Your drone acts immediately following your action with it's Limited AI.
However, Master Control states that, as a move action, you can directly control your drone. There is no limitation on the order of these actions. You could take your standard action, then your move action to control the mount, then a swift action etc...
You do not act simultaneously.
Barring some ability to interrupt your drone, your actions will occur before or after the drone acts, not during. You each have a discrete turn, and barring special abilities that let your interrupt someone else's turn you can't.
Offensive readied actions, occur after the trigger action completes. So if you readied to shoot when you drone approaches within range, you might get to shoot after it stops moving. I'm not 100% clear on that.
Barring some ability to interrupt your drone, your actions will occur before or after the drone acts, not during. You each have a discrete turn, and barring special abilities that let your interrupt someone else's turn you can't.
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You could ready the action for the trigger "my drone moves out of this square" then the drone moves out of that square and you both fire.
You could ready the action for the trigger "my drone moves out of this square" then the drone moves out of that square and you both fire.Barring some ability to interrupt your drone, your actions will occur before or after the drone acts, not during. You each have a discrete turn, and barring special abilities that let your interrupt someone else's turn you can't.
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Good call here. You could indeed use a readied action before your move action so that you could act when the trigger happens.
Your turn comes in the initiative order, as a standard action you ready your action to fire with the trigger of: 'When my drone fires during the Shot on the Run feat, I fire as well.' Then you take your move action to command your drone to perform a Shot on the Run. Your drone moves, attacks, then you attack, then moves again. Easy peasy.
Well done BigNorseWolf
I feel like this is shenanigans not intended by the developers -- but based on how the wording of the ready action was changed from PF1 to Starfinder it's not prohibited. It used to be impossible to ready an action and take any actions afterwards in Pathfidner.
Personally, I wouldn't allow you to ready an action and then take other actions, such as using Master Control. However, the ready description in Starfinder doesn't have the same prohibition.
However it does state:
Ready an Action
You can prepare to take an action when a certain trigger occurs by using a standard action. Decide on a standard, move, or swift action and a trigger. You can take the action you chose when the trigger happens. This changes your initiative count to the current initiative count for the remainder of the combat. If you used a reaction on your previous turn and then chose to ready an action, you still regain your reaction at the beginning of your original turn, not when you take your readied action.If your readied action is purely defensive, such as choosing the total defense action if a foe you are facing shoots at you, it occurs just before the event that triggered it. If the readied action is not a purely defensive action, such as shooting a foe if he shoots at you, it takes place immediately after the triggering event. If you come to your next turn and have not yet performed your readied action, you don’t get to take the readied action (though you can ready the same action again).
And I had to go back and reread it, because I thought it said triggering action which would have meant in the case of shot on the run it would resolve after the entire thing (since it's one full action), but it says event. So I guess it depends on how your GM lets you word your trigger.
I still personally wouldn't allow you to ready an action and take actions afterwards, but that's just me.
I still personally wouldn't allow you to ready an action and take actions afterwards, but that's just me.
Why not? Is there a thematic reason for disallowing the use of other actions? It makes complete sense that a person could ready for a specific event to occur and then perform an action when it does. Think about bull riding... a rider readies himself to release the bindings and dismount the bull when the buzzer sounds (this could be a swift action to release the bindings or a move action to release the bindings and dismount). Until that buzzer sounds he doesn't just sit there and do nothing, he rides that bull as an active action... then if he stays on long enough and the buzzer sounds the readied action triggers.
It doesn't make sense that you would prohibit a player from performing any other action when you ready an action with a trigger. The down side to readying an action is the loss of the action when the event fails to trigger. Forcing players to lose all other additional actions is a steep cost for a readied action! Your poor players!
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The wording is a bit finicky, but the whole concept of what is trying to be done isn't game breaking so, why not? In the end, the drone gets one shot, the mechanic get's one shot (which is the epitome of what a drone mechanic does), and they both move (which is available through spending the resource of a drone mod). It is merely a question of timing which is why I find the dispute silly because they act sequentially, so I highly doubt this breaks RAI. That you care so much about the readied action before other actions seems a bit silly to me as well.
