Can you take an immediate action while you're delaying?

[DRD1812]

I'm a bard. I've declared that I'll keep my performance going but am otherwise delaying. Can I end my performance with saving finale to give a party member a re-roll?

[Byakko]

You can take immediate actions when it's not your turn, so yes, you can take immediate actions while delaying.

------------

To me, there is another rules question here, which I'm not sure has ever been addressed. How are "per round" costs handled when delaying?

Presumably you need to pay the "round cost" as soon as your initiative comes up despite going into Delay. But when do you pay for the next "round"?

If you delay only a very short time, it doesn't seem to make sense to pay the cost again when you come out of delay.

On the other hand, if you delay nearly an entire round, it wouldn't make sense not to pay it, imho.

How about if you delay half a round?

[Cap. Darling]

Delaying, i would say yes. But with a ready action i belive the answer is no.

[Devilkiller]

I'd say yes. I think that whether you delay your spot in initiative or ready an action you should still be able to perform an immediate action in the meantime. You wouldn't be able to perform a swift action during the upcoming turn though. That's the part which is tough but important to remember.

[Numarak]

I'm not sure about the outcome of delaying, but my guess is that you end your performance doing so.

On Bardic Performance:
Starting a bardic performance is a standard action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action.

On Delay Action:
"By choosing to delay, you take no action and then act normally on whatever initiative count you decide to act."

If you delay, you take no action, including Free Actions, and as described on Bardic Performance you need to take a Free Action to maintain it, so, the instant you delay, the Bardic Performance ends.

I see this the same way as bleed, stun, shaken, poisoned or whatever affliction happens to afflict you. If you delay, the condition is not suppressed; let's say you are bleeding on initiative counter 19, and you'll die on your turn due the bleed damage, you can say you delay til initiative counter 14 -when the priest can heal you- but the world does not stop for you.

(On Delay Action: "You never get back the time you spend waiting to see what's going to happen.")

[Numarak]

I've answered on the other thread -with the same question- but the way I see it, is the opposite to Cap. Darling.

The way I see it, with Delay you take no actions -which includes all types of actions, which also includes Free Actions- and maintaining a regular Bardic Performance requires a Free Action, so: no, you can't Delay and maintain a Bardic Performance, because you can not take the Free Action you need in order to do so.

On the other hand, if you Ready an action, you can, because "Readying is a standard action." and you can combine -on general basis- Free Actions with other types of action -like the Standard of readying-.

Also you have to remember that casting Saving Finale is a Immediate Action, and you can't perform an immediate action the same turn you used a Swift Action, plus if you use it during another character's turn, then on your next turn you are forbbiden to use your Swift Action for that turn.

--- To Byakko

The questions are: this is something that is happening to me, or am I making it to happen?

On the first case, like I answered on the other thread, bleeding, being shaken, et cetera, is something that happens to 'you', so delaying or readying an action does not affect it. You are bleeding on initiative counter 15, no matter if you delay for 10 turns, every turn on the begining of initiative counter 15 you'll bleed until you change your condition.

On the second case, what happens to things 'you' are creating? Answer depends. You created a magical effect on initiative's counter 15? It lingers or depends on 'you' to keep it going? No matter the answer to this last question is, every time the counter of the initiative reaches 15, 1 round will have passed, if you delay, or ready, or even die and 'you' are out of the initiative. The subject perspective of time lapse is something personal and has nothing to do with time itself going on. The difference is that that if 'you' need to maintain the effect, then, if something -even delaying your action as per Delay action- prevents 'you' from maintaining it, then it will stop before the scheduled finish.

[Archizon]

DRD1812, The short answer is yes you may, if you would like to know why, keep reading!

Here is your immediate action- that says you can use it when it's not your turn.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Immediate-Actions

Below is the link to delay, which can be confusing, so here my groups interpretation:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Delay

Example 1
1. Lvl 13 Bard initiative is 15
2. Bad Wizard is 10
3. Fighter is 5

Bard uses swift action to start performance.
Wizard charms fighter.
Bard uses saving finale as immediate action, therefore you go no immediate/swift action on your next turn.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Immediate-Actions

Example 2
Turn 1
1. Bard starts performance
2. Wizard casts fly
3. Fighter stands around with sword all sad.
Turn 2
1. Bard Delays until after fighter.
2. Wizard charms fighter.
2.1. Fighter fails save
2.2. Bard uses I'm immediate action to use saving finale
2.3. Fighter makes save
3. Fighter stands around with sword.
4. Bard has no swift action/immediate action this turn.

