[JoeNapalm]

If I use an Interrupt Action, can I use a Free Action during the Interrupt?

-Jn-

[PiXeL01]

No, you can only use actions within your own phase unless specified by the action itself

[Tecumseh]

I would rule differently than PiXel01. Free Actions can be performed at any point of the initiative pass. (The exception is if you are surprised, in which case you cannot take a Free Action until your action phase or after it.)

I would allow someone to take a Free Action during an Interrupt so long as they had not already taken their Free Action for that initiative pass. This is why the Hit the Dirt interrupt action (p. 168, which is dropping prone, which is a Free Action) is only for characters who have already used their Free Action.

[Sphinx]

I agree with Tecumseh. "A character may take one Free Action during his own Action Phase or at some later point in the Initiative Pass. A character may take a Free Action prior to his first Action Phase in the Initiative Pass if they are not surprised." (SR5 p.163).

[firebug]

That does seem to be the case.  Counterspelling in the core rulebook also implies that you can use Free Actions outside of your Initiative Pass ("Declaring this protection is either a Free Action or, if you don’t have one left, an Interrupt Action that reduces your Initiative Score by 5.")

Though keep in mind you can't do it during other actions.  Your GM might let you talk during your own Interrupt Action, but don't expect to be able to Free Action "Switch Two Matrix Attributes" to boost your Firewall during your opponent's Data Spike.  Suppressing Fire explicitly says "Characters may choose to avoid rolling and use their Free Action to go prone and avoid getting hit" as a way to allow PCs to use a Free Action during someone else's action and is thus an exception.  I think Counterspelling is the same way, which likely part of why both of these give special interrupt actions to do it as well.

[Marcus]

-snip-
Though keep in mind you can't do it during other actions.  Your GM might let you talk during your own Interrupt Action, but don't expect to be able to Free Action "Switch Two Matrix Attributes" to boost your Firewall during your opponent's Data Spike.  Suppressing Fire explicitly says "Characters may choose to avoid rolling and use their Free Action to go prone and avoid getting hit" as a way to allow PCs to use a Free Action during someone else's action and is thus an exception.  I think Counterspelling is the same way, which likely part of why both of these give special interrupt actions to do it as well.

Yeah the swap attribute was the case that caused me concern. Do we need a First in last action resolution? How do you fairly adjudicate that issue?

[firebug]

It's not like the dreaded Stack in MTG; once an action is called, the player shouldn't be able to call actions "in response" unless they are Interrupt actions (though Interrupt actions do get "resolved" before the action they interrupt does).  Of course, don't be a hardass, if a player didn't know and genuinely seems like they would have done it beforehand otherwise, I might make an exception.  After that though, the player should do things like declare "At the end of my action phase I'm gonna switch these to attributes" or "At the start of the hacker's action phase".

It works better on a tabletop where things move more slowly and loosely, and since it's not a competition, I can as GM remind them "you know it's the hacker's action now, is there something you wanted to do before they do anything"?  Eventually the player(s) will learn the pattern and you won't have to remind them.

[JoeNapalm]

I love this conversation on so many geeky levels.

So, let's say my character has a monowhip in my fingertip, which they can deploy as a free action (Wireless Bonus) as during their Interrupt when some ganger tries to thunk them upside the head with a baseball bat?

Could that character then Parry (deploying the whip as a Free Action) instead of Block or Dodge?

It seems to me like that should work. You couldn't Quick Draw a katana to do the same, as that is a Simple Action.

I hadn't thought about the Matrix applications...though I probably should, having just built my first Decker, who is a Quick Config/Perfect Time/Codeslinger action monkey.

-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

[PiXeL01]

I was wrong earlier. The CRB states on p. 163:

“The character may also take one Free Action at any point in the Initiative Pass (either during her own Ac- tion Phase or at any later time)“

[PiXeL01]

An Adept could QuickDraw as Free Action if they had the power (unless that got changed)

But yes, given the rules are written the way they are as long as you haven’t used your Free Action for the initiative phase yet you could do what you suggest.

[Marcus]

I'm pretty sure you can't parry with a whip.

[ShadowcatX]

I'm pretty sure you can't parry with a whip.

Do you have a page number for that?

[SunRunner]

I can go both ways on parrying with a mono whip. On one hand it totally see the monowhip not having the strength to parry and breaking but the counter argument is that it would cut the bat in half where ever it made contact and  therefore deprive the attack of most of its force. As for parrying with a normal whip, its the same as parrying with a chain you either entangle the weapon as it comes in to bleed off the force of the strike or you do something like grab it with your other hand and hold it taunt and have a stable surface to parry with, not recommended with a mono whip but technically possible if you have the climbing gloves what let you handle micro wire as that is essentially mono filament based on its description and its 8P -8AP stats if you hold it with out the proper gloves. In the end parrying is part of melee combat and unless you can give me a page number where it says whips cant be used to parry I am with shadowcat in that its allowed. Its slightly hinky but not enough to make me think it needs GM intervention.

[JoeNapalm]

Both variations of the monowhip (plain vanilla and fingertip) have a weight on the end to give it mass and control, so you could A) grasp it by that, or B) buy rappelling gloves. I'm sure there are stylish ones available in 2075.

I would imagine using the monowhip to deflect the force of the blow -- you wouldn't *want* to slice, say, a sword on half on a Parry, as then you end up with two stab wounds instead of just the one.

(Also you can't do Called Shot: Break Weapon on a Parry or Riposte.)

I've seen many, many threads suggesting that monowhips are brittle and/or fragile, yet the materials these things would likely be derived from are neither. Even with current tech, most nano-fibers, tubes, and ribbons are insanely strong, and you can use the stuff  as climbing rope in SR5...assuming you have rappelling gloves.


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

[ShadowcatX]

Personally on the parrying topic I'm on the fence, but if there's a page number where it is specifically disallowed it would make the discussion easier. It makes sense that it would be disallowed in some regards, and that seems like something some random freelancer would sneak into a book to nerf mono-whips (see mystic adepts with the enchantment skill group) but it does make sense that it could be done by superhumans as well, though probably like JoeNapalm mentioned deflecting the blow rather than slicing it in half.