Readied actions and AoO's

[Maitre Du Donjon]

I'm sure this has been covered before, but i just to be sure.

Scenario 1: Cornered wizard, burly fighter is next to him and wants to split the wizard's skull open (i won't get into the specifics of why). For some reason, the fighter readies his action to clomp the wizard over the head as soon as the wizard does anything. The wizard, a little nervous, forgets to cast on the defensive. Now, would the fighter get 2 attacks (1 ready, 1 AoO) on the wizard before said wizard can cast his spell?

Scenario 2: Snipy the Archer is fighting the burly fighter once again, who didn't get a chance to wipe the cranial matter off of his great club. Snipy and the Fighter (lets call him Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo*) are toe-to-toe. Joey Joe Joe readies an action to take a 5-foot step and clobber Snipy should he move back and try to stick an arrow in his throat. Snipy steps back, knocks an arrow in his bow, but Joey Joe Joe is right on his tail. Would Joey Joe Joe get an AoO for threatening Snipy, who is doing something something that provokes an AoO?

Scenario 2b: Joey Joe Joe wields a spiked chain. He is still toe-to-toe with Snipy. Joey readies an action to shread Snipy to threads should he try to shoot an arrow while still within's Joey's reach. Snipy steps back 5 feet and knocks and arrow. Would Joey get his readied attack and his AoO? Why? Why not?

Thanks in advance

Maitre D

* - "That's the worst name i've ever heard in my life"

 

[kreynolds]

For some reason, the fighter readies his action to clomp the wizard over the head as soon as the wizard does anything. The wizard, a little nervous, forgets to cast on the defensive. Now, would the fighter get 2 attacks (1 ready, 1 AoO) on the wizard before said wizard can cast his spell?

He wouldn't get the readied attack. Readying for "if he does anything" isn't a valid trigger.

 

[Maitre Du Donjon]

Re: Re: Readied actions and AoO's

He wouldn't get the readied attack. Readying for "if he does anything" isn't a valid trigger.

Ah. Ok then, let's just assume he readied his attack should the wizard start casting a spell.

 

[aliensex]

Why isn't that a valid trigger? Not necessarily a good one (very general indeed), but triggers are all just a DM call as to what is valid or not. In the cases mentioned above, I would say the Joey Joe Joe* is forgoing the attacks of opportunity against the targets he is readying for (readying for anything is just replacing an attack of opportunity). Better just to attack and then take the opportunities as they come.


* - Best name in the world

 

[Bastoche]

From the SRD:

Ready [Standard][AoO: No]

Description: The ready action lets a combatant prepare to take an action later, after a combatant's turn is over but before a combatant's next one has begun. Readying is a standard action, so a combatant can move as well. It does not provoke an attack of opportunity (though the action that a combatant readies might do so).

Only partial actions can be readied. See the table in the description of "Start full round action" for a list of standard partial actions.

Specify the partial action a combatant will take and the conditions under which it will be taken. When those conditions are met, the combatant may take the readied partial action. The partial action comes before the action that triggers it. For the rest of the fight, the combatant's initiative result is the count on which the combatant took the readied action, and the combatant acts immediately ahead of the combatant whose action triggered the readied action.

If the combatant takes the readied action into a subsequent round, and the conditions are met before the combatant's normal initiative, the combatant's initiative rises to that new point in the order of battle, the combatant may take the readied action, and whether that action is taken or not, the combatant does not get a regular action that round.

1) If the trigger was "once he cast", then yes, he would get both.

2) Yes like in 1. Because Joey makes his 5' step before Snipy. Therefore, Snipy is threatened when he shoot the arrow.

3) Yes like in 1. Because he threaten all the way.

The SRD is not clear on this, but IIRC the PHB and/or the DMG specify that the trigger must be specific, not generic.

If Joey Joe Joe already moved in the round, he couldn't take a "5 foot step" but he could move 5 feet if he still has movment left for the round, but he would be AoOed by anyone who threathened him at the time he moved. The wizard if he was armed would AoO Joey, Snipy wouldn't.