Example 3
Turn 1
1. Bard delays until after fighter
2. Wizard casts fly
3. Fighter stands around with sword all sad.
4. Bard can't delay anymore this turn.

So the real question your asking is "what is a free action?"
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Free-Actions

Free actions take less time then immediate actions, therefore we can assume since it takes no time you can use it whenever you want. Therefore you are always maintaing it, even if you take the total defense action.

[Numarak]

Archizon, the problem with Delaying instead of Readying is that that you take no actions when you use Delay, so you can not take a Free Action to maintain the Bardic Performance, so the Bardic Performance ends.

Hence, when you get out of the Delay you can not cast Saving Finale because there is no Bardic Performance going on.

The problem is not to being able to cast an Inmediate action out of his turn, the problem is that one of the requirements of casting Saving Finale -have a Bardic Performance going on- fails.

The only option is to Ready an action, which is, per se, a Standard Action, then, you can -as a Free Action- along with the Standard, maintain the Bardic Performance.

[Byakko]

Numarak: I find most bards come standard issue with Lingering Performance these days, which would make it easier to do this sort of thing.

As far as maintenance costs and turn-based effects staying on their own initiative count, I don't believe that's true. Almost all such effects call out that something happens "at the start of their turn". If you change your position in initiative order due to a ready or a delay, it doesn't make any sense for these costs/effects to happen out of turn on following rounds for the rest of the combat.

[Archizon]

Numarak,

I see how you see it, and I'm no way saying your wrong, just my interpretation is different.

By choosing to delay, you take no action and then act normally on whatever initiative count you decide to act.

I see the no action as "You do not take any actions during your current point in the initiative order" meaning he he can act completely normally on his new initiative point. Part of acting normally, I would assume is maintaining his performance, like one could normally do on his turn.

[RedDogMT]

Numarak wrote:

Archizon, the problem with Delaying instead of Readying is that that you take no actions when you use Delay, so you can not take a Free Action to maintain the Bardic Performance, so the Bardic Performance ends.

Hence, when you get out of the Delay you can not cast Saving Finale because there is no Bardic Performance going on.

The problem is not to being able to cast an Inmediate action out of his turn, the problem is that one of the requirements of casting Saving Finale -have a Bardic Performance going on- fails.

The only option is to Ready an action, which is, per se, a Standard Action, then, you can -as a Free Action- along with the Standard, maintain the Bardic Performance.

I have to agree with Numarak on this one (although initially, I did not think I would). If a bard were to start playing in the prior turn, by delaying on the next turn he is essentially choosing to not play. If he wanted to continue the performance, he would need to take an action along with his free action to continue playing.

If the same thing happened with a concentration spell, I would feel that I would need to rule in the same way. Similarly, if a spell were to end at the start of the caster's next turn, he could not use the delay action to 'extend' the spell duration just a little bit.

[Cap. Darling]

The turn is the same turn no matter if the bard delays or not. It os 6 seconds and to make a delayed action end the performance is loosing sigth of the fact that everybody are acting at the same time. If the bard ends up not doing anything in a round then i belive the performance end.
Initiative count 15 or 10 is not happening at different times one is just before the other to make the round system manageable.
This is at least how i look at it. The combat rules have abstract elements and this is one of the times where you have to remember that.

[Limor]

The bardic performance lasts until the beginning of his next turn. If he delays his turn, the preformace would continue until his turn comes around whenever he delayed it to. At that point, if he didn't use the action to continue it, it would end.

[Byakko]

There's problems with doing it either way.

If you don't force him to pay before delaying, and the bard is almost out of rounds, then he could just go permanently into delay to maintain the buff on the party.

If you force him to pay when he delays, that works initially. But on following turns, are you going to make him pay on his turn as normal? Make him pay when he initially delayed? What if he delays again? It just becomes very messy and convoluted.

[Cap. Darling]

Byakko wrote:

There's problems with doing it either way.

If you don't force him to pay before delaying, and the bard is almost out of rounds, then he could just go permanently into delay to maintain the buff on the party.