All-in-all I give it a why not?
Also, it is supported by RAW.
I still personally wouldn't allow you to ready an action and take actions afterwards, but that's just me.Why not? Is there a thematic reason for disallowing the use of other actions? It makes complete sense that a person could ready for a specific event to occur and then perform an action when it does. Think about bull riding... a rider readies himself to release the bindings and dismount the bull when the buzzer sounds (this could be a swift action to release the bindings or a move action to release the bindings and dismount). Until that buzzer sounds he doesn't just sit there and do nothing, he rides that bull as an active action... then if he stays on long enough and the buzzer sounds the readied action triggers.
It doesn't make sense that you would prohibit a player from performing any other action when you ready an action with a trigger. The down side to readying an action is the loss of the action when the event fails to trigger. Forcing players to lose all other additional actions is a steep cost for a readied action! Your poor players!
The problem here is the chance of failure to trigger isn't really present.
Barring something very unexpected happening, the mechanic will command their drone and it will perform the actions and trigger the readied action. There is no chance for failure, unless the drone is somehow prevented from acting by another force, which is pretty unlikely given that the mechanic acts and the drone acts just after. There is no room for another character to prevent the actions, and it's basically just a way to cheese giving the mechanic shot on the run, moving together with the drone and getting your mechanic to be able to take a shot while closer to the enemy, and then avoid retaliation by moving away.
And I'm staunchly against it perhaps based on my experience from PF1 in which you couldn't ready an action and then act. You can't be ready and waiting to do something while also doing something else.
Your bull riding example isn't really an example of a readied action, it's an example of doing something in response to external stimuli. Also, real life doesn't really map to the discrete turn based system of the game.
Your bull riding example isn't really an example of a readied action, it's an example of doing something in response to external stimuli. Also, real life doesn't really map to the discrete turn based system of the game.
That's exactly what a readied action is. You described it perfectly. You do something in response to external stimuli. In the case of a readied action you simply determine what the external stimuli is for that action.
The turn based system is actually mapped from real life conceptualization. What can a person do in about 6 seconds? How long does it take you to move 30 feet? Try it some time. If you are just casually walking around your step is about a meter per stride. That's 10 strides. Easily accomplished in 6 seconds. Now if you are hustling a bit.. cut that in half. How long does it take you to aim and fire a pistol? Much less than 6 seconds.
If you don't like the bull riding example, we can do something a little more sinister. Take for example an armed robber who pulls a pistol on a store clerk and readies an action to shoot the clerk if they pull a weapon. Does the robber sit there and do nothing? Of course not. They yell, threaten, then take the money and back out the door all while continuing the readied action.
We can do hundreds of readied action examples if you like, because a readied action is something you do in response to external stimuli. You don't do that action UNTIL the external stimuli occur.
Clearly we disagree, and no amount of argument on your end is going to change my mind on this, I will flat out admit it.
And I honestly don't feel like arguing enough about this topic to continue trying to sway your opinion, as I imagine you to be as entrenched in yours as I am in mine.
We will simply have to accept that we disagree.
Have a good day.
I don't disagree that there should be limitations, but I just think that you are imposing additional limitations on top of what is already part of the inherent limitations of the action. All based on a previous model that isn't applicable to this rule set and a ruling that is based on a previous rule set instead of the current rule set.
That being said, you are the GM, you can do as you wish. I just feel badly for your players as it seems like they signed up to play Starfinder and not Pathfinder.
Thanks for the well wishes!! Right back at you. Have a great day and happy gaming!
I will explain a little bit on that point, as this is less to convince and more to explain my view.
Yes, they removed the wording that made it impossible to perform an action after setting a readied action. However, I think it's more an omission with an intent to simplify how readied actions work than a deliberate change.
Further, to me a readied action absolutely means your focused and waiting for something to happen. if you are doing something else, you're no longer focused and waiting.
I can be waiting for a door to open and act after it does, or I can "ready" and react to the door opening with a readied action. Unless you can see exactly how turn order works, it's hard to tell what the difference is, unless other things happen/are about to happen outside of the door and you acting.
