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The Specter has the ability Incorporeal Movement, which states,
The specter can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5(1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Does moving through a creature grant an opportunity attack to the creature it's moving through? It seems like it should, but that lessens the "coolness" of the ability.
The PB states that any creature that moves out of your reach provokes an opportunity attack (195):
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach.
If the specter moves through a creature and out of their reach, then it will provoke an opportunity attack. If it passes through a creature but stays within its reach, it does not provoke an attack. This is, of course, the same for any other creature.
If a creature can avoid opportunity attacks, it's explicitly listed in the listing. For example, the Giant Owl (MM 327):
Flyby. The owl doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Specters do not have such an ability, so they are subject to opportunity attacks if they move out of a creature's reach.
It's worth noting that a ghost has a similar incorporeal movement ability and an Etherealness ability, which truly allows it to float through anything freely (MM 147):
Etherealness. The ghost enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can't affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
This ability would allow the ghost to ignore any opportunity attacks (though it would still technically trigger them).
Opportunity Attacks can only be taken when the target leaves your reach, it hasn't left your reach (you can, presumably, reach yourself) so it doesn't provoke an OA by just moving through you.
PHB 195
Opportunity Attacks
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach
It could move to an adjacent wall space, or beneath the floor not leaving your reach then continue it's movement in the wall. It's a de facto negation of OAs.
