D&D 5E Question about Attacks of Opportunity

[basilforth]

So, I was running a game with my kids last weekend. They were facing a Giant.

The question came up about Attacks of Opportunty (AoO) for creatures with extended reach like a Giant.

Do creatures with a reach of say, 10 feet, gain an AoO when you travel from 10 feet out to 5 feet out and vice versa?

If so, pretty brutal!

 

[Rils]

The rule per page 195 in the PHB is "You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach." There's more, but that's the gist of it. So no, moving from 10-feet to 5-feet does not provoke, since it is not moving out of the giant's reach.

 

[ThirdWizard]

As long as you stay within their reach, you're fine. That means it's actually easier to move around a creature with reach! It's only when you leave their reach that they get an opportunity attack on you.

 

[FrogReaver]

What if the enemy has multiple different reach attacks? (Say one attack 10 ft reach and another a 5 ft reach?) Is the reach of the enemy equal to the highest reach attack? Is he able to OA with only a specific reach attack in each situation?

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Only if the creature is currently wielding the shorter reach weapon at that moment. Eg, monster has a mace and a halberd or similar (perhaps a four armed monster, as this is the only way I can see this being a thing). If the monster is wielding both at once, then sure, move from 5' to 10' and bam. But only with the shorter reach weapon.

The players can of course Disengage so as not to provoke the attack anyway.

If the monster has both options available to it but is currently only wielding the longer reach weapon (eg it has a dagger and a halberd but the dagger is not yet drawn and they are fighting two handed with the halberd), then moving from 5' to 10' won't provoke the attack.

I don't have my MM to hand so I may have missed something, but I'd say for Giants specifically if they have a listed reach of 10' then that move from 5' to 10' won't trigger an OA regardless, because the creature is so big the characters are within its close proximity, even for a fist or stomp.

In any case, a move from 10' to 15' would trigger it. A move from 10' to 5' wouldn't.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Only if the creature is currently wielding the shorter reach weapon at that moment. Eg, monster has a mace and a halberd or similar (perhaps a four armed monster, as this is the only way I can see this being a thing). If the monster is wielding both at once, then sure, move from 5' to 10' and bam. But only with the shorter reach weapon.

I think @FrogReaver was referring more to monsters that have both available at the same time. For example, an adult green dragon has a bite with 10' reach and a claw with 5' reach and a tail with 15' reach, all of which can be used to make opportunity attacks. If you move 10' away, can it choose to take the claw attack? If it doesn't, and you move 15' away can it bite you? I don't think it's 100% clear by the rules. I would probably rule that it threatens only the widest attack for purposes of opportunity attacks, but I could be convinced the other way.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Ah, in which case my thinking remains the same.

So if within 5' and you move to 10' away, it can claw at you. If you move to 15' away it can either bite or claw you. If you move to 20' away it can choose to bite, claw, or tail-strike you.

All of this may depend on location especially if using a grid (eg, if you're engaged with the dragon at its rear and move to 10' or even 15' straight back, it may not be feasible for it to administer a claw or bite.

In the case of a dragon, it also depends on how you visualise it moving. Sinuous and quicksilver like an oriental dragon, a ribbon of movement; could contort itself easily.

If it's more of a giant lizard style stompy dragon, you might view it as not being that flexible.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Also it only gets 1 reaction to make the attack.

 

[basilforth]

Still mulling this over.....

Here is the exact working from the 5eSRD:

You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. To make the opportunity attack, you use your reaction to make one melee attack against the provoking creature. The attack occurs right before the creature leaves your reach.

The broadest possible interpretation is that you can make an OA every time an opponent leaves a square within your reach. That's devastating for creatures with extended reach. Also, if the

If a creature has ten foot reach, then you get OA against opponents when they approach and when they retreat. Unless they use disengage, or some other way to evade.

 

[basilforth]

As long as you stay within their reach, you're fine. That means it's actually easier to move around a creature with reach! It's only when you leave their reach that they get an opportunity attack on you.

I think I would have to rule, that Opportunity Attacks would be provoked in the case where an opponent is crossing square (or hex) sides within the same reach length of an opponent. In other words, no, you can not run in circles around that Giant without it bashing at your repeatedly.