11-11-2021, 01:37 AM
(11-10-2021, 11:44 AM)Eva Morningtide Wrote: Is there a house rule so can we all ready an action before the initiative? I think by default it's a standard action so we can ready an action just in the first round or in surprise round.
It's good for us if Cyn does it but it can be bad if an enemy does. So we have to prepare for this in future.
It had been so long since I read the 'ready' rules I went back and took another look. I can now see why you asked if there was a house rule and I guess there is an unofficial rule we use at our table.
Rules as written, you can't ready an action out of combat, and initiative is rolled as soon as combat starts. But I've always leaned toward what makes sense and what is fun for the characters. I see no logical reason why someone couldn't ready to shoot before opening a door. Just like I don't see why someone standing guard in a room while his buddies ransack the place, couldn't ready to shoot anyone who enters the room. It's basically just an ambush and you're creating a surprise round. Enemies set up ambushes all the time. If the enemy happens to be aware of you, then they have actions they can take too. Like moving out of the line of fire before the door is open or readying their own shot which would then come down to initiative or take cover and ready to shoot. The DM just has to be fair and have the NPC's react in a way that makes the most sense.
I will look around for to see if anyone has come up with any house rules for Readying outside of Initiative. I love me some house rules. But after a quick check online, I see many DM's acknowledge it's not RAW but they allow the same thing. So for now I'll continue allowing readying outside of combat.