Devall2000
First Post
For a little while now, I've wanted D&D to run faster than it has been and have been nostalgic for 1e AD&D. However, I'm not willing to buy a whole bunch C&C books as well as cast aside the 3.x books that I've already invested in.
Here's what I did:
For 3.5 D&D, without skills and feats, I'm allowing each class to retain it's special abilities and spells. I'm making the Barbarian and Monk level up according to the 3.5 experience progression table and making the other classes only earn a percentage of what it takes the Barbarian and Monk earn in order to level up. I derived this percentage for what each class needs based off of 1st edition class comparisons.
The percentages of what the other classes have to earn compared to the 3.5 level progression table are as follows: Fighter 50%, Cleric & Druid 45%, Paladin 70%, Ranger 65%, Wizard and Sorcerer 75%, Rogue 44%, Bard 40%. You could even possibly make an assassin character class as opposed to a PrC.
Based on that, the fighter would advance in this manner:
Level
------
1. 0
2. 500
3. 1,500
4. 3,000
5. 5,000 and so on
For combat, I'm using party initiative based on a 1d20 roll. You can do this once or at the beginning of each round. For each side, PC's, NPC's, and monsters act first based on highest DEX. In case of tied initiative, either reroll or allow both parties to act at once.
Don't allow PC's, NPC's, or monsters to gain any bonuses to attack, damage, etc. based on feats.
For thief skills, use the original percentages from 1st edition. You could do the same for the assassin.
As far as CR's go, apply them based on the average of the party's level and don't throw anything to tough (at least in the beginning).
If you feel like the other classes would be gaining levels to quickly, tweak the 3.5 experience table but retain the percentages required for each class to level up.
I haven't crunched all of the numbers for each class to level up based on this. However, all you need to do is multiply the experience needed for each level by the appropriate percentage in order to figure out how many experience points are needed for a character of a given class to advance.
Under this setup, a 14th level Barbarian is a lot more capable than a 14th level fighter because the Barbarian has rage, damage reduction, uncanny dodge, indomitable will, trap sense. However, the fighter advances faster as was the case in AD&D.
Use ability checks in place of skills. Require a player to roll 1d20 anytime they would use listen, spot, etc. If the 1d20 roll is lower than the appropriate ability score, they succeed. If not, they fail. As far as opposed rolls go, the player with the lowest score wins. This part can be finessed for difficulty purposes.
For class bonuses to ability checks, you can add them to the 1d20 roll or possibly substitute 1st edition methods (rolling 1d6 for secret doors; most races locate secret doors on a 1 while elves locate them on a 1 or 2).
I haven't considered how this would affect prestige classes. I think the results would be mixed. In some cases, you might be able to make regular character classes out of the PrC's.
As far as multi-classing goes, you could follow the old rules: make a character divide experience between two or more classes while he levels up. There might be another way to do this as well.
I know I haven't covered everything, but most of 3.5 should and can be retained. Use 3.5 saves, attack matrixes, equipment, attacks of opportunity, 2 weapon fighting, AC, hit points, movement rates, etc.
Obviously, this isn't an exact science and it's not all hashed out. However, it allows me to speed up the game, play something closer to 1e AD&D, and use my 3.x books without spending additional money. I'm curious to know what you all think.
thanks,
Jamie
Here's what I did:
For 3.5 D&D, without skills and feats, I'm allowing each class to retain it's special abilities and spells. I'm making the Barbarian and Monk level up according to the 3.5 experience progression table and making the other classes only earn a percentage of what it takes the Barbarian and Monk earn in order to level up. I derived this percentage for what each class needs based off of 1st edition class comparisons.
The percentages of what the other classes have to earn compared to the 3.5 level progression table are as follows: Fighter 50%, Cleric & Druid 45%, Paladin 70%, Ranger 65%, Wizard and Sorcerer 75%, Rogue 44%, Bard 40%. You could even possibly make an assassin character class as opposed to a PrC.
Based on that, the fighter would advance in this manner:
Level
------
1. 0
2. 500
3. 1,500
4. 3,000
5. 5,000 and so on
For combat, I'm using party initiative based on a 1d20 roll. You can do this once or at the beginning of each round. For each side, PC's, NPC's, and monsters act first based on highest DEX. In case of tied initiative, either reroll or allow both parties to act at once.
Don't allow PC's, NPC's, or monsters to gain any bonuses to attack, damage, etc. based on feats.
For thief skills, use the original percentages from 1st edition. You could do the same for the assassin.
As far as CR's go, apply them based on the average of the party's level and don't throw anything to tough (at least in the beginning).
If you feel like the other classes would be gaining levels to quickly, tweak the 3.5 experience table but retain the percentages required for each class to level up.
I haven't crunched all of the numbers for each class to level up based on this. However, all you need to do is multiply the experience needed for each level by the appropriate percentage in order to figure out how many experience points are needed for a character of a given class to advance.
Under this setup, a 14th level Barbarian is a lot more capable than a 14th level fighter because the Barbarian has rage, damage reduction, uncanny dodge, indomitable will, trap sense. However, the fighter advances faster as was the case in AD&D.
Use ability checks in place of skills. Require a player to roll 1d20 anytime they would use listen, spot, etc. If the 1d20 roll is lower than the appropriate ability score, they succeed. If not, they fail. As far as opposed rolls go, the player with the lowest score wins. This part can be finessed for difficulty purposes.
For class bonuses to ability checks, you can add them to the 1d20 roll or possibly substitute 1st edition methods (rolling 1d6 for secret doors; most races locate secret doors on a 1 while elves locate them on a 1 or 2).
I haven't considered how this would affect prestige classes. I think the results would be mixed. In some cases, you might be able to make regular character classes out of the PrC's.
As far as multi-classing goes, you could follow the old rules: make a character divide experience between two or more classes while he levels up. There might be another way to do this as well.
I know I haven't covered everything, but most of 3.5 should and can be retained. Use 3.5 saves, attack matrixes, equipment, attacks of opportunity, 2 weapon fighting, AC, hit points, movement rates, etc.
Obviously, this isn't an exact science and it's not all hashed out. However, it allows me to speed up the game, play something closer to 1e AD&D, and use my 3.x books without spending additional money. I'm curious to know what you all think.
thanks,
Jamie
Last edited:
