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I understand the Player’s Handbook’s ruling on teleportation and opportunity attacks when teleporting out of someone’s reach: Are there any rules relevant to involuntary movement and effects other than Opportunity Attacks?

However, does teleporting into someone’s reach when they have the Polearm Master feat provoke an opportunity attack?

V2Blast
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LightningColin
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3 Answers3

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By RAW you do not provoke an Opportunity Attack when you enter their reach by teleportation.

You also don't provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you without using your movement, action, or reaction. (PHB p.195)

It doesn't stipulate entering or leaving a creature's reach by teleportation. You do not provoke an OA when you teleport.

Polearm Master does not mention anything that is more specific that would override that rule.

Thomas Markov
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Luke
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Yes, an opportunity attack is triggered.

The rules for how teleportation works with opportunity attacks without polearm master are as follows:

You also don't provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you without using your movement, action, or reaction.

(PHB p.195) (emphasis added).

So in normal circumstances it would be impossible for a teleport to trigger an opportunity attack. However, the polearm master feat states:

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

(PHB p.168) (emphasis added).

Since teleporting into someone's reach involves entering their reach we can assume that the prerequisites for an opportunity attack via the polearm master feat are met.

This interpretation of the rules relies on the belief that specific beats general and that the rules for a feat are more specific than the general rules regarding teleportation/opportunity attacks.

Kirt
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Gerson Lopez
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    According to this logic, does that mean you also believe that Disengage doesn't work against someone with PAM? "...your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn." – schroeder Aug 03 '21 at 19:13
  • @schroeder Disengage does not work against polearm master because your movement does not trigger the opportunity attack, entering the polearm master's reach does. for example if you shove a creature into the pole arm's reach an opportunity attack will be provoked. – Gerson Lopez Aug 10 '21 at 03:03
  • How does that work with what you quoted above "You also don't provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you". Being shoved is "someone moving you". – schroeder Aug 10 '21 at 07:39
  • @schroeder what you quoted me saying are general rules. My interpretation is that specific beats general and my view is that the polearmaster feat has more specific rules, see the last paragraph I wrote. – Gerson Lopez Aug 11 '21 at 01:15
  • But your interpretation seems to be that PAM's effect isn't an OA at all. That nothing of what an OA is or what affects it applies. PAM uses the term OA, which would mean that the effect inherits and extends the model of OA. You are trying to replace all of OA. That's making something general into something specific. All PAM does is add a specific trigger. You are running away with the idea to say that the specific trigger somehow overrides everything else about OA. – schroeder Aug 11 '21 at 07:25
  • @schroedar polearm master states "creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they (enter) your reach". Entering is not the same as saying "when they move into your reach", therefore disengage does not apply because it only makes it so your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. I am not ignoring the general rule here, it just does not apply. As for teleporting and forced movement, yes I am saying that the feat replaces the general rule because of specific beats general, but that is the only part of OA that I am replacing in my mind. – Gerson Lopez Aug 11 '21 at 08:41
  • And you don't see a logical parallel between "moves out of your reach" [OA] and "when they enter your reach" [PAM]? You are running far too far ahead with a specific word and using that to override everything else. That's a misapplication of "specific beats general". It's an extended OA, not a replaced one. – schroeder Aug 11 '21 at 08:57
  • @schroeder It being a misapplication of specific beats general is a RAI issue not a RAW issue. With my answer I'm concerned with interpreting RAW. You're free disagree with me but at this point it feels like your trying to convince me that the logic I use is too narrow rather than you pointing out a flaw in it that would make it not RAW. – Gerson Lopez Aug 11 '21 at 14:44
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RAW as per PHB195 specify the teleport does not trigger an AoO. However, after the teleport has concluded if you appear in the targets threat range, that is a trigger for the Polearm Master as you are entering their reach.

Based on this information I would suggest that teleporting out of or within the threat range would not trigged an AoO but teleporting in would.

DiMach
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  • The term in this edition is Opportunity Attack. Even if the querent uses the wrong term (I just edited the question to correct them) we should still use correct terms to answer them. – KorvinStarmast Aug 03 '21 at 21:13