D&D 5E Moving diagonally between enemies on a grid

[discosoc]

And like the basketball player you would need to be trying to prevent someone passing through, not just standing there.

In the game this is represented by opportunity attacks and readied actions. Merely being there isn't enough.

So what you're saying is that you can move through someone's space as long as they've already taken an opportunity action?

 

[DemonSlayer]

The characters aren't actually circular bases that are 1" in diameter. The characters are actually people-shaped, with appendages and postures that can only vaguely be approximated as cylinders. If you have two individuals, standing back-to-back with no space between them, then this would be represented on the grid as:

XXX
ABX
XXX

But it could also be represented as:

AXX
XBX
XXX

The difference between these two situations is only the arbitrary orientation of the grid. But the grid isn't real, within the game world! The grid is only a tool to help us visualize what's actually going on. Since the in-game reality is identical between these two situations, we are obligated to treat them identically within the rules. If you wouldn't allow someone to pass between these characters in the first orientation, then you shouldn't allow someone to pass between them in the second orientation, or else you're being inconsistent.

That's only true if you require them to be in the squares and you use the grid. So in that case, yes, that's correct, there is no difference.

But I don't require strict orientation to the battle grid. I use the map as if there is no grid at all. That's the basis for everything I have stated.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

That's only true if you require them to be in the squares and you use the grid. So in that case, yes, that's correct, there is no difference.

But I don't require strict orientation to the battle grid. I use the map as if there is no grid at all. That's the basis for everything I have stated.

I'm not sure that your method is useful to this thread, then. The question at hand is how to deal with this situation on the grid, when each character is in a different square, as the grid is typically used.

Also, if you don't require character location to conform to the grid, then that gets rid of the main reason to use the square grid over the hex grid, because you can stand in those weird half-hexes at the edge of a room.

 

[Arial Black]

So what you're saying is that you can move through someone's space as long as they've already taken an opportunity action?

When you move diagonally your are never in the same square as either enemy, so the prohibition on moving through a square occupied by an enemy doesn't arise.

Those enemies could still use OAs and readied actions against you.

If the enemies are orthogonally rather than diagonally adjacent then you would have to enter one of their squares in order to move between them. This is not allowed.

The prohibition on entering another creature's square does not arise if you never enter that creature's square!