Ready and Delay?

Wraithdrit · May 15, 2008

In KotS ...

[sblock]... one of the encounters includes a group of baddies that waits to attack for their buddies to attack first. It says their initiative becomes 1 less than their friends. Sounds like Delay to me.
[/sblock]

- Wraith

keterys · May 15, 2008

Thanks, Wraith. I'll look that up later today (got my module yesterday) and see if I can figure out much from that.

The key concerns for Delay are how to handle saves, ongoing damage, and auras that you shouldn't be able to avoid.

Ready just felt like they might avoid for simplicity and cause they had all the other reaction/interrupt stuff... but it also gets weird with the same things as delay.

I might be stirring up paranoia, though - I'm not trying to, I'm just genuinely curious, especially on how to handle the 'on your turn' effects that are quite common now.

TerraDave · May 15, 2008

I think I remember a delay from XP...but of course the DM could just go off his own judgement.

Wraithdrit · May 15, 2008

keterys said:
(got my module yesterday)

Mind if I ask, do you work for an FLGS? I'm getting mine on the release date (20th) but was just curious how you got yours. Would love my own copy rather than and see if I can figure out much from that.

keterys said:
The key concerns for Delay are how to handle saves, ongoing damage, and auras that you shouldn't be able to avoid.

I agree 100%, delay should not be a way out of ongoing damage. Personally if it is not in the rulebook that you can not delay if you have an effect on you, I'd rule 0 that in.

- Wraith

keterys · May 15, 2008

Wraithdrit said:
Mind if I ask, do you work for an FLGS? I'm getting mine on the release date (20th) but was just curious how you got yours. Would love my own copy rather than and see if I can figure out much from that.

Ah, no. I prolly shouldn't have mentioned it, I guess - but I do volunteer work for WotC (see the sig), and they're actually very nice to us volunteers.

I skimmed through mine last night and read all of the monsters and some of the rules info (like the Heal skill), cause that's actually pretty relevant for me. Busy with work, or I'd read more of the rest.

UngeheuerLich · May 15, 2008

delay is an action, your turn ends, you get damage... its your turn again, you get damage once again...

keterys · May 15, 2008

Well, one possible solution is that delay is a mid-turn action, so beginning of turn effects occur, but you delay the rest of your turn so you don't do the beginning again... and the end of turn (ie, like your save) don't happen until you actually go.

Stalker0 · May 15, 2008

I'm sure delay will be in the game, its such a straightforward mechanic in general, and it adds a lot with the teamwork aspect.

My guess:

On your turn, you take all the effects that happen before you do anything, like ongoing damage. Then on your turn, you choose to delay. Then when its your turn to actually go, you do your actions, and then making any saving throws at the end of your turn.

keterys · May 15, 2008

Right, exactly.

But I'd still love confirmation either way

It is technically a way to sidestep some critical 'on failed save, bla' effects like Sleep.

Logan_Bonner · May 15, 2008

Both readying and delaying are still in. Readying no longer interrupts—your action occurs after the action that triggered it, and your initiative moves to directly before the person you readied against. You can still interrupt movement. If you ready to magic missile the next person to come through a door, it triggers as soon as they move into the square past the door, even if they keep moving after that.