Question About Polearm Master

[Pallock44]

"While you are wielding a glaive, halberd, pike, quarterstaff, or spear, other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter your reach."

If any enemy is within 10ft of you and then moves towards you so they are only 5ft away would that trigger the OA for PAM? Or is it only when an enemy comes from out of your reach and goes into your reach. I was not sure if moving closer again could trigger the OA as well.

[harrydo]

I would say entering applies to the moment they get into your reach (10 ft for the Reach weapons). One doesn't enter a house when they walk around inside the house, so I'd say that plain meaning use of the word enter should apply.

[PhoenixPhyre]

"While you are wielding a glaive, halberd, pike, quarterstaff, or spear, other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter your reach."

If any enemy is within 10ft of you and then moves towards you so they are only 5ft away would that trigger the OA for PAM? Or is it only when an enemy comes from out of your reach and goes into your reach. I was not sure if moving closer again could trigger the OA as well.

No. Your reach is 10 ft. Movement within your reach doesn't trigger that ability any more than moving within a creatures reach triggers opportunity attacks.

[Guy Lombard-O]

If any enemy is within 10ft of you and then moves towards you so they are only 5ft away would that trigger the OA for PAM? Or is it only when an enemy comes from out of your reach and goes into your reach. I was not sure if moving closer again could trigger the OA as well.

It's definitely only when an enemy enters or leaves your reach. Whether that's 10' or 5' depends largely upon the weapon you're using - spears and staves only have the normal 5' reach, while the rest of the polearms have a 10' reach. So only spears and staves would trigger the PAM OA when the enemy moves from 10' to 5' from you.

[CheddarChampion]

I think the implication is that they move from a place outside your reach to a place within your reach: while you have 10' reach they have to move into your reach from 15' away.

[Yakmala]

If you want the best of both worlds, be a Cavalier Polearm Master.

With Polearm Master you can make Attacks of Opportunity against creatures as they enter or exit your reach while the Cavalier's 10th level ability, Hold the Line, allows you to make an Attack of Opportunity when a creature moves at least 5' while within your reach.

[da newt]

If you'd like to add to that even more, the bugbear race increases your reach during your attack, but not for Op Att's so you could whack folks from 15' away, then when they move into your 10' range you can hit them again.

Add Sentinel feat, and you can freeze them at 10' range with a successful Op Att and they can't hit you (unless they have reach).

A PAM Cavalier Bugbear with Sentinel would be interesting.