Does this removal of opportunity attacks work?

[Flik9999]

Hey so I have a homebrew system based loosly on 5e. However what I have noticed is that opportunity attacks are getting in the way. We have 2 dms in our group and the other DM just decided to ignore opportunity attacks for this fight with crocodiles which would move up attack and then go back into the water.

However what I noticed was that the fight was damn fun.

So I am thinking of removing them completely, however tanks need to be able to hold threat on the boss so I though of this for defenders aura which is the ability that tanks use to make enemies attack them.

Defenders aura

Once per round you can mark an enemy within 30 ft, while marked tey have disadvantage on all attacks that do not target you. You can mark up to three enemies using this ability.


Is there something else I need to do to? Was maybe thinking if you are adjacent to 2 enemies you are also slowed, I dont like opportunity attacks as I find they remove a lot of the fun out of combat and turn the game into just trading blows until you or the enemy dies.

[JNAProductions]

I think it needs some work. But it's a good idea.

Here's what I would do:

Marking-As a bonus action on your turn, or in exchange for a single attack, you may Mark an enemy within melee range of yourself. While Marked, an enemy has disadvantage on all attacks that do not target you. If a creature is Marked by two or more enemies who are within their melee range, their speed is reduced by half until the end of their next turn.

That way, Fighters can mark up to five enemies, while Wizards and other single-attack people are much less sticky.

[Sharur]

Not all of the following will necessarily apply, as you state that you are running a "home-brew based on 5e", which makes me think you have a substantial amount of home-brew. I have written the following thoughts in terms of 5e RAW, as much as I remember it. Please let me know if any of the assumptions conflict with your home-brew.

I'm someone who likes opportunity attacks, just putting that out there. I don't think they slow down the game considerably...unless you have a whole lot of them. So, why do you have so many attacks of opportunity?

The first thing to note is that there is no such thing as "triggering" an opportunity attack, rather there is "provoking an attack". So even if a provoking action occurs, you don't have to take it all the time. That said, there shouldn't be that many to begin with; an AoO costs one's reaction, and you only get one.

Possibly, you have too many creatures in an encounter? Consider deploying foes in "waves", which also reduces the amount of time per round with less turns, and will speed up your game that way. Less creatures = less reactions to go around = less AoOs.

But what is provoking all of these attacks? If you've got to move, one should generally disengage. Otherwise, there shouldn't be so much movement in combat (in 5e RAW). I'm trying to remember if there is anything other than movement that provokes an attack of opportunity, and I'm coming up blank. (I have a couple of home-brew triggers for attacks of opportunity, but as I said, I like attacks of opportunity). Can you share any of the details of your home brew that leads to either a) needing to move so much while in melee or b) non-movement AoO triggers?

Of course, if you're using a Marilith, you should stop that :smallbiggrin: