Ready and Delay?

Lacyon · May 16, 2008

Dausuul said:
Anyone see a reason why this could not be fixed by house-ruling that your initiative moves to immediately after the creature you readied against? The ability to take two turns without your opponent getting a chance to react is very, very powerful, even if it means you yourself have to give up an action to get it--you get to plan your double-action, your opponent doesn't.

This makes readying inferior to delaying, because you have to declare your trigger to get the same end result.

jeffhartsell · May 16, 2008

Agree that ready and delay need to remain as options.

Saeviomagy · May 16, 2008

jeffhartsell said:
Actually, readying is a sound tactic against stupid mobs. We had a classic blunder we call the "Bulette maneuver". The group knew a bulette was somewhere and we were in combat doing tactically movement. We all lined up with a readied attack if the landshark moved next to us. Shark surfaced and moved next to all of us. *Opps on DM tactics*

Or actions triggered (everyone attacked) and we all reset to before the bulette. We attacked AGAIN before the bulette. Dead. Our DM was annoyed with himself, but it was a good leason in what not to do.

I don't quite understand what happened that caused the bulette to not attack you in between those sets of actions.

Apart from that it sounds like the exact reasoning that readying is necessary, and also why the action has to interrupt your foe. Lining up with weapons at the ready SHOULD be an effective counter to someone charging you. If you tinker with it too much (making the attacks resolve after the action they interrupt for instance), then the best counter-tactic to a charge suddenly becomes dispersing and then counter-charging (well, in 4e no-full-attack rules anyway), which is slightly odd.

Majoru Oakheart · May 16, 2008

MindWanderer said:
Interesting that the "get two attacks in a row" aspect of readying is still there. I tend to abuse the heck out of that one.

Two attacks in a row? When you ready your init changes. So, you don't act until later next round.

Oh...you are talking about the fact that essentially when an enemy attacks you, you get to attack before they do, then attack again before they do next round.

Keep in mind, you don't interrupt them anymore as was said above. If you ready to hit them when they hit you, they get to attack, possibly take you down or stun you or something that will prevent you from hitting back.

At that point, the hitting twice it a row doesn't matter all that much. Might as well have hit them first, waited for them to hit you, then hit them again next round.

Majoru Oakheart · May 16, 2008

Saeviomagy said:
Apart from that it sounds like the exact reasoning that readying is necessary, and also why the action has to interrupt your foe. Lining up with weapons at the ready SHOULD be an effective counter to someone charging you. If you tinker with it too much (making the attacks resolve after the action they interrupt for instance), then the best counter-tactic to a charge suddenly becomes dispersing and then counter-charging (well, in 4e no-full-attack rules anyway), which is slightly odd.

No, you can still interrupt movement. If a group with reach weapons all lined up and said they were going to attack when the enemy got to 2 squares away from them then they all get to attack before the enemy moves that last square to hit them.

I'd have to reread the combat section to see what it said about readying for when a creature got to within one square of you. My thought is that you can't, since you are no longer interrupting movement, but I can't remember at this moment. So it works with ranged weapons and reach weapons, but not normal melee weapons. You still have to take at least one hit before you take out the enemy.

FitzTheRuke · May 16, 2008

This is off-topic a bit, but for the curious:

Keep on the Shadowfell ALSO mentions "Aid Other", not by name, but in one of the monster tactics sections mentions some of the monsters rolling against DC 10 to give +2 to an ally.

Fitz

Family · May 16, 2008

Good eyes, sweet find. I bow.

UngeheuerLich · May 16, 2008

ready doesn´t interrupt? So how do you threaten someone: "If you try to cast a spell, i kill you"

The sleep spell will be out before you can loose your arrow? Maybe a rule i change a bit (when its reasonable)

Ready and Delay?

Lacyon

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jeffhartsell

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Saeviomagy

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Majoru Oakheart

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Majoru Oakheart

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FitzTheRuke

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Family

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UngeheuerLich

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