One of my least favorite things in rules is how readied actions are handled, they created lots of problems in PF1 and have a different slew of problems in Starfinder.
It's always been very gamist and open to abuse by players, and as a GM I usually take a "feely" approach with whether or not it feels right too me. If you attempt to do something that would otherwise require a feat or some other rules element to accomplish, I wont let you do it. At the same time, I will rule the same way for NPCs. Fairness is very important to me.
In this case, I'm not even sure it will make much of a difference in play except perhaps avoiding some range increment penalties on the part of the mechanic. I have trouble imagining it makes a significant difference of firing before the drone moves, or after the drone moves, or during the drones action except for range increments.
Its not like this exactly overpowers the mechanic. It takes a class feature. As opposed to an operative who can do the same thing, better, with a feat.
Claxon,
Thanks for explaining your position on this. I understand and agree that within the framework of the game it can easily be abused with the turn based system.
As a GM I have allowed some questionable activity by my players simply because it required a creative way to use the system. They may not have been, strictly speaking, legal or fair by the rules but as long as it's not done in every encounter I won't throw a wrench in it. I usually take those opportunities as a chance to learn a bit from my players. My philosophy, and one I tell all my players up front when we meet and start a campaign is this, 'what's good for the goose is good for the gander'. Meaning, if you find a way to 'bend' the rules to your favor and do so on a consistent basis.. don't be surprised when a few NPC's show up who do it a little better ;)
I find that this encourages creative thinking while discouraging abusive loopholes. You want to do a Shot on the Run while mounted.. sure.. sounds good. How do you do it? Excellent. Now.. let's see how you do as players in overcoming that mechanic when I take it to a better level as the GM.
One of the hardest and most annoying parts of being a GM (and I imagine a LOT of people will agree with this) is that players just don't know the rules and no matter how much I encourage them, they won't take the time to really sit down with the system and learn them. I am in a group of 4 players now that have been playing StarFinder for over a year and we still have to tell people what actions they can do in a round.
When folks take the time to learn the rules and offer a creative bent on them, I lean on allowing it as long as it's not, how did you say.. replicating feats and other class options? On this point I am in total agreement. I may allow it to a much lesser degree if it attempts to replicate a feat or class option. However.. I tend to disallow things like that simply because it removes the unique contribution of other classes.
Again, thanks for explaining your view point. It's nice to see where people are coming from when they consider these questions!
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The mechanic isn't performing actions after readying. His drone is. The drone has its own action pool, even if its slightly dependent on the mechanics action pool.
There's also nothing remotely unrealistic about it. You could have a voice activated dune buggy with a rider and a gun do this sort of thing nowish if you wanted. I tell my drone to drive around to the far side of the room and ready a gun to shoot.
This isn't a bug or an exploit. Its almost required to make a drone saddle work at all in combat because a drone is technically stuck behind the mechanic in their actions for the round.
I even agree that by the rules you all are correct, I just happen to disagree with the rules and would run it differently.
I thought that was clear in my first post after BNW mentioned using readied actions.
Further, there's absolutely no problem on my end from shooting either before your drone acts or after they're finished. And I disagree with BNW's assertion that you're required to act this way to make the drone saddle work at all.
I would also add, that even though the rules definitely don't allow it, if both the drone and the mechanic had shot on the run I would allow it work that the drone could move, shoot, move and the mechanic could shoot once anywhere at all during the drones actions.
"If the readied action is not a purely defensive action, such as shooting a foe if he shoots at you, it takes place immediately after the triggering event."
So, anyway, RAW, it doesn't work. Because you have to wait for the end of the move action before your ready action to start.
And considering that you can ready an action on a subpart of another action would be going against RAI (like saying: I shoot at him if he points his gun towards me).
"Each round on your turn, after you have acted, your drone can take either a move action or a standard action to attack (your drone doesn’t make a separate initiative roll)."
I think noone reads this as: Whatever action you take your drone acts immediately after it. It would allow your drone to act in the middle of your round. People read: Once your actions are over, your drone acts. Ready is part of your actions, so your drone is supposed to act after your ready action if we follow the same logic.
