AoO question

[Vigilant Fiend]

Could someone please explain in the simplest form the rules for attacks of oppurtunity. The group im in has been using the wrong rules since the game came out and dont want to change, however i would like them to at least read an easy to understand rules section on AoO.

 

[IceBear]

Basically, if you are in someone's threat range and you perform an action that draws an AoO then you draw an AoO from that person.

I think this explanation is so simple as to be useless Any specific questions? Those might be more helpful.

IceBear

 

[AGGEMAM]

I think I did a pretty good job at that in another thread, here

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33648

 

[IceBear]

But that's only movement based AoO (though I agree these are the ones that tend to cause confusion).

I'd like to hear actual specific questions from the poster.

IceBear

 

[AuraSeer]

Long story short: If you drop your guard in combat, by doing something distracting, opponents can get a free attack on you. That's what an AoO is.

Figure out which squares you can attack with your current melee weapon, without moving; usually, that's the 8 squares adjacent to you. Those are called "threatened squares." You can take an AoO into any square you threaten.

When you're standing in someone else's threatened area, you will provoke an AoO if you take certain actions. Spellcasting is the most common, though there are a lot of others. The actions that provoke AoO are listed on this SRD page, or in the Combat chapter of the DMG.

You can also draw an AoO by moving. Whenever you leave a threatened square, your opponent gets the attack. However, this is where it gets complicated, because there are two exceptions to this rule.

First, if your entire move for the round is a 5' step, the movement does not draw an AoO. (You can still draw an AoO by taking some other action.)

Second, if you do nothing else but move during the round, the space you start in is not considered threatened. This means you can leave your starting space without drawing an AoO (but you may provoke one later, if you move through a different threatened space).

That's about as simple as it gets.

Other things to remember:

You can make only one AoO per round, unless you have the Combat Reflexes feat.

You can only make an AoO with a melee weapon. A bow, crossbow, or other missile weapon does not threaten any area, and cannot be used to make AoOs.

 

[AGGEMAM]

But that's only movement based AoO (though I agree these are the ones that tend to cause confusion).

Yes, I know.

I'd like to hear actual specific questions from the poster.

Ditto.

 

[dcollins]

My preferred summary is on the first page of the "Thumbnail Rules" document on this website: www.superdan.net/dnd3.html

 

[maddman75]

Here's my guide to AoOs, short and sweet. THere's two causes, and two exceptions.

Cause #1 - You do a non-combat action while someone threatens you. This makes sense when you think about it. If an orc is trying to stick you with a sword and you go and start casting a spell, shooting an arrow at someone across the room, or digging through your pouch for a potion, you'll have to drop your guard. So the orc gets a free swing.

Cause #2 - You move out of a square that someone threatens. This is the one that confuses people more often. When you leave a threatened area to do something else, your attention is focused on whatever it is you plan on doing, again giving the bad guy a chance to swing at you. Remember, it isn't moving *into* a threatened square, but *out of* one that gives your enemy an opening.

Exception #1 - You only move 5'. This is commonly refered to as a five foot step. Essentially, this short of a move is just a combat adjustment. You don't have to drop your guard if you are only moving five feet.

Exception #2 - If all you do this round is move, the square you start in isn't considered threatened. This represents making a careful withdrawl. If all you want to do is get away, you can back off without opening yourself to the people you are currently fighting. Note that this does not mean you are immune to AoOs for your entire move. Just ones you'd get from leaving the first space.

There are lots of charts that specify exactly what actions generate an AoO that were linked to above. These define the ones that come from Rule #1. The ones IME that you see most often are spellcasting in melee or ranged weapons in melee.

If you still don't get it, look on the 'black pages' linked on the ENWorld main page. There's some really good charts by Eric Noah. And you can always come back here and ask more questions!

PS - don't let the AoO rules intimidate you. They really aren't that complicated, just not explained very well in the books. Once it clicks, it will seem very simple to you.

HTH

 

[IceBear]

But I think there are some actions that don't generate an AoO that would fall into Cause #1 - activating some magic items for instance.

IceBear

 

[maddman75]

Right IceBear, these are rules of thumb. Just the basic ideas, and they can refer to the PHB or the chart in the SRD to see which actions exactly distract them enough to provoke an AoO.