Spring Attack, Flyby Attack, and Shot on the Run: Utterly Useless?

[Rubik]

Note the thread title.

Are they really the useless wastes of space I think they are? They literally do nothing, because you can just ready your standard action prior to your move action, begin performing your move action, and perform your readied standard in the middle of your move action. No, it doesn't go outside of your turn, but it still happens (slightly) later in the initiative order, even if it's on the same initiative count.

[eggynack]

Readying doesn't work that way. The rule specifies that, "Any time before your next action, you may take the readied action in response to that condition." If you're taking a move action subsequent to readying and prior to the readied action going off, then that's going against that explicit rule. There may be other issues too, as the idea of continuing flight after the readied action is activated is somewhat odd, and given that readying states that it's for taking actions after your turn and before your next, but that one quote is all that's really needed to poke a hole in this plan.

[Rubik]

Readying doesn't work that way. The rule specifies that, "Any time before your next action, you may take the readied action in response to that condition." If you're taking a move action subsequent to readying and prior to the readied action going off, then that's going against that explicit rule. There may be other issues too, as the idea of continuing flight after the readied action is activated is somewhat odd, and given that readying states that it's for taking actions after your turn and before your next, but that one quote is all that's really needed to poke a hole in this plan.Is your current move action before your next action? I imagine it would be.

[eggynack]

Is your current move action before your next action? I imagine it would be.
Readying is a standard action, and without one of those feats you're not taking, you thus can't make use of it during this current move action. So, if you're moving, then you can't ready, and if you're readying, then you can't move.

[justiceforall]

Could you ready a partial charge?

There's at least one feat I know of predicated on doing so (doesn't mean the feat actually works!)

[ben-zayb]

2 Issues:

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).
Emphasis mine.


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.
Emphasis mine.

[KillianHawkeye]

Even if you could use a readied action to interrupt your own turn (which, as already pointed out, you can't), it would not allow you to move both before and after the action in the same way as Spring Attack, Flyby Attack, and related feats.

[Doctor Awkward]

Note the thread title.

Are they really the useless wastes of space I think they are? They literally do nothing, because you can just ready your standard action prior to your move action, begin performing your move action, and perform your readied standard in the middle of your move action. No, it doesn't go outside of your turn, but it still happens (slightly) later in the initiative order, even if it's on the same initiative count.

That's not how readying works.

You can only ready a standard action, and you must be very specific about both what you are going to do with that standard action, and what will trigger it. The DM is fully within his purview to ask you to be as specific as he sees fit.

Your readied action does not happen until the trigger occurs. You can move, then ready, but otherwise your move action for the round is lost.


Could you ready a partial charge?

There's at least one feat I know of predicated on doing so (doesn't mean the feat actually works!)

Of note, partial charge isn't really a term in 3.5. It's an artifact from 3.0 that is still used in the rules but never explicitly defined as such. AFAIK, you can only use the partial charge when you are restricted to taking a standard or move action (such as during the surprise round). However, the specific wording is such that you cannot normally ready a charge because a charge is not a standard action. But a character who is under a condition that only allows a standard action would be allowed to ready a partial charge, because he is restricted, and you are still allowed to ready actions while restricted.

I never liked this. Characters shouldn't gain options for being disabled that they wouldn't always have. So in our games we always played that yes you can ready a partial charge, but you only get to charge a distance equal to your movement rate, not double it, must have at least ten feet between you and your target, and you aren't allowed to move beforehand.