What are attacks of opportunity all about?
An Attack of Opportunity is an attack a creature can make when an enemy it threatens lowers its guard for some reason. Attacks of
-What is a threatened space?
-What provokes an AoO?
-How do I make an AoO?
A) What is a threatened space?
A creature wielding a melee weapon with which they are proficient threatens all adjacent spaces. Some weapons increase the area a wielder threatens, and some large creatures have reach, that is, they naturally threaten a larger area. You do not threaten anything that you cannot see clearly, such as an invisible creature, or one with cover or concealment.
B) What provokes an AoO?
Taking an action that requires intense focus can lower your defenses to the point that a canny enemy may take a moment to attack you, even though it’s not their turn. This is known as provoking an AoO. The most common actions that provoke AoO’s are spellcasting, attacking with a ranged weapon, moving, and using certain items.
-Spellcasting provokes AoO’s, and if the attack is successful the Concentration check to keep the spell is based on the damage of the attack. A spellcaster may attempt to remain aware of threats while casting by casting on the defensive. This requires a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) to keep the spell, but regardless of the check, no AoO is provoked.
-Making a ranged attack provokes AoO’s, though the AoO does not affect the ranged attack unless it drops the ranged attacker. It is thus advisable for ranged attackers to keep a melee-based ally between them and tough opponents.
-Moving often provokes AoO’s. When you leave a threatened square, the opponent may make an AoO, and the attack is resolved before you actually leave the square. Thus a combatant who is skilled at tripping his foes can control the battlefield with extreme prejudice. There are two common ways to avoid AoO’s when roving the battlefield: the space you leave when making a 5-foot step and the first space you leave when making a withdraw action are not considered threatened. Also see the Spring Attack feat.
-Using items that are complicated or take your focus off the battlefield can provoke AoO’s. Retrieving a stored item, drinking a potion or reading a spell from a scroll are the most common item-related actions that might cause you to draw an AoO on the battlefield.
-There are many other miscellaneous ways to provoke an AoO, such as delivering a coup de grace or lighting a torch. There’s a longer (but once again not comprehensive) list on p.141 of the PH.
C) How do I make an AoO?
An AoO is quite simply an attack you can make (but don’t have to!) when a creature you threaten performs one of the actions described above. You use your highest base attack bonus and all relevant modifiers. By default, creatures are allowed only one AoO per round. That is, once you’ve made one, you can’t make another until after your next turn. Note that the Combat Reflexes feat allows you to make extra AoO’s. Note also that it sometimes makes sense to provoke an AoO on purpose (to absorb one before a weaker party member provokes) or to hold off on taking one you’re entitled to (so that you can whack a weaker foe who exposes themselves).
2 comments:
my question is this: how can i avoid attacks of opportunity? what are some feats, skills, magic, or tactics that come in handy?
In order of your listing-
1)Feats
Spring Attack. This is potentially a very powerful feat. Look at it (it's in the PH) and then think about what a patient character who has a high movement rate and this feat can do to a slow "melee bruiser" type.
There are also some feats in the PH2 (Bounding Assault, et. al) that can assist in this.
2)Skills
Tumble. There's also Tumble, Tumble, oh yeah, and don't forget Tumble. =D
Quite simply, the Tumble check to avoid taking AoO's becomes an auto-make (you don't auto-fail a skill check on a natty 1) once you invest a certain number of ranks.
3)Magic
Anything that gives you cover or total concealment (blindness or fog cloud) will negate AoO's, of course. Also, anything that would increase your movement rate (like longstrider or expeditious retreat) can give you the movement necessary to simply circumnavigate your foe's threatened area.
4)Tactics
Here's the good stuff.
-Remember that you're flat-footed until you've acted in a combat, and you can't make AoO's while flat-footed. So going first can help a lot in getting good positioning at the beginning of a fight.
-Go around your foe if you can. HP are a finite resource, and sometimes taking that extra round of maneuvering to get into a good position can be worth it.
-Sometimes one of the toughs can soak up an AoO that one of us squishier members might be thwacked by, if the situation presents itself.
-When advancing on an enemy that an ally is already engaged with, you can use your ally to provide you cover, and thus avoid an AoO (sometimes).
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