i know readying only triggers when the action you ready for occurs so wouldn't holding your action before that person goes always be superior?
No, not always, because readying takes place during someone else's action. For example, if you hold until just before the evil wizard acts and then attack him, he gets to take his turn just like normal and casts a spell. If you ready an attack for when the evil wizard casts a spell, you take your action as he starts casting and potentially interrupt him.
As a fighter, I prefer to hold my turn until the wizard casts haste or some other buff. Then I go to town. Had I taken my turn first, it wouldn't have been as efficient.
|
As said above, readying triggers an immediate effect that can interrupt an action.
Readied situation was detailed above. If you are holding your action, The wizard is up and begins to cast. The soonest you would be able to come out of the hold would be after the wizards turn is over. You cannot come out of a held action during someone else's turn. Holding is best done when you want someone else in your party to move or act before you.
When you delay you just say "I delay". At any point in the turn sequence you can say "Ok I'm gonna go now" and you go after whoever is acting is finished with their actions for the round, your initiative changes to then.
If you hold an action, you can only hold a standard or a move action, and you set conditions for when it will go off. For example: I hold an action to interrupt the wizard with a crossbow shot when he begins casting a spell. When your criteria are fulfilled you go at that time, interrupting whatever action you held and going immediately before it in the initiative sequence and you then set your initiative there.
Delay is "I'll wait and see what happens before I decide to go".
Ready is "I'll wait until X happens THEN I'll go".
Most groups I know use hold and delay interchangeably. Ready action is the one I hear that has the set condition.
Most groups I know use hold and delay interchangeably. Ready action is the one I hear that has the set condition.
The groups I'm in use ready and hold interchangeably. Think holding against the charge. You're right though my terminology was imprecise, what I meant by holding is readying an action.
I was also in a group that did delaying so wrong for so long (as well as pretty much all rules) I'm trying to shake myself of certain bad habits.