There is no general rule stating movement can't/doesn't happen in tandem with actions. I think the general rule allows for movement to be used however the player wants.
But that's not how the rules work. They don't stat everything you cannot do, they state what you can do. And the rules for movement use language that quite clearly says that movement and acting doesn't happen at the same time. It says "using some of your speed before and after your action" and also "you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks" but I don't think I've seen anywhere where it says you can move and take an action simultaneously. The rules do allow for you to interact with an object during your movement (or during your action) but that is stuff that doesn't take an action to do.
Taking the Dash action doesn't mean you walk your full movement, pause, then walk a second full movement at the same speed. It means you take the conscious action to move faster, covering more ground in the same amount of time. You're running the whole time, so your action and movement are occurring at the same time. Is this a specific rule? Yes, yet it's worth considering that "specific beats general" is only relevant when there's a contradiction to a general rule.
Really, where is that stated? I see no text in the Dash action that says anything like that (nor anywhere else tbh).
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that the rules treat movement around actions that well (it's certainly not all that realistic) but I just don't see any support at all in the rules for allowing movement during actions.
Yes, but that's not really relevant to this scenario; you can declare your Attack Action by making your first attack roll, move, and make another roll if you have a feature like Extra Attack up, but you can't move during the attack roll itself; while you are engaged in resolving that portion of the action, you're in a single static space, and even if someone set a Reaction to cast a spell to attempt to incapacitate once you made an attack roll, there's nothing to indicate that spell can interrupt the initial attack. There's spells and features that specifically interact with the die roll/calculation of to hit and damage, but nothing that directly ends the character's ability to complete the attack midroll.
The general rule (see below) is that you can use some of your movement before and/or after taking your action on your turn. One of the actions that a character can take on a turn is the Cast a Spell action. The specific rule that applies when a character has more than one weapon attack is that they may break up their movement even further and expend that movement between the attacks of the attack action. This specific rule for multiple attacks over rides the general rule of movement before and after your action.
This means that you can't move while casting a spell with a casting time of one action. You move, take your action and may move again.
Could a character use "stopping to cast a spell" as a trigger for a held action? I would rule NO if I was running the game since when a character stops moving there is no indication of what action, if any, they may be taking next. You can't tell they stopped moving to cast a spell until they started casting a spell so I would rule it an invalid trigger since the trigger must be perceivable and you can't perceive what the character will or intends to do.
Finally, you CAN move while casting a spell if it requires more than one action to cast. The movement rules state you can move before and/or after taking your action. If you are casting a multi-round spell (for example casting a spell as a ritual) then there are two requirements - you need to use your action to cast the spell and you need to concentrate on the spell while casting it. Neither of these are prevented by moving, interacting with an object or using a bonus action ability as long as none of those interrupt the concentration on the spell. So there are actually quite a few things a character can do while casting a spell that takes more than one turn to cast but a character can't move while casting a single action spell since the rules on movement specify movement before and/or after the action.
"Breaking Up Your Move
You can break up your movement on your turn, using some of your speed before and after your action. For example, if you have a speed of 30 feet, you can move 10 feet, take your action, and then move 20 feet.
Moving Between Attacks
If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks. For example, a fighter who can make two attacks with the Extra Attack feature and who has a speed of 25 feet could move 10 feet, make an attack, move 15 feet, and then attack again."
We're not debating if you can walk and attack at the same time right?
Yeah, the rules require a sequence of operations. Sure.
But narrative-wise we all agree you're not out there moving like a robot in straight 5ft increments, pausing, then attacking, pausing, then moving in exact 5ft straight lines again. Right?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
We're not debating if you can walk and attack at the same time right?
Yeah, the rules require a sequence of operations. Sure.
But narrative-wise we all agree you're not out there moving like a robot in straight 5ft increments, pausing, then attacking, pausing, then moving in exact 5ft straight lines again. Right?
Narrativewise, no. But this is a rules discussion.
We're not debating if you can walk and attack at the same time right?
Yeah, the rules require a sequence of operations. Sure.
But narrative-wise we all agree you're not out there moving like a robot in straight 5ft increments, pausing, then attacking, pausing, then moving in exact 5ft straight lines again. Right?
Narrativewise, no. But this is a rules discussion.
Right but then there is no argument even happening here. Because the original prompt was a reaction trigger to go off when someone pauses. Essentially saying that they would pause before they take their action.
So we are having a narrative discussion. Because the trigger for the readied action is based on thebin character perceptions.
Saying you X when they pause moving, well... might not trigger before their actions. Because narrative wise they never paused before taking actions they kept walking while doing those actions.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
But that's not how the rules work. They don't stat everything you cannot do, they state what you can do. And the rules for movement use language that quite clearly says that movement and acting doesn't happen at the same time. It says "using some of your speed before and after your action" and also "you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks" but I don't think I've seen anywhere where it says you can move and take an action simultaneously. The rules do allow for you to interact with an object during your movement (or during your action) but that is stuff that doesn't take an action to do.
Really, where is that stated? I see no text in the Dash action that says anything like that (nor anywhere else tbh).
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that the rules treat movement around actions that well (it's certainly not all that realistic) but I just don't see any support at all in the rules for allowing movement during actions.
The Moving Between Attacks(https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/phb/combat#MovingBetweenAttacks) rule is an explicit example of a creature moving while in the process of resolving their action.
Yes, but that's not really relevant to this scenario; you can declare your Attack Action by making your first attack roll, move, and make another roll if you have a feature like Extra Attack up, but you can't move during the attack roll itself; while you are engaged in resolving that portion of the action, you're in a single static space, and even if someone set a Reaction to cast a spell to attempt to incapacitate once you made an attack roll, there's nothing to indicate that spell can interrupt the initial attack. There's spells and features that specifically interact with the die roll/calculation of to hit and damage, but nothing that directly ends the character's ability to complete the attack midroll.
The general rule (see below) is that you can use some of your movement before and/or after taking your action on your turn. One of the actions that a character can take on a turn is the Cast a Spell action. The specific rule that applies when a character has more than one weapon attack is that they may break up their movement even further and expend that movement between the attacks of the attack action. This specific rule for multiple attacks over rides the general rule of movement before and after your action.
This means that you can't move while casting a spell with a casting time of one action. You move, take your action and may move again.
Could a character use "stopping to cast a spell" as a trigger for a held action? I would rule NO if I was running the game since when a character stops moving there is no indication of what action, if any, they may be taking next. You can't tell they stopped moving to cast a spell until they started casting a spell so I would rule it an invalid trigger since the trigger must be perceivable and you can't perceive what the character will or intends to do.
Finally, you CAN move while casting a spell if it requires more than one action to cast. The movement rules state you can move before and/or after taking your action. If you are casting a multi-round spell (for example casting a spell as a ritual) then there are two requirements - you need to use your action to cast the spell and you need to concentrate on the spell while casting it. Neither of these are prevented by moving, interacting with an object or using a bonus action ability as long as none of those interrupt the concentration on the spell. So there are actually quite a few things a character can do while casting a spell that takes more than one turn to cast but a character can't move while casting a single action spell since the rules on movement specify movement before and/or after the action.
"Breaking Up Your Move
You can break up your movement on your turn, using some of your speed before and after your action. For example, if you have a speed of 30 feet, you can move 10 feet, take your action, and then move 20 feet.
Moving Between Attacks
If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks. For example, a fighter who can make two attacks with the Extra Attack feature and who has a speed of 25 feet could move 10 feet, make an attack, move 15 feet, and then attack again."
We're not debating if you can walk and attack at the same time right?
Yeah, the rules require a sequence of operations. Sure.
But narrative-wise we all agree you're not out there moving like a robot in straight 5ft increments, pausing, then attacking, pausing, then moving in exact 5ft straight lines again. Right?
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Narrativewise, no. But this is a rules discussion.
Right but then there is no argument even happening here. Because the original prompt was a reaction trigger to go off when someone pauses. Essentially saying that they would pause before they take their action.
So we are having a narrative discussion. Because the trigger for the readied action is based on thebin character perceptions.
Saying you X when they pause moving, well... might not trigger before their actions. Because narrative wise they never paused before taking actions they kept walking while doing those actions.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.