Is this were we can whine about game mechanics? Can we talk about attacks of opportunity? An enemy walks through your treat zone only it is is behind you. You can still have an AOO. Your in combat and the same thing happens You have an AOO. This seems nuts to me. So as a house rule attack of oppotunity to your rear are at -8. If you are in combat and you make an AOO to the rear (at -8) then your opponent(s) can have one on you minus your combat reflex bonus if you took the feat. I AM NOT SURE I like all the attacks of opportunity rules. _________________ "Its a dangerous business going out your front door." JRR Tolkien
Unless you are a Greyhawk Heretic.
If you talking about the Unearthed Arcana, yes. It is what gave me the idea to add more penaties to rear attacks of oppurtunity. Some of the make sense others are unbalancing I think anyway. _________________ "Its a dangerous business going out your front door." JRR Tolkien
Unless you are a Greyhawk Heretic.
I find that AOO get out of hand when we stick to the grid systme too strictly. Therefore, I overule it fairly often. ALso, flanking is overused by my group. I rule that an attacker can ignore those to his rear, and defend as normal, allowing the rear attacker +4, but the front attacker +0.
I am told that 3.5 revamps the entire AOO system from 3.0
I like the ignoring the rear attacker. 3.5 does revamp the rules some but not as much as you would think. _________________ "Its a dangerous business going out your front door." JRR Tolkien
Unless you are a Greyhawk Heretic.
FWIW, I am starting to have a problem with AoO's also.
I'm not sure what the fix is, or even what my specific issue is. I just know that too many times, a critical combat has been ended prematurely by an AoO. I'm still a bit new to the 3.5 ruleset, so I'm not confident in my judgements. Yet.
The flanking thing may work (which raises the ugly face of facings). Another option is to give a penalty to AoO's dependent on the situation. I.E: no penalty for someone fleeing (Fear spell, etc), -2 for attacking someone just passing by, -4 for someone passing through your threatened area to attack you (Longpears, etc), etc.
Now, I play Basic D&D, but I have run 3e (as well as D20 Modern) and find that my age old house rule for attacks of opportunity still works fine, though you'll have to keep an eye out for magic or feats that rely on the canon 3e rules for AoOs, and deal with them on a case by case basis.
Anyway, here's my house rule, in 22 words:
Anytime you willingly disengage from melee combat with a foe, for any reason, your enemy is entitled to an Attack of Opportunity.
Now, a couple minor clarifications, but it's pretty obvious as is.
Fighting withdrawal is not considered disengaging for this purpose, but there is no gaurantee that your enemy won't follow you and refuse to acknowledge your withdrawl from combat. In other words, if he wants he can take a move/attack option to counter your move/defend action and keep on fighting you.
Being knocked down, or knocked back from an attack does not count as willing disengagement, and your opponent does not get an AoO on you. Fleeing combat, turning to attack another foe, stopping to cast a spell (on anyone, including yourself, such as when healing, except your foe), and other such actions do invoke the AoO.
And btw, I give no bonuses to hit on an AoO, except that the target is not entitled to his Dex bonus for armor class. It's a simple extra attack, at regular THAC0/BAB, with no bonus to damage. Missile weapons may never be used in an AoO, period. A thrown weapon attack is allowed, if, and only if the weapon being thrown is the one that was being used in melee combat prior to the action that invoked the AoO. _________________ What would Raxivort do?<br />
AoO's and flanking work the way they do because 3E and 3.5 do not have facing. That's the option UA(3.5) added. I haven't had a problem with them and they existed in AD&D, too. The AD&D DMG provided for a two-handed swordsman to strike before a knife fighter who was closing, but also provided for that knife fighter to make two attacks for every one of the swordsman. But whatever.
And willingly ignoring the armed guy behind you to attack the one in front? I think that would take Will save, at least, to override basic survival instincts.
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