[RPG] Are opportunity attacks considered the turn

bugbeardnd-5eopportunity-attackracial-traitsreach

In Volo's Guide to Monsters the playable Bugbear has an attribute called Long-Limbed which reads

When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet
greater than normal.

The Reach property of weapons notes that

This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it.

This gave me the idea to play a bugbear fighter that uses polearms for an effective reach of 15 feet.

Now let's say, I have the Polearm Master feat and someone walks within 15 feet of me. Do I get an opportunity attack because my reach is 15 feet with Long-Limbed and a reach weapon? Or do I have to wait until they reach 10 feet as Long-Limbed states it is attacks on my turn that I gain the extra 5 feet?

Best Answer

The wording of "Long-Limbed" as you state is clear (emphasis added):

When you make a melee attack on your turn

Let us have a closer look at opportunity attacks (PHB p73, emphasis added):

You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. To make the opportunity attack, you use your reaction to make one melee attack against the provoking creature. The attack occurs right before the creature leaves your reach.

...

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.

The polearm mastery feat extends the OA condition (emphasis added):

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

Three things are important here: 1. What are the conditions for OA and 2. when are they executed.

  1. OA depend on whether an enemy leaves or enters (due to Polearm Master) your reach.

  2. The attack is executed during the movement phase of the enemy, so clearly during their turn and turns are not overlapping.

  3. Forced movement like shoving does not trigger OA, even it the enemy is leaving or entering your reach. Forced movement by dominate or similar does indeed trigger OA, as that uses their movement.


Condensed answer: Your reach during an opportunity attack is 10 feet due to the reach property of your weapon. Your OA can be executed when an enemy is -on its own- about to leave or enter but not move within your reach. During your own turn, your reach for a melee attack is 15 feet.