If you force him to pay when he delays, that works initially. But on following turns, are you going to make him pay on his turn as normal? Make him pay when he initially delayed? What if he delays again? It just becomes very messy and convoluted.

if he dint take his turn in a round and there fore dont continiue his performance then it ends. How Can that even be a issue?

[Byakko]

Cap. Darling wrote:

Byakko wrote:

There's problems with doing it either way.

If you don't force him to pay before delaying, and the bard is almost out of rounds, then he could just go permanently into delay to maintain the buff on the party.

If you force him to pay when he delays, that works initially. But on following turns, are you going to make him pay on his turn as normal? Make him pay when he initially delayed? What if he delays again? It just becomes very messy and convoluted.

if he dint take his turn in a round and there fore dont continiue his performance then it ends. How Can that even be a issue?

It's an issue because combat isn't broken down by global rounds. The end of "round 1" is effectively the same as the start of "round 2". Durations and effects are kept track of on a per-character basis. I know this isn't immediately obvious and somewhat counter-intuitive, but if you delve into the nitty-gritty, it because increasingly clear that to do otherwise causes serious problems.

If you disagree with this... well, that's a whole 'nother thread.

[Numarak]

I can also understand your view, but RAW no actions, means that, no actions, and that, awfully, includes Free Actions.

Turn and round are similar, and so refer to the same thing.
Turns are not taken, Actions are taken.
Turns happen (but for the instance of Time Stop spell), and characters happen to act during that turn.
The begining of a given turn is when the GM tells you so, instant you can chose to Delay your Action, and is not when you act as some of you refer. You will act when you chose, but you've been given priority and you chose to Delay. And yes, on next turns, you will happen to Act later, your turns will begin later, but that is a consequence of the Delay, not a cause.

If you take no Action, turn does not stop for you while you are waiting.

On Delay:
"You never get back the time you spend waiting to see what's going to happen. You also can't interrupt anyone else's action (as you can with a readied action)."

Which means, that even if everyone happens to act in the same 6 seconds, you can waste precious time of that lapse doing nothing but waiting. And yes, you have the option to wait 6 seconds, 1 turn, but that does not mean that if you stop doing everything for .5 seconds, which includes singing a song, after those .5 seconds you can resume singing as you haven't stop.

Lingering Performance is actually a strength on my point of view. Why take a Feat if I could delay my performance nearly a full round?

Anyhow, I'm not saying your point of view is terrible, I just think that mine is better and so I exposed it.

EDIT: I just remembered the Detonate spell, which I think would help explaining why the turn -the 6 seconds- keep going on wherever you Delay or not. You cast Detonate, after you, an ally acts and approaches you. Then, on the next turn you Delay and tell him -Free Action that you can do out of your turn- "Get away!". Do you really think the explosion won't affect your ally? If answer is "no, it will affect her", then you agree with me. If you think that 'yes', that the explosion won't affect your ally, you are being consistent with the way you think duration of spells -and the rest of things that have a duration- work.

[Komoda]

According to the CRB a Bardic Performance ends if the Bard is prevented from taking a free action in the round. Delaying to a later point in a round does not prevent the Bard from continuing the performance during the same round.

The point behind the rule is that the Bard must be able to act. Not that the Bard can in no way Delay his actions. If the Bard CAN make a free action when he chooses to delay, I see no reason to end the performance.

I believe that to do anything else is an exercise in futility.

[Numarak]

Be able to act does not equate to act. I am able to walk, but I'm not walking all the time.

Rules of Delay, as per the CRB[page 203]:

"By choosing to delay, *you take no action* and then act normally on whatever initiative count you decide to act."

So, yes, if you Delay, you are prevented to take a Free Action, Standard Action, Move Action or Swift Action. The only actions that arguably you can take are Immediate Actions and No Actions.

-----

Time is a continuum and is independent to character's actions as I explained before.

Merry[played by John] the bard starts [on initiative counter 10] a Bardic Performance as a Standard Action.

The turn passes.

Next turn [on initiative counter 10] and when a whole turn has passed since Merry started the bardic performance, the GM asks the player[John] what will Merry be doing, right now is her turn, and then John says Merry Delays.

1. Can Merry do a Free Action? No [See CRB about Delay Action]
2. Is Merry prevented to take a Free Action? Yes [See 1]
3. The Bardic Performance ends.

-----

I will add another CRB reference, I think I made my point clear enough and I can not add anything else in its defense.

