Post/Author/DateTime	Post
garner_adam 10-13-05, 11:47 PM	My buddies and I for a long time have been playing under the understanding that moving in to a threatened space caused an Attack of Opportunity. Rereading some things there seems to be some confusion. We have our own board and we've been debating over it so I'm going to provide a quote from it to help out. Please help me figure out whether or not Attacks of Opportunity are caused by moving in to a threatened space! I just read the 3.5 combat section again dude. It doesn't appear that moving in to a bubble provokes attacks of opportunity. Table 8-2:Actions in combat seems to suggest that it might when you look under the Move Action column. Yet when you read under the Attacks Of Opportunity section on page 137 it specifically mentions under movement- "Moving: Moving out of a threatened square usually provokes an attack of opportunity from the threatening opponent. There two common methods of avoiding such an attack- the 5-foot step (see page 144) and the withdraw action (see page 143)" To add to this, charging doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity as clarified on the Table 8-2: Actions In Combat but more importantly even under it's own heading it doesn't bring it up. Why? Because moving in to a bubble doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity and as such wouldn't need to be clarified. I'm going to hit the D&D boards and see if I can get a clarification. (Doesn't it seem as if I'm quoting passages from the Holy text?)
Inigo Carmine 10-14-05, 12:14 AM	No. Moving into a threatened square does not provoke. Moving out of a threatened square does provoke. This means it's still possible to draw an attack when moving up to someone if their reach is great than yours. In order to get to a square you can attack them from, you'd have to move into and out of at least one square they threaten on the way to getting close to them. It's the moving out of part that provokes. This is why monsters with reach are dangerous, and why reach weapons have an advantage.
Bullgrit 10-14-05, 09:04 AM	From the SRD (D&D rules online) http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/srd35 Provoking an Attack of Opportunity: Two kinds of actions can provoke attacks of opportunity: moving out of a threatened square and performing an action within a threatened square. Moving: Moving out of a threatened square usually provokes an attack of opportunity from the threatening opponent. There are two common methods of avoiding such an attack-the 5-foot-step and the withdraw action (see below). Performing a Distracting Act: Some actions, when performed in a threatened square, provoke attacks of opportunity as you divert your attention from the battle. Table: Actions in Combat notes many of the actions that provoke attacks of opportunity. Remember that even actions that normally provoke attacks of opportunity may have exceptions to this rule.Moving into a threatened square does not provoke an AoO. Moving out of a threatened square does provoke an AoO. Remember, the term "squares" refers to a 5'x5' square on a "battlegrid". Most Medium-size creatures have a reach of 5', so threaten 9 squares (the 1 square they are actually in, and the 8 around it). Larger creatures have a larger space (like 4 squares they are actually in rather than just 1), and a larger reach (like 2 squares out from their spaces, rather than just 1). So approaching Larger creatures means you have to leave the farthest square of their reach to a nearer square: move out of one threatened square into another -- its the moving out of the farthest (from the Large monster) that provokes the AoO, not moving into the nearer (to the Large monster) square. Bullgrit
xxxsammaelxxx 10-14-05, 10:09 AM	The two replies are correct, its always the moving OUT of the square that provokes the attack, not moving in. The only exception to this rule i know of is the "Hold the Line" Feat from Complete Warrior. It allows you to make an AoO against someone charging you as they enter your threatened area. The whole "Only while moving OUT of a threatened square" is a bit counter-intuitive and hard to get a grip on when your first absorbing all the 3.5 rules. (it was for us anyway, having skipped 3.0) But once you get used to it, you really see that it makes more sense this way.
garner_adam 10-14-05, 11:37 PM	Hey I really appreciate people clarifying this for me! :D