Dropping AoO?

[d12]

Are AoO truly so hard that it is worth pulling them? We used them from the outset and only got it wrong a few times and now they are like clockwork.

If you do pull them then tumble, mobility, combat reflexes, and i am sure a few i am not thinking of become more or less worthless. LIkewise, feats that have these as prerequisites become far less useful. All optional combat maneuvers become easier as they don't provoke AoO, but the feats now become worse.

Removing flank harms the rogue and even allowing feint in means that duel wielding or iterative attack rogues are drastically less powerful. The ramifications are probably limitless...

I like AoO and I understand them. I can avoid them if i want and I like the tactical layer they bring to the game. But my players all started playing with OD&D. They are all smart people and could grasp AoO if they wanted - but they don't want to. They just want to roleplay and kill orcs and be heroes. I can understand that. So, I'm trying to trim the game down a bit.

 

[Enkhidu]

The original d20StarWars had no AoO and worked OK.

Rules changes:

1. You cannot make a movement that would incur an AoO or perform an action that would incur an AoO. i.e. once you have moved into someones threatened area you cannot move further. You cannot drink a potion while in melee range of someone but have to 5ft step away first. Approaching targets with reach has to be done in 5ft steps etc.

2. The Mobility feat has a different effect - it allows you to continue moving through threatened areas with no problem. (tumble can still be used, but this has no chance of failing and so is superior)

3. The Combat Reflexes feat disappears since there is no point to it.

4. If you are in a threatened area you MUST cast defensively. You cannot cast a spell without doing this.

There may be a couple of other special cases, and you may need to adjudicate twinky reach "ready" actions (although in truth it is more difficult to attack something with reach than D&D makes it!) but basically that is all you need to do.

I think it would make combats simpler and quicker, and wouldn't harm the game much at all.

Cheers

In general, I like the simplicity of this, but have a question or two:

What do you do about Sunder, Disarm, and Grapples?
What about AoOs that you don't provoke, but that someone else causes you to provoke (like being Bull rushed past a foe by another foe that has Mobility?)

 

[Darklone]

Waaah. Me precious AoOs, you don't like them. Waaah!