D&D 5E This Game Feels Like D&D 3.Xe

[MichaelSomething]

Allow all material from the DM's guild? Nothing screams 3E like pulling stuff from twenty different books to make a character!

 

[haakon1]

What else would you play up to make a D&D 5e game reference D&D 3.Xe in small ways?

Not really the question, but I’ll point out that I never stopped DMing 3.5e. As DM, what edition you run is your call. There’s no shortage of players who like 3.5e, if your players are new to D&D or have been playing for a long time - I have both in my games.

Oh, and … I run Core Rules plus a few house rules, some from PF1.

 

[Voadam]

What else would you play up to make a D&D 5e game reference D&D 3.Xe in small ways?

Giant animals are dire animals with bone spike projections.

Fiendish monsters. Regular monsters described as evil looking, particularly summoned ones. No rules adjustments really needed.

Lots of Half-Dragons. I might give them a monster energy resistance and a one shot breath weapon if I didn't find anything suitable off the rack.

Ridiculous multi-template looking monsters. Not sure how you would reskin something in 5e though to make an advanced two-headed pseudo-natural giant hunting spider.

I would go with foregrounding NPCs who follow iconic 3e alignment class rules. Lawful Good paladins with a reputation as such. Chaotic Bards and Barbarians. Lawful monk orders. I would not require it of PCs but I would have the expectation in world that if you are a paladin people expect goodness. If you are a known assassin people expect evil. Barbarians and bards are wild and crazy guys.

I agree with using the 3e Greyhawk default pantheon. Based on a number of 3e games I was in feel free to have no other Greyhawk context in the setting but go all in on the core PH pantheon.