Dodge is free but adding the skill costs -5 initiative and introduces a limit.
SR5 p174 Example.
p188 Ranged Defense.
Yeah, I know all that. My question was, can you DO the -5 initiative when your initiative score is 0? Either A) No you can't. Or B) Yes you can, it just takes 5 off your initiative roll next turn.
I can't find a ruling in the book, so I'm gonna go with B.
Need initiative from everyone, and FP will be getting -5 on his from the dodge.
Aaaaaaactually...
Just got a PM from someone far more knowledgeable than I and I've been doing something wrong. Dodge is a defense option for melee combat only. The only two defensive actions available for ranged attacks are Normal (Rea + Int) and Full Defense (Rea + Int + Will) which gives -10 initiative.
ALSO... You technically don't lose the 10 off your init score until the end of the pass, when everyone loses it at the same time, so my initial question of "can you spend it when you're at zero" is a moot point, cause FP was still technically
at initiative count 10 when he was attacked.
Don't bother re-rolling or anything like that. We'll just say he avoided the shotgun blast and move on from there, more knowledgeable from here on out. Also, DO NOT take any penalty on your initiative.