Does cover prevent Opportunity Attacks?

[Markn]

Title says it all. But to clarify - If you stand adjacent to someone but have cover from them, does the cover prevent opportunity attacks if you use a ranged attack against the adjacent person?

We've been playing this way since 4th edition came out, but after trying to find the rule, it looks like we have been wrong on that.

I'm thinking we accidently ported over a 3.5 rule.

 

[Nail]

Cover does not protect againts OAs. Total concealment does protect against OAs.

 

[Markn]

yeah,

That was all I could find too.

 

[Nail]

They (the designers) did say they were trying to make OAs easier to game with. Less stuff provokes, and there are fewer exceptions to the stuff that provokes.

 

[Markn]

They (the designers) did say they were trying to make OAs easier to game with. Less stuff provokes, and there are fewer exceptions to the stuff that provokes.

Yeah I get that. I'm fine with the change. It's just an oversight on our part in switching from 3.5 to 4.

 

[Krensus]

Wow we've been playing that cover prevents OAs since we converted to 4th! This definitely changes a lot of things, as both players and DMs in my group were using tactics like walking through other allies' squares to avoid OAs. Thanks for pointing this out to me!

 

[Hypersmurf]

Wow we've been playing that cover prevents OAs since we converted to 4th! This definitely changes a lot of things, as both players and DMs in my group were using tactics like walking through other allies' squares to avoid OAs.

Even in 3.5, this didn't work: "When you move through a square occupied by a friendly character, that character doesn’t provide you with cover."

-Hyp.

 

[Evilhalfling]

does cover / concealment stop OA?

We had an archer on a 5' ledge shooting at a guy adjacent but below him with a pointy stick (human rabble).
a textbook example of cover, should the minion get attacks of opportunity?

You throw 12 minions and a battlefield controller at a party with no wizard and its a pretty good fight. Especially since every time they killed a minion the minion got a free attack from the controllers inspiring aura.

Afterward there were sammwiches.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Doh. Merge please.

 

[Plane Sailing]

(merged)