Swift Action as a Standard Action

[Pex]

If I do something as a swift action, am I allowed to use my standard action to do something else that is itself normally a swift action?

Specific example in discussion.

As a paladin, cast Grace as a swift action, move, take standard action to use Lay On Hands on self which is normally a swift action.

[Extra Anchovies]

You can't normally do that. However, you can burn a standard action to ready a swift action, and have it go off right after your turn ends. It's slightly more restrictive than being able to sacrifice a swift for a standard at any time because you have to end with one of the two swift actions (e.g. you can't take two swift actions and then take a move action afterwards), but it works for most purposes.

[JDL]

As above, though readying the Swift Action can trigger on any specific condition. For example, say you wanted to do a Swift, Move, Swift as Standard combo as discussed. You could spend your Swift to use Grace, then use your Standard Action to "readied action to cast Lay on Hands on myself at the end of my turn" then Move and end your turn, meeting your Readied Action conditions and performing your Lay on Hands. Alternatively however, you could "readied action to cast Lay on Hands the next time I call myself a sexy shoeless god of war" and then use a free action to call yourself a sexy shoeless god of war, performing your readied action, then Move after that.

[Extra Anchovies]

Does that really work? I thought a readied action could only be triggered out-of-turn.

[JDL]

That's debatable, since on the one hand the Ready action says it occurs "after your turn is over but before your next one has begun" but it also says "anytime before your next action, you may take the readied action in response to that condition" as well, which may well occur during your turn. It's one of those areas where RAW can be read in two different ways, so just see how it plays out at your table.

[Andezzar]

Does that really work? I thought a readied action could only be triggered out-of-turn.You are right:
The ready action lets you prepare to take an action later, after your turn is over but before your next one has begun.
@JDL: you ready the action on your turn to happen after your turn. The readied action can then happen at any time between the end of your turn and before your next turn. On top of that the action must be in response to a specified condition.

[BWR]

Considering LoH is normally a standard action and you aren't really breaking action economy (like you would if you could convert move -> swift) I'd say this is perfectly fine. I don't know about RAW (and frankly I don't much care in this case) but I'm pretty sure the RAI is to make it easier for paladins to heal themselves, not restrict them to swift actions and nothing but, FNAR. I would probably restrict LoH on herself to once per round by allowing this, but considering that, technically, a paladin can LoH herself and someone else in the same round, I'd have to think a bit more before making a final judgement.

My arbitrary amount of small change in an unspecified currency.

[Necroticplague]

Technically, no. However, It's one of those details people often end up houseruling without knowing by allowing it so much that it seems like the default. Given that standard actions are usually more valuable than swifts, I'm not sure you'd get any complaints about asking to be able to convert them like that.

[Firest Kathon]

Swift actions are (supposed to be) balanced around the fact that you can take only one per turn (unless you ready one, see above), so it is intended by the designers that you cannot downgrade standard actions to swift actions. In the Paladin case, keep in mind that they could, if you allow it, heal themselves twice per turn (once as standard and once as swift), which may is not really OP seeing that you give up your standard action (and a potential full attack).

Edited to add: The same discussion has been done on the Paizo boards (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p4ns?Lay-on-hands-on-self-twice-per-round).

[Crake]

Swift actions are (supposed to be) balanced around the fact that you can take only one per turn (unless you ready one, see above), so it is intended by the designers that you cannot downgrade standard actions to swift actions. In the Paladin case, keep in mind that they could, if you allow it, heal themselves twice per turn (once as standard and once as swift), which may is not really OP seeing that you give up your standard action (and a potential full attack).

Edited to add: The same discussion has been done on the Paizo boards (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p4ns?Lay-on-hands-on-self-twice-per-round).

It is worth noting that using the above method, they would not get a swift action on their following turn, since swift/immediate actions recover at the end of a player's turn, so essentially they're taking their next swift action and using it a little earlier, but next turn they won't have any swift actions available to use.

[Psyren]

While Swifts are generally balanced around getting just one per turn, given the restrictions on readying a swift I see no problem with doing so. Not only does it cost your standard, but you can only trigger it off-turn, meaning you have to perform all your other actions before ending your turn or they are wasted too.

[Pex]

Ok, got it. Thanks.