This came up in Treantmonk's Wizard optimization thread. Since I was a prime instigator in the discussion, I figured I should try to get this answered officially.
The basic question is whether the act of teleporting (not the casting of the spell, but the action) causes an AoO when you are leaving a threatened space. The argument in favor of this is that you are moving out of a threatened space and RAW, this provokes an AoO. The argument against is that the movement is instantaneous and isn't a move in the same sense as intended by the AoO rules.
Just to be clear when discussing this further. Let's use a simple scenario. A wizard has a Quickened Dimension Door spell. A fighter moves next to him. The wizard casts the spell (a swift action) and moves 50' away from the fighter. Is the wizard subject to an AoO?
I would say not. The quickened spell does not provoke an AoO and the movement is not really movement, but an instantaneous transition from one location to another. In support of this I offer two pieces of evidence. In D&D 4, this is clearly stated, teleporting out of a thretened space does not provoke. In the PHB2, the Dimensional Steps spell allows you to target several others and allows them to make a short range teleport. It has the exact same statement with respect to this ability as in the Conjuror's 8th level ability "... and such movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity." In this context, the statement makes sense, making it clear that the targets can make the jump without provoking an AoO.
Parenthetically, the statement about not provoking AoO in the Conjuror ability is confusing (IMHO). It led me to believe that there was something special about the ability since it made specific reference to AoO, while Dimension Door and Teleport don't. So I assumed it was referring to the triggering of the ability (since I believe teleports don't provoke AoOs).
I wouldn't rule that it does in my game. Occam's Razor or whatever. There is no specific rule that says "teleport/dimension door/etc. provoke AoO" and the AoO rules pretty clearly refer to "traditional" forms of movement - i.e. moving from point A to point B by passing through all of the points in space between them. Maybe I'd allow a readied action to go off ("if he tries to teleport out, I will...") as long as the character could realistically detect such an action about to occur (Spellcraft, etc.)
M
I believe RAW and RAI no, teleporting does not provoke an AoO.Leaving a threatened space is described in the movement section of the rules, when you teleporting you arent leaving the square in the same way you would if you are walking, flying etc. You pass the entire distance between one square and another. When you teleport you dont move, you just ARE in the new location. In terms of RAI the movement is supossed to leave you open to attack because you walk past someone/ have to turn your back on them. Teleporting doesnt have this problem.
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Ok, so we are looking at a couple of different rules here. First AoO states: Moving out of a threatened square usually provokes attacks of opportunity from threatening opponents. As well as mentioning that Regardless of the action, if you move out of a threatened square, you usually provoke an attack of opportunity.
The key word here is usually. Now the act of casting the spell does in fact cause an attack of opportunity. The key here is whether or not the movement does. The spell in listed in the OP is Dimension Door which states thusly: You instantly transfer yourself from your current location to any other spot within range.
Here is the deal. You are not moving out of a threatened space. You are instantly transferring yourself. Hence no AoO. Other then for the spell casting itself. Unless as posted earlier it is in fact a Quickened spell in which case it does not either.