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Message: <blockquote data-quote="eamon" data-source="post: 5235246" data-attributes="member: 51942">I guess the fundamental assumption behind the surprise/ready rules is that you cannot keep up a hair-trigger response indefinitely.  At some point you'll need to blink.  Also note that readied reactions are specific - they don't work well as a form of ambush when the other party expects you because it's hard to predict what they'll do and thus hard to prepare for a specific countermeasure - one that you can trigger fast enough to qualify for the readied action rules (i.e, a specific trigger for a specific action).Generally, if the party is not aware of the ambush, the surprise mechanic is more appropriate and more powerful to the ambushers (more general, CA, and if you're lucky with initiative another full turn as well before the other team acts).On the other hand, entering a room full of armed opponents through a five-foot door simply is dangerous - you might be better off standing around the corner, waiting for them to emerge and fling in the fireballs while waiting (so to speak).  Or, close the door again, wait, and prepare to all go in "simultaneously" with guns blazing - mechanically, reroll initiative by trying to surprise them - they may expect you're coming, but can't see you and need to gain initiative before readying.Usually (not always), I also give hints that readied actions are in play - someone crouching for a jump, or lifting his weapon to find the right moment to strike; that kind of thing.  It's more appropriate in-game; if a bunch of Orcs are about to smack you if you step foot through the door - then they're obviously standing ready, staring at you, and holding their weapon such that they're ready to hit at a moments notice or they've nocked an arrow but not yet let it fly, and further, they're not doing anything else (mechanically: used a standard action to do nothing obvious) - i.e., visibly concentrated and visibly readying an action.  After all, the PC's need to tell you when and what they're readying too, so it's not like you can't do the same for the monsters - and most DM's (myself included) tend to metagame too much by accident anyhow (e.g. by avoiding abilities that the monsters shouldn't really know about - a fighter's combat challenge vs. shifting, say, but more in general, by habitually fighting the same party over and over and so playing the monsters "too smart" in the sense that they react too well even against what might be fairly surprising PC tactics).Abusing readied actions as a form of surprise is bad practice from a metagame perspective too - PC's can do the same, and before you know it, you'll have readied actions triggering off other readied actions and a total mess ensuing - e.g. the fighter plods through the door while the orcs ready an action to charge him when he steps through the door - but the PC barbarian has readied an action to charge the first Orc he sees moving, and the wizard has readied a chilling cloud to surround the barbarian etc...  Worse, the barbarian is acting outside of his turn, so if indeed the orcs continue their charge, he get's OA's, so even more triggered actions! Down that rabbit hole lies madness.  Better to just give a surprise round, and if in the exceptional case they use that surprise round to ready an action, say that the orcs look ready to pounce (without too many details) so the PC's don't get the feeling you're screwing them over by omitting vital observations.</blockquote>

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