Is it possible to move or take a move action then ready a standard?
Is it possible to move or take a move action then ready a standard?
Yes.
The reason it is possible is that the action used to ready an action is a standard action. If you only use a move action on you turn, you still have a standard action remaining, which you could use ready a standard action.
Indeed it's possible, but the reverse is not possible. You cannot ready an action and then move because:
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.
If you take any action, including movement on your turn that you ready (that is to say readying before you move) then you would lose your readied action.
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I have always read that to mean"before your next turn."
It seems silly that speaking would cause you to lose a Readied action.
Not that I can fault you interpretation by strict RAW.
To explore Claxon's comment.
It would not be legal for a character to declare he readies an action to grapple anyone that attacks him, then takes a move action forward provoking AoOs?
(For context, this was an idea brainstormed on how to respond to blind/invisible/darkness fighting.)
To explore Claxon's comment.
It would not be legal for a character to declare he readies an action to grapple anyone that attacks him, then takes a move action forward provoking AoOs?
(For context, this was an idea brainstormed on how to respond to blind/invisible/darkness fighting.)
Correct. As written, the readied action must be the next action you take. If you take any other action first, you lose your readied action.
To explore Claxon's comment.
It would not be legal for a character to declare he readies an action to grapple anyone that attacks him, then takes a move action forward provoking AoOs?
(For context, this was an idea brainstormed on how to respond to blind/invisible/darkness fighting.)
Correct, and that's the sort of situations I think the rule was written to prevent. Say for instance that you don't have improved grapple and would provoke normally for attempting a grapple, but you were to ready an action to grapple anyone who attacked you. If it were legal to move afterwards you could purposefully provoke, and would possibly be able to grapple the enemy before their attack of opportunity resolved. Possibly making them unable to attack if you succeeded and they didn't have a 1-handed weapon or light weapon available. The only way to negate such a tactic would require combat reflexes. In which case they would technically be owed 2 attacks of opportunity but may only be able to make one because of metagamey tactics with the turn system.
You could also do something similar with disarm or trip.
Correct, and that's the sort of situations I think the rule was written to prevent.
That seems like exactly the kind of creative tactics that the rules shouldn't be trying to prevent.
Again, I can't really argue against your interpretation by RAW. I would only point out that the writers do have the very-human tendency to use words that have mechanical meaning in cases where they don't mean the mechanical term.
If a PC’s turn comes up and the player takes more than a few seconds to announce his character’s action, skip him as if he had chosen to delay his action and move on to the next creature’s turn
Except you don't delay an "action," you delay your "turn."
The Ready rules seem to misuse the term themselves again later.
If you come to your next action and have not yet performed your readied action, you don't get to take the readied action
Obviously, the term "action" here again really means "turn."
Readying an Action then moving should be just fine.
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A player could still probe for invisible creatures like that, but they'd have to 5' step, ready their action.
On their next turn, 5' step, ready their action. Etc. Its still within the rules, but makes more sense as well: if you are going to focus hard on trying to grapple anything that attacks you, it would be difficult to do that and walk 30' at your normal pace.
As an aside: can you perform an AoO while waiting for the trigger without losing your readied action? I want to say no thats silly, you'd lose it. But I also understand AoOs are attacks, not "attack actions", so not sure how specific they are being when using the word action.
As an aside: can you perform an AoO while waiting for the trigger without losing your readied action?
Or immediate actions?
