So during my set up encounter one of the baddies makes a 5ft step back, switches to a weapon and readies an (nat 20) attack. He was in melee with a monk.
Now on her turn, the monk mentions merely she "moves" 5 feet closer.
Now she didn't specify a 5ft step, but suppose she does, would a readied attack trigger on a 5ft step? Since she'd enter the threatened square.
Assuming the readied trigger condition is "If someone moves into my attack range" then yes.
However, I would not have the monk provoke AoO's for 'moving' 5' if other nearby bad guys were adjacent to her if she could have legally taken a 5' step in place of moving 5'.
As a side note, readied actions don't have die rolls associated with them. That is, you don't roll the dice for a readied attack until someone actually meets the trigger condition.
No. the baddy and her are in a 5ft wide alley.
On your sidenote; aha ok. In another game i play as PC that hasn't been a mentioned problem yet, so thanks for the info.
1 - A readied action has to be more specific than simply readying an attack. You have to declare (as a player) or determine (as a GM) what the exact condition(s) are that set off the action, as well as what the specific action is that you are readying. "I ready an action to cast a spell" is insufficient. "I ready an action to cast Magic Missile at the monk if the monk moves closer to me" is perfectly fine.
In your case, you would have needed to determine that the NPC would ready a melee attack against the monk if the monk moved adjacent to the NPC. When you specify the readied action like that, it doesn't matter if the monk 5' steps or simply moves, as soon as the monk is adjacent to the NPC, the NPC's readied attack will happen.
2 - Bbang is right, unless you roll every action ahead of time as the GM to speed things up, you should roll the attack when the readied action actually goes off. Otherwise Players/GMs can cheat by having a list of prerolled d20s, and pick out bogus things to use the low rolls on, but save the high rolls for something important.
You don't want players going "I'm going to roll acrobatics to jump over that puddle as part of my move. Oh rats, that was only a 7, my boots got wet. Anyway, I'll finish my move and attack the monster. Hey look, this next number is a 19! That's a crit threat on my longsword!"
On the same token, the players will trust you more as a GM if they hear you actually roll a d20 before telling them an NPC scored a hit, miss or crit against the party.
"I ready an action to cast a spell" is insufficient.
Because that lacks a triggering condition.
"I ready a melee attack against the first enemy that enters my threatened area." should be sufficient.
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Assuming the readied trigger condition is "If someone moves into my attack range" then yes.
However, I would not have the monk provoke AoO's for 'moving' 5' if other nearby bad guys were adjacent to her if she could have legally taken a 5' step in place of moving 5'.
As a side note, readied actions don't have die rolls associated with them. That is, you don't roll the dice for a readied attack until someone actually meets the trigger condition.
I believe the OP meant that when the action was triggered the roll was a natural 20.
To the OP:As a GM, I'd have said the attack went through because the player did still move 5 feet, and the phrase "5ft step" could be interpreted as "Moving 5 feet". Also, I generally don't say what the readied actions are, and often don't even say an action was ready. It helps keep surprise on the GM screen side of the table.
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"I ready an action to cast a spell" is insufficient.Because that lacks a triggering condition.
"I ready an attack against the first enemy that enters my threatened area." should be sufficient.
I think you'd need to specify what the attack will be. The rule for readied action says "To do so, specify the action you will take and the conditions under which you will take it."
I agree that 99% of the time "I ready an attack against the first enemy that enters my threatened area" is sufficient. 99% of the time the guy with the greatsword means he's going to swing with the greatsword. (Sure there's a chance he'll switch it up with an unarmed strike with his foot, but probably not). Wth spells though, I don't think simply "I ready an action to cast a spell" is enough, since there are a zillion spells it could be. "I ready an action to cast Obscuring Mist" has far different connotations & consequences than "I ready an action to cast Cloudkill".
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Well, since you can ready to counter-spell, and (assuming you make the identification roll) the spell you'll need to cast might be different, I would say that that's a pretty strong indication that you needn't declare exactly WICH spell you're going to cast as that readied action, just that it needs to be an attack spell.
Uhh, this couldn't have happened in the first place.
So during my set up encounter one of the baddies makes a 5ft step back, switches to a weapon and readies an (nat 20) attack.
To draw a weapon requires a move action, to ready an action is a standard action. So that's a 5 foot step, a move action, and a standard action.
You can't 5 foot step and take a move action in the same round (unless you've got Quick Draw or something equivalent).|
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Actually, you can't 5ft step back and Move. There is a distinct difference. You can 5ft step, draw a weapon, and ready just fine. You can also 5ft step and draw a magic item from your pack, or use any other move action. Read the ruleUhh, this couldn't have happened in the first place.
So during my set up encounter one of the baddies makes a 5ft step back, switches to a weapon and readies an (nat 20) attack.To draw a weapon requires a move action, to ready an action is a standard action. So that's a 5 foot step, a move action, and a standard action.
You can't 5 foot step and take a move action in the same round (unless you've got Quick Draw or something equivalent).
You can move 5 feet in any round when you don't perform any other kind of movement.
EDIT:Ninja'd
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Uhh, this couldn't have happened in the first place.
So during my set up encounter one of the baddies makes a 5ft step back, switches to a weapon and readies an (nat 20) attack.To draw a weapon requires a move action, to ready an action is a standard action. So that's a 5 foot step, a move action, and a standard action.
You can't 5 foot step and take a move action in the same round (unless you've got Quick Draw or something equivalent).
That is not correct. You can take a 5 foot step and move action in the same round as long as the move action is not used for actual movement. "You can move 5 feet in any round when you don't perform any other kind of movement". Drawing a weapon is not movement.
