Help with Readied Action & Reach

[Shane_Leahy]

This situation came up the other night in my game and was wondering what the rules are if there are any.

Party is fighting a giant crocadile in the water, monk is on the edge of the beach. He is in the threatened area of the croc. but not in base to base with it. He readies an action that when the croc attacks him that he will attack back but not move. The reasoning being that the croc has to come to him to attack with its head so he can then hit it. So the croc goes to attack him, he attacks it first and then it finishes its attack.

Doable by the rules? I took a quick glance but did not see anything to say yea or nay.

 

[TheEvil]

From what I understand, not by the book. May be worth a houserule though

 

[mvincent]

The rules don't seem to cover this, but I'd allow it if it made sense (same with readying an action to sunder a reach weapon).

 

[MetalBard]

Wow, that's a really great idea... I had always considered readying an action something that was specifically required by other actions (like counter-spelling). I need to check the rules when I have them in front of me, but I'd think it's doable, as long as the attack is a natural attack (ie - a body part), otherwise it's just sundering a reach weapon, like what mvincent said.

 

[dcollins]

He readies an action that when the croc attacks him that he will attack back but not move.

The 3.0 FAQ does allow this sort of action, in the context of a question about using a touch-attack spell. Seems like if that's allowed, so should a similar attack with any weapon or natural weapon.

I know a spellcaster can’t deliver a touch spell with a
weapon, but can a spellcaster deliver a touch spell by
touching an opponent’s weapon? For example, suppose an
enemy fighter has a weapon with a 10-foot reach. Can a
spellcaster step into the area that fighter threatens and
touch the weapon to affect the wielder? Is there a limit on
how far a touch spell can travel through equipment?

For the purposes of most magical effects, touching a
creature’s equipment is exactly the same as touching the
creature. That’s why touch attacks ignore armor, natural armor,
and shields. The point of contact does have to be fairly close to
the target’s body, though.

There is no set limit to how far away a spellcaster can be
when delivering a touch spell, but the basic requirement is
being able to reach into the space the creature occupies. For
example, a human occupies a 5-foot space. Thus, a foe must be
able to reach into that space to deliver a touch attack, even if a
piece of the human’s equipment (such as 50 feet of dangling
rope or a manufactured reach weapon) sticks out of the space.
A creature with natural reach is an exception to this rule—
you can use a touch spell against such a creature by touching
one of its natural reach weapons, even if its body is out of your
reach. Such a tactic might require some preparation, however.

If a creature can reach you with a natural weapon (such as a
bite, claw, or tentacle), you can ready an action to use a touch
spell against that natural weapon when it is used to make a
melee attack against you. Though casting a spell usually
requires a standard action, you can cast the spell and try to
touch the target as your readied action, so long as the spell’s
casting time is 1 action or less. (This is just like casting a spell
and making a touch attack as part of your regular action.) If the
spell has a longer casting time, you must first cast it and then
hold the charge until it can be delivered to pull off this
maneuver.