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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7148613" data-attributes="member: 996">Yeah, I immediately wondered about that, as well.&nbsp; It's surprisingly easy to just 'run around' would-be blockers in 5e, as it is.&nbsp; But, if reach lets you 'threaten' (I don't recall if 5e uses that term but I'm used to it from playing reach fighters in 3e) a wider frontage, it can still be quite worth it - it just means your allies are going to have to stand further back from you to receive what protection you offer.&nbsp; If it means you can use a 25' wide gap as a choke-point...&nbsp;Part of it was the way we played fighters with polearms in 3e. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />&nbsp; You could go a little crazy with combat reflexes and a reach weapon and maybe the occasional Enlarge potion - and Spring Attack, Great Cleave or Whirlwind Attack.&nbsp; 4e over-reacted to those 'exploits' (it's not like the resultant builds catapulted the fighter to tier 1 or anything) and relegated a profoundly nerfed version of such things to a feat that wasn't available until 11th level.&nbsp; 5e barely pulled back from that injustice with its polearm feat (and also went and made charging a feat!).&nbsp; Both seem just silly:&nbsp; if you have a long-pointy, people coming towards you had best beware of it, even if you're not 4th level to get the feat yet - heck, even if you're not proficient.&nbsp;One thing to consider is that any enemy trying to 'run past' you is likely to burn off your PM reaction upon entering your threatened area, so it won't matter if the ally you're protecting is within/adjacent to that area or beyond it, when he runs past you, you won't have a reaction left to take the opportunity attack with, anyway.&nbsp; Likewise, if you ready, that burns your reaction. Protecting allies means being a meat-shield or old-school 'fighter wall,' you have to find a choke point, like a doorway, narrow enough that you physically fill it and enemies can't just all stream past you after one of them risks your one-and-only OA.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 7148613, member: 996"] Yeah, I immediately wondered about that, as well. It's surprisingly easy to just 'run around' would-be blockers in 5e, as it is. But, if reach lets you 'threaten' (I don't recall if 5e uses that term but I'm used to it from playing reach fighters in 3e) a wider frontage, it can still be quite worth it - it just means your allies are going to have to stand further back from you to receive what protection you offer. If it means you can use a 25' wide gap as a choke-point... Part of it was the way we played fighters with polearms in 3e. ;) You could go a little crazy with combat reflexes and a reach weapon and maybe the occasional Enlarge potion - and Spring Attack, Great Cleave or Whirlwind Attack. 4e over-reacted to those 'exploits' (it's not like the resultant builds catapulted the fighter to tier 1 or anything) and relegated a profoundly nerfed version of such things to a feat that wasn't available until 11th level. 5e barely pulled back from that injustice with its polearm feat (and also went and made charging a feat!). Both seem just silly: if you have a long-pointy, people coming towards you had best beware of it, even if you're not 4th level to get the feat yet - heck, even if you're not proficient. One thing to consider is that any enemy trying to 'run past' you is likely to burn off your PM reaction upon entering your threatened area, so it won't matter if the ally you're protecting is within/adjacent to that area or beyond it, when he runs past you, you won't have a reaction left to take the opportunity attack with, anyway. Likewise, if you ready, that burns your reaction. Protecting allies means being a meat-shield or old-school 'fighter wall,' you have to find a choke point, like a doorway, narrow enough that you physically fill it and enemies can't just all stream past you after one of them risks your one-and-only OA. [/QUOTE]

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