AoO.. which hand?

[Kerilstrasz]

Assume a character with TWF...
assume he holds a longsword at mainhand and a l.mace at offhand..
a foe provokes an A.o.O. ...
If the char chooses to use his 1/turn A.o.O. , is he forced to use his mainhand
or he can choose with which hand to attack?

plz, provide book and pg for your answer.

PS: 3,5 Edition

[SilverLeaf167]

He can use whichever hand he wants.
Unless I'm mistaken, the same applies to normal attacks, and you don't even take penalties if you attack only with your off-hand.

I'm not sure where this rule comes from, though, someone else will have to elaborate on that. :smalltongue:

[erikun]

"Handedness" was a concept from 3.0e (and before) that was removed from 3.5e. The only time you have an off-hand is when using two weapons. Other than that, any single attack is always done from the character's full BAB, regardless of which hand is holding the weapon.

This isn't really something I can point a page number out, because it is more a rule of exclusion than anything else. The only time off-handed is mentioned is in the two-weapon fighting rules (and shield bashing), and only for attacking with two weapons at once. There is no mention of ambidexterity, or holding two weapons and penalities for using the second, or of fighting with just the "off-hand" weapon.

[Darrin]

PHB p. 137:

"You threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack, even when it is not your action. Generally, that means everything in all squares adjacent to your space (including diagonally). An enemy that takes certain actions while in a threatened square provokes an attack of opportunity from you."

The AoO rules don't explicitly state which weapons you can or can't attack with, but from here I assume they mean any weapon with which you threaten during a normal combat round is eligible to make an AoO. This would include either your primary or offhand weapon, as well as any natural attacks (that normally can't attack more than once a round), but in the context of the AoO they are treated as a primary attack without any offhand or secondary penalty.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Unless I'm mistaken, the same applies to normal attacks, and you don't even take penalties if you attack only with your off-hand.

Actually, you only take penalties if you take the extra attack(s) from Two-Weapon Fighting. If you have +6 BAB, and attack once with one weapon and once with the other, no penalties.

[mattie_p]

Other penalties that might apply:

Power Attack: "The penalty on attacks and bonus on damage apply until your next turn."

Rapid Shot, Snap Kick, Flashing Sun maneuver: "but each attack you make in that round (the extra one and the normal ones) takes a –2 penalty." (similar wording for all three).