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Would there be balance issues if I allowed opportunity attacks against any creature, not just hostile ones?
What is the difference between “hostile” and “enemy”?Can you make a grapple attack as an Attack of OpportunityAre there any rules relevant to involuntary movement and effects other than Opportunity Attacks?Does the Warcaster feat grant ranged spell attacks in melee range without disadvantage?How many Opportunity Attacks can a PC take during a round?Does the Goblin Boss's Redirect Attack provoke an opportunity attack?When an invisible character leaves a blindsight creature's reach, does the creature get an Opportunity Attack?Does Tunnel Fighter turn an Opportunity Attack into a non-action?How does this change to the opportunity attack rule impact combat?Can a character with the Polearm Master feat make an opportunity attack against an invisible creature that enters their reach?Would anything change if Opportunity Attacks only allowed you to make melee weapon attacks?
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$begingroup$
As shown in this question and answer, I am confused by the terms "hostile" and "enemy". So I was wondering if in my own game I could simply remove the "hostile" from the opportunity attack rules, because I think there it is particularly useless.
Currently, the rule on opportunity attacks says (PHB, p. 195; emphasis mine):
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your range.
I'm thinking attacks are allowed against allies; why shouldn't attacks of opportunity be?
Would there be balance issues if I house-ruled that opportunity attacks can be made against any creature, not just hostile ones? Are there any spells, effects or others that now unexpectedly work differently?
The revised rule would read:
You can make an opportunity attack when a creature that you can see moves out of your range.
dnd-5e house-rules opportunity-attack
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
As shown in this question and answer, I am confused by the terms "hostile" and "enemy". So I was wondering if in my own game I could simply remove the "hostile" from the opportunity attack rules, because I think there it is particularly useless.
Currently, the rule on opportunity attacks says (PHB, p. 195; emphasis mine):
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your range.
I'm thinking attacks are allowed against allies; why shouldn't attacks of opportunity be?
Would there be balance issues if I house-ruled that opportunity attacks can be made against any creature, not just hostile ones? Are there any spells, effects or others that now unexpectedly work differently?
The revised rule would read:
You can make an opportunity attack when a creature that you can see moves out of your range.
dnd-5e house-rules opportunity-attack
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
This is more fluff than mechanics, so isn't an answer: but thematically the idea is that against a hostile creature, you are engaged with that creature and actively fighting them (an Attack isn't a single swing). Thus if they move away from you without disengaging they dropped their guard and you get a shot at hitting them. A friendly in melee range, you are presumably NOT engaged in fighting, so them moving away from you doesn't provoke a free shot.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
17 hours ago
$begingroup$
So, in short, D&D combat isn't like JRPG combat with two people standing there taking single swings at each other every 6 seconds. If two creatures hostile to each other are in melee range, they are actively fighting and trying to harm each other. Attacks represent decisive moments where you have a chance to get past your foe's guard and land a blow. If two creatures not hostile to each other are in melee range, they are not actively fighting. Thus, opportunity attacks work on hostiles but not allies, because you are not actively engaged in fighting an ally.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty what about about creatures neutral to you? What about a person that thinks you are his ally and is friendly towards you, but you are actually under a dominate person spell and want to make an AoO?
$endgroup$
– findusl
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty as discussed in the linked question above, how that interpretation works with things such as the enemies abound spell is particularly uncertain
$endgroup$
– Medix2
15 hours ago
$begingroup$
@findusl I can only tell you how I'd rule it...but my ruling would be that in order to take an Opportunity Attack, you must have engaged the person you want to make the attack against--thus becoming hostile towards them (and by extension, them towards you, assuming they act to defend themselves). In short, if you haven't been actively engaged with them, my personal ruling would be that the momentary drop in their guard as they move away from you doesn't matter because you haven't been trying to get past their guard anyway.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
15 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
As shown in this question and answer, I am confused by the terms "hostile" and "enemy". So I was wondering if in my own game I could simply remove the "hostile" from the opportunity attack rules, because I think there it is particularly useless.
Currently, the rule on opportunity attacks says (PHB, p. 195; emphasis mine):
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your range.
I'm thinking attacks are allowed against allies; why shouldn't attacks of opportunity be?
Would there be balance issues if I house-ruled that opportunity attacks can be made against any creature, not just hostile ones? Are there any spells, effects or others that now unexpectedly work differently?
