Does Falling Provoke AoO?

[Xyrlove Woodsoul]

Let's say you are flying and are in melee combat with someone else flying.
Let's say something happens to you that would cause you to stop flying and you begin to fall.

Does/Should falling away from the threatened square provoke an opportunity attack from your opponent?

 

[jbear]

Good question.

I haven't got a clue, to be honest, but my instinct says yes.

 

[radja]

I treat falling as forced movement, so it does not provoke.

 

[Kingreaper]

Realistically: probably.

By the game design paradigm of 4e: Very unlikely

Falling is essentially forced movement; it's the world exerting a pull effect. Forced movement doesn't provoke.

 

[Xyrlove Woodsoul]

I've read a few discussions on the web about it and there didn't seem to be any consensus about the RAW, but most people agreed that it shouldn't provoke. It's an important question for our group now because we're at Epic and there's a lot more aerial combat, and all the fly spells I see are "fly speed," and not "fly hover," and that makes things a bit problematic for the melee members in the party (because I'm thinking about taking, Mass Fly); and then there is the whole issue of being knocked prone while airborne (that is, while an enemy is adjacent and being hit prone by a different enemy).
I kind of look at falling as, implicit, forced movement, but I guess that leads to zephyr dwarves.

 

[Mengu]

We need gravity spelled out as a power, something like:

Gravity
Physics, At-Will, No Action
Effect: Pull target down in a straight line toward the ground level square directly underneath him. Target may go through enemy and ally squares during this move.
Special: This effect cannot be negated by any powers without the fly keyword.
Damage: 1d10 per 2 squares the target is pulled.

 

[Ryujin]

I would say no, based on the afore-mentioned 'forced movement' comments. I would also say that it is frequently extraneous to punish someone for falling, by having them subject to an AoO, because falling is generally punishment enough.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

Assuming the falling creature is not actually unconscious, stunned, etc., is there anything to say it falls straight down? I know that's a different issue, but it's definitely related to the OA question -- in many cases, the OAs will be completely avoided if the fall is not straight down.

I could see four approaches:

1. Creature always falls straight down

2. Creature falls at an angle in the direction it last moved

3. Creature falls in direction it chooses

4. Creature falls in direction the player who forced it chooses

Obviously, the lateral movement should not exceed the vertical distance of the fall.

 

[Goonalan]

No.

 

[ShadesOfGrey]

I dont think so. Does AoO even work the same way in the air as it does on the ground?
With the design philosophy of 4e, I guess so. But it just feels vewry counterintuitive.

I guess it's just up to the dm either way, or depends on context. As long as it's consistent, it's all good I suppose.