CRB[page 178], on behalf of the Combat Round.
"When the rules refer to a "full round", they usually mean a span of time from a particular initiative count in one round to the same initiative count in the next round. Effects that last a certain number of rounds end just before the same initiative count that they began on."

Thus, for something that lasts 1 round if you do not concentrate on it or you keep it going[by spending a Free Action], it expires the moment you Delay.

We can debate "how much does a regular Bardic Performance last?" But for me, it's clear that if not maintained, it lasts 1 round, that is, from one specific initiative counter to the same initiative counter of the next round.

[Calth]

My take on the RAW is that delaying ends it, since RAW a round is from one initiative to the next, but I don't think I would ever recommend playing it that tightly. RAI, as long as the bard isn't delaying solely to extend an expiring performance or to avoid switching a performance for someone else's turn (ready would be more appropriate there) let it be. Basically, I think it is too punishing to certain classes that rely on maintaining round by round buffs to never let them delay, but I also wouldn't let them game the system with infinite delaying or anything like that. I mean, if a raging barbarian delays, do you make them drop out of rage and be fatigued? Let them declare they are maintaining of the buff at the initial count and move on.

[Komoda]

Yeah, Numarak, I completely disagree. All your position does punish a few classes/abilities due to the exact round by round interaction of the rules. I seriously doubt the RAI is that Bards and Barbarians (as Calth pointed out) are not able to delay while using their major class abilities.

But YMMV.

[Ravingdork]

To my knowledge, there is nothing stopping someone from taking an immediate action when they are delaying.

A person who is readying an action could also use an immediate action, but it would prematurely kill whatever action they were readying.

[Numarak]

@Ravingdork: yea, I think we all agree on that. The argument is: can you do a Free Action while in Delay? Per rules I say no, you can't.

@Komoda and Calth:
Comparing Barbarian's rage with Bardic Performance is like comparing apples to carrots.

Bardic Performance: start is a Standard Action.
You must keep it (with a Free Action) to keep it going on.

Barbarian Rage: start is a Free Action.
You can end it (with a Free Action). It does not say you have to keep it going on as a Free Action. So, stating it, is a rule you just have invented, and my guess is that, if a barbarian is in rage, and does not say he ends it (saying so), he spends another round unless he is out of rage rounds that day, which immediately kicks him/her out of the rage, no matter how many rounds he dalays his action.

Beside I do not punish anyone, I just state the rules.

===

Thus said, I'm not saying how I would play it, I'm just presenting the rules. Every person has a RAI, and none is better that the rest. But this is the Rules' Forum, so I stick to RAW when presented a question.

Likewise, if this was the Advices' Forum, I would stick to my opinion, and will have no regards on the written rules.

Everyone is free and encouraged to play the game as per obtaining the optimum pleasure of it. I have never said the contrary.

[Bacondale]

The bard would take his free action at the same time he takes his delayed action, the preformance is maintained.

If the bard does not take his delayed action at any point in the round, he must take a free action at the end of the round to maintain the performance (effectively moving his intitiative to the end of the round going forward) or stop the performance to carry the delayed action to the next round.

[Archizon]

What if we look up the definition of "Free Action"

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Free-Actions

Some examples it gives are things you can do outside your turn, where does it say that a bard Cannot use his free action to maintain his performance on someone elses turn?

All I found was "but it can be maintained each round as a free action" which does not specify whose round it must be maintained on.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard#TOC-Bardic-Performance

Really though, we have diverged from OP's original title statement saying "Can you take an immediate action while you're delaying?".. which is yes, you can always use your upcoming swift action to complete a immediate action outside your characters turn.

[alexd1976]

Numarak wrote:

I'm not sure about the outcome of delaying, but my guess is that you end your performance doing so.

On Bardic Performance:
Starting a bardic performance is a standard action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action.

On Delay Action:
"By choosing to delay, you take no action and then act normally on whatever initiative count you decide to act."

If you delay, you take no action, including Free Actions, and as described on Bardic Performance you need to take a Free Action to maintain it, so, the instant you delay, the Bardic Performance ends.

I see this the same way as bleed, stun, shaken, poisoned or whatever affliction happens to afflict you. If you delay, the condition is not suppressed; let's say you are bleeding on initiative counter 19, and you'll die on your turn due the bleed damage, you can say you delay til initiative counter 14 -when the priest can heal you- but the world does not stop for you.