The revised rule would read:
You can make an opportunity attack when a creature that you can see moves out of your range.
dnd-5e house-rules opportunity-attack
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
$endgroup$
As shown in this question and answer, I am confused by the terms "hostile" and "enemy". So I was wondering if in my own game I could simply remove the "hostile" from the opportunity attack rules, because I think there it is particularly useless.
Currently, the rule on opportunity attacks says (PHB, p. 195; emphasis mine):
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your range.
I'm thinking attacks are allowed against allies; why shouldn't attacks of opportunity be?
Would there be balance issues if I house-ruled that opportunity attacks can be made against any creature, not just hostile ones? Are there any spells, effects or others that now unexpectedly work differently?
The revised rule would read:
You can make an opportunity attack when a creature that you can see moves out of your range.
dnd-5e house-rules opportunity-attack
dnd-5e house-rules opportunity-attack
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
edited 46 mins ago
V2Blast♦
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
34.1k5 gold badges123 silver badges212 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
asked 18 hours ago
finduslfindusl
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
9472 silver badges17 bronze badges
$begingroup$
This is more fluff than mechanics, so isn't an answer: but thematically the idea is that against a hostile creature, you are engaged with that creature and actively fighting them (an Attack isn't a single swing). Thus if they move away from you without disengaging they dropped their guard and you get a shot at hitting them. A friendly in melee range, you are presumably NOT engaged in fighting, so them moving away from you doesn't provoke a free shot.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
17 hours ago
$begingroup$
So, in short, D&D combat isn't like JRPG combat with two people standing there taking single swings at each other every 6 seconds. If two creatures hostile to each other are in melee range, they are actively fighting and trying to harm each other. Attacks represent decisive moments where you have a chance to get past your foe's guard and land a blow. If two creatures not hostile to each other are in melee range, they are not actively fighting. Thus, opportunity attacks work on hostiles but not allies, because you are not actively engaged in fighting an ally.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty what about about creatures neutral to you? What about a person that thinks you are his ally and is friendly towards you, but you are actually under a dominate person spell and want to make an AoO?
$endgroup$
– findusl
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty as discussed in the linked question above, how that interpretation works with things such as the enemies abound spell is particularly uncertain
$endgroup$
– Medix2
15 hours ago
$begingroup$
@findusl I can only tell you how I'd rule it...but my ruling would be that in order to take an Opportunity Attack, you must have engaged the person you want to make the attack against--thus becoming hostile towards them (and by extension, them towards you, assuming they act to defend themselves). In short, if you haven't been actively engaged with them, my personal ruling would be that the momentary drop in their guard as they move away from you doesn't matter because you haven't been trying to get past their guard anyway.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
15 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This is more fluff than mechanics, so isn't an answer: but thematically the idea is that against a hostile creature, you are engaged with that creature and actively fighting them (an Attack isn't a single swing). Thus if they move away from you without disengaging they dropped their guard and you get a shot at hitting them. A friendly in melee range, you are presumably NOT engaged in fighting, so them moving away from you doesn't provoke a free shot.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
17 hours ago
$begingroup$
So, in short, D&D combat isn't like JRPG combat with two people standing there taking single swings at each other every 6 seconds. If two creatures hostile to each other are in melee range, they are actively fighting and trying to harm each other. Attacks represent decisive moments where you have a chance to get past your foe's guard and land a blow. If two creatures not hostile to each other are in melee range, they are not actively fighting. Thus, opportunity attacks work on hostiles but not allies, because you are not actively engaged in fighting an ally.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty what about about creatures neutral to you? What about a person that thinks you are his ally and is friendly towards you, but you are actually under a dominate person spell and want to make an AoO?
