Trip attacks don't provoke AoO if you're expert

[Plane Sailing]

I was just reading through the Trip information today (as you do) and I noticed something for the first time

Unarmed trip attacks don't necessarily provoke AoO.

The text says (my emphasis)

TRIP
You can try to trip an opponent as an unarmed melee attack. You can only trip an opponent who is one size category larger than you, the same size, or smaller.
Making a Trip Attack: Make an unarmed melee touch attack against your target. This provokes an attack of opportunity from your target as normal for unarmed attacks.
... etc

Thus monks and anyone with the improved unarmed attack feat can make trip attacks without provoking an AoO (since you don't provoke an AoO for attacking unarmed in those cases... and it is the unarmed touch attack which provokes the AoO not the trip itself.)

Interesting to see that before Improved Trip arrives which makes tripping extremely useful, there are more opportunities for "safe" tripping than I'd previously noticed.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[Plane Sailing]

n.b. I didn't quote the entire Trip section...

towards the middle it also says

Avoiding Attacks of Opportunity: If you have the Improved Trip feat, or if you are tripping with a weapon (see below), you don’t provoke an attack of opportunity for making a trip attack.

But I don't think this can be exclusive, since the earlier text links the AoO as being "as normal for unarmed attacks" and there are other conditions not mentioned here which remove those provocations. This text refers to a couple of things which specifically avoid the AoO, but it doesn't seem to be exclusive.

Of course, if an FAQ watchers have seen this discussed anyway, please feel free to point out any current decisions WotC have made on this issue

 

[Diirk]

"Making a Trip Attack: Make an unarmed melee touch attack against your target. This provokes an attack of opportunity from your target as normal for unarmed attacks."

I think what it means is if you're making an unarmed trip, it provokes an AoO as normal, whereas if you are using a weapon it doesn't ? Their wording leaves a bit of squiggle room

 

[Legildur]

Didn't Hypersmurf? run an argument in another thread about grappling that an 'unarmed strike' is different to the initial touch attack for the the grab?

IIRC he stated that the Weapon Focus (grapple) feat would give you a +1 attack bonus on the grab check and not on the opposed grapple checks, and that technically, you wouldn't include the bonus from Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) on the grab touch attack.

Applying Smurf's logic, the only way a Monk's unarmed strike (or perhaps the Improved Unarmed Strike feat) would negate the AOO for the touch attack would be if the monk had the Improved Grab (not Grapple) special ability.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Didn't Hypersmurf? run an argument in another thread about grappling that an 'unarmed strike' is different to the initial touch attack for the the grab?

Right.

-Hyp.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Didn't Hypersmurf? run an argument in another thread about grappling that an 'unarmed strike' is different to the initial touch attack for the the grab?

IIRC he stated that the Weapon Focus (grapple) feat would give you a +1 attack bonus on the grab check and not on the opposed grapple checks, and that technically, you wouldn't include the bonus from Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) on the grab touch attack.

Although this isn't grappling/grabbing, it is tripping (which is any attempt to knock 'em over)

 

[Darklone]

I didn't really understand what you wanted to say, PS...

Trip in 3.0: Touch attack, provoked no AoO... right?
Trip in 3.5: touch attack provoking AoO, no AoO with a trip weapon or the feat Improved Trip...

That's it?

 

[AGGEMAM]

Luckily the rules are clear. Unarmed Trip attacks always provokes AoOs unless you have the Improved Trip feat.

IMPROVED TRIP [GENERAL]

Normal: Without this feat, you provoke an attack of opportunity when you attempt to trip an opponent while you are unarmed.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Ah, Aggamam, the point is that while the information you quote from the feat says one thing, the information in the trip special attack (surely the primary source for trip information) says another.

Hence lack of clarity

 

[AGGEMAM]

Ah, Aggamam, the point is that while the information you quote from the feat says one thing, the information in the trip special attack (surely the primary source for trip information) says another.

Actually it doesn't.

In the special attack section it just fails to note that unarmed attacks are not the same as unarmed strikes.

And neither should it really, that should be selfevident.