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[5E] Interrupting a Spellcaster via Ready Action
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<blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 7572466" data-attributes="member: 45197"><p>Hiya!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>(First, I did catch the 'dash' wording...but dismissed it and accepted it as "description" and not "statement of a Move"; if it was "Dashes", then I would have known you meant it in the sense of it being a 'noun' and not so much a 'verb'. No matter, I now know you meant Dashes, as in the Move <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ).</p><p></p><p>There is no reason why someone who isn't being attacked can't just sit there with his crossbow, bow, throwing dagger, or whatever and just give the hairy-eyeball to the spellcaster, just *waiting* for the caster to start doing his thing. Well, except for the way spells in 5e work, where they are 'cast' on your exact Initiative number. Not before, not after. Exactly that one, single number. No matter what happens in the round. It makes no sense to me either...hence, why I use BECMI/1e AD&D's somewhat personally-bastardized method. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>If you want to see an interesting Initiative method for a D&D-like game...check out the latest iteration of Kenzer & Co's "Hackmaster" RPG. It uses something called the "Count Up" method where everything in the game is given an amount of seconds it takes to "do" that thing (not perfect, but "up to and about X seconds"; good enough for a consistent game thing). It always takes, for example, Drawing an Arrow (5 seconds), Load/Notch it (2 seconds), then Fire it (1 second); so 8 seconds to "shoot your bow". A PC has a base Initiative dice (lower the better, obviously), and that is the base 'second' all his actions start on. If a PC rolls d10 for his Init and gets a 3, then everyone knows that on second 1, the character is still figuring out what to do...second 2, he's figured he should probably shoot an arrow, second 3 he starts to Draw an arrow from his quiver...4, 5, 6, 7, 8...now on second 9 he gets it all notched, 10 he pulls back, and on second 11 he Fires. Roll to hit. Note, at virtually ANY point along the 'sequence of action', the player can change his mind. So if he sees a camouflaged dire-chameleon suddenly appear right above him on, say, second 6 (re: "Count" as it's called in-game), he can say WHOA!...I move backwards as fast as I can! He then looks at his movement rate and sees how many feet he can move in 1 second. So on that 6th second, he moves back, say 4'. If the Chameleon goes on Count 9, which the player WOULD NOT KNOW, on Count 7 he can move back another 4', on Count 8, another 4', on Count 9 he is in the process of moving when the Chameleon's tongue lashes out...about 12' away. This distance would affect what dice the Chameleon uses to roll his to-hit. Lets say he misses. Now, we are on Count 9. The player of the Archer now has to decide what to do; drop his bow and arrow and pull out a melee weapon? Continue to move backwards? Reach for a potion in his pouch? No matter what he decides, his new action has a "Seconds to Do" (either flat or dice, depending on action) and whatever that number is, it gets added to 9 to find out which Count his new action is completed on. But each and every Second of the Count is handled, one at a time, in a never ending increase. There are no "rounds", just the ever-advancing Count Clock, one second at a time.</p><p></p><p>Sounds amazing to play! Never tried it...this new HM has some really cool ideas and whatnot, but it just lost that "Hackmaster" feeling to me/us (my group). Mind you, half my group over the last year and a half have had Life kick 'em in the butt...so I'm down to only 2.5 of my regular players (the .5 is taking a brake after her other friends complained she never hangs out with them anymore...she'll be back... they always come back). </p><p></p><p>Wow. That was a bit..."long and semi-off the point". I mean, it is a different way to handle Initiative and all that. Spells take X seconds to cast, and when you decide to start casting an "Icy Blast" spell has a casting time of 3 seconds. If you start on count 8, then for count 8, 9, 10 you are casting the spell and on Count 11, the spell "goes off" (iirc). During that time you only get d8p for defense (oh, it's not an "AC" based system anymore; it's an opposed Attack/Defense check).