Is there any mechanical difference between the phrases, “as a reaction…” and “can use your...











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I was reading Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes when I stumbled on an interesting turn of phrase (it's repeated often in the book and in others, but this was where I first realized it).



The Demonic Boons section lists the following trait for followers of Graz'zt (p. 30):




Joy from Pain. Whenever this creature suffers a critical hit, it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




[Emphasis mine]



Meanwhile, in Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 46), the Mastermind rogue's Misdirection subclass feature says:




When you are targeted by an attack while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against that attack, you can use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.




[Emphasis mine]



Is there any mechanical difference between these two phrases? If something is done "as a reaction", does it not "use your reaction"? Or are they just interchangable phrases?










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    up vote
    6
    down vote

    favorite












    I was reading Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes when I stumbled on an interesting turn of phrase (it's repeated often in the book and in others, but this was where I first realized it).



    The Demonic Boons section lists the following trait for followers of Graz'zt (p. 30):




    Joy from Pain. Whenever this creature suffers a critical hit, it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




    [Emphasis mine]



    Meanwhile, in Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 46), the Mastermind rogue's Misdirection subclass feature says:




    When you are targeted by an attack while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against that attack, you can use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.




    [Emphasis mine]



    Is there any mechanical difference between these two phrases? If something is done "as a reaction", does it not "use your reaction"? Or are they just interchangable phrases?










    share|improve this question


























      up vote
      6
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      6
      down vote

      favorite











      I was reading Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes when I stumbled on an interesting turn of phrase (it's repeated often in the book and in others, but this was where I first realized it).



      The Demonic Boons section lists the following trait for followers of Graz'zt (p. 30):




      Joy from Pain. Whenever this creature suffers a critical hit, it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




      [Emphasis mine]



      Meanwhile, in Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 46), the Mastermind rogue's Misdirection subclass feature says:




      When you are targeted by an attack while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against that attack, you can use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.




      [Emphasis mine]



      Is there any mechanical difference between these two phrases? If something is done "as a reaction", does it not "use your reaction"? Or are they just interchangable phrases?










      share|improve this question















      I was reading Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes when I stumbled on an interesting turn of phrase (it's repeated often in the book and in others, but this was where I first realized it).



      The Demonic Boons section lists the following trait for followers of Graz'zt (p. 30):




      Joy from Pain. Whenever this creature suffers a critical hit, it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




      [Emphasis mine]



      Meanwhile, in Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 46), the Mastermind rogue's Misdirection subclass feature says:




      When you are targeted by an attack while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against that attack, you can use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.




      [Emphasis mine]



      Is there any mechanical difference between these two phrases? If something is done "as a reaction", does it not "use your reaction"? Or are they just interchangable phrases?







      dnd-5e reactions






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      edited Nov 28 at 6:11









      V2Blast

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      18.2k248114










      asked Nov 28 at 4:44









      SeraphsWrath

      4,3271152




      4,3271152






















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          Grammar is the only difference



          Mechanically these two phrases are identical. Doing something "as a reaction" "use[s] your reaction". They only exist in two forms to make the sentence structure and grammar correct for the various abilities that use them.



          Third Person vs. Second Person




          [...] it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




          is a third person description of the action. Whereas,




          [...] you can use your reaction [...]




          is a second person perspective. Potentially, this the reason for the variations in phrasing. There are contradicting examples however, so this probably isn't the case.






          share|improve this answer



















          • 1




            I like this answer and I think it's correct, since I just now noticed a similar pattern with "use your action" and "as an action," and allowing "as an action" to not burn the creature's action would be absurdly broken. However, I will note that other abilities in Xanathar's use second person and still use "as a reaction", such as the Scout Rogue's Skirmisher Ability on page 47 ("you may move up to half your speed when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you..."), so I'm not sure that's the reason. It was a good theory, though.
            – SeraphsWrath
            Nov 28 at 4:59












          • @SeraphsWrath ah well. The first part was my main answer. I was just having a guess based on the examples given. I would need to go a analyse a bunch more examples to come up with a better reasoning.
            – linksassin
            Nov 28 at 5:05











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          1 Answer
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          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

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          active

          oldest

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          active

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          up vote
          8
          down vote



          accepted










          Grammar is the only difference



          Mechanically these two phrases are identical. Doing something "as a reaction" "use[s] your reaction". They only exist in two forms to make the sentence structure and grammar correct for the various abilities that use them.



          Third Person vs. Second Person




          [...] it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




          is a third person description of the action. Whereas,




          [...] you can use your reaction [...]




          is a second person perspective. Potentially, this the reason for the variations in phrasing. There are contradicting examples however, so this probably isn't the case.






          share|improve this answer



















          • 1




            I like this answer and I think it's correct, since I just now noticed a similar pattern with "use your action" and "as an action," and allowing "as an action" to not burn the creature's action would be absurdly broken. However, I will note that other abilities in Xanathar's use second person and still use "as a reaction", such as the Scout Rogue's Skirmisher Ability on page 47 ("you may move up to half your speed when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you..."), so I'm not sure that's the reason. It was a good theory, though.
            – SeraphsWrath
            Nov 28 at 4:59












          • @SeraphsWrath ah well. The first part was my main answer. I was just having a guess based on the examples given. I would need to go a analyse a bunch more examples to come up with a better reasoning.
            – linksassin
            Nov 28 at 5:05















          up vote
          8
          down vote



          accepted










          Grammar is the only difference



          Mechanically these two phrases are identical. Doing something "as a reaction" "use[s] your reaction". They only exist in two forms to make the sentence structure and grammar correct for the various abilities that use them.