In addition, under the description of move actions, only moving your speed is listing as preventing a 5 foot step. This means you can draw a weapon, stand-up from prone, direct a spell, etc., and still take a 5 foot step.
The type of movement from the monk does not matter. The bad guy just says if an enemy comes adjacent to me I attack them.
Well, since you can ready to counter-spell, and (assuming you make the identification roll) the spell you'll need to cast might be different, I would say that that's a pretty strong indication that you needn't declare exactly WICH spell you're going to cast as that readied action, just that it needs to be an attack spell.
Hmmmm, I would think counter-spelling is specific enough in that the rules for counterspelling are very specific on how it works. Part of counterspelling is that the rule for it states it can only be done as a readied action. I think it's one of those "specific rule overrides the general rule" cases.
SO, while I do not agree that you can simply ready "I cast a spell", I will agree that specifying an attack spell or a defensive spell would be a good enough compromise at the table in the interest of letting the game continue =)
"You can move 5 feet in any round when you don't perform any other kind of movement".
My groups always use the term "move-equivalent action" for actions that take the place of a move action. It makes communicating so much easier.
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Well... paint me corrected. I always interpreted any move action to be a "kind of movement". And I've been doing it that way every weekend for almost a decade. It's amazing, the little things in this game that you can get wrong.
Readying an action be it an attack or what ever is a move equivalent action, so unless the character had quickdraw they wouldn't be able to ready an attack. That would be two move EQ actions and a standard. They are correct in that they could take a five foot step, then ready an attack or draw a weapon but not both.
Nope, readying an action is ALWAYS a standard action.
Ready
The ready action lets you prepare to take an action later, after your turn is over but before your next one has begun. Readying is a standard action. It does not provoke an attack of opportunity (though the action that you ready might do so).
You can, however, Ready a move action, move equivalent action, swift action, free action, or standard 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.
You can take a 5-foot step as part of your readied action, but only if you don't otherwise move any distance during the round.
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Readying an action be it an attack or what ever is a move equivalent action, so unless the character had quickdraw they wouldn't be able to ready an attack. That would be two move EQ actions and a standard. They are correct in that they could take a five foot step, then ready an attack or draw a weapon but not both.Nope, readying an action is ALWAYS a standard action.
Ready
The ready action lets you prepare to take an action later, after your turn is over but before your next one has begun. Readying is a standard action. It does not provoke an attack of opportunity (though the action that you ready might do so).
You can, however, Ready a move action, move equivalent action, swift action, free action, or standard action.
** spoiler omitted **
Actually, there is a feat, in the Pathfinder Society Primer, that allows you to use a full round action to ready an attack. In return, it gives a +2 to hit for the readied attack.
But, in general, you get a swift, (a move and a standard) or (a full round) action. A 5' step is no action, but can, usually, only be taken once per round.
So, for your actions in a turn, you can 5' step away from someone, draw a weapon as a move-equivalent action, and ready an attack as your standard action.
Some things can make this a bit different, for example if your opponent has Step Up, you won't be able to setup certain readied action triggers, since he would still be adjacent to you...
In your case, you would have needed to determine that the NPC would ready a melee attack against the monk if the monk moved adjacent to the NPC.
I did, he prepared a dagger for if she'd come closer the next round. I Specifically mentioned a readied melee attack.
On the same token, the players will trust you more as a GM if they hear you actually roll a d20 before telling them an NPC scored a hit, miss or crit against the party.
I Spoiler all my GM rolls for them to see, with a reference *. So when i declare npc attacking it mentions * so they can look in the spoiler.
I did roll the dice for it in advance, hindsight i would agree it gives an advantage to players who know of it and refrain from any endangering actions on that behalf.So, for your actions in a turn, you can 5' step away from someone, draw a weapon as a move-equivalent action, and ready an attack as your standard action.
That's what i thought was the course of things.
laarddrym,
You do not need to specify the spell you are casting.
You must specify the action. In this case the action is the standard action called: "Cast a spell".
This is equivalent to specifying the action "Attack". You do not need to specify what you are attacking with (perhaps you have quickdraw or two weapons readied).
Do you require that when someone readies a "Move" move action they plan out the path in advance?
The rules do not state you have to determine all details of the chosen action in advance. That would make readied actions useless.
Gauss, the rule does state you need to declare the specific action that you are readying. Just "cast a spell" isn't specific enough in my interpretation, especially because the spell would have to be limited to spells that have a casting time of, at most, a standard action.
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Gauss, the rule does state you need to declare the specific action that you are readying. Just "cast a spell" isn't specific enough in my interpretation, especially because the spell would have to be limited to spells that have a casting time of, at most, a standard action.
While it might not be the wisest choice, it's perfectly possible to have 'cast a spell' as your readied action, and when triggered you could begin casting a spell with a casting time longer than a standard action. It just won't be cast until you finish casting it on later turns.
Not saying it's a good idea, but it is within the rules.
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@laarddrym
This is the exact wording for readied actions:
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...
All it says is to specify the action you want to take. "Casting a spell" is an action. That is all that's required. It doesn't go into any detail about how specific the action has to be. In this context, specify just means you need to pick a specific action. Meaning you can't just say "I ready an action".
laarddryn, anythonydido is correct.
The rules state to specify an action. "Cast a spell" is an specified action in the rules. "Attack" is a specified action in the rules. "Move" is a specified action in the rules.
Stating which spell you will cast is not a listed as a requirement of Readying.
Stating the action (such as "Cast a spell") and the what the trigger are requirements.