What are the best ways to phrase a contingency?

[woodenbandman]

Contingency should just be replaced with a spell that says "Choose any spell to be cast on your person when:
A: You are damaged.
B: You are effected by a negative status effect.

You can take a move action to activate the contingency by speaking a nonsense phrase 3 times without garbling it, which requires concentration as casting a spell."

Not broken, gives you the action of activating the spell in a faster time, etc. Give it a 1 day duration and limit it to 1 contingency at a time. And ban Craft Contingent Spell.

[Ramaloke]

"Should any type of effect or action impair my normal ability to function or harm me in any way, activate Dimension Door to move me to an area I am familiar with that is safe for me (from what I remember or expect)."

[Lycanthromancer]

I'd rather have it be anticipatory, rather than reactionary. Remember, that you can specify that a contingency go off in response to the beginning of an action, rather than after its resolution. I'd rather avoid an effect completely than mop up its aftermath.

[AfterCrescent]

I like X's inclusion of your items. Add your familiar to the clause if you have one and he's on your person.

Remember, the key thing is to use invisibility as your clause, because anything that you want to trigger the contingency also would cancel an invisibility. Make sure you specify that invisibility doesn't actually have to be cast to use it. So anything that happens to you that, if used by a person (thus including traps in the contingency), would negate their real or theoretical invisibility spell will trigger your contingency.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

How about this (could be less awkwardly phr

"Defining 'Grazzelmuffin' as the set of actions that can be by a creature which prematurely end the effects of the spell Invisibility, and would not prematurely end Alter Self, if a creature takes an action within the set Grazzelmuffin targeted at me, cast dimension door in order to transport me to the safest location valid for the spell."

[Operation Shoestring]

How about this (could be less awkwardly phr

"Defining 'Grazzelmuffin' as the set of actions that can be by a creature which prematurely end the effects of the spell Invisibility, and would not prematurely end Alter Self, if a creature takes an action within the set Grazzelmuffin targeted at me, cast dimension door in order to transport me to the safest location valid for the spell."

I like the rest, but the bolded part is too subjective, and can cause problems....

[sonofzeal]

Operation Shoestring - damn you're quick.      I was just about to post the same thing, bolded text and all.

[Rebel7284]

Do you have to specify the target for dimention door?  I'd think you could just decide where you're going after it's cast.

[Kuroimaken]

Do you have to specify the target for dimention door?  I'd think you could just decide where you're going after it's cast.

I believe you have to decide it at the time of casting, but other than that I'm not sure...

[Rebel7284]

I believe you have to decide it at the time of casting, but other than that I'm not sure...

Yeah so we can leave that part empty and then after it triggers decide if it's better to DD behind the enemy or FAR FAR AWAY.

[Etarran]

I have always used "If any effect created by an actor other than myself would in any way impair my ability or desire to continue acting in the manner most beneficial to me, do X." Most DMs have interpreted this as including hit point damage, but only over a certain level, where it would begin affecting my ability to take risks in combat.

I usually like to set up two contingencies - one with the above wording which will trigger a minor but noticeable effect, and the next on the use of a command word after the first has triggered with the dimension door/time stop/whatever that I will actually use to get out of trouble.

[Anklebite]

what about the "only one contingency at a time" clause? do you use craft contingent?

[BowenSilverclaw]

do you use craft contingent?

Who doesn't?

[Sinfire Titan]

I like to use "When I say X" as the trigger. Talking is a free action, and I generally use quotes from the Crowning Moments of Funny page as the trigger.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

I like to use "When I say X" as the trigger. Talking is a free action, and I generally use quotes from the Crowning Moments of Funny page as the trigger.

And as I've argued before, the precedent for this sort of thing (especially with craft contingent spell) is for it to be a command word trigger on a slotless item, and hence take an action for you to do.

[ErhnamDJ]

And as I've argued before, the precedent for this sort of thing (especially with craft contingent spell) is for it to be a command word trigger on a slotless item, and hence take an action for you to do.

[Hallack]

This issue is very heavily dependent upon ones DM.  That being the case I fear that the necessary phraseology is difficult to nail down as what would work for one DM would not another.

Interesting discussion and thought exercise all around, please continue.

[Kuroimaken]

I have always used "If any effect created by an actor other than myself would in any way impair my ability or desire to continue acting in the manner most beneficial to me, do X." Most DMs have interpreted this as including hit point damage, but only over a certain level, where it would begin affecting my ability to take risks in combat.

I usually like to set up two contingencies - one with the above wording which will trigger a minor but noticeable effect, and the next on the use of a command word after the first has triggered with the dimension door/time stop/whatever that I will actually use to get out of trouble.

Hence why we could just add a contingency for HP damage of any kind with an "and/or" clause.

[Zombieboots]

In a core game had a player once that used:
"When I cast Feather fall on myself cast Teleport on myself."

Or something along those lines. Feather Fall is a immediate action- now I'm not sure I would presonally waste my swift action for the turn but I guess that depends. Too bad it only works when he's awake, but clever anyway. He got 50 xp on the spot because I encourage when new players use their noggens.

[Kuroimaken]

In a core game had a player once that used:
"When I cast Feather fall on myself cast Teleport on myself."

Or something along those lines. Feather Fall is a immediate action- now I'm not sure I would presonally waste my swift action for the turn but I guess that depends. Too bad it only works when he's awake, but clever anyway. He got 50 xp on the spot because I encourage when new players use their noggens.

Since when is Feather Fall an immediate action?