(On Delay Action: "You never get back the time you spend waiting to see what's going to happen.")

Could you not, on your action, use a free action to maintain the performance, and then your standard action to ready an action?

Does the bardic performance mention WHEN the free action has to take place, other than during your turn? Is it tied to a specific initiative?

[alexd1976]

So a bard could take an immediate action, but on his next round he would lose his performance...

got it.

[Numarak]

@Bacondale:

You are assuming that you can take a Free Action when you Delay. Rules say that when you Delay you can take no action.

@Archizon:

1) Yes, some specific examples of Free Action can be taken out of your turn, which implies that the rest, you can't. Is Maintining Bardic Performance on that list? Yes: then sure, no problem. No: then you have to use General rules for Free Actions, which can only be used on your turn.

2) On a comment before I quoted what 1 round means, it's one of the first rules on the Combat Chapter of the CRB. 1 Round goes from one specific initiative counter to the next turn same initiative counter. That is 1 round -duration-.

3) Actually, although the subject of the thread is "Can I take an Immediate Action during another's turn?", when we read the first post, is a very specific use of this. And as I said before, answer to the OP is no, but not because he can't use an Immediate Action, but because there is no Bardic Performance going on.

@alex1976:

1) Actually I've been advocating for that solution the whole time: the bard can use a Free and Ready a Standard and there will be no problem, but if he/she instead uses Delay, Bardic Performance should end, so barring him/her of casting Saving Finale later -on that round or next round-.

2) Your second question nails the problem better. I can agree that there could be wider interpretation here on the answer, but since the definition of 1 round at the start of Combat Character, and the fact that Bardic Performance is an ability that lasts 1 round if not maintained, my best interpretation of the rules is that the duration goes from 1 initiative counter to the same initiative counter increments.

[Devilkiller]

@Ravingdork - I don't think that using an immediate action while holding a readied action would cause you to lose the readied action. In fact, I wonder if you could specify your own immediate action as the trigger for your readied action. For instance, maybe you could ready an action to attack any foe who you use Body Shield to defend against. I suppose that in most cases just readying an action to attack any foe who attacks you and then using Body Shield as an immediate action before that foe's attack resolves would work out about the same, but I'm not sure that the former wouldn't be legal too.

[Ravingdork]

Devilkiller wrote:

@Ravingdork - I don't think that using an immediate action while holding a readied action would cause you to lose the readied action.

Readying an Action: 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. If the triggered action is part of another character's activities, you interrupt the other character. Assuming he is still capable of doing so, he continues his actions once you complete your readied action. Your initiative result changes. For the rest of the encounter, your initiative result is the count on which you took the readied action, and you act immediately ahead of the character whose action triggered your readied action.

A GM might be lenient (or perhaps unaware), but the RAW is clear. A readied action must occur before your next action, or not at all. No standard actions, move actions, full round actions, swift actions, immediate actions, or even free actions. All actions except the readied action are off-limits, unless you don't mind losing the readied action.

[Byakko]

Ravingdork, interesting...

I feel that they actually meant "before your next turn", but you're right - it says action.

Would this also mean that if you take an attack of opportunity, your ready is no longer valid?

Would saying something as a free action also invalidate your ready?

[Komoda]

Right, so you can't even talk while you have an action readied. Then you will probably say that you can take an AoO since it falls under "not an action." Thereby finding the ONLY place in the rules where unhindered by any spell or effect, you can make some sort of attack, but not talk.

Sorry, but this is parsing the rules in such a way that is surely beyond the scope of RAI.

[Byakko]

Komodo, you do realize I'm asking these questions to point out how absurd it would be to follow the actual written rules here, right?

The RAW here does appear to be quite clear, however:
If you use a free action to speak, the window for your readied action closes.

I don't like it.
I think it's unintended.
I want someone to show something from the rules that contradicts this.

If not, this should be FAQed or errated, imho.

[Ravingdork]

Komoda has the right of it, even though he doesn't seem to like it. (And yes, that's pretty much exactly what I was going to say; nothing absurd about it, it's just the rules.)

[wraithstrike]

I do agree that by RAW it is not possible, but not even being able to talk does not seem to be RAI. If I was a PFS GM I might have to follow this, but if you are sitting at home I would go with what I think the intent was, and replace "action" with "turn".

