Sneaking Rogue’s and AoO

[Pielorinho]

DA, my main problem with your situation is that in the following situation:

Biff the Rogue wants to sneak into the palace, so he turns to his big buddy Frank the Barbarian. "Frank," he hisses, "you distract the guards, and I'll sneak past them into the palace!"

Frank agrees. As soon as Biff hides, Frank runs forward. "Hey, you worm-eaten, unwashed sons of a mildly retarded she-goat! Here's my impression of your king!" and he turns around and lets loose a long, ripe fart, waggling his bottom threateningly at the guards.

The guards step forward five feet and begin swinging wildly about them, trying to hit Frank. Biff, watching from the shadows, realizes that while they're distracted, he can slip past the guards and into the palace -- but while he slips between them and the palace wall, he'll be within range of their wildly-swinging greatswords.

--in this situation, the rules per your interpretation mean that Biff is less likely to be hit by the wildly swinging swords if he walks slowly past them, spending four times as long in their threat range, than if he just darts past them.

That doesn't make any sense to me. Nor does it make sense that someone fighting with a rapier or a spear is swinging wildly about them in all directions, including directions that they believe are empty.

I don't see anything in the rules to support my position, but I think that the rules as written lead to some absurdities. Ruling that you cannot make an AoO on someone unless you can pinpoint the square they're in seems reasonable to me.

Daniel

 

[Cygnus]

There are two increadibly similar posts. Check this link. I think that it will help.

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=572891#post572891

 

[LokiDR]

I don't belive that there is an issue. If you read the description for Hide, part of the description details skulking through the shadows to avoid being seen, and another details how to use bluff to achieve a hidden state while being observed, at which point the rogue is not observed. Now proceed to the sections of the PHB that covers Movement and AoO. There are two types of movement that don't draw AoOs: 1) Non-running, no-other-action movement and 2) 5-foot steps. Neither of those draw AoOs. Re-read the section on AoOs and note that it states that "...certain actions provoke(s) an attack of opportunity....include moving (except as noted above in the Movement section), casting a spell, and attacking with a ranged weapon." As far as I can tell, the rogue in this situation is simply moving, not running, casting, or attacking with a ranged weapon. Someone even suggested moving in 5' steps, which would entail (strictly by the written WotC word) that there is no AoO allowed.

Edit: typing faster than brain would follow

Besides the problem Pielorinho mentioned, you are ignoring the effects of concealment. If a person knows that there is a hidden enemy in the area, does that person get an AoO against them when they do something that would provoke an AoO?