So, saying that you can ready an action during your drone actions is clearly not RAW in my opinion. It's an interpretation of RAW. One that seems logical, and nice to players, but still an interpretation.
Survival states:
"You can use Survival to ride an animal or another beast as a mount. The most typical actions while riding a creature don’t require checks. As a move action, you can either mount, ride (using the mount’s speed instead of yours), or dismount from a creature."
So, RAW, you can't shoot in the middle of your mount movement, unless you have Shot on the run. Applying the same rule to your drone would not be strange to me.
After thinking a bit more about it (and because I can't edit my previous post), the issue is with this sentence: "Each round on your turn, after you have acted". It works perfectly for standard rounds, but if you take a ready or a delay action, as you act twice, the question of "when is your drone supposed to act" is raised.
Obviously, your drone can't act twice, at the moment you take the delay/ready action and at the moment you actually trigger it.
For delay actions, I'm pretty sure everyone will make the drone act after the delayed round, not after the moment where you started delaying. So, if we follow the same logic, your drone is supposed to act after your readed action is triggered, and not after you take the ready action.
Anyway, if we play it RAW, the drone is supposed to act twice (as the drone can act only once a round, it's not that broken, but, still, if your the last in initiative, you can have your drone act twice in a row with a delay action).
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Bidi, ready mentions "triggering event" not action.
Which invalidates most of your argument, I know because I thought the same thing at first.
"Event" isn't defined like actions are in the rule book.
You could set a readied action for "when my enemy jumps over the stream, I'll attack". But the enemy's move action isn't necessarily finished because they jump, jumping can be done as part of a move action. So the trigger, the jump, is complete and you attack after. But their move action, isn't necessarily finished (depending on how much movement speed they have and other things).
Honestly, the rules for ready would be a lot better if they did change the wording to "action" instead, but that's not going to happen.
Well, in my opinion, PF ready was far better than SF ready. SF ready has too many issues. Anyway, it's no "ready" discussion, so I won't start it.
And it doesn't invalidate my argument, as there is a second part (my second post is clearer than my first, I think). Basically, there is no RAW solving this question. So, people can say: I allow the mechanic to benefit from a feat he doesn't have by slightly bending the rules. I would follow your direction, by not allowing the mechanic to perform this maneuver unless he actually has the feat. It seems more legitimate in this case.
I also take issue with the ready action, from both Starfinder and Pathfinder. Starfinder fixed some, but created new ones.
It's why when I GM I don't follow the rules as written for readied actions, but do it more by gut feeling.
It's definitely something thematically players should be able to do, but when you start trying to write rules for it all sorts of weird things can happen as a result.
I don't see how the pathfinder ready would parse any differently, besides moving your initiative in front of the sucker you're readied against.
"If the readied action is not a purely defensive action, such as shooting a foe if he shoots at you, it takes place immediately after the triggering event."
So, anyway, RAW, it doesn't work. Because you have to wait for the end of the move action before your ready action to start.
Nope. Thats why you wait for the drone to move out of X square. Drone moves out of x square then you shoot. There's no requirement or hint that a triggering event needs (or even should be) an entire action.
Eh, discrete actions and triggering events are kind of a grey area. We know that "shoot them if they start casting" doesn't allow you to take the readied action until after the standard action spell finishes, so there has to be some relationship between actions and triggers, but there's no precedent either way regarding how soon a readied action might be able to go off when the trigger is part of a full-action.
I'd be inclined to allow the case in question, but I don't think it's accurate to say that the rules are clear.
Eh, discrete actions and triggering events are kind of a grey area. We know that "shoot them if they start casting" doesn't allow you to take the readied action until after the standard action finishes, but there's no precedent either way regarding how soon a readied action might be able to go off when the trigger is part of a full-action.
I'd be inclined to allow the case in question, but I don't think it's accurate to say that the rules are clear.
You really can't do anything at all with a readied action if you need to wait for the entire action to finish.
