Disarm question

[the Jester]

Trip - Attack
When they attempt to stand, trip again.

A quick note about this- some (perhaps many) dms rule that you cannot attempt to trip someone with the AoO provoked by someone attempting to stand, because the target is already prone.

Others assume you can, because the target is standing up when you take the AoO.

Check with your dm about this, but IMHO it's far more balanced to assume you cannot trip with that AoO because the target is not yet standing.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Maybe it's a house rule I'm remembering, but I thought it was only possible to make 1 AoO against a single opponent each combat round regardless of how many times they provoke one. It avoids precisely this sort of shenanigan.

1 AoO per provocation, and all movement counts as 1 provocation. Otherwise, go nuts - up to the limit of your available AoOs, of course.

AoOs can, themselves, provoke AoOs. So, if you have two untrained fighters going at it, and one attempts a disarm (which provokes), the other can try to trip on his AoO (which provokes), and the first can try a trip on his (which provokes), so the second can try a disarm himself (provoking), etc.

Watch out for non-combat-maneuver-focused warriors with Epic Reflexes.

(which I would rule as DM to not give the extra attack for Imp. Trip,

That would be a house rule.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

The AoO for standing up, like all AoOs, disrupts and occurs before the action that provoked it is completed. This is the same reason if someone charges you when you have a reach trip weapon, they go prone in the sqaure they were about to exit that you threatened -- and thus can't close the distance with you and still take their melee attack with the prone penalty. Therefore, you cannot trip someone on the AoO for standing, as they have not stood up yet.

This was a change from 3.0 where you COULD do what people are talking about, and the change was completely intentional. I still remember it was different in 3.0 because of one battle where the psion, untrained in tripping and fairly weak, but buffed to the gills with AC so as to not fear provoking himself, had nothing better to do and decided to just try tripping the BBEG. He rolled amazingly well. Repeatedly. And due to how 3.0 did things, much to even his surprise, he could just keep chain tripping him as he tried to stand, and the BBEG spent the entire rest of the fight on his back, never being able to stand.

"An attack of opportunity "interrupts" the normal flow of actions in the round. If an attack of opportunity is provoked, immediately resolve the attack of opportunity, then continue with the next character’s turn (or complete the current turn, if the attack of opportunity was provoked in the midst of a character’s turn)."

Maybe it's a house rule I'm remembering, but I thought it was only possible to make 1 AoO against a single opponent each combat round regardless of how many times they provoke one. It avoids precisely this sort of shenanigan.

Attacks Of Opportunity :: d20srd.org

"Combat Reflexes and Additional Attacks of Opportunity
If you have the Combat Reflexes feat you can add your Dexterity modifier to the number of attacks of opportunity you can make in a round. This feat does not let you make more than one attack for a given opportunity, but if the same opponent provokes two attacks of opportunity from you, you could make two separate attacks of opportunity (since each one represents a different opportunity). Moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn’t count as more than one opportunity for that opponent. All these attacks are at your full normal attack bonus."

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

A quick note about this- some (perhaps many) dms rule that you cannot attempt to trip someone with the AoO provoked by someone attempting to stand, because the target is already prone.

Others assume you can, because the target is standing up when you take the AoO.

Check with your dm about this, but IMHO it's far more balanced to assume you cannot trip with that AoO because the target is not yet standing.

It also fits the rules when done this way, since you resolve AoOs before the action that provokes them. Before the character provoking stands up, they're prone. So you attack, get the prone bonuses, etc., and when your AoO is resolved, you resolve "Stand up from prone."

Thus, even if you do trip them again, they still stand up when you resolve their action.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Also note that since the foe is still prone for your AoO when he tries to stand, you retain the +4 to hit him for being prone on the AoO.

 

[Sekhmet]

I should note that, while the rules seem to suggest otherwise, there would be no reason whatsoever for laying down, prone, to incur an attack of opportunity.
That does not make sense.

It would not be a natural movement, you would have to alter your stance and balance (which would actually provoke an attack), and still probably not get to hit the prone man until half way through his standing.