Attack of Opportunity question

[Theone0581]

I am little confused about this concept. Let’s say we got "Fighter X" fighting "fighter Y" If fighter Y moves 5 feet, he does not provoke an attack of opportunity, but if he moves 30 feet back and fires his bow, fighter X can take an attack of opportunity on Fighter Y. Let’s say that Fighter Y just wants to move and not attack. Does Fighter X still get an attack of opportunity? My DM says that if someone just moves and does not attack, that he/she does not get an attack of Opportunity on them. I just don’t see how that makes any since? What difference does it make if the player/npc just moves or attacks after moving to determinate rather or not they are going to get attacked. It would be like Fighter Y telling Fighter X "hey, I am just going to move and then not attack you, okay?" Fighter X responds, "Okay, good, because if you were going to attack me after you moved, I would have attacked you during your movement when you turned around"

I just need come clarification is all. Please back up your responses by using book quotes. Thanks.

 

[Sekhmet]

A five foot step is a combat maneuver. You dodge, roll, side step, or whatever to create some distance (or close distance) with an opponent.
You can take your five foot step, then turn and run away without provoking.

If a PC just runs out of combat, they're doing so recklessly, which provokes AoO's. It does not matter if they attack or do not attack during that round.

 

[Alexander123]

A little advice for when you are posting, I got this directly from the www.hblist.com, an email list discussing Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.

"...please add frequent paragraph breaks. Break up long paragraphs, even when it seems arbitrary as to where to do so. Long paragraphs are uninviting to the reader."

 

[kitcik]

I am not advocating one side or the other, I am simply trying to answer your question based on RAI as I understand it.

The general rule is that if you move through a threatened square your op gets an AoO. The exceptions would be justified as follows:
1) 5' step: your movement is limited and you are able to defend yourself while taking the step.
2) withdrawal without attacking - if you move away without attacking (or taking another action), you are withdrawing defensively and therefore prevent AoO's.

As I said, I am not saying this is logical, only that this is the RAI justification as I understand it.

 

[kitcik]

A little advice for when you are posting, I got this directly from the www.hblist.com, an email list discussing Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.

"...please add frequent paragraph breaks. Break up long paragraphs, even when it seems arbitrary as to where to do so. Long paragraphs are uninviting to the reader."

O

K

You

got

it.

 

[Alexander123]

Much easier to read, Thanks!

 

[Theone0581]

Yes, I still dont understand how that makes any logical since, but if thats just the nature of the beast, then so be it.

 

[udalrich]

If you want to move during combat, you have three options.

1. Five foot step. You carefully move away and do not provoke an AoO. You cannot move any more during the rest of your turn.

2. Withdrawal. This is a full round action, and you do not provoke when leaving the first square. You can move twice your speed. Basically, you carefully disengage from your opponent at the start of your movement, then move normally (and provoke) for the rest of your travel.

3. Everything else. You move, more focused on getting where you are going than on protecting yourself. To fully protect your self, you have to move slow enough so that you only cover five feet.

It mostly makes sense. You can certainly construct cases that do not make sense, but D&D is not a detailed combat simulation, so there are always going to be examples of how it is "wrong".

 

[Greenfield]

As I understand the rule, when you move *from* a threatened square, you provoke.

When you attempt to cast a spell, read a scroll or fire a missile weapon while in a threatened square, you provoke. Rising from a prone position provokes. Attempting certain maneuvers, such as Bull Rush, Unarmed Strike, Grapple, Sunder, Disarm or Trip provokes unless you have the appropriate feat that says otherwise.

No, you can't take a 5 ft step and then take a move action. You get either a ft step, or a move, but not both in the same round. If you could, you could 5 ft step to disengage, then do a Partial Charge and attack someone else in the same round.

If you Withdraw, you get the first 5 feet of movement free from AoO. After that you're on your own, and can provoke (which is one of the things that makes Reach so powerful). The idea seems to be that you're being defensive as you pull back, keeping your guard up. You can take no other action in a round where you Withdraw.

The 5 foot step is likewise presumed to be done in a way that keeps your guard up, and so it doesn't provoke.

Casting Defensively prevents spell casting from provoking, but requires a Concentration check, to reflect the split attention required to cast spells while watching and defending against a melee opponent.

The Attack of Opportunity takes place when they *begin* the action that provokes it, not during or at the end. And that's important.

Consider the Improved Trip maneuver. I Trip someone and get a free shot at them while they're down, just as the book says. They try to get up, which provokes. My Attack of Opportunity takes place while they're still on the ground, before they rise, so I can't Trip them again (and get another cheap shot to follow), keeping them down. If I could, they'd never get up again, and that maneuver (which many consider questionable already) would be well and truly broken.

Or, in the simple case, when someone decides to dance back 30 feet and shoot me with their bow. The move provokes, and the attack *can't* happen after they're 30 feet away. It has to happen while they're still in that starting square.

Unlike 1st and 2nd Edition, injuring a spell caster *before* they cast their spell doesn't fumble their spell or force a Concentration check. Only damage done while they are casting can do that. That means either an Attack of Opportunity, or someone who had Readied an Action so they could interrupt. The whole "before" and "after" concepts kind of became meaningless with cyclic Initiative.

 

[irdeggman]

Check the table on pg 141 of the PHB and read the notes.

Everything you need to know is there.

A better (more complete) table appears in the Rules Compendium.