"I'll dive for cover if he shoots" he shoots then you dive for cover (which is not how the rules say its supposed to work)
I'll shoot anything coming out of the fog - monster charges out of fog, finishes charge , hits you, you shoot, monster hits you again
I'll run away if anything comes out of the fog monster charges out of the fog, finishes charge, hits you, you move away, it hits you again.
Its not that the rules are perfectly laid out, its just that there's nothing to suggest that a triggering event has to be an entire action at all. Nothing in the rules says it. Nothing in the rules hints at it. It's the less realistic option, and seeing the rules that way gets the wonkier results.
Pathfinder ready had all sorts of problems.
To use your example, "I dive for cover if he shoots at me". The enemy goes to shoot, your readied action takes place before and if you have total cover, prevents the enemy from targeting you altogether. Some people even try to argue this locks the enemy into wasting their action, and others say that they can freely choose a different target.
This was because in PF! readied actions happened before their trigger.
In Starfidner, readied actions happen before or after depending on whether it's a defensive or offensive action.
Pathfinder ready had all sorts of problems.
To use your example, "I dive for cover if he shoots at me". The enemy goes to shoot, your readied action takes place before and if you have total cover, prevents the enemy from targeting you altogether. Some people even try to argue this locks the enemy into wasting their action, and others say that they can freely choose a different target.
This was because in PF! readied actions happened before their trigger.
In Starfidner, readied actions happen before or after depending on whether it's a defensive or offensive action.
Timey whimey balls are a very large problem in turned based systems.
But I'm not seeing a difference between the two rules systems for this instance (besides the hypertechnically picking "enters this square" or "leave this square" as your trigger) for firing.
If you mean "You don't see the instance between how PF1 Ready and Starfidner Ready would affect the original posters situation" then:
1) Pathfinder ready specifically prohibits you from taking any actions after your ready, so you couldn't spend the move action for Master Control
There is an argument about whether or not using Master Control to donate your move action begins the drones turn or not...I guess that would factor into the discussion. Thematically you're directly controlling the drone. So I guess you could argue that you can donate, then ready, then the drone goes.
2) Pathfinder ready specifies it happens around "the action", so if Starfinder used "action" instead of event it would mean it would happen after after complete actions instead of parts (like my jumping/movement example earlier).
So if I'm riding my drone and I want my drone to attempt a grapple maneuver against our enemy before I attack am I allowed to do this? Basically I'm readying an action to attack after I see my drone attempt the grapple maneuver.
There is an argument about whether or not using Master Control to donate your move action begins the drones turn or not...I guess that would factor into the discussion. Thematically you're directly controlling the drone. So I guess you could argue that you can donate, then ready, then the drone goes.
It wouldn't be possible for the drone to be going after you if you were using your actions to control the drone. By this reading you can't use a drone at all. That makes it the far weaker reading by a large margin.
2) Pathfinder ready specifies it happens around "the action", so if Starfinder used "action" instead of event it would mean it would happen after after complete actions instead of parts (like my jumping/movement example earlier).
Pathfinder: You can ready a standard action, a move action, a swift action, or a free action. To do so, specify the action you will take and the conditions under which you will take it. Then, anytime before your next action, you may take the readied action in response to that condition. The action occurs just before the action that triggers it
Starfinder
You can prepare to take an action when a certain trigger occurs by using a standard action. Decide on a standard, move, or swift action and a trigger.
I'm not seeing the implication that either system requires an actual full action to be the triggering event.
This also seems a weird thing to go this deep into the rules to try to stop. The mechanic isn't doing anything that an operative with shot on the run wouldn't, and he's got a similar amount if not more invested into this trick (drone, saddle, all the drones feats, buying two weapons...)
I don't see how the pathfinder ready would parse any differently, besides moving your initiative in front of the sucker you're readied against.
Starfinder has a very big issue with ready, it's that they speak about events and use actions for examples.
I shoot at him if he starts to babble strangely: Does it allow me to interrupt his spell ?I shoot at him if he shoots at me: When do I shoot if he makes a full attack? An automatic attack? A blast attack?
