D&D 5E Should standing up from prone trigger opportunity attack?

[Mrodron]

Hello everyone. This goal was just to make this tactic more worthwhile for players seeking more combat options for their fighters. I am worried about this becoming a too often used tactic. Currently, in my experience, this is underutilized.

 

[Campbell]

I think it should. Getting knocked prone barely feels like a detriment to most characters. Plus you are obviously leaving yourself open to attack. Doing stand ups without exposing yourself is extremely difficult and requires substantial training.

 

[Umbran]

Doing stand ups without exposing yourself is extremely difficult and requires substantial training.

It isn't like D&D characters are generally short on training, though. These aren't commoners - these are people who get into fights as their bread and butter, who know how to use armor and weapons to full effectiveness.

 

[Charlaquin]

Hello everyone. This goal was just to make this tactic more worthwhile for players seeking more combat options for their fighters. I am worried about this becoming a too often used tactic. Currently, in my experience, this is underutilized.

I think the trouble with something like this is that there’s no point where this becomes a tactic that is weighed versus making two attacks on a turn to turn basis. It will either be worse than making two attacks and never be used, or it will be better than making two attacks and it will be used every turn.

As-written, it’s currently better to make two attacks in a featureless white room with no creatures besides you and the monster. It becomes a more effective tactic when you have allies that will be able to attack the monster before it gets back up, or if you want to keep the monster from running away, or reaching a certain objective. I think this kind of situational utility is exactly what tactics like this should aim for.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I would be opposed to making it too much of a go-to tactic. If it worked as you described, a barbarian with a rogue partner would shove every single round. Boring.

Shoving prone does have its uses, just like grappling does, and I'm happy to let it be used in those cases.

 

[dave2008]

I think it sounds fine, but I suggest giving them an ability to get up without provoking OA. Maybe if they spend all there movement getting up, or succeed in acrobatics check

 

[BookBarbarian]

I am trying to make this option more worthwhile and more commonly used.

In my experience, one of the best ways to get a tactic to be more commonly used is to use it against the players.

In your next combat with multiple melee enemies, have one of them shove a player prone so the next melee enemies all get advantage, or worse have one shove them prone and them grapple the player, or have one shove prone and another grapple.

I think this will show to the players how worthwhile of a tactic it already is.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Knocking an opponent prone works a lot better with teamwork. All it takes is one orc to knock someone down and then their buddies spend their turns walloping on them. If you add an opportunity attack in, it becomes just not worth the risk of getting multiple OAs on you. I remember playing a Pathfinder 1e game where the whole of the party spent the last battle prone on the floor, rather than risk the opportunity attack. It was not fun at all, and I know it made me feel decidedly unheroic.

Switching things around, for a DM it would feel pretty disappointing to have your BBEG get surrounded, knocked prone, then have to trigger a bunch of OAs to get back up.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I think it sounds fine, but I suggest giving them an ability to get up without provoking OA. Maybe if they spend all there movement getting up, or succeed in acrobatics check

Well if getting up would provoke OAs it means there's enemies standing next to you, so if you stand up and then use movement you're going to get OAs, so the only way (excepting Disengage and special abilities) to prevent the OAs is to not use your remaining movement.

So I think it already mostly works that way.

 

[Mrodron]

I think the trouble with something like this is that there’s no point where this becomes a tactic that is weighed versus making two attacks on a turn to turn basis. It will either be worse than making two attacks and never be used, or it will be better than making two attacks and it will be used every turn.

How effective the shoving approach is depends on the target's AC. Against low-AC targets, making two melee attacks is the better option. Shoving the high-AC target prone kind of debuffs it. The tactic is not as effective against every target (either by RAW or by my suggestion). On the other hand, if an approach works against a target, if it was just making the ordinary melee attack, why would it not be used every turn?