Jester David
Hero
It was different, but still compatible and largely balanced. Much was confined to new classes or existing rule elements like feats. It was additive options rather than variant rules.It makes these discussions more difficult doesn't it? I would have said, a week ago, that I knew 3.X pretty well (with the only obstacle being the amount of time since I last played). Now I'm not so sure.
... Ironically, it sounds like this "late 3.5" is more different from 3.5 that 3.5 was from 3.0
Saga's skill system definitely has echoes in 5e, although implemented differently... a first level character could have like +13 on a skill at level 1 in Saga.
Honestly, late 2e was likely much more different, will Skill & Powers and Combat & Tactics, which added new elements to the foundational rules.
Well, game designers design games. It’s what they do. They don’t stop just because the edition is “done”. They have house rules and tweaks and variants. It’s less being unsatisfied, and more trying to do what they love doing.Designers never "just experiment." When designers start experimenting, it's because they want to try something that the ruleset they're working with doesn't normally accommodate. It doesn't always lead to a new edition of course, but it's almost always a sign that the designers are unsatisfied with the constraints of the ruleset they're working with, and unsatisfied designers are usually a sign of impending rules changes.