How often do deal with AoOs?

[TheAuldGrump]

Once or twice a combat.

Most commonly either movement (with the character deliberately taking the risk to target an enemy spellcaster), or spellcaster (often the cleric) casting defensively, and failing his roll.

In all honesty I love attacks of opportunity, and wish that the PCs would use them more often.

The Auld Grump

 

[shilsen]

Since Quasqueton is referring to AoOs actually being taken, I have to say once every 2-3 combats. They just don't happen that often in my game.

 

[macximus]

I run and Play in multiple games. In some games the players are counting on AoO and are built to take adantage of it. Combat reflexes and reach weapons on more than one character make sure that it comes up. The players are pretty good about not provoking AoO themselves, but it happens occaisionally. In another game the group isn't trying to take advantage of them, but they occur once every combat or so.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Most commonly either movement (with the character deliberately taking the risk to target an enemy spellcaster), or spellcaster (often the cleric) casting defensively, and failing his roll.

For the record, a failed defensive casting roll doesn't mean you provoke an AoO. It means you lose the spell and still don't provoke an AoO.

 

[sniffles]

I chose "Every round", although that might be a bit of an exaggeration. Multiple times every session, certainly.

I can't agree entirely with your "Don't try to dart past active enemies" proviso, Quasqueton. One of the things that annoys me about AoOs is not the mechanics of it, but the fact that players (at least the ones I play with) seem to be so afraid of experiencing them. Everyone desperately tries to find ways to avoid incurring one. They're always five-foot-stepping or withdrawing or going the long way round to get from point A to point B, just to keep from being the target of an AoO.

To my mind, combat means you're probably going to get hurt. But you're also going to try to get it over with as fast as you can, and you're going to help your buddies out to achieve that goal. If that means I run right past an enemy and take an AoO, so be it, unless I know I'm in bad shape. And even then I might still do it if my character is desperate to help out someone else, or just too pumped full of adrenalin to realize he's dying. Just because I know how many HP he has doesn't mean he does. I've decided as a player that unless I'm playing my PC as a very cautious person, I'm going to stop worrying so much about either taking or getting subjected to attacks of opportunity. It makes the whole combat seem more fluid to me.

 

[Pants]

They always come up, if by "coming up" you also include "changing your strategy in order to avoid an AoO". Usually, AoOs actually happen when Large creatures are involved.

That's how I read it too.
Pretty much when combat starts, AoO's are always being... used. The PC's try to set up scenarios in which to use them and they try their hardest to avoid them. Whether or not an AoO is incurred, they're always on the mind.

As for actually 'making the roll,' at least once a combat, if not more.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

For the record, a failed defensive casting roll doesn't mean you provoke an AoO. It means you lose the spell and still don't provoke an AoO.

Yep, my mistake. I was conflating defensive casting with gutting it out somehow. Though the first game I ran I did indeed have them make a concentration check to defensively cast, then another to not lose the spell if they failed... things took a little longer for some reason.

My monsters seem a little more prone to soaking up the AoOs than the PCs.

The Auld Grump

 

[Hussar]

My group seems to be rolling AOO's fairly often as well. Between large creatures and tiny ones without reach, AOO's come up fairly often. Plus, most of my humanoid critters tend to carry reach weapons, so, an AOO is going to happen pretty often.

I've got no major malfunctions with AOO's. My players get them and they give them and no one seems to be too adverse either way.

The next charry I play is going to carry a polearm and use a lot of Improved Trip or Knockdown attacks. AOO's galore!

 

[Lord Pendragon]

In the game I play in, I'd say roughly once a combat. We have one player (the cleric) who is deathly afraid of AoOs, to the point where he'll hesitate to heal dying party members if doing so would mean provoking even one---even at full hit points.

In the game I DM, I'd say multiple times a combat. One PC is built to take advantage of Combat Reflexes, and the other one is built to Trip people. The two synergize quite well, as you would imagine they would.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

They come up more often nowadays in the game I'm playing in. Lots of larger opponents and our tank has a 5' reach... Moving towards summoning a lot of spam to keep his targets busy.

Also just had a minotaur spiked chain weilder join. That's going to bump the count considerably?