Readied Actions

[Thornir Alekeg]

But what if they can inflict enough damage to kill the banshee in one round? According to the rules, readied actions always interrupt the action that sets them off.

Yes, that is exactly correct. Where is the problem with this? The DM should be aware of the readied actions his players declared and when they will be triggered. The DM should basically be each action in his head as they are declared. If the players readied appropriate actions, he should know that they will get to act before the banshee's attack.

In terms of knowing about the scream being an attack versus opening her mouth to parley, I would allow the party a Sense Motive check or Knowledge: undead (I don't understand the Knowledge: Religion references, are banshee's part of a religious organization?). If they succeed the description is adjusted: "You see the apparition open its mouth and in our gut realize it is about to do something nasty. Atrurus and Skith, take your readied actions."

If the DM forgets about the readied actions and rolls the effects of the scream, then when the players protest, you have to suck it up and back up time just a moment from "The creature lets out a piercing wail, roll a save." to "The creature starts to scream, but Arturus and Skith's sudden attacks disipate the creature and you hear the faint echo of a scream that make the hair on your arms stand up on end."

 

[Rel]

If the DM forgets about the readied actions and rolls the effects of the scream, then when the players protest, you have to suck it up and back up time just a moment from "The creature lets out a piercing wail, roll a save." to "The creature starts to scream, but Arturus and Skith's sudden attacks disipate the creature and you hear the faint echo of a scream that make the hair on your arms stand up on end."

I agree completely. And if you want to avoid this situation as a DM then either have the Banshee pop out and Wail on the Surprise Round or use Banshees with more hit points.

Or use 5 of them. Or 12.

Can't be too careful.

 

[Silveras]

In terms of knowing about the scream being an attack versus opening her mouth to parley, I would allow the party a Sense Motive check or Knowledge: undead (I don't understand the Knowledge: Religion references, are banshee's part of a religious organization?).

In 3.5, there is no Knowledge (Undead) skill; it was folded into Knowledge (Religion).

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

In 3.5, there is no Knowledge (Undead) skill; it was folded into Knowledge (Religion).

Ah, thank you. That makes perfectly good sense...ok, not really, but at least it explains things.

As you can tell I haven't used 3.5 much.

 

[painandgreed]

In my group we use the card system where when initiative is rolled, everybody gets a 3X5 card, including the monsters and they're all put in order of initiative rolled. We've also gone through the "can only ready an action during initiative" bit and it has been covered. From there we follow initiative. Once it gets to your initiative, if you wish to ready an action or even just hold your action, your card is taken out of the pile and set aside. When the player wants to act again, they say so and it is re-added into the deck at that place in the shuffle. It is then the player's responsibility to tell the DM they want to take their action but it is considered polite to warn the character at 0 initiative so they don't lose their action for that round if they don't want to.When acting on the same intiative number as another character or creature, your action takes place before the other if responding to a specific readied action and determined by dex if not (and thus may be before or behind the other creature in question).

Not saying that's the rules, but that's how my group does it.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Since this isn't in the rules forum, I won't limit myself to RAW interpretation in my responses.

Readying an action outside of combat makes perfect sense, including 'covering' a door, or keeping a weapon trained on someone during parlay. If a player wanted to do either, I would allow it freely for up to say 3 rounds then require a concentration check to maintain a truely readied condition. (say dc 10 plus 2 each continued round.)

Readying for any hostile action works for me as well. I'm ok with "hit the first person who attempts to enter melee with me" or "Shoot the first person who attacks this ally." Then again, I really liked the "reverse initiative" from an old star wars game, where the side with a lower initiative declared their actions first, then the side with the higher one could act to try to preempt them.

Free use of readied actions, imo, allows for more dramatic and cinematic fights and should be encouraged.

 

[Hjorimir]

If one of my players were to Ready an action outside of combat (i.e. cover the door with his crossbow), I'd have him make a Concentration check (scaling the DC higher the longer he is covering the door to emulate keeping focus).

 

[Kahuna Burger]

If one of my players were to Ready an action outside of combat (i.e. cover the door with his crossbow), I'd have him make a Concentration check (scaling the DC higher the longer he is covering the door to emulate keeping focus).

There are situations where starting combat time and readying actions before the enemy is actually sighted makes perfect sense. Hearing something outside the door, believing that the enemy is on the other side of a wall, etc. npcs can do it too (like if you pause and buff up before entering a main chamber) and is can allow some fun strategy (cast ghost sound outside the door to get everyone readied on it then jump in through the window.)

You can also consider the application of bluff and sense motive to readied actions, esp those taken outside of active combat. If you have a readied action to shoot someone if they attack, why not let them use their improved feint to attack you first? Or use sense motive to figure out what the other guy is readying to do?

 

[Rel]

If one of my players were to Ready an action outside of combat (i.e. cover the door with his crossbow), I'd have him make a Concentration check (scaling the DC higher the longer he is covering the door to emulate keeping focus).

Usually I just give them a circumstance bonus to Initiative. I don't like the idea of setting a precedent for Readying outside combat to be a solid trump for having a crappy Initiative bonus.

 

[ForceUser]

If one of my players were to Ready an action outside of combat (i.e. cover the door with his crossbow), I'd have him make a Concentration check (scaling the DC higher the longer he is covering the door to emulate keeping focus).

You're nicer than me. The rules are clear on this point--a character cannot ready an action until he takes his first action in the initiative order. PCs can't walk around dungeons on readied actions because they aren't in combat. That would be silly. However, they can walk around alert for trouble with their weapons at the ready--this is a different game mechanic, however. An "alert" group of PCs will be allowed Spot and Listen checks (or other perception abilities) before the first round of combat to avoid being surprised, and of course, if they know that an enemy is lurking, it is fair to allow the PCs circumstance bonuses to those rolls.