3

PCs and enemies were on two sides of a closed door. Both parties readied actions in case someone opens the door - mostly attacking whoever is on the other side.

Finally one enemy opened the door and triggered the readied actions.

  1. Do all attack sumultaneously?
  2. If not, is the initiative modifier the tie-breaker?
  3. In case the combatants attack in order of their initiative modifier: Which bonuses on initiative would be taken into account? Clearly ability modifiers and the feat Improved Initiative. What about the bonus Team Initiative provided by the prestige class Dread Commando (Heroes of Battle)?
  4. All combatants with readied actions got a new initiative count directly before the enemy who opened the door in order of their initiative modifier. Which bonuses on initiative would be taken into account for this order?
Giorin
  • 5,256
  • 13
  • 38
  • To be clear, combat had already begun when all this happened, right? Also, what did the DM allow to be each side's ready action trigger? – Hey I Can Chan Dec 31 '17 at 09:48
  • Yes, the situation was part of a PC assault on a fortress, so combat was in progress. I allowed "if the door opens I attack whoever is on the other side" specifying the kind of attack. – Giorin Dec 31 '17 at 10:25
  • 1
    Isn't this answered by https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/51048/in-what-order-do-multiple-readied-actions-with-the-same-trigger-resolve ? – OpaCitiZen Dec 31 '17 at 14:26
  • I was not aware of that answer - but it does not fit my situation. In my case the battle was in progress, so everyone already had an initiative count. – Giorin Jan 01 '18 at 00:34
  • 1
    I agree that the connection from this situation to the linked question could be stronger, but it is, essentially, the same situation: both sides opted to pretty much wait for the other side to do something. In such a case, after a reasonable amount of time, it's totally fair for the DM to rule that the encounter ends. Afterward, if the door's opened, a new encounter begins and initiative is rolled normally. – Hey I Can Chan Jan 01 '18 at 03:15
  • Ok, that is an interesting suggestion - for the other question. In my situation there was not halt as the battle raged on at several different locations, so there was no way to call the encounter ended. But I have taken to commenting on the other question nonetheless. – Giorin Jan 01 '18 at 08:49

0 Answers0