Hey guys, so my friends and i are new to the game and we have no idea what were doing so when something seems..a little odd, we ask here or look it up. SO, my question is about GM'ing. Im not the gm but I feel like ours might be doing this wrong or being too harsh:
I NEEVER get attacks of opportunity! Every monster we fight always makes 5 foot steps to get past me (the tank) and just whop de f~+!in doo gets around me and gets to charge our back line. I feel like this is ridiculous. I see all of these feats like combat reflexes that enhance AoO and it just blows my mind that people are getting any at ALL! Is this a gm problem, as in hes making the monsters too intellegent and always making 5 foot steps around me or anyone for that matter to get where they want to go? Or should I be doing something DIFFERENT to get in the way. I feel like i do a good job of charging, being annoying and positioning myself so that my allies can kite behind me, but it DOESNT MATTER bc they ALWAYS 5 foot step me and i cant do a thing about it! Plz help
Step one: Get a reach weapon
Step two: get a size increase
step three: profit
When you make a 5-ft step, you can't make a move after, so if an enemy in melee with you is taking a 5-ft step, you should be able to do the same at your turn and full attack him.
Hi,
5-feet step does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Check the chapter about actions in Core Rulebook to learn action types and what does and does not provoke attack of opportunity.
Handy way to hamper the benefits of 5-foot steps, is taking Step Up feat, which lets you to follow with 5-foot step of your own (in CRB). There is also more advanced feats on the line.
Do notice that one can't make any other action involving moving on round it has used 5-foot step (so can't be combined with charge action). Do note that the movement during charge provokes AoO:s.
Also, if you are flatfooted, typically meaning that you have not yet acted in combat, you won't ever gain AoO:s.
***Our group has for long used HouseRule, where 5-foot step will provoke AoO.***
Hey! I too play reach based melee! It's not easy against monsters that are smart, and your GM should make all the monsters to be smart enough to take 5 foot steps. However, I think you and your team need some work as well. And here is what I think you and your team can do.
Reach weapon: I think if you are using combat reflexes and enhancing your AoOs, my guess would be that you are already using it, if not, use it.
Scroll/wand/rod/staff/ring of Long Arm: If you have a chance to get and use items which give you the spell Long Arm, take it. You will need it, and you will love it. +5 ft reach for at least a minute would be more than enough for many fights.
Use your environment: Problems you get from trying to get AoOs would be that it's not hard to avoid, charging doesn't get AoOs, 5ft step doesn't. If you cast spell defensively or swift spell, it doesn't, especially in mythic, Archmage with Competent Caster path ability will not care at all. (In this case, it mostly likely a boss fight or against NPC you can't beat.) However, there are ways to stop half of those ways to avoid AoOs. Such as covers and difficult terrains, they will help you avoid charge and 5ft steps. Lighting also helps, too bright or too dark, making some enemies move half speed and don't know where you are, if it doesn't affect you, just sit and wait for them to give you AoOs.
Normal items: Traps, caltrops, tanglefoot bag, net, etc... There are many items you or your party can use to help you get more AoOs. Don't let the rogue complains he can't do anything in the fight, make him throw a net or something. Pouring oil on the floor, flip some chairs around to make it hard to 5ft step and charge. That's why bar fights are fun for non-casters, so much more you can do to help even without magic. You can just take those AoOs from those fools who tried to charge on the oil covered flood or those who tried to 5ft step on to a flipped chair.
Teamwork: You got a monk in your team? Use him! He trips, enemy falls. Enemy gets up, you get an AoOs. Now he trips again! Teamwork is one of the most fun thing to do in encounters, working together and succeed is much better than solo kill everything.
Feats: Some feats such as Step Up is always good if you hate enemies 5ft step away from you. I think there might be more feats to help, but you have to look into it yourself to see what works best for you.
Ghost Touch weapon: Most GM doesn't care about AoOs when they are using ghost. One is because people who can touch them can't make AoOs while people who can, just can't touch them. Two is that when you are ghost, you don't have to charge or 5ft step, you take your time and do whatever you want, they died anyway and not like you can touch them. Now here is your chance. You have one job, take them down if they try to touch your party with a ghost touch weapon. Trust me, the ghost won't be expecting this. At least shouldn't be.
Anyway, that's all I can think of. Hope it helps.
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Great questions!
The first few times I tried to fish for AoOs I had awful luck. In one recent session at 6th level I got 24 AoOs for about 500 HP damage. Experience and practice has a lot to do with getting AoOs. Here are a few tips:
* Unless someone has 10' or more reach, AoOs are rare. Most foes worth fighting are smart enough not to needlessly provoke AoOs.
* You need to generate AoOs, they rarely just happen.
* I've seen novice groups in which it was almost impossible to get AoOs. Someone would always move in a way that blocked AoOs. I've played in veteran groups in which the whole team coordinated to feed massive AoO damage to the tanks.
* If you use a reach weapon you threaten a much larger area. This gives your more chances to generate an AoO. Foes can still avoid your AoO by taking a 5' step, but that doesn't help them get at your squishy ally who is 15' back. This is a good way to generate AoOs, because sometimes foes really want to get at whomever you are protecting.
* If you can force foes to stand off for a round, to avoid your AoOs, then your team gets an extra round to shoot at them. Foes usually know it's suicide to dither just out of polearm reach from archers and wizards, so they'll take your AoOs to get at the juicy targets. If they don't choose to provoke your AoO then you successfully protected your charges.
* Your team must have good movement discipline. This comes with experience. For example, the squishy people need to always stay back, the tanks (with reach weapons) need to block, etc. The martial PCs need to learn not to dash into where the fireball needs to explode.
* If your goal is to get a lot of AoOs you will need to work with your team. You only get AoOs from reach when the foe chooses to move (not 5' step) in your threatened zone. If your 'ally' always charges the foe then the foe will never move up and provoke your AoO. What you want to do is coordinate so your buddy charges them AFTER you whack them with your AoOs. Experienced groups do this.
* Getting big , per the first level Enlarge Person spell, is a great way to get AoOs. When you are Large sized you automatically get 10' reach.
* Getting big and wielding a reach weapon gives you a huge zone of control. Threaten at 15' and 20'. A Large creature wielding a reach weapon threatens a ring shape 50' in diameter, with a 30' diameter center not threatened by the big weapon. Any foe wishing to move in that huge area will draw your AoOs.
* AoOs can generate more AoOs. For example, if you get an AoO from reach, and use it to successfully trip a foe, they will provoke another AoO when they stand up. Standing up is a really common way to provoke AoOs.
* Learn more about reach tactics to generate more AoOs. You might enjoy this entire short thread.
* Teamwork combinations work really well for AoOs. There are martial and teamwork feats that multiply AoOs. For example, a mount and rider, both with reach and a few specific feats, can easily generate a handful of AoOs when a foe takes a single incautious action.
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Here is another tip in addition to Magda's great advice: Get the lunge feat. On your turn, use lunge to attack a melee foe that is outside of your normal threat range. You do not threaten them now, but you have forced them to make more than a 5ft step if they want to attack you or anyone behind you.
You have either forced them to take an AoO, take a double move going around you, or you have forced them to use an inferior ranged attack. Either way, you benefit.