Readied Actions

[Mercule]

Fighter Player - "I Ready to Charge anything that comes out the door!"
Rogue Player - "I Ready to Flank anybody the Fighter Charges!"
Wizard Player - "I Ready to Magic Missile any creature that comes out that door!"
Cleric Player - "I Ready to Turn Undead if an Undead comes through the door!"

I love readied actions, for just this sort of reason. You ready a pretty specific action against a relatively set trigger. "I change anything that comes through the door" includes allies, angels, demons, etc. If I'm feeling generous, the readier gets a Spot check (which people prone to charge never seem to take), otherwise, the die is already cast.

If handled correctly by the DM, readied actions are very much "enough rope to hang oneself". If it requires much thought or even observation to figure out whether you want to carry through, there's no way to avoid it. The character will be following through, even if it is a big mistake. Readied actions are programmed reflexes, in essence. You can't stop halfway through.

Also, you can't ready to "cast a spell". It's "Magic Missle" or "Mage Armor". It's throw the dagger or stab with it. About the only break I cut PCs with a readied action is that a charge can be modified to a standard attack, if the baddie appears too close to them.

That said, they still don't work outside of combat.

 

[Quasqueton]

For the guy watching the door with a bow, can't you just give him a surprise round on the the guy coming in the door? Then roll initiative.

Quasqueton

 

[Rel]

For the guy watching the door with a bow, can't you just give him a surprise round on the the guy coming in the door? Then roll initiative.

Quasqueton

You can if the guy coming through the door doesn't know the guy covering the door is there.

 

[Mercule]

You can if the guy coming through the door doesn't know the guy covering the door is there.

Bingo. Surprise can either be obvious, or can require Spot, Listen, or even Sense Motive (my house-rule for handling things like a sudden "breakdown" in conversation) checks.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

If handled correctly by the DM, readied actions are very much "enough rope to hang oneself".

funny, if I'm wanting my players to "hang themselves" I don't feel like I'm handling anything correctly.

Readied actions are going to be handled very differently in groups where the DM and players have an adversarial relationship. I don't enjoy groups with that sort of relationship and many of my game mastering decisions reflect that.

 

[Mercule]

Readied actions are going to be handled very differently in groups where the DM and players have an adversarial relationship. I don't enjoy groups with that sort of relationship and many of my game mastering decisions reflect that.

Adversarial games are unfortunate. They are one of the main reasons I subscribe to the "GM is god" paradigm. If it's understood that competing with the GM is a no-win situation, it reduces the temptation to try. I don't know that everyone can pull it off, though, and I know that I haven't always had success with it.