Reach Weapons & AoO

[Verdigris]

Quick, basic question:

My character uses a spear with 10' reach.
I was trying to figure out if he got an attack of opportunity with it every time the bad guys (with 5' reach) ran up to him.

I recall seeing a chart once that implied that reach weapons do not attack adjacently to their wielders, which implies that someone running through the 10' spot to the 5' spot *wouldn't* be considered running *through* the area of threat, and therefore wouldn't be subject to the attack. But logic intervened and I said to myself, "Verdigris, if someone runs past the sharp end of your pointy stick, he's putting himself in prime danger of being poked."

Clarity in this matter would be helpful. As you can see, I'm confused!

 

[Tabarnak Smokeblower]

When the opponent enters your threaten space, you don't get an AoO. When the opponent moves within that threatened space (ie when he moves from 10' of you to 5' of you, unless all he moves is 5') you get an AoO, BEFORE he moves (so he's still 10' away).

TS

 

[Tellerve]

A related question I posed to the people in my gaming group and I'd like to hear your all's thoughts. If I have a reach weapon and try a disarm manuver on someone, do they get the AoO from my disarm attempt?

Typically you can't get AoO's if your not threatening the person, which someone at the end of a longspear wouldn't. What my group has as a house rule is that you could do things like a sunder on the weapon, and maybe a disarm as well (that part I can't recall right now).

Anyways, what are people's thoughts on that?

Tellerve

 

[Murrdox]

It's a decent house rule...

But personally, I think the fact that you have a reach weapon SHOULD deny your opponent ANY attacks of opportunity, including disarm and sunder attempts. It's simply one of the strengths of using a reach weapon.