Hello everyone,
A question came up last night at my RP club about charging into combat with a large creature and if they get an attack of opportunity or not?
Each of our tables seem to be playing differently and we wondered on if there was any published answer to it.
Ok so as an example, human fighter with a longsword charges a large dragon. Does the the dragon get an attack on the fighter at 10ft away from him as he passes a threatened square?
Arguments for and against that the club put forward all come from Page 183 of the Core Rulebook.
Actions in Combat chart states that charging does not provoke.
However under the table it has "Regardless of the action, if you move out of a threatened square, you usually provoke an attack of opportunity. This column indicates whether the action itself, not moving, provokes an attack of opportunity." Which would seem to say that the movement would provoke? or is this just from other combatants?
And official rulings out there?
Many thanks,
Odin
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If you charge and leave a threatened area then you will provoke. The charge itself does not provoke, BUT if you commit an action that opens up an AoO then you provoke.
As an example using charge once again.
Charging does not provoke, but if you commit a combat maneuver at the end of the charge, and you don't have the proper feat you still provoke because during the charge you committed another provoking action.
TLDR: An ability not provoking does not save you from an AoO if you do another provoking action while using the ability.
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The charging fighter does not provoke for charging, but for exiting a threatened square.
However, if the dragon is flatfooted, and does NOT have the Combat Reflexes feat, it would still not get an attack of opportunity.
So, charging something with reach is NOT a free pass to getting adjacent to it.
Note, also, that the target who does get an AoO on a charging opponent due to reach, may use that AoO for something besides just a simple bite/attack on the target. Just like with a full attack or attack, you can substitute in a disarm, trip or sunder attack instead of a simple attack for damage.
So, fighter with longsword charges an unprepared dragon, no AoO without Combat Reflexes. Same fighter charges a dragon later in the combat, he has a good chance of winding up flat on his back (tripped) within the dragon's threatened area.
Advice: Never charge an enemy with reach if you think they might have Combat Reflexes, or be prepared to pay the consequences (roughly 5,450 gp for the Raise Dead, plus 2*1,280 for the two Restorations...)
Simple 8th level build that ruins a charging opponent's day:
Str 18+ (+4/+6 or more)
Dex 14 (+2)
Combat Reflexes (3 AoOs, even when flatfooted if weapon is ready)
Combat Expertise
Improved Trip
Improved Disarm
Greater Trip
Reach weapon
Charger comes in, provokes outside his own threatened area, tripped.
Greater Trip means that the tripped target is the subject of at least one more AoO, disarm.
Charging target is likely to be prone and disarmed, at this point, possibly/probably with no actions left.
Reach build gets his turn, both full attacking prone target, and resetting his AoO counter.
Prone target tries to stand up, getting an AoO for his efforts. Now standing, he picks up his weapon from the group (how many have a spare weapon?), and gets an AoO trip.
Rolls around to his turn again, and he gets a disarm while standing and a trip while picking up his weapon. Rinse and repeat from here. As long as he can survive the tripper, and his allies, making full attacks on him, along with the allies who get their own AoOs when he tries to stand up.
As Jackie Chan might say, "Bad day, bad day, bad day!"
Many thanks, this is kinda what I thought but thought id find out for sure, I shall pass this onto the club :)
Necro'ing, because this subject comes up a lot (and recently in my own games, thus why I'm here). I understand the answers... but it seems like this has been made a whole lot more complex than it needs to.
To wit; if you're not leaving a threatened square, how would you provoke an AoO anyway? Why even mention that the act of charging doesn't provoke?
More meaningful, if charging provoked an opponent without reach would get an AoO on our charging longsword wielder.