Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
I will say with confidence that most people's play experience isn't as a wandering player, moving from group to group. Most people who play do so with an established group and they don't have this sort of friction on a repeated basis. The group comes to some sort of consensus and then they play.not withstanding your snark this is the only part we agree on...
We saw that most tables DID NOT mix and match 3e and 3.5... I saw Gencon games, Origins games, 3 gaming stores (2 no longer open) and many groups and the defualt answer at all of them was "No you can't use 3.0 haste in 3.5"
I did know someone that kinda house ruled in an improved haste as a 5th level spell based on 3.0.... but I don't think that counts.
I will admit it didn't happen over night... but as Ccomplete warrior updated sword and fist I saw less and less table let sword and fist in... by the time of complete.... the rouge one I can't remember... It wasn't just stuff that was updated but things that WILL be updated soonish
now maybe my 25+ years of gaming has 100% the opposite experience as you and in witch case NEITEHR could say for sure who's experience is more common... but I doubt you played with many 3.5 DMs who just let you use 3.0 spells feats and rules.
If you want your experience to be the mark of there being an ongoing split, OK -- it is your experience. But I suspect you can't roll up on many games at cons and demand to play by different rules than the DM wants to use generally, with edition changes just being one possible version of that. Running games for the public is hard enough without having to make a ruling on the fly about what some stranger wants you to incorporate into your game with the clock ticking.
Again, go ahead and look through the ENWorld archives. A year after 3.5 came out, everyone had settled down into whatever their status quo was.
By late 2025, I predict everyone will be back to fighting about alignments and warlock patrons again, rather than over some deep and abiding rift between 5E and 1D&D.
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