If a hostile creature starts its turn outside your reach, enters your reach during its turn, and leaves your reach during the same turn (e.g., passes within, say, 5' to your left or your right), does it trigger a possible opportunity attack?
The first sentence of the rule below seems to imply that it does (i.e., "strike an enemy who is...passing by"), and yet the remainder of the rule seems ambiguous to me. For example, avoiding an opportunity attack with the Disengage action implies that the creature must first be engaged with you (i.e., in combat with you directly within your reach), not simply entering and exciting your reach as movement.
PHB: "In a fight, everyone is constantly watching for a chance to strike an enemy who is fleeing or passing by. Such a strike is called an opportunity Attack. You can make an opportunity Attack when a Hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. [...] You can avoid provoking an opportunity Attack by taking the Disengage action."
DMG: "A hostile creature opposes the adventurers and their goals but doesn't necessarily attack them on sight."
I'm returning to the game after three decades. I hope I've used the right terminology and have phrased my question clearly.
An enemy always provokes an opportunity attack when it leaves your reach. Doesn't matter where it was at the beginning of its turn. This is the only circumstance that triggers an opportunity attack unless you have a special feature that says otherwise.
Additionally, nothing about the Disengage action implies that you have to be engaged first. The entirety of the rule states: "If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn." That's it.
Short version, barring any special abilities from feats, class options, etc. the standard trigger for making an Opportunity Attack is when a creature leaves your melee reach. In most situations, that will occur when someone leaves the 5' zone around you, though for some melee weapons it'll be 10'. The trigger is NOT dependent on whether the creature entered your reach on the same turn it left. So it would apply when a creature started his turn in melee with you and decided to move away. It would also apply if you're standing in the middle of a 15' wide hallway and a creature attempts to run past you. It gets more complicated when you work in things like Reach weapons, the Polearm Master feat, the Cavalier subclass of Fighter, etc. But start with the basic rule, and go from there :)
An opportunity attack is provoked immediately once the condition has been fulfilled. From your description, I'm not entirely sure what specific movement you're questioning. The two basic scenarios are in the image above. The left scenario is a creature entering and moving within your threatened range. This does not provoke an AoO. The scenario on the right is a creature entering and leaving your threatened range. This does provoke an AoO.
I want to clarify this distinction because both scenarios provoked AoOs in previous editions, but not in 5e.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Probably doesn't need to be said but I also want to point out that taking the Disengage action doesn't just prevent one Attack of Opportunity, it makes it so your movement doesn't provoke them for the rest of your turn. Disengage and move to your hearts content. With classes like Rogue or Monk you have ways to Disengage as a bonus action, allowing you to Dash with your action and move through an entire battlefield without provoking an attack.
Probably doesn't need to be said but I also want to point out that taking the Disengage action doesn't just prevent one Attack of Opportunity, it makes it so your movement doesn't provoke them for the rest of your turn. Disengage and move to your hearts content. With classes like Rogue or Monk you have ways to Disengage as a bonus action, allowing you to Dash with your action and move through an entire battlefield without provoking an attack.
Good point; I may need to remind my players of this.
What about if a creature you're fighting has reach? Does it get an attack of opportunity when my character without reach moves through the first threatened square to do a melee attack?
This made me think of something else. Lets say that I'm 'holding' a hostile in my 5' radius. I have a team mate with a reach weapon who engages with my target within 10' (due to his reach weapon). If my team mate then takes a step back, causing my target to 'leave' my team mate's reach, my target wouldn't get a AoO due to being out of reach but would my team mate get one?
Essentially moving back & forth, kiting a monster?
This made me think of something else. Lets say that I'm 'holding' a hostile in my 5' radius. I have a team mate with a reach weapon who engages with my target within 10' (due to his reach weapon). If my team mate then takes a step back, causing my target to 'leave' my team mate's reach, my target wouldn't get a AoO due to being out of reach but would my team mate get one?
Essentially moving back & forth, kiting a monster?
No. To move out of a creature’s reach, you have to actually willingly move. If you stay still while I move, there’s no way you can provoke an attack of opportunity. *I* might, but if I’m 10ft away and wielding a reach weapon, I’m safe unless you have a 10ft reach as well.
This made me think of something else. Lets say that I'm 'holding' a hostile in my 5' radius. I have a team mate with a reach weapon who engages with my target within 10' (due to his reach weapon). If my team mate then takes a step back, causing my target to 'leave' my team mate's reach, my target wouldn't get a AoO due to being out of reach but would my team mate get one?
Essentially moving back & forth, kiting a monster?
No, your teammate would not get an attack of opportunity if your teammate was the one who moved.
If your teammate is 10' away from a monster with 5' melee range, then your teammate could safely move anywhere they want without provoking an attack of opportunity; they would not be leaving the monster's reach since they were never in it in the first place.
