D&D 3E/3.5 Putting 3.5e combat back into 5e

[Olive]

I DMed a whole lot of 3.0/3.5/PF D&D over a long period and while I'm really enjoying 5e's increased simplicity I've made a few mistakes in combat, especially around reach and opportunity attacks. My players are all pretty ok with more complex combat and so I've been considering using AoOs and a few other things from 3e D&D in my 5e game.

I haven't given this much thought beyond this but what implications would there be for this? Am I potentially breaking the game? One example would be allowing an AoO if you were pushed out of a threatened square. I have a warlock character in the current game and that would make Repelling Blast a lot stronger for example.

 

[Xeviat]

I wouldn't do OAs on forced movement.


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[Dualazi]

Sounds horrible on all fronts, really. For one, as Xeviat points out, it can make some combos, especially at will ones like eldritch blast, way more effective than they already are. Secondly, the OoA 'game' from 3e was cancerous and almost always ended up being a detriment to PC melee characters due to the reach and threat range of larger monsters. It also lead to PCs coming up with reliable means of exploiting the same concepts themselves, what with chain fighter builds and the ubiquity of potions of growth among savvy powergamers.

I find that bringing things like this back would do nothing good for the game. It stands to make combats more static than they currently are, and really only seem to be put forth so that people can feel good about pulling off even more optimal builds and combos within the proposed changes.

 

[Li Shenron]

I haven't given this much thought beyond this but what implications would there be for this? Am I potentially breaking the game? One example would be allowing an AoO if you were pushed out of a threatened square. I have a warlock character in the current game and that would make Repelling Blast a lot stronger for example.

If you're adding back AoO caused by ranged attacks, spellcasting, and a few other specific actions, you won't break the game, but you'll obvious make it a very good tactic against spellcasters and archers to move close to them and stay 'sticky'. In 3e spellcasters had the option to "cast on the defensive" to avoid AoOs, so you might want to bring that back too.

As for AoO caused by forced movement, just avoid. They only create issues and ridiculous exploits, as does the "bag of puppies" trick.