Gnome Flickmace Attack Of Oppurtunity

[RPGnoremac]

Is there an official ruling how attack of opportunities work with reach, specifically for the flickmace. I posted on weekly reddit questions and the answers didn't seem 100% agreed upon. I feel like most people thought the monster didn't get to move the 5 feet.

Here is the rules from Archives of Nethys

"Attack of Opportunity Reaction
Source Core Rulebook pg. 142 2.0

Trigger A creature within your reach uses a manipulate action or a move action, makes a ranged attack, or leaves a square during a move action it’s using.

You lash out at a foe that leaves an opening. Make a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If your attack is a critical hit and the trigger was a manipulate action, you disrupt that action. This Strike doesn’t count toward your multiple attack penalty, and your multiple attack penalty doesn’t apply to this Strike."

Here is an example...

If the monster is 10 feet away (within reach) and tries to use a "move action", are they attacked before they start moving or after they have moved 5 feet?

Our GM has been ruling if they get crit when they try to take the action they fall prone where they were standing so they would still be 10 feet away.

The first way AOO activates is when a monsters "uses a move action". I am not 100% what uses a move action implies. Does that mean when they state "I will be moving" or is that when the monster has already moved 5 feet?

The second way it activates is "leaves a square during a move action it’s using". To me this would imply he has already moved and should be right next to the player now.

As far as I can tell if a Fighter crits someone with a flickmace the oppenent stops moving either ways just not sure if they get the 5 feet of movement or not.

Honestly we are all kind of finding the combination of reach + crits causing prone super powerful. Sometimes the Fighter just complete negates an enemies turn with 1 reaction and causes like 40 damage... It just gets worse at 10th level.

[HumbleGamer]

It's always on the trigger

You declare to use a specific action ( casting a spell, picking up a potion, cast lay on hand, striding, etc... ), and in response ( note that the action didn't end yet, but it's just started ) comes the trigger, which in this case is an AoO

"I stride"
"AoO"
*roll attack* ( the creature is still on the first square ).

But it's the same for the second example too.

This has already been discussed before

https://paizo.com/threads/rzs4370r?Movement-and-Attacks-of-Opportunity

and in my opinion Castillano gave a perfect explanation ( quoting it from the thread I linked ).

Quote:

The reason for the odd language w/ moving is because it's typically only the beginning of an action (or sub-action) that triggers Reactions.

A person beginning a move action outside reach wouldn't trigger afterward for that action. They could move freely into and within the reach of the other character. Adding the additional language about leaving squares allows for such AoOs after the action's initiation (if they do more than just enter reach that is).

[RPGnoremac]

Thanks for the quick answer, I guess the second wording confused me quite a bit. The first one seemed logical about when a monster tries to use a move action within reach, while the second one stating "leaves a square during a move action it’s using" seemed like the monster actually had to have left the square.

Sounds like we were playing right, just wanted to double check. The reason I made the most is I was reading another reddit post from awhile ago and some people thought the monster got to move the 5 feet before being knocked prone.

[Gary Bush]

The wording is that way to future proof for new feats or abilities.