D&D 3.x I miss 3.5 edition

I've been looking back at the Conan d20 game, I think it has some things I'd bring into 3e if I went back to it. The way they handled skills was that there wasn't a cap on your cross-class skills, they could go as high as your class skills. If you spent your class skill points on them, they'd still cost 2 for 1, but if you spent your skill points from intelligence, they'd only cost 1 for 1. I think I like this better than the pathfinder system of adding a +3 class bonus but not quadrupling your skill points at 1st level since with more skill points you can customise your skills a little more.

Additionally, every race in Conan d20 got a few skills (normally 4) at 2 ranks that were tied to their background. For instance, Cimmerians got climbing, survival, and a couple of others I can't remember (probably hide and move silently).
 

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With all the stacking bonuses and penalties, durations, effects, etc. I needed a computer program to keep track of everything with high level 3.5e combat, with 5e 2024 that seems less of a problem...
Ironically, I've always done 3.x by hand and only every used a computer program for 5e.

But I don't particularly like high level for any edition of D&D anyway. None of them scale very well.
 

I really miss 3.5. I bought enormous amount of books, and I have fond memories of it despite its downfalls. I know it's not perfect especially after level 10 or so. But I don't mind that. A high level character should be overwhelmingly strong in my opinion.

Maybe someone already mentioned it or you know, but there is a still quite active project based on 3.5 which is regularily updated. Ok it is based on Pathfinder 1, but that was based on 3.5 ;)

Final Fantasy d20 its final fantasy, but it is still 3.5 /PF1 at its core, just a bit better balanced (high level play you mentioned and other things).


So if you just want to read some more 3.5E like classes this might be something for you (of course you could also play it).


I like 3.5 and its design, especially later parts, and thats why I also really like this final fantasy inspired RPG which really builds on the cool parts of 3.5 and does try to fix some of the more broken things.
 

Maybe someone already mentioned it or you know, but there is a still quite active project based on 3.5 which is regularily updated. Ok it is based on Pathfinder 1, but that was based on 3.5 ;)

Final Fantasy d20 its final fantasy, but it is still 3.5 /PF1 at its core, just a bit better balanced (high level play you mentioned and other things).


So if you just want to read some more 3.5E like classes this might be something for you (of course you could also play it).


I like 3.5 and its design, especially later parts, and thats why I also really like this final fantasy inspired RPG which really builds on the cool parts of 3.5 and does try to fix some of the more broken things.
Just glanced at that. Is that a SRD for a printed game or just somone’s online labor of love?
 





If we're talking d20 src based games, I really liked EverQuest tabletop RPG and Mutants and Masterminds. Two wildly different takes on d20 but both very interesting.
 

Mutants and Masterminds.
One of the things about M&M some forget is the supplement Warriors & Warlocks- a FRPG-themed expansion. Not that you needed it, strictly speaking, but things like that are always helpful. I own a copy, but never got around to using it.

In a retrospective tangent: it might have been a better system than HERO for me to try modeling a M:tG fantasy campaign setting. While I was succeeding in the modeling side of the task with HERO, the players in my group were not interested in even trying to play in it because they didn’t like that system.

OTOH, the one M&M 2Ed campaign I ran with that group fizzled very quickly, in part because of certain system design decisions, in part because of my unfamiliarity with the system resulting in some difficulties actually refereeing the game.
 
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