$endgroup$
– findusl
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty as discussed in the linked question above, how that interpretation works with things such as the enemies abound spell is particularly uncertain
$endgroup$
– Medix2
15 hours ago
$begingroup$
@findusl I can only tell you how I'd rule it...but my ruling would be that in order to take an Opportunity Attack, you must have engaged the person you want to make the attack against--thus becoming hostile towards them (and by extension, them towards you, assuming they act to defend themselves). In short, if you haven't been actively engaged with them, my personal ruling would be that the momentary drop in their guard as they move away from you doesn't matter because you haven't been trying to get past their guard anyway.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
15 hours ago
$begingroup$
This is more fluff than mechanics, so isn't an answer: but thematically the idea is that against a hostile creature, you are engaged with that creature and actively fighting them (an Attack isn't a single swing). Thus if they move away from you without disengaging they dropped their guard and you get a shot at hitting them. A friendly in melee range, you are presumably NOT engaged in fighting, so them moving away from you doesn't provoke a free shot.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
17 hours ago
$begingroup$
This is more fluff than mechanics, so isn't an answer: but thematically the idea is that against a hostile creature, you are engaged with that creature and actively fighting them (an Attack isn't a single swing). Thus if they move away from you without disengaging they dropped their guard and you get a shot at hitting them. A friendly in melee range, you are presumably NOT engaged in fighting, so them moving away from you doesn't provoke a free shot.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
17 hours ago
$begingroup$
So, in short, D&D combat isn't like JRPG combat with two people standing there taking single swings at each other every 6 seconds. If two creatures hostile to each other are in melee range, they are actively fighting and trying to harm each other. Attacks represent decisive moments where you have a chance to get past your foe's guard and land a blow. If two creatures not hostile to each other are in melee range, they are not actively fighting. Thus, opportunity attacks work on hostiles but not allies, because you are not actively engaged in fighting an ally.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
So, in short, D&D combat isn't like JRPG combat with two people standing there taking single swings at each other every 6 seconds. If two creatures hostile to each other are in melee range, they are actively fighting and trying to harm each other. Attacks represent decisive moments where you have a chance to get past your foe's guard and land a blow. If two creatures not hostile to each other are in melee range, they are not actively fighting. Thus, opportunity attacks work on hostiles but not allies, because you are not actively engaged in fighting an ally.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty what about about creatures neutral to you? What about a person that thinks you are his ally and is friendly towards you, but you are actually under a dominate person spell and want to make an AoO?
$endgroup$
– findusl
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty what about about creatures neutral to you? What about a person that thinks you are his ally and is friendly towards you, but you are actually under a dominate person spell and want to make an AoO?
$endgroup$
– findusl
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty as discussed in the linked question above, how that interpretation works with things such as the enemies abound spell is particularly uncertain
$endgroup$
– Medix2
15 hours ago
$begingroup$
@guildsbounty as discussed in the linked question above, how that interpretation works with things such as the enemies abound spell is particularly uncertain
$endgroup$
– Medix2
15 hours ago
$begingroup$
@findusl I can only tell you how I'd rule it...but my ruling would be that in order to take an Opportunity Attack, you must have engaged the person you want to make the attack against--thus becoming hostile towards them (and by extension, them towards you, assuming they act to defend themselves). In short, if you haven't been actively engaged with them, my personal ruling would be that the momentary drop in their guard as they move away from you doesn't matter because you haven't been trying to get past their guard anyway.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
15 hours ago
$begingroup$
@findusl I can only tell you how I'd rule it...but my ruling would be that in order to take an Opportunity Attack, you must have engaged the person you want to make the attack against--thus becoming hostile towards them (and by extension, them towards you, assuming they act to defend themselves). In short, if you haven't been actively engaged with them, my personal ruling would be that the momentary drop in their guard as they move away from you doesn't matter because you haven't been trying to get past their guard anyway.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
15 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
From memory the War Caster feat is the only thing that might work well with this. Its third benefit is:
"When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature."
Assuming you also change the 'hostile' in this wording, this means a spell caster could cast a one action buffing/healing spell against any ally that leaves their melee reach.
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
6
$begingroup$
Welcome to rpg.se! Take the tour and visit the help center for more information. Great catch with this answer, that is a subtle point that would be easy to miss. I think you could slightly improve the answer if you add some assessment as to how this would therefore affect the overall balance of the game. Either way you have my upvote. Thanks for contributing and happy gaming!
$endgroup$
– linksassin
16 hours ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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1 Answer
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$begingroup$
From memory the War Caster feat is the only thing that might work well with this. Its third benefit is:
"When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature."
Assuming you also change the 'hostile' in this wording, this means a spell caster could cast a one action buffing/healing spell against any ally that leaves their melee reach.
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
6
$begingroup$
Welcome to rpg.se! Take the tour and visit the help center for more information. Great catch with this answer, that is a subtle point that would be easy to miss. I think you could slightly improve the answer if you add some assessment as to how this would therefore affect the overall balance of the game. Either way you have my upvote. Thanks for contributing and happy gaming!
