D&D 5E Opportunity Attack around a Corner: Yes or No?

[jayoungr]

Rules question for you folks. This is something my players and I have butted heads on, and I want to know if I'm in the minority on this (and if I am, then I'm prepared to adjust gracefully).

In the picture below, if the orc takes the path marked in blue, does Grimmwald get an opportunity attack when the orc leaves the square with the dot in it? I think it's cheesy as all get-out, but my players think it should be allowed.

The PHB says this (p. 192): Corners. Diagonal movement can’t cross the corner of a wall, large tree, or other terrain feature that fills its space.

But in this case, "crossing the corner of a wall" is debatable. It could be argued that Grimmwald wouldn't actually be crossing the corner. Personally, I think the intent was to rule out this situation, but it's not unambiguous.

How would you handle this at your table?

 

[humble minion]

An opportunity attack is just an attack, at the end of the day.

If an orc was standing still in the square with the dot, would you let Grimmwald attack it, and vice versa? If so, then I can see no reason why attacks of opportunity wouldn't also be allowed. There might be a half cover penalty to hit or something, depending on how the DM rules, but it doesn't seem outrageous to me.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I'd say Yes, but I usually rule in favor of the players.

 

[Spohedus]

Opportunity attack? Yes, with +2 cover to AC. This is a logical way to rule it, but I agree it is ambiguous.

 

[Charlaquin]

Take opportunity attack out of the equation and ask yourself if you would allow Grimmwald to attack the orc on his turn if it was in the square with the blue dot. If yes, he should also be able to make an opportunity attack against an orc that moves through that square. If no, he shouldn’t be able to.

Personally, I agree with you that attacking around corners goes against the spirit of the rule that says you can’t move diagonally past corners, though not necessarily the letter. But I also don’t think it’s that big a deal and would allow it anyway, if my players felt it should be allowed.

 

[jayoungr]

If an orc was standing still in the square with the dot, would you let Grimmwald attack it, and vice versa?

Take opportunity attack out of the equation and ask yourself if you would allow Grimmwald to attack the orc on his turn if it was in the square with the blue dot.

My players and I disagree about that too. They say yes, but I think it's cheesy. However, maybe I'm the outlier here, which is what I'd like to get a feel for.

 

[iserith]

Rules question for you folks. This is something my players and I have butted heads on, and I want to know if I'm in the minority on this (and if I am, then I'm prepared to adjust gracefully).

In the picture below, if the orc takes the path marked in blue, does Grimmwald get an opportunity attack when the orc leaves the square with the dot in it? I think it's cheesy as all get-out, but my players think it should be allowed.

The PHB says this (p. 192): Corners. Diagonal movement can’t cross the corner of a wall, large tree, or other terrain feature that fills its space.

But in this case, "crossing the corner of a wall" is debatable. It could be argued that Grimmwald wouldn't actually be crossing the corner. Personally, I think the intent was to rule out this situation, but it's not unambiguous.

How would you handle this at your table?

Yes, the PC gets an opportunity attack. The orc does not have cover.

The rules in the PHB only applies to movement, not attacks. The orc clearly leaves the PC's reach. There is no cover because you can draw a line from the corner of the PC's space to every corner of the space the orc leaves without anything blocking it.

If the orc doesn't want to provoke the attack, it can Disengage and move.

 

[Charlaquin]

An opportunity attack is just an attack, at the end of the day.

If an orc was standing still in the square with the dot, would you let Grimmwald attack it, and vice versa? If so, then I can see no reason why attacks of opportunity would also be allowed. There might be a half cover penalty to hit or something, depending on how the DM rules, but it doesn't seem outrageous to me.

Half cover seems like a really good ruling here.

 

[Charlaquin]

The rules in the PHB only applies to movement, not attacks. The orc clearly leaves the PC's reach. There is no cover because you can draw a line from the corner of the PC's space to every corner of the space the orc leaves without anything blocking it.

From what corner of Grimmwald’s space can you draw an unobstructed line to the bottom right corner of the space with the blue dot?

 

[iserith]

From what corner of Grimmwald’s space can you draw an unobstructed line to the bottom right corner of the space with the blue dot?

Upper and lower left. There is no obstruction in that square. That's how it works with hard corners, unless the DM wants to say that the wall doesn't perfectly align with the grid. I wouldn't though, even in this case. I would rather treat all hard corners the same so players know what to expect.