Your teammate would not get attacks of opportunity because the monster isn't moving out of his reach, he's the one moving.
No. To move out of a creature’s reach, you have to actually willingly move.
To be clear, they don't have to move willingly, they just have to be using their movement, action or reaction. The difference matters since spells like Dissonant Whispers can force a creature to move against its will.
No. To move out of a creature’s reach, you have to actually willingly move.
To be clear, they don't have to move willingly, they just have to be using their movement, action or reaction. The difference matters since spells like Dissonant Whispers can force a creature to move against its will.
Very true...that’s one of my favorite spells for that exact reason
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If a hostile creature starts its turn outside your reach, enters your reach during its turn, and leaves your reach during the same turn (e.g., passes within, say, 5' to your left or your right), does it trigger a possible opportunity attack?
The first sentence of the rule below seems to imply that it does (i.e., "strike an enemy who is...passing by"), and yet the remainder of the rule seems ambiguous to me. For example, avoiding an opportunity attack with the Disengage action implies that the creature must first be engaged with you (i.e., in combat with you directly within your reach), not simply entering and exciting your reach as movement.
PHB: "In a fight, everyone is constantly watching for a chance to strike an enemy who is fleeing or passing by. Such a strike is called an opportunity Attack. You can make an opportunity Attack when a Hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. [...] You can avoid provoking an opportunity Attack by taking the Disengage action."
DMG: "A hostile creature opposes the adventurers and their goals but doesn't necessarily attack them on sight."
I'm returning to the game after three decades. I hope I've used the right terminology and have phrased my question clearly.
An enemy always provokes an opportunity attack when it leaves your reach. Doesn't matter where it was at the beginning of its turn. This is the only circumstance that triggers an opportunity attack unless you have a special feature that says otherwise.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Additionally, nothing about the Disengage action implies that you have to be engaged first. The entirety of the rule states: "If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn." That's it.
Short version, barring any special abilities from feats, class options, etc. the standard trigger for making an Opportunity Attack is when a creature leaves your melee reach. In most situations, that will occur when someone leaves the 5' zone around you, though for some melee weapons it'll be 10'. The trigger is NOT dependent on whether the creature entered your reach on the same turn it left. So it would apply when a creature started his turn in melee with you and decided to move away. It would also apply if you're standing in the middle of a 15' wide hallway and a creature attempts to run past you. It gets more complicated when you work in things like Reach weapons, the Polearm Master feat, the Cavalier subclass of Fighter, etc. But start with the basic rule, and go from there :)
Thank you, everyone. I appreciate your replies. They make sense.
An opportunity attack is provoked immediately once the condition has been fulfilled. From your description, I'm not entirely sure what specific movement you're questioning. The two basic scenarios are in the image above. The left scenario is a creature entering and moving within your threatened range. This does not provoke an AoO. The scenario on the right is a creature entering and leaving your threatened range. This does provoke an AoO.
I want to clarify this distinction because both scenarios provoked AoOs in previous editions, but not in 5e.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Probably doesn't need to be said but I also want to point out that taking the Disengage action doesn't just prevent one Attack of Opportunity, it makes it so your movement doesn't provoke them for the rest of your turn. Disengage and move to your hearts content. With classes like Rogue or Monk you have ways to Disengage as a bonus action, allowing you to Dash with your action and move through an entire battlefield without provoking an attack.
Good point; I may need to remind my players of this.
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What about if a creature you're fighting has reach? Does it get an attack of opportunity when my character without reach moves through the first threatened square to do a melee attack?
No. The rules say:
Someone with a reach weapon can do an attack of opportunity when its target moves out of it's 10-foot range, not for any movement within its range.
This made me think of something else. Lets say that I'm 'holding' a hostile in my 5' radius. I have a team mate with a reach weapon who engages with my target within 10' (due to his reach weapon). If my team mate then takes a step back, causing my target to 'leave' my team mate's reach, my target wouldn't get a AoO due to being out of reach but would my team mate get one?
Essentially moving back & forth, kiting a monster?
No. To move out of a creature’s reach, you have to actually willingly move. If you stay still while I move, there’s no way you can provoke an attack of opportunity. *I* might, but if I’m 10ft away and wielding a reach weapon, I’m safe unless you have a 10ft reach as well.
No, your teammate would not get an attack of opportunity if your teammate was the one who moved.
If your teammate is 10' away from a monster with 5' melee range, then your teammate could safely move anywhere they want without provoking an attack of opportunity; they would not be leaving the monster's reach since they were never in it in the first place.
Your teammate would not get attacks of opportunity because the monster isn't moving out of his reach, he's the one moving.
To be clear, they don't have to move willingly, they just have to be using their movement, action or reaction. The difference matters since spells like Dissonant Whispers can force a creature to move against its will.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Very true...that’s one of my favorite spells for that exact reason