3.5 AoO Feat

[Malapterus]

I know in 5E there is a feat involving reach weapons (Polearm Master) that allows for an AoO when someone -enters- your threatened square.

I'm going into a 3.5 game with a spiked chain user & I want to know if there is any similar feat or other option available.

Does anyone know how I can make this happen in 3.5?

[Darrin]

The 3.5 version of this is a Crusader stance called Thicket of Blades. It's a 3rd level stance, so you need an Initiator Level (IL) of 5 to take it. The Martial Study/Martial Stance feats can also be taken, but non-Crusader levels only count as 0.5 ILs.

Thicket of Blades triggers whenever an opponent leaves a square you threaten for any reason, so 5-foot steps or the Withdraw action are no longer "safe". However, there's a dysfunction when an opponent uses Tumble to avoid an AoO. Thicket of Blades says you "always" get an AoO, and the Tumble rules say you "never" trigger an AoO if you meet the correct DC. We have no indication from the designers which rule they thought should take precedence, so it boils down to a DM's Call or Whatever Works Best For Your Group.

[Grod_The_Giant]

You can also just extend your reach-- unlike in 5e, you provoke when you leave a threatened square within someone's reach, not when you leave their overall reach. If you have sufficient reach and Combat Reflexes, you can potentially hammer someone multiple times for the same movement.

[Allanimal]

You can also just extend your reach-- unlike in 5e, you provoke when you leave a threatened square within someone's reach, not when you leave their overall reach. If you have sufficient reach and Combat Reflexes, you can potentially hammer someone multiple times for the same movement.

No, not really. Having reach and combat reflexes does not override the rule that movement only provokes once, no matter how many threatened squares are left.


Combat Reflexes and Additional Attacks of Opportunity
If you have the Combat Reflexes feat you can add your Dexterity modifier to the number of attacks of opportunity you can make in a round. This feat does not let you make more than one attack for a given opportunity, but if the same opponent provokes two attacks of opportunity from you, you could make two separate attacks of opportunity (since each one represents a different opportunity). Moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn’t count as more than one opportunity for that opponent. All these attacks are at your full normal attack bonus.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Hold the Line feat only applies to charges, but gives you an AoO when someone charges you. If you have reach advantage on them, you'd get an AoO from the feat when they enter your reach, then another for the usual AoO provoked for leaving your threatened square.


The 3.5 version of this is a Crusader stance called Thicket of Blades. It's a 3rd level stance, so you need an Initiator Level (IL) of 5 to take it. The Martial Study/Martial Stance feats can also be taken, but non-Crusader levels only count as 0.5 ILs.

Thicket of Blades triggers whenever an opponent leaves a square you threaten for any reason, so 5-foot steps or the Withdraw action are no longer "safe". However, there's a dysfunction when an opponent uses Tumble to avoid an AoO. Thicket of Blades says you "always" get an AoO, and the Tumble rules say you "never" trigger an AoO if you meet the correct DC. We have no indication from the designers which rule they thought should take precedence, so it boils down to a DM's Call or Whatever Works Best For Your Group.

I give Thicket of Blades +10 DC to tumble checks, similar to the also-third-level stance, Roots of the Mountain. Seems plenty fair...if anything, that's already too generous since ToB is otherwise just plain better than RotM w/o the "must be on the ground and not move more than 5 ft" clauses. Anything better than that would be madness.
But that's my solution for the irresistible force vs. immovable object problem.
(I also allow anyone w/ Combat Reflexes to make a tumble check opposed by the enemy's and if they win...or the enemy fails the actual tumble DC..., they get the AoO)

[Malapterus]

You can also just extend your reach-- unlike in 5e, you provoke when you leave a threatened square within someone's reach, not when you leave their overall reach. If you have sufficient reach and Combat Reflexes, you can potentially hammer someone multiple times for the same movement.

I remember looking at the rules for this and thinking that it should apply.

I'm looking to take Inhuman Reach, which would make my Spiked Chains threaten up to 20 feet away.

So, based on this reading of it, I would not get an AoO when they entered that 20-foot-away square, but when they moved into the next square 15 feet away, that would trigger the AoO.

Am I correct on this interpretation?

[Grod_The_Giant]

I remember looking at the rules for this and thinking that it should apply.

I'm looking to take Inhuman Reach, which would make my Spiked Chains threaten up to 20 feet away.

So, based on this reading of it, I would not get an AoO when they entered that 20-foot-away square, but when they moved into the next square 15 feet away, that would trigger the AoO.

Am I correct on this interpretation?
Yup! That's correct.

[SirNibbles]

The Hold the Line feat (Complete Warrior, page 100) will help against charges, especially if you throw on some Steadfast Boots (Magic Item Compendium, page 138). That will give you one attack as if you had readied a weapon for a charge and one attack of opportunity when the opponent enters your threat range. They don't even have to be charging at you specifically, as long as they pass into your threatened area.

By the way, once they enter a square you threaten, it doesn't matter if they leave it going towards our or away from you. They could move so they are 20 ft away (in range) and then move such that they are 25 ft away (out of range) and that movement would provoke an AoO before it is completed.

[rrwoods]

Yup! That's correct.

No, it's not, by the rules Allanimal quoted.