SF ready just doesn't work.
So, in the case of this specific ready, different GMs would rule it differently, because the rules are unclear.
I don't think the exact timing of the action is problematic as it is very clear that there are no rules in the game which allow you to stop an opponents action in progress. You can ATTEMPT to interrupt an action or a spell or so many other things, but you can't just prevent an opponents action once it has begun.
Bidi as far as spells go, the rules are quite clear. If you ready an action for an opponent with a trigger of 'monster begins casting a spell' and the trigger occurs, and you hit with the attack against the enemies AC, the spell casting fails.
Now, notice I said you can't prevent an opponents action and this is a fair example. The end result would be a net positive for you, the player, as you interrupted the spell, but you did not prevent the enemy from casting the spell. You simply caused the casting to fail The results are similar but the method to achieve the results are very different and this differentiation is VERY important for the ready action.
As to your second response then, again, the timing is pretty clear. Once the triggering event (not action) occurs, then your readied action happens. If he makes a full attack, it's after the first shot of the attack and before the 2nd and potentially 3rd shot if it's a soldier. An automatic attack is also, quite clear. Once the target shoots at YOU. The automatic property clearly defines the order of operation for this special attack. You make one attack against each target in the cone starting with those CLOSEST to you. If you are the closest, he attacks you, you shoot back, he continues attacking the other targets unless you have successfully applied a condition which prevents the continuation of his actions. The blast property reads almost identical to automatic property. Same timing applies.
I don't see how the ready action timing is at all unclear. The rules are very clear for readied actions especially when taken in consideration with the OTHER rules for weapon properties and such.
Don't confuse an action with the triggering event. They are different and it's clear how they work.
What makes readied actions difficult is how ambiguous the triggering wording can be and how they can abused to give clear advantages to very creative players. Claxon gives a good example in one of his previous posts about diving for cover and how that can potentially waste an opponents action by making the player an illegal target.
My philosophy is.. if it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander. Let players be creative and then.. harness their creativity to give them a challenge :) Nothing makes players hesitate like five spell casters taking their turn and doing apparently nothing ;)
Bidi as far as spells go, the rules are quite clear. If you ready an action for an opponent with a trigger of 'monster begins casting a spell' and the trigger occurs, and you hit with the attack against the enemies AC, the spell casting fails.
This is wrong. That does not work in Starfinder.
https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljv8?Five-Differences-Between-Sta rfinder-Rules-and
According to the CRB it's right. Check out page 331 of the CRB. I will also quote it here for you to read.
"To successfully cast a spell, you must concentrate. The length of time you must concentrate to cast a spell is specified in the Casting Time
entry in the spell’s description. Your foes can interrupt your spellcasting in a few ways, as described below.
The concentration required to cast a spell is sufficient to cause you to briefly lower your defenses. If a foe threatens the space you are in, casting a spell provokes an attack of opportunity unless the spell specifies otherwise. For more on attacks of opportunity, see page 248.
Normally, you can concentrate even in a distracting situation, but if you’re casting a spell and you take damage from either a successful attack that targeted your AC or from an effect that you failed a saving throw against, the spell fails.
You are most at risk of taking damage while casting when a spell’s casting time is 1 round or longer, you have provoked an attack of opportunity, or a foe readied an action to attack you when you began to cast. However, if you are taking ongoing damage (such as if you are bleeding or on fire), your spells are not disrupted in this way."
The corerulebook has a contradiction there. In starfinder however its been clarified that you cannot ready an action to disrupt a spellcaster. Between spellcasters being weaker and more people being ranged it would pretty much shut them down as characters.
Yes, exactly what BNW said. I do know the passage you quited, pretty much by heart, because it came up so much when people were debating that exact contradiction before it was clarified.
I am not sure what contradiction you are talking about. Please elaborate.
From page 249, where readying an action is described "If your readied action is purely defensive, such as choosing the total defense action if a foe you are facing shoots at you, it occurs just before the event that triggered it. If the readied action is not a purely defensive action, such as shooting a foe if he shoots at you, it takes place immediately after the triggering event. If you come to your next turn and have not yet performed your readied action, you don’t get to take the readied action (though you can ready the same action again)."
