throw spear on a surprise round/readied action?

[Droogie]

Tossing a spear is a full-round action. Surprise rounds and readied actions are partial. However, my common sense seems to tell me you could throw a spear fast enough if you catch someone by surprise, and if you readied an action to throw a spear at the first thing to walk through the door, why couldn't you stand there, spear in the air ready to fly when the door opens?

 

[John Smallberries]

Since when is throwing a spear a full-round action?

Assuming the spear is in-hand, throwing it is a standard attack action---suitable for a Surprise round or a Readied action.

[Edit: of course, you probably mean a ShortSpear (L), not a HalfSpear (M), dont you? ...my mistake.]

 

[the Jester]

Er- throwing a spear is a full-round action?

I thought it was a standard action, just like any other attack.

Are you sure it's a full-round action? My books are all at someone else's house- but does it say somewhere that it's a full-round action?

 

[Crothian]

Ya, throwing a spear is a normal action just like firing a crossbow or attacking with a sword.

 

[John Smallberries]

I think he's talking about a ShortSpear, which is a Large weapon.

Thrown weapons can only be thrown one-handed. A character can throw a thrown weapon with one hand even if it would be two-handed for you due to the character's size, but doing so counts as a full-round action because the weapon is bulkier and harder to handle than most thrown weapons.

and to answer your question: No, you can not use a Partial action (Ready or Surprise) to throw a spear *if* the spear is larger than your size category.

 

[Crothian]

That makes sense, thanks for clarifying that. And that seems like the correct ruling.

 

[Droogie]

Ok, I'll buy that you don't have time to throw a spear during a surprise round. However, don't you think you could be allowed to ready an action with a throw? Or if you do gain surprise, could you use your surprise partial action to ready?

Say I'm a goblin with a javelin. The pcs on the other side of the door have not heard me. They open the door and I get my surprise. Could I use my surprise to ready my spear to say, throw it at the first pc to enter the room?

And thanks for the replies.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Or if you do gain surprise, could you use your surprise partial action to ready?

Yes...

Could I use my surprise to ready my spear to say, throw it at the first pc to enter the room?

... no.

You can only read a partial action. Throwing your javelin is a full round action. That's why goblins were errata'd to throw darts, from memory.

-Hyp.

 

[Li Shenron]

You can indeed use your surprise round partial action to ready a partial action. Ready is allowed as long as you are not outside the combat round-about.

I think you may ready the "start full-round action" partial action, but in that case you're not completing the full-round action in the surprise round but instead it has its effects in the following round.
So for example you could ready a full-round casting spell or in your case the full-round throwing of a 2-handed weapon; you'll be anyway completing the attack only in the next round, when you'll have a standard action left (I mean, without a mea), and you'll have a lowered initiative.

I am not 100% sure that it works when the full-round action you are "starting" is an attack, such as here... what happens if your target (if he's got to act in the surprise round, or if he comes before you in the first regular round) moves out of the way, maybe on the other side of the room?
I'd rule that you still release your attack in the direction you start throwing, it doesn't seem to me you may easily re-aim such a bulky throw.