[Devilkiller]

That's a good catch, dork. I think my combo using the immediate action as the trigger might actually still work by RAW since the readied action technically occurs "before" the trigger.

I agree that losing your readied action because you spoke or used an immediate action seems kind of weird. I suppose somebody might say that keeping the action readied takes up all of your attention, but then the fact you can perform an AoO without losing it wouldn't make much sense. There was a somewhat recent though long awaited FAQ saying that you can use the Grab and Trip abilities during an AoO. I guess that by strict RAW doing so would cause you to lose any action you happened to have readied at the time though.

Of course by strict RAW using Grab on an AoO didn't work previously either, but I allowed it for years anyhow. I'll probably go the same way with this readied action stuff. It seems like more of a corner case, and there are probably a lot of other things which deserve some FAQ action before this.

[Komoda]

Why would performing an AoO cost you a readied action? An AoO has not action type associated with it.

Byakko, I understand what you are saying. My response was more towards Ravingdork's statement about no free actions. Once I realized this meant talking, it really summed up the absurdity of the entire idea that you can't talk while readying/holding actions.

[Ravingdork]

I don't know about you, but just everyone I know has difficulty focusing on a task if they're busy yaking away. They can still do the tasks, but it's still distracting.

Distracted is not what you want to be in the midst of combat. (Oh, and that's another thing, you can't ready an action if you're outside of initiative; otherwise, no one would ever roll initiative.)

[wraithstrike]

Ravingdork wrote:

I don't know about you, but just everyone I know has difficulty focusing on a task if they're busy yaking away. They can still do the tasks, but it's still distracting.

I only find this to be generally true for complex things such as writing computer programs or papers for college. I can definitely play basketball and talk without much trouble. Waiting(which is all readying is, and likely easier than playing basketball) would seem easy to me.

[alexd1976]

Interesting point about talking.

Without realizing it, my group has made talking a non-action.

We even allow it while nauseated.

We treat immediate actions a bit differently than the rules, if someone is readying an action, and takes an immediate, we still allow them to have their readied action.

Didn't even realize we were doing it wrong, will have to point this out to the next GM in our group and see how he is going to do it...

[Komoda]

While I may not be able to prepare a proper debate in the middle of combat, I assure you that I can communicate important tactical terms and strategy in the middle of one.

[Ravingdork]

Komoda wrote:

While I may not be able to prepare a proper debate in the middle of combat, I assure you that I can communicate important tactical terms and strategy in the middle of one.

But can you pull off a perfectly timed action while doing so?

[wraithstrike]

Ravingdork wrote:

Komoda wrote:

While I may not be able to prepare a proper debate in the middle of combat, I assure you that I can communicate important tactical terms and strategy in the middle of one.

But can you pull off a perfectly timed action while doing so?

A readied action does not require perfect timing. You just have to recognize a specific action and act accordingly. It is not different than me waiting for a blue car to show up while talking to a friend, and making sure it does not enter my driveway.

[Komoda]

I would hope so. That is the point of tactical communications. I haven't had to do it in battle (except training scenarios), but I have done it during a tornado, medical rescue calls, vehicle take-downs, and boat take-downs via police boats.

And singing a predetermined, set verse is NOTHING like having to come up with a message that you need to communicate to someone. Many performers have their songs so well memorized they can recite them in their sleep.

[LazarX]

It would be at the consequence of giving up your readied/delayed action because you are now reinserting yourself back into the initiative progression.

[Komoda]

Are you talking about talking? Talking can be done when it is not your turn. Not initiative progression is required.

[Ravingdork]

wraithstrike wrote:

Ravingdork wrote:

Komoda wrote:

While I may not be able to prepare a proper debate in the middle of combat, I assure you that I can communicate important tactical terms and strategy in the middle of one.

But can you pull off a perfectly timed action while doing so?

A readied action does not require perfect timing.

Oh? If I'm not mistaken, that was the whole point of the readied action--to interrupt some other effect/trigger in time that it has a meaningful impact. If you don't do it in time, the whole point of the readied action falls flat.

[Komoda]

I think Wraithstrike showed exactly what he was talking about with his example of looking for the blue car. It isn't like trying to hit a button on a game controller at the exact right millisecond.

[Byakko]

Readied actions are funky, timing-wise, anyway.

You can ready to interrupt a quickened spell with a normal speed spell.

Think about that for a minute. ;)