[SRD] Attacks of Opportunity

Attacks of Opportunity - Review

Sometimes a combatant in a melee lets her guard down. In this case, combatants near her can take advantage of her lapse in defense to attack her for free. These free attacks are called attacks of opportunity.

Threatened Squares

You threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack, even when it is not your action. Generally, that means everything in all squares adjacent to your space (including diagonally). An enemy that takes certain actions while in a threatened square provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If you’re unarmed, you don’t normally threaten any squares and thus can’t make attacks of opportunity.

Reach Weapons

Most creatures of Medium or smaller size have a reach of only 5 feet. This means that they can make melee attacks only against creatures up to 5 feet (1 square) away. However, Small and Medium creatures wielding reach weapons threaten more squares than a typical creature. In addition, most creatures larger than Medium have a natural reach of 10 feet or more.
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.

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.
Making an Attack of Opportunity

An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack, and you can only make one per round. You don’t have to make an attack of opportunity if you don’t want to.

An experienced character gets additional regular melee attacks (by using the full attack action), but at a lower attack bonus. You make your attack of opportunity, however, at your normal attack bonus—even if you’ve already attacked in the round.

An attack of opportunity “interrupts” the normal flow of actions in the round. If an attack of opportunity is provoked, immediately resolve the attack of opportunity, then continue with the next character’s turn (or complete the current turn, if the attack of opportunity was provoked in the midst of a character’s turn).

Combat Reflexes and Additional Attacks of Opportunity

If you have the Combat Reflexes feat you can add your Dexterity modifier to the number of attacks of opportunity you can make in a round. This feat does not let you make more than one attack for a given opportunity, but if the same opponent provokes two attacks of opportunity from you, you could make two separate attacks of opportunity (since each one represents a different opportunity). Moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn’t count as more than one opportunity for that opponent. All these attacks are at your full normal attack bonus.

Table: Actions in Combat

Standard Action ----- Attack of Opportunity¹
Attack (melee) ----- No
Attack (ranged) ----- Yes
Attack (unarmed) ----- Yes
Activate a magic item other than a potion or oil ----- No
Aid another ----- Maybe²
Bull rush ----- Yes
Cast a spell (1 standard action casting time) ----- Yes
Concentrate to maintain an active spell ----- No
Dismiss a spell ----- No
Draw a hidden weapon (see Sleight of Hand skill) ----- No
Drink a potion or apply an oil ----- Yes
Escape a grapple ----- No
Feint ----- No
Light a torch with a tindertwig ----- Yes
Lower spell resistance ----- No
Make a dying friend stable (see Heal skill) ----- Yes
Overrun ----- No
Read a scroll ----- Yes
Ready (triggers a standard action) ----- No
Sunder a weapon (attack) ----- Yes
Sunder an object (attack) ----- Maybe³
Total defense ----- No
Turn or rebuke undead ----- No
Use extraordinary ability ----- No
Use skill that takes 1 action ----- Usually
Use spell-like ability ----- Yes
Use supernatural ability ----- No

Move Action ----- Attack of Opportunity¹
Move ----- Yes
Control a frightened mount ----- Yes
Direct or redirect an active spell ----- No
Draw a weapon⁴ ----- No
Load a hand crossbow or light crossbow ----- Yes
Open or close a door ----- No
Mount a horse or dismount ----- No
Move a heavy object ----- Yes
Pick up an item ----- Yes
Sheathe a weapon ----- Yes
Stand up from prone ----- Yes
Ready or loose a shield⁴ ----- No
Retrieve a stored item ----- Yes

Full-Round Action ----- Attack of Opportunity¹
Full attack ----- No
Charge⁵ ----- No
Deliver coup de grace ----- Yes
Escape from a net ----- Yes
Extinguish flames ----- No
Light a torch ----- Yes
Load a heavy or repeating crossbow ----- Yes
Lock or unlock weapon in locked gauntlet ----- Yes
Prepare to throw splash weapon ----- Yes
Run ----- Yes
Use skill that takes 1 round ----- Usually
Use touch spell on up to six friends ----- Yes
Withdraw⁵ ----- No

Free Action ----- Attack of Opportunity¹
Cast a quickened spell ----- No
Cease concentration on a spell ----- No
Drop an item ----- No
Drop to the floor ----- No
Prepare spell components to cast a spell⁶ ----- No
Speak ----- No

No Action ----- Attack of Opportunity¹
Delay ----- No
5-foot step ----- No

Action Type Varies
Disarm⁷ ----- Yes
Grapple⁷ ----- Yes
Trip an opponent⁷ ----- Yes
Use feat⁸ ----- Varies

1. 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.
2. If you aid someone performing an action that would normally provoke an attack of opportunity, then the act of aiding another provokes an attack of opportunity as well.
3. If the object is being held, carried, or worn by a creature, yes. If not, no.
4. If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you can combine one of these actions with a regular move. If you have the Two- Weapon Fighting feat, you can draw two light or one-handed weapons in the time it would normally take you to draw one.
5. May be taken as a standard action if you are limited to taking only a single action in a round.
6. Unless the component is an extremely large or awkward item.
7. These attack forms substitute for a melee attack, not an action. As melee attacks, they can be used once in an attack or charge action, one or more times in a full attack action, or even as an attack of opportunity.
8. The description of a feat defines its effect.