Can the Protection fighting style be used in this way?

Question

One of the players in a party I DM is an Eldritch Knight and he uses "Protection " in every single battle. Here's what Protection is:

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

The level 1 and then 2 Eldritch Knight is using Protection everywhere and claims that even if a creature does not provoke an attack of opportunity, such as the flying snakes he and the others in his party were nearly killed by yesterday, he still gets a reaction attack against them whenever they're nearby, flying past.

Furthermore, since he is always sitting in his Protection stance in the middle of the party during battles and was doing so yesterday during the snake attack, every single time a flying snake fly by or attacked anyone else in the party, he felt certain he got to attack the snake. Several attacks in a round, some more than once or a snake, once flying one way, once flying back. I, the DM, said that was unreasonable. He responded in a very upset manner and said that it was of no use unless that was how it worked.

Then another player pulled up the DND Beyond app, read the definition of Protection out loud in a way that made it sound as though that was the interpretation. Feeling uncertain and ganged up on, I called a break.

Again, the definition of Protection is below, but consider the definition below, from Dnd beyond, read outloud at a gaming table replacing "you can use your reaction to impose Disadvantage" with "you can use a reaction and impose Disadvantage" instead.

So, what do you say? Does Protection give Eldritch Knights reaction attacks against creatures that pass close? Even those that don't provoke attacks of opportunity? And isn't there a limit in there to how many attacks a "Protector" has? Because I think maybe he doesn't get any actual attacks of his own, but rather, just causes the enemy to attack at a disadvantage. But maybe I'm reading this wrong?

Answer 1

Protection does not grant additional opportunity attacks

The Protection is one of the options for a Fighter's fighting style. It allows, exactly as you quoted, to use one's reaction to impose disadvantage on enemy attack rolls under certain conditions. It doesn't say anything about giving additional ways to make an opportunity attack, and hence it doesn't unless you have agreed on such houserule.

Notably, when one uses their reaction with Protection to cause disadvantage on an enemy attack roll, one cannot take another reaction until their next turn. See the rule on Reactions in the Basic rules (available for free on DnD Beyond):

Reactions

Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else's. The opportunity attack, described later in this section, is the most common type of reaction.

When you take a reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature's turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction.

The opportunity attack is one way to use one's reaction, while Protection gives another way to use it, but whichever (if any) one uses, they only have one reaction to use until the start of their next turn. This means that unless the player character is under an effect that allows them to take multiple reactions per turn, they can only use Protection against a single attack roll between their turns, or make a single opportunity attack, but not both nor more than one of a kind.

Answer 2

You only have one reaction per round

The bottom line here is that a PC only has one reaction, as kviiri's answer also states. From the rules of Reactions:

When you take a reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature's turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction.

Making an opportunity attack uses up your one reaction. You then cannot do anything that requires a reaction until the start of your next turn.

The Protection fighting style simply grants another way to use your one reaction

The Protection fighting style says:

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

This uses your reaction. You only have one reaction per round, so once they've done this once against one attack roll, they cannot do that against until they gain another reaction (i.e. at the start of their next turn).

Since they only have one reaction, they must either use the Protection fighting style once or make one opportunity attack, not both, and certainly not more than once, because they only have one reaction per round.

Given that Fighters pick this at level 1, even though RAW you cannot swap Fighting Styles out for another once picked, you could allow them to swap it out for another style just this one time if the player is dissatisfied with their choice now that they know how it is supposed to work, given that they originally picked it based on a misunderstanding of how it worked.

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They may be confusing this with the Sentinel feat

The Sentinel feat includes the following benefit:

When a creature within your reach makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.

Firstly, this is not the Protection fighting style, it is an entirely separate thing. Secondly, it also uses your reaction, which means, for a PC who has this feat and the Protection fighting style, they can use their one reaction to:

• Make an opportunity attack;
• Grant disadvantage to one attack roll (as per Protection fighting style);
• Make an attack against a creature attacking an ally (as per Sentinel feat);

And the can only do one of these things once until the start of their next turn.

Answer 3

Your interpretation is correct and your players have misunderstood the ability.

Your interpretation of this feature is absolutely correct; the only thing the protection fighting style allows a character to do is, upon seeing a creature attack a target adjacent to the character, use their reaction to impose disadvantage on the roll. There is no wording in this feature that allows the protector to make an attack of their own in response to this trigger, and certainly no wording that grants the protector the ability to take more reactions than they would normally have (i.e. one).

If your Eldritch Knight thinks this (correct) interpretation of the protection fighting style is underwhelming, and only chose it based on misunderstanding the rules, the path of least resistance is most likely to just allow them to swap it for a different fighting style instead. If they're committed to being a sword-and-board fighter, I'd point out that the duelling fighting style is compatible with using a shield.

Answer 4

Protection does not work this way, but Tunnel Fighter does

As several others have said, your interpretation of Protection here

Because I think maybe he doesn't get any actual attacks of his own, but rather, just causes the enemy to attack at a disadvantage.

is entirely correct. To be honest, it sounds like your Eldritch Knight player is using the 'Tunnel Fighter' fighting style from Unearthed Arcana, which reads as

Tunnel Fighter: You excel at defending narrow passages, doorways, and other tight spaces. As a bonus action, you can enter a defensive stance that lasts until the start of your next turn. While in your defensive stance, you can make opportunity attacks without using your reaction, and you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against a creature that moves more than 5 feet while within your reach.

The "Protection stance" that you mention him using also matches what the Tunnel Fighter style includes. I'd suggest talking to your player to see if they were actually using this style, and deciding whether you want to allow an Unearthed Arcana fighting style in your game.