 

[Silver Griffon]

From the SRD
Ready to interrupt spellcaster [Standard][AoO: No]
A character can ready an attack against a spellcaster with the trigger "if she starts casting a spell." If a character succeeds in damaging the spellcaster or otherwise distracting the spellcaster, the spellcaster may lose the spell the spellcaster was trying to cast (as determined by the Concentration check result).

I'm sure this has been covered before, but i just to be sure.

Scenario 1: Cornered wizard, burly fighter is next to him and wants to split the wizard's skull open (i won't get into the specifics of why). For some reason, the fighter readies his action to clomp the wizard over the head as soon as the wizard does anything. The wizard, a little nervous, forgets to cast on the defensive. Now, would the fighter get 2 attacks (1 ready, 1 AoO) on the wizard before said wizard can cast his spell?

The fighter would have to be a little more specific. However, he may or may not get two attacks because readying to interrupt spellcasting is a specific action listed separately from the ready action in the SRD. If he readies to interrupt, no AoO because he is waiting for casting to start. The ready action is listed separately, and precedes the action that triggered it, as odd as that is sometimes. If he readies to attack, then the attack precedes spellcasting. Then, if the wizard survives and decides to go through with casting the spell without taking a 5-foot step the fighter gets an AoO.

Scenario 2: Snipy the Archer is fighting the burly fighter once again, who didn't get a chance to wipe the cranial matter off of his great club. Snipy and the Fighter (lets call him Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo*) are toe-to-toe. Joey Joe Joe readies an action to take a 5-foot step and clobber Snipy should he move back and try to stick an arrow in his throat. Snipy steps back, knocks an arrow in his bow, but Joey Joe Joe is right on his tail. Would Joey Joe Joe get an AoO for threatening Snipy, who is doing something something that provokes an AoO?

Since Joe Joe's readied action specifically included a 5-foot step, he would follow Snipy 5 feet and make his readied attack before snipy fires his arrow. If snipy then fires, Joe Joe gets an AoO. Note that Snipy could opt to continue moving back and make no attack, thus suffering no AoO. Or he could just move back another 5 feet, provoking an AoO but adding his Mobility feat to his AC and then fire.

Scenario 2b: Joey Joe Joe wields a spiked chain. He is still toe-to-toe with Snipy. Joey readies an action to shread Snipy to threads should he try to shoot an arrow while still within's Joey's reach. Snipy steps back 5 feet and knocks and arrow. Would Joey get his readied attack and his AoO? Why? Why not?

As above, except that Joe Joe does not have to ready to move with Snipy because of his reach weapon.

 

[Bastoche]

If the spellcaster do not cast defensively, you both get the AoO and the readied attack. Simply because casting a spell provokes an AoO.

If he is casting defensivly, you only get your readied attack.

 

[Mahali]

If you ready an attack you only get one attack and not any AoO from the action you're interrupting.

Can't remember if it was in a FAQ or just a Sage response.

Someone specifically asked if you get both the readied attack and an AoO on a spell caster. The answer was just one attack.

 

[Dursk Starkfire]

Mahali

I disagree only in the instance when the caster isn't interrupted by the readied action (ie: he passes his concentration check which includes the damage from the readied action). If this is the case, he could still cast, which would then in turn trigger an AoO (if he did not cast defensively, OR if he failed his concentration check, which is fairly unlikely).

So, the barbarian COULD get two attacks, provided that the caster succeeds at a concentration check generated from the readied action and is foolish enough to not cast defensively.

Likewise, another scenario would be: two characters are standing next to each other. Character "B" readies an action to attack A if A moves. A decides to move but instead of moving optimally away from B, decides to tumble through B. A fails their tumble check (DC25). B THEN gets to pound on A for his readied action, and again for an AoO generated by the failed tumble check. Really, the only thing thats happening here that is odd is that B has decided to "change" their initiative until the trigger event occurs. This causes a few issues with timing of who is going at the same initiative count, but realizing that AoO's can still be provoked may make this a little easier.

AB

Dursk.