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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr Simon" data-source="post: 2781414" data-attributes="member: 21938">Interesting thread.  A couple of random observations:The rules are quite daunting at first, but you'll find that it comes together more once you've gone all the way through once and back again. A lot of your concerns that have cropped up can basically be answered with "Keep reading and you'll find out".The DMG contains a lot of behind the scenes explanation of how and why some mechanics are what they are, and you'll find this very helpful.  Probably the best DMG rule, which can help especially with DMs and Players overwhelmed by the number of different bonus/penalty types (there aren't really that many but they look horrific when listed in one chunk!) is the "DM's Best Friend" rule - if in doubt, wing it with +2 or -2.  But that's later in your journey  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Attacks of Opportunity come on for a lot of flack, but they're not too difficult to wing.  (I found them weakly explained in the PHB 3.0, even with the Bonus Material examples.  Don't know how 3.5 is written.).Basically, is someone does something within reach of your melee weapon that isn't a direct attempt to damage you with a pointy thing, you get a chance to hit them, unless they have a Feat that negates this (i.e they are particularly good at disarming).   Thus, drinking potions, reading scrolls, trying tricky combat moves like targetting your weapon specifically to break it (Sunder) or knock it out of your hand (Disarm).Movement only provokes an AoO in three ways which are quite obvious when you think about it.  You are running past somebody.  You are trying to close with someone using a pole-arm.  You are backing away but trying to do something else at the same time (Move + Standard Action).  Running directly away (Double Move) does not provoke an AoO.  Moving in little steps (the "5ft step") does not provoke an AoO. This means that a swordsman vs. a pole-arm user is going to, one way or another, suffer an attack from the pikeman before he gets to strike (either he closes to within range of the pikeman, makes no attack, pikeman attacks, next round swordsman takes 5ft step into reach, gets an attack OR rushes in to close with pikeman as soon as possible, pikeman gets an AoO.  Once the swordsman has closed, the pikeman has to keep giving ground or he's in trouble since he can't attack adjacently.  It's all quite obvious if you picture the combat.As for your example combat, a few thoughts:I could be wrong, but I don't think one grappling opponent can provoke an AoO from the other.  Certainly somebody in a grapple can't AoO anyone outside it.  Making an AoO needs some degree of mobility which you don't have whilst wrasslin'.Second, I think by giving your combatants Plate Mail yet only 1st Level BAB, you're setting yourself up for a fairly dull fight full of misses.  Scale Mail (+4) might have been better.Third, Joe Orc as a 1st level Fighter is tougher than your typical Orc. Most would be a 1st Level Warrior (an NPC class in the DMG.  Pretty much a Fighter but without the bonus Feats).On the subject of Fighter Feats, your selection covers what I would refer to as a Trick Fighter, although Down and Dirty would also cover it, I guess. It's a viable option (and a path that you couldn't easily follow in older editions without lots of 2nd Ed. supplements) but only one of many.I recently converted some old characters from my old college campaign to 3rd Ed. and of the more combative characters I ended up with:A mobile Fighter with lots of hit-and-run style feats.A trick fighter with many of the combat stunt type featsA heavy fighter with feats from the Power Attack treeAn archer with the feats from the Point Blank Shot treeA two-weapons fighter.</blockquote>

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