# Do Spiritual Weapons get AoO's?



## ControlFreak (Aug 3, 2004)

Do Spiritual Weapons get Attacks of Opportunity?


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## smetzger (Aug 3, 2004)

ControlFreak said:
			
		

> Do Spiritual Weapons get Attacks of Opportunity?




The rules don't say if it gets AoO.  In the past I have given it AoO only against the creature it is attacking.  Although this makes sense by the rules I have found it to be a bit too powerful and the next campaign I DM I will not allow it any AoO.

Are you playing RttToEE?

*:> Scott


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## ControlFreak (Aug 3, 2004)

smetzger said:
			
		

> The rules don't say if it gets AoO. In the past I have given it AoO only against the creature it is attacking. Although this makes sense by the rules I have found it to be a bit too powerful and the next campaign I DM I will not allow it any AoO.
> 
> Are you playing RttToEE?
> 
> *:> Scott



No .. this is just my own little 1st level adventure where my villain just cast that spell in the middle of the PC's. I cast it there thinking that it would get AoO's, but now I'm not so sure. The party has a Cleric of Tempus, so no matter what I do here I know I'll see it thrown back in my face in 2 levels 

I guess I'm going to lean towards not allowing the AoO unless someone has some sort of FAQ or Ask the Sage that shows differently.

Thanks for the help,
CF


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## ControlFreak (Aug 3, 2004)

This was a double post .. sorry


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## UltimaGabe (Aug 3, 2004)

The Spiritual Weapon can't be used to Flank, so I'm gonna say that means it doesn't threaten any squares. It also must be commanded to attack someone other than its chosen target (taking a move-equivalent action), so I'm gonna say that even if it somehow COULD threaten squares, it DEFINITELY couldn't threaten anyone but its chosen target.

In any case, I'm pretty sure the answer is no.


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## RigaMortus (Aug 3, 2004)

Is the Spiritual Weapon considered an ally?  Would Inspire Courage help it?  What about Bless?


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## dgrey (Aug 3, 2004)

It does not flank nor does it get AoO's.  It is a spell not a weapon, think of it as an ongoing magic missile, or better yet the cleric's flaming sphere.    It is not a summon spell, where you summon an actual creature.


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## Kalendraf (Aug 3, 2004)

I don't allow spiritual weapons to get attacks of opportunity.

I've seen the priest in the group I regularly DM cast quite a few of these, and it is actually a decent 2nd level attack spell.  In some battles, he's even summoned multiple instances of it, and they can really start to dishout some damage en-masse.  In a longer-running fight, where the weapon can attack every round until it expires, it can be a great investment.


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## Hypersmurf (Aug 3, 2004)

I think Monte put a spell called 'Threatening Weapon' into one of the Books of Eldritch Might.  It was a Sor/Wiz2 spell, that produced something that looked like a Spiritual Weapon, but it couldn't make attacks on its turn.  What it _could_ do was take any AoOs provoked in its threatened area.

I think it's a weaker spell, on the whole, but it was quite a nifty idea.

-Hyp.


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## smetzger (Aug 4, 2004)

dgrey said:
			
		

> It does not flank nor does it get AoO's.  It is a spell not a weapon, think of it as an ongoing magic missile, or better yet the cleric's flaming sphere.    It is not a summon spell, where you summon an actual creature.




It doesn't flank thats for certain.  But where do you get the 'no AoO'?  

Here is my reasoning for allowing AoO against its one opponent.  When attacking the weapon attacks like any other creature(except the no flanking thing).  It attacks from a specific direction, it doesn't get just one swing during the 6 second round it is using the same abstract combat as a fighter would with the feinting and jabbing etc.  Therefore if you let your guard down against it, it gets a free go at you.

The reason I mentioned RttToEE is that there is a magic item in the adventure which acts as a spiritual weapon (once per day) but it does 3d6 damage.


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## Ogrork the Mighty (Aug 4, 2004)

Yeah, but the weapon is also sort of brainless. It just hammers away at its target round after round. Your opponent letting down its guard doesn't affect that.

I agree - no AoO. I think the fact that it doesn't get flanking bonuses is more than enough justification.

But heh, YMMV.


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## dcollins (Aug 4, 2004)

Up to the DM. In my game I rule "no".


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## RigaMortus (Aug 4, 2004)

The fact that it can't flank doesn't really have anything to do with the ability to make AoOs. If I am flanking a Barbarian with Impr. Uncanny Dodge, he isn't really flanked. But if he moves through my threat range, I can still make an AoO on him.

Does the spell description actually say the spiritual weapon doesn't threaten the opponent? I can't remember if it does or not, because that is the key to whether it will be able to make an AoO or not.


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## Jeff Wilder (Aug 4, 2004)

I'm repeating my response from the other thread.



			
				RigaMortus said:
			
		

> The fact that it can't flank doesn't really have anything to do with the ability to make AoOs.




I didn't say that the ability to flank means the ability to make AoOs (or vice versa).  I said the inability to flank demonstrates the fact that the _spiritual weapon_ can't _threaten_ ... and without the ability to threaten spaces, there's no ability to make attacks of opportunity into those spaces.

Similarly, I also observed that the spell description doesn't have the _weapon_ occupying a square -- the closest it comes is saying which direction the spell's attack comes from -- and without a square from which to judge AoOs, you, well, can't judge AoOs.

The spell does not explicitly allow or disallow AoOs.  But then, it doesn't have to.


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