A little Tiny 5-ft. step?

[Spectrum Rider]

In the PH (pg. 132), it says of creatures who are less than Small that they "... have no effective natural reach. They have to enter or be in your area to attack you. Since they have to pass through your threatened area to get to you, you get attacks of opportunity...."

If a Tiny (or smaller) creature is adjacent to you, can it take the usual free 5-ft. step into your space to attack you without provoking an attack of opportunity?

Related question: can a Tiny creature in your square flank you with the help of a Small or large ally who is one the other side of you (but in a square adjacent to yours)? Can two Tiny creatures in your square flank you?

The Spectrum Rider

 

[dcollins]

The Sage has made the ruling that an AOO for entering an opponent's square is a distinct event from an AOO from moving out of a threatened square. That's not explicitly anywhere in the core rulebooks -- but under that presumption, the answer would be: no, Tiny creatures don't avoid that AOO with a 5 ft. step into an enemy square.

 

[Stalker0]

The Sage has made the ruling that an AOO for entering an opponent's square is a distinct event from an AOO from moving out of a threatened square. That's not explicitly anywhere in the core rulebooks -- but under that presumption, the answer would be: no, Tiny creatures don't avoid that AOO with a 5 ft. step into an enemy square.

Its basically an extension of the bullrush rules, by moving into the square (even a 5ft step) you provoke AOO.

And as far as I know tiny creatures don't threaten, so they can't flank