Attacks of Opportunity PROVOKING ATTACKS
The melee combat rules assume that combatants are actively OF OPPORTUNITY
avoiding attacks. Sometimes combatants in a melee let their
guard down. In such cases, other combatants nearby can take
advantage of the lapse in defense to attack for free. These free
attacks are called attacks of opportunity.
THREATENED SQUARES
ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY
If you’re considered armed, you threaten all squares into
which you can make a melee attack, even when it isn’t your
turn. That usually means everything in all squares adjacent to
your space, including diagonally. An enemy that undertakes
certain activities while in a threatened square provokes
attacks of opportunity. If you’re considered unarmed, you
don’t normally threaten any squares and thus can’t make
attacks of opportunity. Certain conditions in combat, such
as concealment and cover, also affect your ability to make
attacks of opportunity.
Reach
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 might
threaten more squares than a typical creature. Creatures larger
than Medium have a natural reach of 10 feet or more, so they
threaten all squares within that reach, including diagonal ones.
Creatures smaller than Small typically have a natural reach of
0 feet, meaning they can’t reach into adjacent squares. Since
they have no natural reach, such creatures don’t threaten the
squares around them at all. See Size, page 116.
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Moving out of a threatened square can provoke attacks
of opportunity, as can being in a threatened square while
performing an act that requires focused attention.
Moving
Moving out of a threatened square usually provokes an attack
of opportunity from any opponent who threatens that square.
Two methods of movement allow you to avoid such an attack:
5-foot step and withdraw. See Movement, page 90.
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.
Focused Act
When you focus your attention on what you’re doing, you
divert your attention from the battle. The Actions in Combat
table, page 8, notes many activities that provoke attacks of
opportunity for this reason. Some such actions allow you
to make a Concentration check to avoid provoking (see
Concentration, page 33). Even actions that normally provoke
attacks of opportunity can have exceptions.
MAKING ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY
An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack you can make
when you’re active in combat and an opportunity presents
itself. If you’re flat-footed, you can’t make attacks of opportu-
nity, and you don’t ever have to make an attack of opportunity
if you don’t want to. Making an attack of opportunity isn’t
considered an action, but you can make only one attack of

opportunity per round unless you have an attribute that
allows you to make more (see below). If you have multiple
attacks for some reason, you use your highest normal attack
bonus when you make your attack of opportunity, even if
you’ve already attacked during the round.
An attack of opportunity interrupts the normal flow of
actions in the round. If an attack of opportunity is taken,
immediately resolve that attack of opportunity, then continue
with whatever was happening when the attack of opportunity
was provoked.
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CLERICAL ERROR
Especially when you’ve got lots of hit points, it can be tempt-
ing to provoke attacks of opportunity willy-nilly, taking a little
damage in exchange for unfettered action. That’s a valid tacti-
cal option, but a nonchalant attitude toward such attacks from
powerful opponents can backfire.
In a playtest a few years ago, we were fighting a frost giant jarl
(not the CR 17 one in the Monster Manual), and we were hard
pressed. One of us slipped out of the meeting room and grabbed
a phone. Word soon went out over the building’s intercom:
“Could a 7th-level cleric please report to Focus Group Room 2
immediately?”
Enter Rob Heinsoo and his 7th-level cleric, possessed of both
hit points and moxie in abundance. Seeing wounded comrades
locked in melee with the frost giant jarl, he moved forward,
eager to drop a big cure spell on the fighter.
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ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY
Illus. by T. Nordstrand
Multiple Attacks of Opportunity
Some abilities allow you to make more than one attack of
opportunity per round. Most such abilities, unless they
say otherwise, don’t let you make more than one attack
for a given opportunity. If the same opponent provokes
two attacks of opportunity from you, however, you could
make two separate attacks of opportunity. Each provoking
act represents a different opportunity. Multiple attacks of
opportunity otherwise follow the rules for normal attacks
of opportunity.
Because the giant had reach and some advantageous terrain,
Rob’s cleric provoked an attack of opportunity just for moving
nearby. It’s just an attack of opportunity, right? What’s the worst
that could happen?
One critical hit from a massive greataxe later, Rob’s cleric was
dead on the icy floor. But the disaster didn’t end there. When
Rob’s cleric fell, that triggered the jarl’s Cleave feat and killed
the fighter, too.
The final tally for Rob’s cleric: 15 feet moved, two PCs
dead. That might be the shortest PC life span I’ve ever seen.
And it’s worth noting that if Rob’s cleric hadn’t been there,
the fighter would have survived until his next turn—and
maybe beyond.
—David Noonan, designer
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