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Polearm Master states:

While you are wielding a glaive, halberd, pike, or quarterstaff, other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter the reach you have with that weapon.

So if you are wielding a weapon with 10' reach and an enemy starts their turn 10' away, do they provoke the opportunity attack when they move closer to only 5' away?

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    \$\begingroup\$ If this is something you want to make happen for your character, check out the Unearthed Arcana: Light, Dark, Underdark. There is a fighting style called Tunnel Fighter that allows this. It never made it into something official, but you could always ask your DM. \$\endgroup\$
    – Shadomew
    Commented May 22, 2023 at 11:57
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Shadomew It was never published because it was horribly broken. \$\endgroup\$
    – Thomas Markov
    Commented May 22, 2023 at 12:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ThomasMarkov From personal experience, I know how broken it is. Sometimes DMs will let players have powerful items/features because it's fun to be powerful, so there's no harm in OP asking their DM about it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Shadomew
    Commented May 22, 2023 at 16:11
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    \$\begingroup\$ This was the case in 3.5, where you would also trigger an opportunity attack by "moving within" the threatened area. In 5e this is not the case. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rad80
    Commented May 23, 2023 at 8:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ Maybe if you had a second polearm, with which you had only 5' reach... \$\endgroup\$
    – user2357112
    Commented May 23, 2023 at 19:16

2 Answers 2

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A creature within your reach already cannot enter your reach.

To “enter” your reach, as required by Polearm Master, a creature must go from not being in your reach to being in your reach. This is what the word “enter” means. If a creature is already within your reach, and they move around within your reach, they have not entered your reach.

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No

This question was officially answered in the Sage Advice Compendium:

How does a reach weapon work with opportunity attacks?

An opportunity attack is normally triggered when a creature you can see moves beyond your reach. If you want to make an opportunity attack with a reach weapon, such as a glaive or a halberd, you can do so when a creature leaves the reach you have with that weapon. For example, if you’re wielding a halberd, a creature that is right next to you could move 5 feet away without triggering an opportunity attack. If that creature tries to move an additional 5 feet—beyond your 10-foot reach—the creature then triggers an opportunity attack.

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