          Third Person vs. Second Person




          [...] it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




          is a third person description of the action. Whereas,




          [...] you can use your reaction [...]




          is a second person perspective. Potentially, this the reason for the variations in phrasing. There are contradicting examples however, so this probably isn't the case.






          share|improve this answer



















          • 1




            I like this answer and I think it's correct, since I just now noticed a similar pattern with "use your action" and "as an action," and allowing "as an action" to not burn the creature's action would be absurdly broken. However, I will note that other abilities in Xanathar's use second person and still use "as a reaction", such as the Scout Rogue's Skirmisher Ability on page 47 ("you may move up to half your speed when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you..."), so I'm not sure that's the reason. It was a good theory, though.
            – SeraphsWrath
            Nov 28 at 4:59












          • @SeraphsWrath ah well. The first part was my main answer. I was just having a guess based on the examples given. I would need to go a analyse a bunch more examples to come up with a better reasoning.
            – linksassin
            Nov 28 at 5:05













          up vote
          8
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          8
          down vote



          accepted






          Grammar is the only difference



          Mechanically these two phrases are identical. Doing something "as a reaction" "use[s] your reaction". They only exist in two forms to make the sentence structure and grammar correct for the various abilities that use them.



          Third Person vs. Second Person




          [...] it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




          is a third person description of the action. Whereas,




          [...] you can use your reaction [...]




          is a second person perspective. Potentially, this the reason for the variations in phrasing. There are contradicting examples however, so this probably isn't the case.






          share|improve this answer














          Grammar is the only difference



          Mechanically these two phrases are identical. Doing something "as a reaction" "use[s] your reaction". They only exist in two forms to make the sentence structure and grammar correct for the various abilities that use them.



          Third Person vs. Second Person




          [...] it can make one melee weapon attack as a reaction.




          is a third person description of the action. Whereas,




          [...] you can use your reaction [...]




          is a second person perspective. Potentially, this the reason for the variations in phrasing. There are contradicting examples however, so this probably isn't the case.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Nov 28 at 6:09

























          answered Nov 28 at 4:47









          linksassin

          3,8481940




          3,8481940








          • 1




            I like this answer and I think it's correct, since I just now noticed a similar pattern with "use your action" and "as an action," and allowing "as an action" to not burn the creature's action would be absurdly broken. However, I will note that other abilities in Xanathar's use second person and still use "as a reaction", such as the Scout Rogue's Skirmisher Ability on page 47 ("you may move up to half your speed when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you..."), so I'm not sure that's the reason. It was a good theory, though.
            – SeraphsWrath
            Nov 28 at 4:59












          • @SeraphsWrath ah well. The first part was my main answer. I was just having a guess based on the examples given. I would need to go a analyse a bunch more examples to come up with a better reasoning.
            – linksassin
            Nov 28 at 5:05














          • 1




            I like this answer and I think it's correct, since I just now noticed a similar pattern with "use your action" and "as an action," and allowing "as an action" to not burn the creature's action would be absurdly broken. However, I will note that other abilities in Xanathar's use second person and still use "as a reaction", such as the Scout Rogue's Skirmisher Ability on page 47 ("you may move up to half your speed when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you..."), so I'm not sure that's the reason. It was a good theory, though.
            – SeraphsWrath
            Nov 28 at 4:59












          • @SeraphsWrath ah well. The first part was my main answer. I was just having a guess based on the examples given. I would need to go a analyse a bunch more examples to come up with a better reasoning.
            – linksassin
            Nov 28 at 5:05








          1




          1




          I like this answer and I think it's correct, since I just now noticed a similar pattern with "use your action" and "as an action," and allowing "as an action" to not burn the creature's action would be absurdly broken. However, I will note that other abilities in Xanathar's use second person and still use "as a reaction", such as the Scout Rogue's Skirmisher Ability on page 47 ("you may move up to half your speed when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you..."), so I'm not sure that's the reason. It was a good theory, though.
          – SeraphsWrath
          Nov 28 at 4:59






          I like this answer and I think it's correct, since I just now noticed a similar pattern with "use your action" and "as an action," and allowing "as an action" to not burn the creature's action would be absurdly broken. However, I will note that other abilities in Xanathar's use second person and still use "as a reaction", such as the Scout Rogue's Skirmisher Ability on page 47 ("you may move up to half your speed when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you..."), so I'm not sure that's the reason. It was a good theory, though.
          – SeraphsWrath
          Nov 28 at 4:59














          @SeraphsWrath ah well. The first part was my main answer. I was just having a guess based on the examples given. I would need to go a analyse a bunch more examples to come up with a better reasoning.
          – linksassin
          Nov 28 at 5:05




          @SeraphsWrath ah well. The first part was my main answer. I was just having a guess based on the examples given. I would need to go a analyse a bunch more examples to come up with a better reasoning.
          – linksassin
          Nov 28 at 5:05


















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