provoking attacks of opportunity?

[Michael Dragicevich]

Hi I have a Druid that has changed into a Giant Octopus 20' reach etc.

The situation, my ally (a cleric) is in front of me and a bad guy moves in to attack provoking an attack of opportunity from me (for leaving a threatened square)

using that AOO I hit and grab, starting a grapple.

[/quote: “If you successfully grapple a creature that is not adjacent to you,move that creature to an adjacent open space”]

so the baddie is moved by me to a square beside me. If this movement involves them moving out of a square threatened by the cleric does the cleric get an AOO?

Thoughts?

[shaventalz]

Generally speaking, no. They will not provoke.

For the cleric:
From the rules, "an enemy that takes certain actions while in a threatened square provokes an attack of opportunity from you." They took no action and your grab has no explicit mention of AoOs, and so they will not provoke.

For you:
Even if that movement might have provoked, you still wouldn't get a second AoO from it, because "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." Without those issues, you've also got the line in the Grappled condition - "Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity." Grappling someone gives you the grappled condition yourself, unless you have the grab ability and take a -20 on your checks (see the Grab ability.)

To make someone involuntarily provoke an AoO takes some feat investment. For instance, Greater Trip or Greater Drag. That last one is more significant - under normal circumstances, it takes 3 feats (Expertise/Improved/Greater) to make someone provoke when you pull them towards/behind you.

[Claxon]

In general, only movement that was voluntarily taken by a character provokes. Being moved by another creature does not normally provoke.

[Snowlilly]

There are feats that provoke when you force an opponent to move.

None of them apply to grapple.