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This issue broke my group.

One player's character was engaged in combat with a creature. While that character was engaged, another creature not in combat range wanted to move 20 feet from their safe position past the character in combat.

Would the engaged character still be able to make an opportunity attack at the creature moving into and out of combat range, while they're already engaged in combat with the other creature?

V2Blast
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Steven Fabian
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1 Answers1

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Yes, you can

The rule on opportunity attacks says (PHB, p. 195; emphasis mine):

In a fight, everyone is constantly watching for enemies to drop their guard. You can rarely move heedlessly past your foes without putting yourself in danger; doing so provokes an opportunity attack. You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach.

So the only condition is that you have to be able to see the creature, and that it moves out of your reach (normally, 5 feet). The rule even talks about not being able to move past other creatures without risk.

The game does not have "engaged with another creature" as a formal game term. In melee combat the danger of being right next to an opponent is expressed by imposing disadvantage on ranged attacks when a foe is within 5 feet of you, or Sneak Attack triggering if an opponent is threatened by someone within 5 feet of them, but it does not put any limitations on opportunity attacks. Even if you are grappling another creature, all you need is the use of one of your hands. You could still make opportunity attacks with your other hand against a creature that moved by and left your reach. You are not exclusively engaged with someone you fight in melee, a lot can happen during the chaotic action of a combat round.

Moving into your reach does not normally trigger opportunity attacks in 5e; unless you have a specific feat that says so, like Polearm Master, the game only cares about moving out of your reach.

Nobody the Hobgoblin
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    “The game really has no concept of ‘engaged with another creature’.” Sure it does. Ranged attacks have disadvantage when a hostile creature is within five feet of you. Sneak Attack triggers when an ally is within five feet of the target. (But it’s not a game term). – Thomas Markov Oct 31 '22 at 10:36
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    @ThomasMarkov 'exclusively engaged with another creature' would be a better phrasing – Caleth Oct 31 '22 at 10:46
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    @ThomasMarkov That is fair critique, I updated the wording. – Nobody the Hobgoblin Oct 31 '22 at 10:47
  • (And I suspect it’s the ranged attack thing that is the source of the confusion, so it’s probably a worthwhile mention). – Thomas Markov Oct 31 '22 at 10:48
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    +1. You might mention also the assumption of the fluidity of action in a 6 second combat round – Kirt Oct 31 '22 at 14:50
  • @ThomasMarkov This is nitpicking, but the rules regarding disadvantage on ranged attacks and Sneak Attack are not concepts of being "engaged with another creature". They are merely about proximity to a hostile creature. – Joakim M. H. Nov 01 '22 at 19:59
  • @JoakimM.H. I originally claimed that there is no rules for engaging. On the other hand, this proximity has those effects because a hostile creature is right next to you and trying to hit you, so I think it is a close enough simile to being engaged with them, even if it is not a formal game term. I can add that. – Nobody the Hobgoblin Nov 01 '22 at 20:02
  • @JoakimM.H. Like I said, it's not a game term, it's just the term I'm using to describe such proximity effects. – Thomas Markov Nov 01 '22 at 20:04