$endgroup$
– linksassin
16 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
From memory the War Caster feat is the only thing that might work well with this. Its third benefit is:
"When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature."
Assuming you also change the 'hostile' in this wording, this means a spell caster could cast a one action buffing/healing spell against any ally that leaves their melee reach.
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
6
$begingroup$
Welcome to rpg.se! Take the tour and visit the help center for more information. Great catch with this answer, that is a subtle point that would be easy to miss. I think you could slightly improve the answer if you add some assessment as to how this would therefore affect the overall balance of the game. Either way you have my upvote. Thanks for contributing and happy gaming!
$endgroup$
– linksassin
16 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
From memory the War Caster feat is the only thing that might work well with this. Its third benefit is:
"When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature."
Assuming you also change the 'hostile' in this wording, this means a spell caster could cast a one action buffing/healing spell against any ally that leaves their melee reach.
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
From memory the War Caster feat is the only thing that might work well with this. Its third benefit is:
"When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature."
Assuming you also change the 'hostile' in this wording, this means a spell caster could cast a one action buffing/healing spell against any ally that leaves their melee reach.
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
answered 16 hours ago
Patron PatonPatron Paton
2092 bronze badges
2092 bronze badges
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Patron Paton is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
6
$begingroup$
Welcome to rpg.se! Take the tour and visit the help center for more information. Great catch with this answer, that is a subtle point that would be easy to miss. I think you could slightly improve the answer if you add some assessment as to how this would therefore affect the overall balance of the game. Either way you have my upvote. Thanks for contributing and happy gaming!
$endgroup$
– linksassin
16 hours ago
add a comment |
6
$begingroup$
Welcome to rpg.se! Take the tour and visit the help center for more information. Great catch with this answer, that is a subtle point that would be easy to miss. I think you could slightly improve the answer if you add some assessment as to how this would therefore affect the overall balance of the game. Either way you have my upvote. Thanks for contributing and happy gaming!
$endgroup$
– linksassin
16 hours ago
6
6
$begingroup$
Welcome to rpg.se! Take the tour and visit the help center for more information. Great catch with this answer, that is a subtle point that would be easy to miss. I think you could slightly improve the answer if you add some assessment as to how this would therefore affect the overall balance of the game. Either way you have my upvote. Thanks for contributing and happy gaming!
$endgroup$
– linksassin
16 hours ago
$begingroup$
Welcome to rpg.se! Take the tour and visit the help center for more information. Great catch with this answer, that is a subtle point that would be easy to miss. I think you could slightly improve the answer if you add some assessment as to how this would therefore affect the overall balance of the game. Either way you have my upvote. Thanks for contributing and happy gaming!
$endgroup$
– linksassin
16 hours ago
add a comment |
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$begingroup$
This is more fluff than mechanics, so isn't an answer: but thematically the idea is that against a hostile creature, you are engaged with that creature and actively fighting them (an Attack isn't a single swing). Thus if they move away from you without disengaging they dropped their guard and you get a shot at hitting them. A friendly in melee range, you are presumably NOT engaged in fighting, so them moving away from you doesn't provoke a free shot.
$endgroup$
– guildsbounty
17 hours ago
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So, in short, D&D combat isn't like JRPG combat with two people standing there taking single swings at each other every 6 seconds. If two creatures hostile to each other are in melee range, they are actively fighting and trying to harm each other. Attacks represent decisive moments where you have a chance to get past your foe's guard and land a blow. If two creatures not hostile to each other are in melee range, they are not actively fighting. Thus, opportunity attacks work on hostiles but not allies, because you are not actively engaged in fighting an ally.
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– guildsbounty
16 hours ago
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@guildsbounty what about about creatures neutral to you? What about a person that thinks you are his ally and is friendly towards you, but you are actually under a dominate person spell and want to make an AoO?
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– findusl
16 hours ago
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@guildsbounty as discussed in the linked question above, how that interpretation works with things such as the enemies abound spell is particularly uncertain
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– Medix2
15 hours ago
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@findusl I can only tell you how I'd rule it...but my ruling would be that in order to take an Opportunity Attack, you must have engaged the person you want to make the attack against--thus becoming hostile towards them (and by extension, them towards you, assuming they act to defend themselves). In short, if you haven't been actively engaged with them, my personal ruling would be that the momentary drop in their guard as they move away from you doesn't matter because you haven't been trying to get past their guard anyway.
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– guildsbounty
15 hours ago