Pathfinder 2e – Do Riders Provoke Attack of Opportunity in Mounted Combat?

mounted-combatopportunity-attackpathfinder-2e

Attack of Opportunity has this trigger:

A creature within your reach uses a manipulate action or a move action, makes a ranged attack, or leaves a square during a move action it’s using.

If you are riding, none of this applies:

  • uses a manipulate action: Command an Animal does not have the manipulate trait
  • uses a move action: Command an Animal does not have the move trait
  • leaves a square during a move action it’s using: the rider leaves a square, but it is during a move action someone else (the mount) is using
  • it is obviously not a ranged attack

Am I correct you cannot make an AoO against the rider, only the mount?

Best Answer

Attack of Opportunity Targets the Mount

Here's from the effect of Attack of Opportunity:

Make a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If your attack is a critical hit and the trigger was a manipulate action, you disrupt that action.

As you've pointed out, the rider never triggers an Attack of Opportunity. Only the mount that's been commanded to take a provoking action would trigger the reaction and be targeted by the Strike.

There is a line under Mounted Combat about how attackers can target either rider or mount, but that doesn't change how Attack of Opportunity only targets the character that triggers the reaction.