</p><p></p><p>Sorry. At any rate, I have considered just trying to "port over" the Count system to 5e, but so far I've been too chicken to try it. Maybe tomorrow...or next week...or maybe next month...or, you know, whenever... <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>^_^</p><p></p><p>Paul L. Ming</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pming, post: 7572466, member: 45197"] Hiya! (First, I did catch the 'dash' wording...but dismissed it and accepted it as "description" and not "statement of a Move"; if it was "Dashes", then I would have known you meant it in the sense of it being a 'noun' and not so much a 'verb'. No matter, I now know you meant Dashes, as in the Move :) ). There is no reason why someone who isn't being attacked can't just sit there with his crossbow, bow, throwing dagger, or whatever and just give the hairy-eyeball to the spellcaster, just *waiting* for the caster to start doing his thing. Well, except for the way spells in 5e work, where they are 'cast' on your exact Initiative number. Not before, not after. Exactly that one, single number. No matter what happens in the round. It makes no sense to me either...hence, why I use BECMI/1e AD&D's somewhat personally-bastardized method. :) If you want to see an interesting Initiative method for a D&D-like game...check out the latest iteration of Kenzer & Co's "Hackmaster" RPG. It uses something called the "Count Up" method where everything in the game is given an amount of seconds it takes to "do" that thing (not perfect, but "up to and about X seconds"; good enough for a consistent game thing). It always takes, for example, Drawing an Arrow (5 seconds), Load/Notch it (2 seconds), then Fire it (1 second); so 8 seconds to "shoot your bow". A PC has a base Initiative dice (lower the better, obviously), and that is the base 'second' all his actions start on. If a PC rolls d10 for his Init and gets a 3, then everyone knows that on second 1, the character is still figuring out what to do...second 2, he's figured he should probably shoot an arrow, second 3 he starts to Draw an arrow from his quiver...4, 5, 6, 7, 8...now on second 9 he gets it all notched, 10 he pulls back, and on second 11 he Fires. Roll to hit. Note, at virtually ANY point along the 'sequence of action', the player can change his mind. So if he sees a camouflaged dire-chameleon suddenly appear right above him on, say, second 6 (re: "Count" as it's called in-game), he can say WHOA!...I move backwards as fast as I can! He then looks at his movement rate and sees how many feet he can move in 1 second. So on that 6th second, he moves back, say 4'. If the Chameleon goes on Count 9, which the player WOULD NOT KNOW, on Count 7 he can move back another 4', on Count 8, another 4', on Count 9 he is in the process of moving when the Chameleon's tongue lashes out...about 12' away. This distance would affect what dice the Chameleon uses to roll his to-hit. Lets say he misses. Now, we are on Count 9. The player of the Archer now has to decide what to do; drop his bow and arrow and pull out a melee weapon? Continue to move backwards? Reach for a potion in his pouch? No matter what he decides, his new action has a "Seconds to Do" (either flat or dice, depending on action) and whatever that number is, it gets added to 9 to find out which Count his new action is completed on. But each and every Second of the Count is handled, one at a time, in a never ending increase. There are no "rounds", just the ever-advancing Count Clock, one second at a time. Sounds amazing to play! Never tried it...this new HM has some really cool ideas and whatnot, but it just lost that "Hackmaster" feeling to me/us (my group). Mind you, half my group over the last year and a half have had Life kick 'em in the butt...so I'm down to only 2.5 of my regular players (the .5 is taking a brake after her other friends complained she never hangs out with them anymore...she'll be back... they always come back). Wow. That was a bit..."long and semi-off the point". I mean, it is a different way to handle Initiative and all that. Spells take X seconds to cast, and when you decide to start casting an "Icy Blast" spell has a casting time of 3 seconds. If you start on count 8, then for count 8, 9, 10 you are casting the spell and on Count 11, the spell "goes off" (iirc). During that time you only get d8p for defense (oh, it's not an "AC" based system anymore; it's an opposed Attack/Defense check). Sorry. At any rate, I have considered just trying to "port over" the Count system to 5e, but so far I've been too chicken to try it. Maybe tomorrow...or next week...or maybe next month...or, you know, whenever... ;) ^_^ Paul L. Ming [/QUOTE]
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