Pathfinder 1E Trip, AoO and Combat Reflexes...

[delericho]

Well if you look at it from a close combat perspective, it is true that this is powerfull.

Yep, it does need to be assessed in that context. Because as you note, spellcasters in general in 3.Xe and PF are wildly overpowered, and also because of the quirk in those editions where a character needs to either spend all his feats on Trip (or Disarm, or Sunder, or...) and use it all the time, or he should never, ever use it.

But compared with Disarm or Sunder, Trip is indeed too powerful - indeed, largely because of that AoO when standing back up.

 

[Ramm83]

Yeah fair enough, in the context compared to the other combat maneuvers it is true that Trip is one of the more powerful ones

 

[Starfox]

My question on this issue is: can you do a combat maneuver (the ones that are made as attacks) with an AoO? We've had different readings on that in my group, with no clear consensus. Is there a definite rule on this?

 

[delericho]

My question on this issue is: can you do a combat maneuver (the ones that are made as attacks) with an AoO? We've had different readings on that in my group, with no clear consensus. Is there a definite rule on this?

In general, the answer is yes, you can indeed use most maneuvers in place of an AoO: "When performing a combat maneuver, you must use an action appropriate to the maneuver you are attempting to perform. While many combat maneuvers can be performed as part of an attack action, full-attack action, or attack of opportunity (in place of a melee attack), others require a specific action."

(Of course, as the text implies there are some exceptions - some maneuvers require an action of their own.)