Rules Question about Readied Attacks + AoOs

[Forrester]

Can a character ready an action to attack the next person/creature/whatever to open himself up to an AoO (i.e., "walk past him")?

If he did this, he'd get two attacks, right? The readied attack, and an AoO? (And probably a third attack if he had Expert Tactician.)

Sound about right?

 

[Crothian]

A readied attack is more specific then "first person to give me AoO". However, if you know that someone is going to be going throw your threatened area you can ready an action for that, and then get the redied action and the AoO when he does.

Expert Tactician deals with opponents losing their Dex modifier which is seperate from an AoO. There are times when you can do both (AoO and Expert Tactician) but they are not dependant on each other.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

You cannot ready an AoO. However, you can ready an attack against anyone entering your threatened area. When they enter, take your readied attack. If they keep moving through your threatened area, they have provoked an AoO. Take it.

You only get an extra attack with Expert Tactician if your opponent is denied his dex bonus to AC for some reason. Moving through a threatened area and provoking an AoO does not deny him this bonus. Therefore, Expert Tactician will not avail you an extra attack in this scenario.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

Wow, Crothian, almost identical posts, in thought anyways.

 

[Crothian]

Wow, Crothian, almost identical posts, in thought anyways.

We Rock!!

 

[Forrester]

You cannot ready an AoO. However, you can ready an attack against anyone entering your threatened area. When they enter, take your readied attack. If they keep moving through your threatened area, they have provoked an AoO. Take it.

You only get an extra attack with Expert Tactician if your opponent is denied his dex bonus to AC for some reason. Moving through a threatened area and provoking an AoO does not deny him this bonus. Therefore, Expert Tactician will not avail you an extra attack in this scenario.

I apologize -- in my scenario, the "readier" is invisible, which is why he can plan all of this nastiness (and probably use Expert Tactician).

Zoom -- if you really wanted to rock, why ready the attack against "anyone entering your threatened area"? Why not ready it against anyone moving THROUGH it? Or, if more exactitude is necessary, why not ready an attack against someone passing you on your left (let's say, as you figure that's what they'd do)?

That way you'd get both attacks, no?

 

[Dr. Zoom]

I apologize -- in my scenario, the "readier" is invisible, which is why he can plan all of this nastiness (and probably use Expert Tactician).

Well, that changes everything.

Zoom -- if you really wanted to rock, why ready the attack against "anyone entering your threatened area"? Why not ready it against anyone moving THROUGH it? Or, if more exactitude is necessary, why not ready an attack against someone passing you on your left (let's say, as you figure that's what they'd do)?

That way you'd get both attacks, no?

You could do that. Of course, if he stops when he enters your threatened area, you get no attacks. My readied action always allows you at least one attack. The rest is a guessing game.

Now if you are invisible, as I said, that changes everything.

 

[hong]

You wouldn't necessarily get two attacks even if you ready with the trigger "anyone who moves through my threatened area". The first threatened square the opponent leaves is one triggering event, and wouldn't result in two actions. You could take your readied attack at this point. If the opponent then keeps moving (silly person) and leaves another threatened square, you could take another attack as an AoO. Feats like Mobility would apply to this attack, but not the first.

Consider the situation where you ready a melee attack against a spellcaster. If the opponent starts casting, you can take your readied attack, but you don't also get an AoO into the bargain. The same applies here.

 

[Gromm]

Good point hong.
I've never run into that scenario, most people I know take readies against mages taking a step away from them, or ar archers and don't AoO.

I'm personally not sure how the rules handle that situation.

 

[shilsen]

Consider the situation where you ready a melee attack against a spellcaster. If the opponent starts casting, you can take your readied attack, but you don't also get an AoO into the bargain. The same applies here.

Do you have a rule reference for that? I can't recall anything that says readied actions replace AoOs if the same act would trigger both.