I've read in several places and from different people (including game designers) that prepared actions (or was it attacks of opportunity?) take place before their trigger.
Either way, I want to know how this makes any sense at all. If I prepare an action to attack that guy 30 feet away with my melee weapon when he moves adjacent to me, what happens?
The way I see it, if my attack happens BEFORE the trigger, my attack will always fail as he is out of my reach at the time the attack is made.
That makes no sense!
Please help me make sense of the rule.
As I see it it is a matter of degrees of simultaneity.
In the example you give you attack the opponent as soon as he is within reach. It is after he enters your square, but before he has a chance to move on or make a charge attack against you.
Then take a spellcaster casting a spell. You readied an attack to shoot an arrow at the spellcaster when he casts a spell, intending to disrupt that action. Clearly you shoot DURING the spellcasting.
If on the other hand you are making an attack of opportunity the AoO takes place before the triggering action.
It really is a matter of how you word your ready action and what effect you are going for.
Initiativewise you would be placed just before the character/creature you interupted, as your ready action is completed before its current action ends. If you are taking an action after the triggering action is completed you are technically not readying an action, but rather delaying it.
I've read in several places and from different people (including game designers) that prepared actions (or was it attacks of opportunity?) take place before their trigger.
Either way, I want to know how this makes any sense at all. If I prepare an action to attack that guy 30 feet away with my melee weapon when he moves adjacent to me, what happens?
The way I see it, if my attack happens BEFORE the trigger, my attack will always fail as he is out of my reach at the time the attack is made.
That makes no sense!
Please help me make sense of the rule.
Making an Attack of Opportunity: An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack, and most characters can only make one per round. You don't have to make an attack of opportunity if you don't want to. You make your attack of opportunity at your normal attack bonus, even if you've already attacked in the round.
An attack of opportunity “interrupts” the normal flow of actions in the round. If an attack of opportunity is provoked, immediately resolve the attack of opportunity, then continue with the next character's turn (or complete the current turn, if the attack of opportunity was provoked in the midst of a character's turn).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.
You can ready an action to attack with your melee weapon when the character moves adjacent to you. Your attack will resolve when your foe will make the last steps bringing him close to you. Think of it that way: he approaches, but your sudden onslaught forces him to take a couple steps back. Then he can continue to move towards you if he's able to do so (if you readied a Trip and succeeded, he has fallen prone 10 feet from you - not 30 feet away).
Of course, it may seem strange, but it's the way things have been designed.
The same apparent inconsistencies can be found in attacks of opportunities.
EDIT: Ninja'ed, again! ;-)
If you ready to attack anyone that comes within 5' of you, and an orc charges you, you interrupt his charge as soon as he's within 5' of you.
Then he finishes his charge action.
Of course you can't attack someone 30' away. Try not to read too much into it.
EDIT: Double Ninja'd! That's a first.
I know I wouldn't be able to attack him 30 feet away with a melee weapon (short of throwing it).
That's why I said "when he moves adjacent." Still, if the attack triggers BEFORE he moves adjacent, that means he is still out of my reach at the time of the attack (6-10 feet, or 2 square away).
I know I wouldn't be able to attack him 30 feet away with a melee weapon (short of throwing it).
That's why I said "when he moves adjacent." Still, if the attack triggers BEFORE he moves adjacent, that means he is still out of my reach at the time of the attack (6-10 feet, or 2 square away).
Yeh, i was agreeing with you, ie. that would be patently absurd.
I think commonsense has to prevail here is what i meant. I think it happens as soon as the trigger event happens - but for the purposes of initiative and 'interrupting the action' - it's before.
I know I wouldn't be able to attack him 30 feet away with a melee weapon (short of throwing it).
That's why I said "when he moves adjacent." Still, if the attack triggers BEFORE he moves adjacent, that means he is still out of my reach at the time of the attack (6-10 feet, or 2 square away).
As I handle it the attack is simultaneous with the opponent entering the square. I.e. if you kill or trip your enemy it drops at your feat (within 5').
Grandfather's rules are better, I think. Less far-fetched.
I'd vote for an errata on this, saying "the action is interrupted but the move might not be, especially if you readied a melee attack and your reach doesn't allow you to act"
So, an enemy charging is interrupted, but the enemy is adjacent. However, if you trip him, kill him, stun him, grapple him, or do anything preventing him from finishing his action (and note that a charging character gets -2 to AC - and CMD), the charge fails.
I don't see the problem, as long as you declare the correct condition.
The rules say that you declare a condition, not an enemy action (at least not in the strict sense of standard/full round action imo). Imo "just before the action that triggers it" would make more sense written as "just before the condition that triggers it".
The usual conditions are "the enemy spellcaster finishes casting a spell", "an enemy ends its movement in a square near me", etc.. Anyway that rule is open for a lot of DM adjudication.
The rules say that you declare a condition, not an enemy action (at least not in the strict sense of standard/full round action imo). Imo "just before the action that triggers it" would make more sense written as "just before the condition that triggers it".
I think that is the actual intention of the rule .