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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ferghis" data-source="post: 5139096" data-attributes="member: 40483">I'm relatively sure this has been discussed, but my google-Fu fails me. So I have to ask, if a player, while not in combat, describes an action that has a combat equivalent, and then combat broke out, would you resolve the action as if it were in combat? I realize that describing it this way is kind of abstract, so maybe we can come up with some examples. The ones that jump to mind are readied actions and maybe full defense. What if a character aimed a crossbow at a door expecting someone to come out of it, with the intent to shoot the person immediately. If a bunch of guards were to come upon the character just before the "trigger" occurs, would you allow the combat encounter to begin with a readied action? Or, if a character were opening a door expecting an attack, an described his character as holding a shield up and prepared for an attack, woul the character be in full defense when the expected attack came?EDIT: I expect players to act reasonably. I do not expect them to state that their characters are in Total Defense all the time. Further, the DM is the final arbiter of the game, and her or his decisions govern it. However, if these kinds of actions are not permitted, there are three issues that become problematic.First, how would you explain that, no matter what the character does, she'll always be able to achieve a higher defense in combat by taking Total Defense than she ever will out of combat. This really highlights the artificial absurdity of not allowing that action to be taken before combat. As I've said above, whatevere it is that earns the character the defense bonus, is probably something the character can do out of combat as well. Remember that there are no restrictions to the total defense bonus. The player declares the action, and the bonus applies until the end of the character's next turn, without limitations.The second point is a minor one: if you, like the most folks, have ruled that there are actions you can't take out of combat, it seems unfair to then turn around and say that only the DM can decide when combat begins. It's a bit like saying that the DM decides when your character can take that action, which is against the core 4e philosophy. Not a big issue, but a nagging one nonetheless.Third, what detrimental consequence would there be if players were allowed to take Total Defense and Ready Actions, within reason, outside combat to prepare for the chance that combat is imminent? It seems to me that monsters would get just as much mileage from this option, and the 2 pip difference is insufficient to cause any serious problems.</blockquote>

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