How 'fast' is an immediate action? Will it go first?


Rules Questions


Example situations:

1. Party is surrounding monster. Monster decides who he's gonna hit, picks the party wizard and starts swinging his axe.
- Can the party wizard use an immediate action to prevent himself from getting hit (teleporting away or casting some defensive spell)?

2. Enemy wizard is casting teleport.
- Can the party wizard -after having id'd the spell with a spellcraft check use an immediate action like casting dimensional anchor to prevent the enemy from teleporting?

i.e. does it work like a Magic the Gathering instant/interrupt?


Funkytrip wrote:

Example situations:

1. Party is surrounding monster. Monster decides who he's gonna hit, picks the party wizard and starts swinging his axe.
- Can the party wizard use an immediate action to prevent himself from getting hit (teleporting away or casting some defensive spell)?

2. Enemy wizard is casting teleport.
- Can the party wizard -after having id'd the spell with a spellcraft check use an immediate action like casting dimensional anchor to prevent the enemy from teleporting?

i.e. does it work like a Magic the Gathering instant/interrupt?

Only spells I can think of that do such things are "wings of cover" from one of the WoTC sources, and emergency force sphere from the Cheliax book. Will be interesting to find out of the Oracle of Battle's sudden charge ability will allow him to move out of the fireball's AoE though.


As far as I can see, this is excactly what an immediate action is meant to do. You can use it anytime (as long as you can act of course). That's probably also why these actions aren't very common. They could quickly become too powerful.


Celerity from PHB2 is what I'm talking about ;-)
And possibly magic items that can be activated as immediate action.


Funkytrip wrote:

Celerity from PHB2 is what I'm talking about ;-)

And possibly magic items that can be activated as immediate action.

Ah. Right. Celerity. My former GM took one look at it and said "banned". XD


FiddlersGreen wrote:
Funkytrip wrote:

Celerity from PHB2 is what I'm talking about ;-)

And possibly magic items that can be activated as immediate action.
Ah. Right. Celerity. My former GM took one look at it and said "banned". XD

Well, my DM took one look and always completely abuses the round I am dazed, so the price is often hefty...

Sovereign Court

Immediate actions are effectively interrupts, and can be taken any time as long as the character is able to take them.

edit: oooooooooh this is a celeritty topic. Most epicly broken spell in 3.5, some say. I say, definitely the worst in PHB2.


Typically, a free or immediate action will dictate when it can be used. Since most of the time, the point of using an action out of turn is to respond to some event, it will be written to interupt or "occur prior to the completion of the event that triggered it", similar to the way AoO work.

I'd have to see the Celerity thing directly to answer properly, but yeah.. probably works in this way. My DM hackles are rising at the thought, just to put it clear.


Funkytrip wrote:
FiddlersGreen wrote:
Funkytrip wrote:

Celerity from PHB2 is what I'm talking about ;-)

And possibly magic items that can be activated as immediate action.
Ah. Right. Celerity. My former GM took one look at it and said "banned". XD
Well, my DM took one look and always completely abuses the round I am dazed, so the price is often hefty...

I love GMs that use an overpowered ability's strengths and weaknesses instead of banning it. Personally, my players are free to use almost anything they want, but they know what I use is defined by what they use, and that I'm better at min/maxxing than they are. >:D


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

The problem with celerity was becoming immune to its daze effect (which WAS possible). If you kept the daze effect, it was still powerful, but not broken.


Immediate actions occur immediately. They're like taking an AoO-- you don't resolve it at the end of the action, you resolve it when it provokes. When you want to use an immediate action, you stop their action, take your next swift action and use it to fuel your immediate action, which is used out of initiative order and then their turn continues.

Just like provoking.


Brogue The Rogue wrote:


I love GMs that use an overpowered ability's strengths and weaknesses instead of banning it. Personally, my players are free to use almost anything they want, but they know what I use is defined by what they use, and that I'm better at min/maxxing than they are. >:D

I had a Dragon with Greater Celerity once; it worked quite well ;)

Dark Archive

Are wrote:
Brogue The Rogue wrote:


I love GMs that use an overpowered ability's strengths and weaknesses instead of banning it. Personally, my players are free to use almost anything they want, but they know what I use is defined by what they use, and that I'm better at min/maxxing than they are. >:D

I had a Dragon with Greater Celerity once; it worked quite well ;)

Oh, YES.

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