Because that's the way it was designed. You could drop prone out of turn when being attacked by ranged weapons. A few other things too.
Those can happen whenever.
Those can happen whenever.
Except for 5-foot steps right?
Actually, combat lists them as a "No Action"
Actually the combat section covers that too:What I'm seeing is that most "not an action"s are triggered as part of another action.
(So a 5ft step has to be taken in conjunction with doing something)
You can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after your other actions in the round.
I guess my issue was that it throws "talking" under free actions.
(So, initiate only on your initiative, but responses are fine?)
Speak: "In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn't your turn. Speaking more than a few sentences is generally beyond the limit of a free action."
All actions, except immediate actions, must be done during your own combat initiative in the round. The only other exeption to this rule is that talking is a free action that can be done outside your turn.
As with ALL free actions, it is subject to GM limitation. All other actions, even non actions, must take place during your turn in a round, unless that action, ablity, feat, spell or what have you EXPLICITLY state otherwise.
Rage, as a free action, must be done on a bararians round, so no they cannot activate it in reaction to anything outside their turn in the round.
The Combat Round
Each round represents 6 seconds in the game world; there are 10 rounds in a minute of combat. A round normally allows each character involved in a combat situation to act.Each round's activity begins with the character with the highest initiative result and then proceeds in order. When a character's turn comes up in the initiative sequence, that character performs his entire round's worth of actions. (For exceptions, see Attacks of Opportunity and Special Initiative Actions.)
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.
Bolding was done by me.
So when your turn comes up you take your entire rounds worth of actions. Actions are Standard, Move, Swift, Free and Immediate. Immediate actions are covered by the 'Special Initiative Actions' clause and speaking is covered as a 'special' free actiom that CAN be done outsisde your normal intiative turn.
A thorough reading of the section on actions and combat in the Core Rulebook should clear all this up rather quickly.
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Only "immediate actions" can be done at anytime. This includes only a few spells, such as feather fall.
I think it's to prevent certain players from barging in on other players' turns.
As for shouting "duck!", it is usually too late. Before a surprise round, perception checks are usually made, and whichever characters make it get to act on that surprise round. Alerting the other characters, which is talking, which is free in short amounts, will not allow them to act in the surprise round.
How come you can cast a quickened spell on somebody else's turn but you can't drop prone, even though the former requires "a larger expenditure of effort and energy" than the latter?
Umm... you can't. A quickened spell is swift, not immediate
I think I'll go with the DM's discretion rule in this! :)
Do that. In fact, you might want to consider the possibility to 'demote' free actions to immediate actions (which means, you can take one, and only one, outside your turn and it eats up your swift action slot). If this leads to abuse, the GM can always refuse the option.
It really depends on the free action. Most of them are minor things, but is better to keep the immediate actions as the only ones that do so. That way only things that can happen outside of your turn as intended actually do so.
Speak
In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn't your turn. Speaking more than a few sentences is generally beyond the limit of a free action.
This states that only the speak free action is something that can be done out of turn. Anything else would be on your turn.
Speaking is a noted exception to the rules though.
Speaking is a noted exception to the rules though.
Exactly. He was looking for something in RAW. As this is the only free action that states it can be out of turn, there is the answer.
I misunderstood your post and how you were replying to him. oops.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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The word "only" is yours and not RAW.
The word "even", however, is RAW. When a sentence in English states that "you can do X even in situation Y", it means that normally you could NOT do X in situation Y, were it not for the statement making an exception.
But hey, houserule away; whatever makes your games more fun. :)