Is there a way to prevent automatic counterattacks?

[The Rambling Midget]

You're walking down the road, and some nutjob leaps out of a nearby bush and smacks you in the gut with a stick. Your immediate reflex is to decapitate him.

Is there any way to prevent this?

Say, for example, I wanted another character to punch mine in the face without automatically retaliating, could the counterattack be stopped by some means other than lightning reflexes or Parry Mode?

I'm aware that it can be emoted, but I'm looking for a mechanical solution.

[William Steele]

i really think emotes are the way to go, but... that would be really cool if it was possible. i think parry mode, holding 's' (i'm not even sure that works) or maybe defensive casting works for that.

[Preacher]

a good question, I have a character that would prefer to NEVER swing a blade or fist at anyone and the automatic counter forces it at times.

[Liareth]

I think this could be done and would be a handy addition. It would need some NWNX changes, though. I was thinking of a few new console commands to control it:

-aoo_off (Disables attacks of opportunity entirely.)
-aoo_player (Disables attacks of opportunity against players, and enables them against NPCs.)
-aoo_on (Enables attacks of opportunity.)

Alternative, we could simply use one console command, -aoo, which when invoked brings up a chat window with the three options.

[The Rambling Midget]

-aoo_player seems like a bit much to me. If it's just -aoo as a toggle, it can be used quickly and easily to enable/disable in different situations, and won't clutter the console or introduce unnecessary dialogues.

[Mithreas]

Would anyone actually turn it off though? I mean, in the example at the start of this thread, you wouldn't have time to use the toggle even if you remembered to do so.

[Liareth]

Another possibility could be shorthand commands:

-aoo 0 (entirely disabled)
-aoo 1 (entirely enabled)
-aoo 2 (aoo's on npcs only)

And when invoked with no parameter (-aoo), it simply toggles between fully off and fully on. The reason I'm keen on having a third, player-only option is that I'd gladly walk around with that option on at all times, but I wouldn't do the same if the only possibility was to disable AoO's entirely.

[The Rambling Midget]

I may be an unusual sort, but I usually have about a third of my hotbar set to console commands. Had I the option to disable AoOs, I would probably switch them off in town and back on whenever I left, to represent different states of preparedness and awareness.

I think that The Cordor Guard especially would get a kick out of this, because it would allow low levels to spar with high levels, without getting one-shotted.

The same for a slave or whatever getting punished for disobedience. There could be actual whipping and damage, without the victim automatically tearing the torturer's head off for a new hat.

[Preacher]

I have ... two characters that I would have AOO's off ALL the time. They are sneaks and when moving around foes, they can often do AOO's that take them out of stealth and cause someone to target me... so yes... I would totally turn my Aoo's off

[Lorkas]

You're only supposed to get attacks of opportunity if you're actually in combat, are you not?

In any case, I think that the OP isn't about AoOs, but the fact that your character will automatically start attacking something that attacks them in melee, whether or not you'd want your character to fight back. The best I've found is to accept that they'll get hit for 1 flurry and click the "Attack" icon in the top left of the screen as quickly as possible. Once you're in combat and actively cancel your attack, your character won't start attacking again (except maybe due to an AoO).

[The Rambling Midget]

You're right about the intent, but I don't know nearly as much about how NWN's combat system works as Scholar Midnight. I assumed from what was said that the initial counterattack was triggered in the same way as an AoO, in which case it would be just dandy.

[Lorkas]

That can't be completely true: you don't get AoOs with a ranged weapon equipped, but you do automatically counterattack someone when they attack you in melee if you have a ranged weapon equipped.

[The Rambling Midget]

Sounds like some testing is in order.

[Liareth]

I had assumed that the initial counterattack was caused by an attack of opportunity, but now that I consider it in more detail, I'm not entirely sure. I'll have to test it!

Assuming that the counterattack is triggered a different way -- it might be more difficult to implement, but I'm certain it would still be possible. I think something akin to The Rambling Midget's switch (maybe called -counterattack or -cs) would work best.

[Lorkas]

If it helps, you don't auto-counter if you're doing any sort of continuous emote like *sits*.

[The Rambling Midget]

Need a *stands still* emote.