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<blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5574881" data-attributes="member: 92305">There's something about the term &quot;Attack of Opportunity&quot; that doesn't sit well with people.&nbsp; I remember when I first saw 3E.&nbsp; AoO's were so confusing.&nbsp;Then, when I started calling them &quot;Free Attacks&quot;, I saw the confusion un-cloud in my players' eyes.&nbsp;I don't know what it is about calling a &quot;Free Attack&quot; an &quot;Attack of Opportunity&quot;, but there's definitely something there.&nbsp; People seem to automatically &quot;get&quot; the term &quot;Free Attack&quot;.&nbsp; &quot;Attack of Opportunity&quot; always needs further explaination and always seems more complicated than it is.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I don't know about D&amp;D, but the Conan game makes them pretty simple.&nbsp; If you move out of a threatened space, you draw a free atta...um, excuse me, I mean to say that you draw an Attack of Opportunity.&nbsp; &nbsp;The second rule is if you do anything other than concentrate on the combat, you draw a free attack--I mean, AoO.&nbsp;So, if you're casting a spell or pulling the draw string on a bow, you're not actively defending yourself because you're doing something else.&nbsp; Pow.&nbsp; Free Attack.&nbsp;You can do two things at once as long as you can still actively defend yourself.&nbsp; So, if you drop a weapon, no Free attack.&nbsp; If you pull a new weapon from your belt, no Free Attack.&nbsp;But, when you sheath your sword, you've got to look down and fiddle with getting the blade into its socket.&nbsp; You're not concentrating on defending yourself, so, bam, free attack.&nbsp;It's all pretty simple and logical.&nbsp; Conan only uses those two Aoo rules:&nbsp; Moving out of a threatened square and the question of whether your action keeps you from concentrating on your defense.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Water Bob, post: 5574881, member: 92305"] There's something about the term "Attack of Opportunity" that doesn't sit well with people. I remember when I first saw 3E. AoO's were so confusing. Then, when I started calling them "Free Attacks", I saw the confusion un-cloud in my players' eyes. I don't know what it is about calling a "Free Attack" an "Attack of Opportunity", but there's definitely something there. People seem to automatically "get" the term "Free Attack". "Attack of Opportunity" always needs further explaination and always seems more complicated than it is. I don't know about D&D, but the Conan game makes them pretty simple. If you move out of a threatened space, you draw a free atta...um, excuse me, I mean to say that you draw an Attack of Opportunity. The second rule is if you do anything other than concentrate on the combat, you draw a free attack--I mean, AoO. So, if you're casting a spell or pulling the draw string on a bow, you're not actively defending yourself because you're doing something else. Pow. Free Attack. You can do two things at once as long as you can still actively defend yourself. So, if you drop a weapon, no Free attack. If you pull a new weapon from your belt, no Free Attack. But, when you sheath your sword, you've got to look down and fiddle with getting the blade into its socket. You're not concentrating on defending yourself, so, bam, free attack. It's all pretty simple and logical. Conan only uses those two Aoo rules: Moving out of a threatened square and the question of whether your action keeps you from concentrating on your defense. [/QUOTE]

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