Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 5944252" data-attributes="member: 1465">It's reasonable, but why are they absolutely so bad?Personally I think that the reason for AoOs vs ranged attack is not really about realism... I mean, shooting a loaded crossbow at point blank, how can that possibly be more AoO-provoking than swinging an axe, which require much more movement of your arms when you raise it upward?I think the reason instead is game balance: you just don't want ranged weapons to be just as good from point blank otherwise you may have no reason for melee weapons, if you can use a ranged weapon both from range and in melee, and I quite agree with this.Spells are maybe different, but I still think that the reason was balance rather than realism.But the truth is that in 3ed it was a piece of cake to take a 5ft step in most situations and avoid the AoO, there was a cost tho, because if you take a 5ft step essentially you don't take your normal move action.What I don't agree much with is about "moving past the enemy". If the enemy is there, looking at you, and you run past him, it makes sense to think that it should get a free attack. But that's not necessarily what happens... it's a combat with a lot of people running around and acting simultaneously and possibly the enemy is fighting with one of your friends already. If it is realistic to think that he should get a swing at you because you pass by, then it is realistic to think that your friend should get a swing at him because he gets distracted when doing the AoOs at you... you can complicate ad infinitum if you think in terms of "realism"!There is already a rule saying that you cannot move past the squares occupied by a creature unless he lets you. If you want to make a "wall formation" then stick closer to each other and nobody can pass, or alternatively use the ready action to strike someone passing by. I don't think we need more realism than this in the no-module game.</blockquote>

Verification