AOO and Int

[Lord_Kimboat]

I was wondering if unintelligent creatures get attacks of Op? I've always assumed that everything got them but I've started in a new game and he says that unless it has an int of 3+, it doesn't get an AOO. This makes mindless undead a lot easier to fight.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I was wondering if unintelligent creatures get attacks of Op? I've always assumed that everything got them but I've started in a new game and he says that unless it has an int of 3+, it doesn't get an AOO. This makes mindless undead a lot easier to fight.

Even things which are 'mindless', such as oozes, will react to movement in their area, and if you are focusing on doing something else rather than on defending yourself, you are leaving yourself open to an attack of opportunity which your opponent will take advantage of simply because it's too stupid to NOT take it.

However, this is an interesting houserule that makes wading through swarms of mindless mooks easier

[ranger89]

However, this is an interesting houserule that makes wading through swarms of mindless mooks easier

But what fun would that be?

[Quietus]

The idea behind an attack roll is not that each one is an individual attack you make, but rather, an attack movement that has an actual chance to hit (as opposed to feints and blocks and the like).

As an extension of this, the idea behind an attack of opportunity isn't that they're taking an EXTRA attack, but that your own lack of focus is allowing another of their attacks, which previously would have been a feint/block/etc, to have a chance of hitting - hence the attack roll. It's not an extra action inside the in-game picture of combat, it's just that you've left yourself open.

From those two, the only reason I would imagine that a mindless creature would get no AoO's, is because they're for some reason simply not attacking more than <attack roll> times per round, rather than flailing around with whatever weapons they have for the entire six seconds.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Indeed. If it's smart enough to attack, it's smart enough to recognize an open opportunity.

The only impact Intelligence has is that less intelligent opponents are more likely to take the first AoO they come upon and that the AoO is less likely to be a special attack.

Not sure how your DM thinks creatures like hydras would use Combat Reflexes if they cannot take Attacks of Opportunity.

[Lord_Kimboat]

Thanks Shhalahr. I didn't think his ruling could be right but providing me with the Hydra example gives me something I can give him as proof. I must admit it didn't help me when my hunting dog didn't get attack of op against things attacking us!

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Thanks Shhalahr.

You're welcome. I always find it best to give a DM a specific counterexample when that DM is making an unfonded ruling.

Edit:
It strikes me that your DM might try to make some other slik ruling given that hydras have a special note about Combat Reflexes, even though that note has no bearing on the issue at hand. If he does that, the Carrion Crawler is another creature with Int under 3 that has Combat Reflexes. Carrion Crawlers are not in the SRD, though, so you'll have to use the Monster Manual. And the Carrion Crawler has no special note whatsoever. So that should minimize confusion.

Unfortunately, Mindless creatures do not get feats, so he may insist that Mindless creatures don't get attacks of opportunity, and we don't have any good counterexamples for that. The only thing you can do at that point is ask him to show you were the rules say, "Mindless creatures cannot take attacks of opportunity."