Today in a scenario my DM stated that the wizard in my party could not use a spell as a reaction. Is this the case I am a relatively new player and he said the only reaction attack could be a melee this makes little sense to me, why could they not use a spell?
An Attack of Opportunity is a special reaction that every creature has access to. It is only defined as a melee weapon attack against a creature that just triggered the attack by leaving your reach. No other type of action is permitted using that reaction. You can't cast a spell or move or use any other ability.
There are however other ways to use your reaction - as long as you have the required skills and the specific trigger for that reaction occurs. You can cast spells like Shield or Counterspell if their triggers occur. You could have another skill or feature that lets you react to defend someone or retaliate against an attack. You could even have skills or feats that change how your Attack of Opportunity works, including the War Caster feat, which actually does allow you to cast a spell with that reaction.
I refer you especially to the text of the War Caster feat, which states:
You have advantage on Constitution saving throws that you make to maintain your concentration on a spell when you take damage.
You can perform the somatic components of spells even when you have weapons or a shield in one or both hands.
When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature.
Logically, if a feat specifically allows you to cast a spell to make an opportunity Attack, then it stands to reason that you cannot do this without that feat.
The only other time you can cast a spell as a reaction is when the text of the spell specifically states "as a reaction," somewhere in the spell description.
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Today in a scenario my DM stated that the wizard in my party could not use a spell as a reaction. Is this the case I am a relatively new player and he said the only reaction attack could be a melee this makes little sense to me, why could they not use a spell?
If you are talking about opportunity attacks, that does have to be a melee weapon attack unless you have the war caster feat.
Spells all require a certain amount of time to cast. There are certain ones that can be used as a reaction normally (like shield and counterspell).
An Attack of Opportunity is a special reaction that every creature has access to. It is only defined as a melee weapon attack against a creature that just triggered the attack by leaving your reach. No other type of action is permitted using that reaction. You can't cast a spell or move or use any other ability.
There are however other ways to use your reaction - as long as you have the required skills and the specific trigger for that reaction occurs. You can cast spells like Shield or Counterspell if their triggers occur. You could have another skill or feature that lets you react to defend someone or retaliate against an attack. You could even have skills or feats that change how your Attack of Opportunity works, including the War Caster feat, which actually does allow you to cast a spell with that reaction.
I refer you especially to the text of the War Caster feat, which states:
Logically, if a feat specifically allows you to cast a spell to make an opportunity Attack, then it stands to reason that you cannot do this without that feat.
The only other time you can cast a spell as a reaction is when the text of the spell specifically states "as a reaction," somewhere in the spell description.