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I know that you can interrupt a turn, but can you interrupt the middle of an action, like a move action or would you have to wait until the other's move action is complete and then interrupt them before they continue their turn?

Example;

I'm fighting a wolf and I go first. I decide to ready myself with the condition that if the wolf gets 2 squares away from me I want to move.

The wolf approaches and gets 2 squares away from me while still having 10ft worth of movement in his move action.

My ready action triggers and I move away. Then the wolf continues his move action and then decides if he wants to perform another move action or something else.

Nerevar
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1 Answers1

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Short Answer: Yes.

The SRD tells us this

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).

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.

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.

Emphasis mine ^^.

In your example the Wolf used a Move Action to move, you interrupt his movement and move yourself, he then can resume moving, using up all his movement distance left of not. Then he continues his round as normal

A more specific example of a character interrupting another with a Ready Action is Distracting a Spellcaster:

Distracting Spellcasters

You can ready an attack against a spellcaster with the trigger "if she starts casting a spell." If you damage the spellcaster, she may lose the spell she was trying to cast (as determined by her Spellcraft check result).

Landir
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    @Nerevar Note that in your example, after you move away, the wolf can "reallocate" his remaining movement. He does not have to end it where he initially intended to do. If the wolf was charging, since it can no longer complete his intended action, the charge full-round action breaks down to a double move, or a single move + standard action, depending on if it already moved more than its speed. – MrLemon Apr 07 '14 at 16:03
  • I like this, but I don't know where it says that. Do you have a source for this recycling of actions? – Julix Oct 26 '15 at 02:22
  • No, a Charge is a special type of action that would not allow you to 'relocate' into double move or move/attack, but you(the wolf in the ex) COULD continue to charge if there was another target in line. Think of a bull and matador, except the matador might have had allies behind him. – Ifusaso Nov 13 '16 at 06:47