What if there were no attacks of opportunity?

[Tales and Chronicles]

I feel AoO are, in 5e, in a weird spot. There are not all that threatening, use a resource commonly used for other things, yet removing them altogether makes the ''tanking'' trope almost meaningless. I play some games where movement is not calculated and there's no AoO, it does lead to some weirdness sometime, like having a BBEG flanked by 4 guys yet he move's away effortlessly on his turn.

Some ideas that could be tested:
- There's no AoO, but an engaged creatures simply cannot willingly move away from its melee attacker, he/she must take the Disengage action to do so.

or

- Allows creatures and PC to take the Attack action as a reaction instead of a single attack, making the fighter, at higher level, a threatening defender.

 

[Sunseeker]

Simply put: it would make it much easier to ignore melee combatants, on both sides.

This has positives: such as not causing characters to "bog down" or "stand still" once they're in melee.
This has negatives: melee combatants can be more easily "kited".

Basically: if you think ranged supremacy is bad now, remove AoOs and it'll get worse.

 

[CubicsRube]

Thanks all. I did actuallt ask for play experiences, not theories, but appreciate the responses all the same.

 

[Shiroiken]

I recall a lack of AoO during part of the playtest, and it didn't go well for the players. In general, mages always stayed at/beyond the edge of the map, since they want to be at EXACTLY the range of their spells. This left the rest of the party playing catch up, since monsters would often be scattered across the map (hunting down weak PCs), causing the "double move" to happen frequently.

If you want to remove AoO, I highly suggest you put something in it's place.

 

[GameOgre]

I have played and DM'ed a lot without A.'s and in general it makes the game faster and adds a lot more movement to the game and in some cases with the right people is better,with the wrong people it blows chunks.

Attacks of opportunity do not make a lot of sense in general and can be stupid and game breaking as well.

You have 6 seconds of time. You take your turn and move and attack and defend ect...but afterwards you can do more stuff in that same 6 seconds? How? time travel? It's just as silly as no facing rules. My fighter is surrounded by goblins but I do not have my back to any of them...yeah ok.

D&D combat doesn't reflect real combat in any way and certainly doesn't reflect fictional combat from any of out books or movies at all either. 95% of the time its stand there in one spot till you or they die.

It's very difficult to actually run away (unless your like a rogue) and its just kinda boring.

Also attacks of opportunity do very little to protect anyone. Maybe at low levels I guess? but anything past the first few levels you get 1 A. per round ...lol ok you go ahead and take it..ouch you hit now im gonna go pound the crap out of the wizard.....nope still the best thing the party can do is keep the channels to the wizard blocked and fight at choke points......the same as we did back in B/X(but we used a free attack if leaving a fight then to,,,but don't tell anyone,maybe it was a house rule)


Now I sound all opinionated and anti-A.. but im really not. I used em most of the time and shrug no big issues. it seems like a bigger deal than it is......BUT

Mostly because I don't play D&D like a war game. The goblins charge the guy in the front mostly because he is ...in the front and menacing them and because they way outnumber the party and think they are going to stomp all over the party. I mean if either side played like a navy seal team the entire party would ignore the Lich's minions and simply single target the Lich right? well whats good for the goose......the lich and all his minions should single target the party wizard and then the cleric and then rogue and blah blah blah....but its a game......and we are all here to have fun so use A.. or dont use em it doesn't make much difference.

I have friends that swear it by them and friends who cant stand them....shrug....either way though it's the same fictional reasons to engage or not engage.


Well unless your playing a rpg that lets you go to town and make tons of them .....in that case they really do effect game play more and in both good and horrible ways so...........lol I guess your still in the same boat but it matters more.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In my experience, any rule which specifically targets one particular type of character (squishies, in this case) will instantly result in players choosing to play other character types. If you have a rule that makes concentration easier to break, then nobody is going to play a character who focuses on concentration spells. If you make it easier for a paladin to fall, then nobody is going to play a paladin in that campaign.

Instead of a sorcerer, that player will choose a cleric, or they'll be a dwarf for the armor proficiency and Con bonus. A player will do anything in their power to make a targeted restriction irrelevant to them.

Well, maybe your NORMAL gamers...

 

[jasper]

Well, maybe your NORMAL gamers...

wait a cotton picking minute. NORMAL GAMERS ARE A THING! WHY IN THE H E DOUBLE HOCKEYSTICKS IS SAELORN HORDING THEM. And what club to I have be in to get some.

 

[jasper]

But seriously, you asked to share experience and because AoO has been around since 1st edition, it's hard to do so as taking it away tends to punish players far more than the bad guys and you'd have to House Rule it away to know what it's like. Otherwise:

AD&D 1st edition: Free attacks on anyone leaving melee. That's plural. Don't flee from bears, hydras, etc.
.....

Now it been many years and beers ago, but toucanbuzz I don't remember that rule. Can you give a page number from the 1E rule books?

 

[SkidAce]

Fleeing means as rapid a withdrawal from combat as possible; while it exposes the character to rear attack at the time, subsequent attacks can only be made if the opponent is able to follow the fleeing character at equal or greater speed.

Subject to interpretation, but maybe this?

 

[Yaarel]

For theater of the mind style, the game is better without OAs.