Can AoO provoke AoO?

[Kai Lord]

My Peerless Archer is still a few levels away until he gains the ability to Threaten with his bow out to 10'. What I'm wondering is when an attacker moving toward him passes through his Threat range he would obviously end within 5' of the archer. When the PA gets to fire his AoO, does he then provoke one as well? Surely that couldn't have been the intention of the class ability....

It seems the standing rule is that any weapon you "threaten" with (melee weapon, monk fists, Improved Unarmed Strike feat), does not provoke AoO when you use it to attack. So does the PA get to fire within melee range of an opponent without provoking AoO as a default ability of his Threaten skill?

 

[Crothian]

Yes

 

[kreynolds]

Check out this thread for more info.

 

[Crothian]

Check out this thread for more info.

Sure, provide actual proof. What fun is that?

 

[kreynolds]

Sure, provide actual proof. What fun is that?

Oh it's not that simple. I like to proved proof that's a pain in the arse to sift through to find the answer.

 

[Kai Lord]

Should've known you two would show up.
Okay, so AoO can provoke AoO on their own. But how about in the case of the Peerless Archer? At 7th level, his bow threatens, is there any precedent for a weapon that threatens to provoke an AoO? I'm seriously starting to think he gets the Close-Combat Shot as a byproduct of threatening with the bow.

 

[dcollins]

My Peerless Archer is still a few levels away until he gains the ability to Threaten with his bow out to 10'. What I'm wondering is when an attacker moving toward him passes through his Threat range he would obviously end within 5' of the archer. When the PA gets to fire his AoO, does he then provoke one as well?

Yes, AOO's can absolutely trigger AOO's.

However, I don't think that this specific case you lay out would trigger an AOO against the archer. The person moving from 10' to 5' from the archer is not 5' away... they're 10' away at the time of the archer's AOO, and therefore do not (by default) threaten the archer.

Unfortunately, I suppose that's open to interpretation. Clearly a spell caster doesn't complete casting before the AOO occurs. Nor does a potion-drinker get the potion down before the AOO takes place. However, the language for the "Large in Charge" feat from Sword & Fist does seem to imply that the AOO-trigger move is actually complete at the time of the attack.

EDIT: I would certainly not be convinced that the peerless archer is safe from archery-AOO's for any other reason, be it that his bow threatens, or that by implication he must have some other feat fotr free. The AOO is by definition triggered by a ranged attack (Table 8-1, PH p. 122), not for "attacking with a non-threatening weapon".

 

[Crothian]

Re: Re: Can AoO provoke AoO?

Yes, AOO's can absolutely trigger AOO's.

However, I don't think that this specific case you lay out would trigger an AOO against the archer. The person moving from 10' to 5' from the archer is not 5' away... they're 10' away at the time of the archer's AOO, and therefore do not (by default) threaten the archer.

That is a good point. Does tha AoO happen at 10ft or 5ft? I think 10ft because many reach weapons get an AoO like this, but if the attack happened at 5ft many reach weapons wouldn't be able to do that.

Should've known you two would show up.
Okay, so AoO can provoke AoO on their own. But how about in the case of the Peerless Archer? At 7th level, his bow threatens, is there any precedent for a weapon that threatens to provoke an AoO? I'm seriously starting to think he gets the Close-Combat Shot as a byproduct of threatening with the bow.

Ya, we pretty much own the rules forum. Except for the fact that Morris does.

The proplem is that all ranges weapons provoke AoO. It doesn't matter if you can threaten areas or not. They are seperate issues with ranged weapons.

 

[Kai Lord]

Re: Re: Re: Can AoO provoke AoO?

That is a good point. Does tha AoO happen at 10ft or 5ft? I think 10ft because many reach weapons get an AoO like this, but if the attack happened at 5ft many reach weapons wouldn't be able to do that.

Ya, we pretty much own the rules forum. Except for the fact that Morris does.

The proplem is that all ranges weapons provoke AoO. It doesn't matter if you can threaten areas or not. They are seperate issues with ranged weapons.

Good point with the Reach Weapons example. Obviously the AoO must occur at 10' then, saving the PA from getting punished severely for using his class ability to Threaten.

For the latter point, if I threaten someone with a spear, then throw it, does he get to make an AoO? I'm assuming the answer is yes, which means the PA wouldn't get Close Combat Shot by default as I originally supposed.

 

[Crothian]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Can AoO provoke AoO?

For the latter point, if I threaten someone with a spear, then throw it, does he get to make an AoO? I'm assuming the answer is yes, which means the PA wouldn't get Close Combat Shot by default as I originally supposed.

The answer is yes. The onl;y way to negate it is the Close combat class ability and the epic feat that does the same thing.

Personally, I think allowing that epic feat as a none epic feat would be okay. You might want to talke to your DM about it.