacitating you; there's no cross-talk between the two sets of rules. Now, that said, if you were explicitly shackled to a wall or hogtied or something along those lines, it'd be reasonable to nix Somatic components, but that's not likely to come up in combat. However, DM's do have a prerogative to interpret the rules differently, so mileage will vary on trying to "umm, actually" this point. Definitely talk with your DM if you have concerns, but if they're not actively looking to punish/shut down your character with this interpretation you might have to decide if this is a breaking point with you or not.