Post/Author/DateTime	Post
orionm42 03-22-07, 05:05 PM	Pardon the brain fart here (I must be getting old)... Assume there is no surprise round and that this is the first round of combat... Evil Guy has the initiative advantage and readies an action to shoot at the party's spellcaster with his already loaded ranged weapon. The trigger is…the wizard begins to cast a spell. Wizard, without taking any other actions, begins to cast his spell. Evil Guy interrupts and takes his readied action. Is the spellcaster flat footed against the attack? I've always ruled, "yes" because the readied action occurs before the action that triggers it. Accordingly, the spell caster has not yet taken any actions in combat and he is still flat footed. Correct? Also, what if the caster drew an AoO from an opponent wielding a melee weapon? Is he flat footed against the AoO as well? Again, I have always ruled yes...is this correct? Thanks.
Tarus 03-22-07, 05:15 PM	Wow, tough one. I think I would rule that he is not because he IS getting his turn. His turn is interrupted but he did select an action and begin. I believe as soon as you say "its your turn, what do you do" and the begin stating...regardless of who interrupts...the flat foot is gone.
ryryguy 03-22-07, 05:15 PM	I'd say no, he isn't flat footed, because what cancels flat footedness is having the opportunity to act, not actually taking an action. The mage has fulfilled that even though his action hasn't actually started yet. Though, hmm, I see the SRD says this about flat-footedness: A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, not yet reacting normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) and cannot make attacks of opportunity. But I'm sure I've seen somewhere - maybe the FAQ? - that it was the opportunity to act that was important. The example given was a character who chose to Delay on the first round of initiative. Delay is not an action, so the character technically has not acted, but still should not be considered flat footed any more.
orionm42 03-22-07, 05:20 PM	But I'm sure I've seen somewhere - maybe the FAQ? - that it was the opportunity to act that was important. I think I recall something similar, but then saw this in the SRD... HOW COMBAT WORKS Combat is cyclical; everybody acts in turn in a regular cycle of rounds. Combat follows this sequence: 1. Each combatant starts out flat-footed. Once a combatant acts, he or she is no longer flat-footed. Here again it seems an actual action is required. Hmmm.
Kyaran 03-22-07, 05:49 PM	While the RAW is a bit fuzzy, I'm going to argue it this way: If the wizard started to cast a spell, he decided on an action and is aware of the situation. He has taken an action, but not yet completed it. I think the most relevant rules quote is Flat-Footed: At the start of a battle, before you have had a chance to act (specifically, before your first regular turn in the initiative order), you are flat-footed.
Merestil Haye 03-22-07, 06:10 PM	I think you will find that if the BBEG can take his readied action, the spellcaster has started to cast the spell, and therefore is no longer flat-footed. The main point on which this is founded is the Ready rule.Readying an Action You can ready a standard action, a move action, or a free action. To do so, specify the action you will take and the conditions under which you will take it. Then, any time 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. Since the character who's action is interrupted continues his action once the readied action is resolved, he must have started that action. If he has started, he is no longer flat-footed. Also, assuming that the purpose of the BBEG was to disrupt the spellcaster by forcing a Concentration check from damage, the check is forced only if the damage is taken during the action - that is, while the action is being taken. If the readied attack goes in before the caster starts casting the spell, then the damage is not being taken during the action and will not disrupt the spell.
StevenO 03-22-07, 07:21 PM	The Wizard would not be considered flat footed. This is how a Knight that wins initative would handle things to get around their "can't attack a helpless/flat footed opponent" restriction. They just ready an action to go when someone else has determined theirs.
Someone 03-23-07, 01:27 AM	I see readied attacks and AoOs as being in the "middle" of the action, as it can disrupt the action (just shooting the flat-footed mage wouldn't stop him from casting a spell without trouble on his turn). Yes, a readied action sets your initiative to before rather than to equal, but the result happens during the triggering action, even if that action fails to finish. So I would say the wizard isn't flat-footed in either case. Or, they could take a 5 ft. step and then cast. They have "acted" with the move and are thusly no longer flat-footed.
orionm42 03-23-07, 10:55 AM	Thanks for the replies... The situation with the readied action occurred the other night, and it got me rethinking the issue. The RAW quote I relied on for my initial ruling was Merestil Haye's reference (sandwiched in the middle of that quote is the statement "the (readied) action occurs just before the action that triggers it.") And that led me to reexamine whether or not a person is flat footed against AoOs if the target has not yet acted in combat. I think I recall reading somewhere that AoOs also technically occur before the action that triggers them. In any event, I think one could rely on the bolded section of Kyaran's quote to rule the wizard is not flat footed since it was his turn in the initiative order. Also, it appears the consensus of the group is the wizard is not flat-footed in either case. Thanks again folks! :)