Should you be able to dodge a fireball by readying an action?

[MarkB]

Using the same reasoning as for fireball, why wouldn't you be able to dodge the hold person as well? (Say you're at the extreme limit of range of his hold person, you know it, and you ready an action to move farther away.)

If it works for one spell, why not another?

Because you have to be specific as to the conditions under which you'll take your Readied action, and the specific action you will take in response.

You can say "If he spellcasts I'll assume he's going for an area effect, and direct my horse out of whatever I perceive to be the likely area of effect."

You cannot say "If he spellcasts and it turns out to be fireball I'll try to dodge it, but if it's hold person I'll outrun the spell's range instead, and if it's blindness I'll..." all the way through the PHB's spell list.

If the wizard's smart he'll vary his tactics and force his opponent to waste his readied actions. If he's really smart he'll shoot the horse out from under him with magic missiles.

 

[Hypersmurf]

He's really asking to interrupt the wand use action to move, and not to move after the wand action is completed...just like all readied actions.

But the caster determines the location of the spell when it comes into effect.

He's going to aim for you... but if you move before he finishes activating the wand, he's still going to aim for you where you are at the time.

The location is determined when the spell comes into effect, so if you move before the location is determined, it's no help, and if you move after the location is determined, it's too late.

-Hyp.

 

[mvincent]

if you move before the location is determined, it's no help, and if you move after the location is determined, it's too late.

Isn't the flight path of arrows similarly instantaneous in D&D (even at say, over 1000' away)?

Would you allow a player to ready an action to duck behind cover if an arrow is launched?

 

[Anthelios]

I like this suggestion.

I think it makes sense, too. The first round you end up getting away due to the wizard trying to hit you.. The next round he will probably lead you a bit with the fireball, to clip you with it. Then it becomes a game of trying to guess where the other is going to shoot/ride, possibly using bluff and sense motive.

 

[Jhulae]

But the caster determines the location of the spell when it comes into effect.

He's going to aim for you... but if you move before he finishes activating the wand, he's still going to aim for you where you are at the time.

The location is determined when the spell comes into effect, so if you move before the location is determined, it's no help, and if you move after the location is determined, it's too late.

-Hyp.

Unless you are able to move beyond the spell's maximum range.. Obviously it won't help if you're 100' away from a wizard casting a long range spell, but at distance, it's possible to move beyond the casting range, especially from a wand.

 

[frankthedm]

Here's the problem:

The action occurs just before the action that triggers it.

Therefore the readied action (movement) occurs just before the triggering action (casting the fireball). The time between the spell being completed and the fireball going off is not an action.

I propose that sentence is just referring to when the ready action occurs regarding the initiative cycle. No time travel occurs and this “If the triggered action is part of another character’s activities, you interrupt the other character.” Sure seems to allow butting in in just about any part of the foes action. The spell is cast, the intersection is targeted, the bead appears, but it at that moment the readier’s standard action resolves. Once that is over, the person who was interrupted does not get to change any decision; he simply follows through with the action that got interrupted..

 

[Hypersmurf]

Would you allow a player to ready an action to duck behind cover if an arrow is launched?

He'd move behind cover before the triggering action - so while the opponent has taken the Attack action (for example), the arrow has not left the bow when the PC moves behind cover. The opponent could shoot someone else, for example, since it's still a valid use of the triggering action.

Just like the fireball example, you can move before the attack, or you can move after the attack, but you can't move in between target designation and attack resolution.

-Hyp.

 

[Nifft]

Just like the fireball example, you can move before the attack, or you can move after the attack, but you can't move in between target designation and attack resolution.

So I can ready one of these actions, but not the other?

1/ "I ready an action to move if the ogre attacks."

2/ "I ready an action to move if the ogre attacks me."

Cheers, -- N

 

[frankthedm]

Oh come on he is not really saying that. They wizard is going to aim for him. He's really asking to interrupt the wand use action to move, and not to move after the wand action is completed...just like all readied actions.

Mistwell, the OP really was saying that.

Well, here are the events in my mind:

1. Wizard aims and fires
2. Fireball travels from wizard to target
3. Fireball reaches its target and explodes

I wanted to move after 1, before 3, since I figure it takes at least some amount of time for the fireball bead to travel, and that once the spell has been cast, it will travel to the target area chosen at step 1. The GM said that once the fireball is cast, there is no time to move. It goes from 1 to 3, with no 2 in the middle. Apparently the fireball can travel 400 ft. or more faster than a horse can move 40 ft.

 

[Hypersmurf]

So I can ready one of these actions, but not the other?

1/ "I ready an action to move if the ogre attacks."

2/ "I ready an action to move if the ogre attacks me."

How much resolution does one allow with the triggering condition?

Could you ready "I ready an action to move if the ogre attacks me and hits", to distinguish it from "the ogre attacks me but misses"?

-Hyp.