From page 331, there is the reference to being interrupted by a readied attack before you finish your spell, which is an offensive readied action.
This leads to people pointing at page 249, which shows that this can't happen, and page 331, which implies it can and arguing.
From the developer clarification, in the thread at the address I posted previously, we know that you can't interrupt a standard action spell with a readied attack.
It's not entirely vontradictory, so much as misleading, since you could start casting a spell with a 1 round casting time, and the readied attack would interrupt.
So if you said above that the rules are clear that a readied action would interrupt Summon Monster, specifically, instead of a spell in general, then it would be a correct statement.
I am not sure what contradiction you are talking about. Please elaborate.
You are most at risk of taking damage while casting when a spell’s casting time is 1 round or longer, you have provoked an attack of opportunity, or a foe readied an action to attack you when you began to cast. However, if you are taking ongoing damage (such as if you are bleeding or on fire), your spells are not disrupted in this way. <---- that makes it sound like you can ready to interrupt spells
your readied action is purely defensive, such as choosing the total defense action if a foe you are facing shoots at you, it occurs just before the event that triggered it. If the readied action is not a purely defensive action, such as shooting a foe if he shoots at you, it takes place immediately after the triggering event. If you come to your next turn and have not yet performed your readied action, you don’t get to take the readied action (though you can ready the same action again).
<----- This makes it sound like you can't ready to interrupt spells, because the spell goes off and then you shoot them and then well.. its a little late you're already on fire. I suppose you COULD technically ready to shoot if they start a one round spell, but like a lot of readies that's completely pointless because you'd have your normal turn in there anyway and could move and shoot or shoot twice or full round magic missile them in the face instead.
That one REALLY needs to get on the FAQ
Thanks for the links. I am still doubtful as to the official ruling for this. Within Owen's original post he also stated triggering action instead of what is written in the CRB. In the CRB it's triggering event and they are very different things.
The last official word from these 2 post in regard to this ruling was from Owen on June 5th 2017. The CRB was published on Aug 17, 2017 which leads me to conclude that this statement was made before the final rulings were completed. Also Owens own statement seems a bit unsure.
It would be nice to get a more definitive answer from one of the developers on this. To me it would entirely be possible to ready an action to interrupt a spell when the action of casting the spell begins. Otherwise the CRB makes almost no sense at all. Why would it say "You are most at risk of taking damage while casting when a spell’s casting time is 1 round or longer, you have provoked an attack of opportunity, or a foe readied an action to attack you when you began to cast."
This makes almost no sense and when paired with the age of the post I feel it requires a follow up for clarification. As written in the CRB there are no contradictions.
The trigger is an event and not an action. Hence when a character 'begins to cast' a spell, you would be allowed to perform your readied action before the completion of the spell.
It's also entirely possible that both actions occur simultaneously and hence your attack occurs while he is casting the spell and could possibly interrupt the spell.
How are the rules unclear? Defensive readied actions happen before the trigger, offensive ones happen after.
I think the 10 posts after yours are helping you understand why they are unclear. Offensive actions can always happen before, as we are triggering ready on events and not actions.
Personally, I use PF ready in SF, considering that spells can't be interrupted unless you take an AoO or they are full round actions. SF ready ends always in such kind of nitpicking.
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The same approach that would allow you to ready an attack for when someone "begins to cast" and interrupt a spell would allow you to ready an attack for when they "move their weapon toward you" and interrupt a shot. It is basically removing the rule about offensive vs defensive readied actions, as long as you word your trigger carefully.
Applying a rule so that whether players can employ a tactic depends on how carefully they word a trigger is nonsense.
Because of poor writing in the ready description.
Honestly, if they changed the word "event" to "action" it makes things work much better with their "defensive actions before, offensive actions after" paradigm that they we're going for.
obviously "carefully worded" triggers can get around this, but only if your GM accepts it. Experienced GMs would certainly recognize what you're trying to do, and probably decide to allow or disallow on an ad hoc basis.