Rystil Arden said:
(OOC: In this case, the word 'action' refers to the previously-mentioned 'conditions' rather than to a standard action, etc. You can ready an action to kill someone if they speak, for instance, which they can do out of turn.)
Yes you can, as you're striking just before a free action is resolved.
Rystil Arden said:
(OOC: As a more obvious example that this reading is correct, you can also ready an action to disrupt a spell, which obviously wouldn't do anything if the attack actually took place entirely before the spell does)
OOC: It's also supported by the fact that you can attack someone coming through a doorway or around a corner, as they've already started their move action, heck they could have finished it by the time you see them. You know I've been teasing you, right ... sorry, I was bored.
The fact is that the readied action takes place
as soon as the conditions it requires are met (usually at the beginning or or during another action). So the
flame strike should have been cast as soon as the water was parted, not after the last arrow left the bow in this case, as a readied action interrupts the action that triggers it as soon as the conditions are met. What you did in the end was pretty much the same as delaying an action until right after the previous character, which you said wouldn't work. No need to change things around though, but I thought I'd point it out.
The parted water situation certainly had some peculiarities to it nonetheless. Considering that a single arrow (standard action) couldn't keep the water back for more than an instant, but in a rapid fire situation (full round action) the first arrow managed to keep the water back until after the third arrow. Strange considering each additonal arrow would be fired a second or two later than the previous arrow.
