3.5, 3.0 products, and YOUR game....

[CleverName]

Now that 3.5 has been out for a stretch, I wanted to ask questions of the ENWorld crowd about some of the early topics that cropped up when 3.5 was released.

For those of you who have switched to 3.5, are you freely mixing 3.0 and 3.5 material in your games ?

Sure.

If so, are you using the 3.0 material without conversion ?

I convert some of it, but not all. I used some monsters I wrote up for 3.0, which should have been a bit tougher if I converted them, but I did not bother.

Our default method of adoption is to let 3.5 trump 3.0. If there is a problem we discuss, and maybe make up a house rule. So far we have talked about things, like the buff spells, but have made no exceptions. Its all on the table though.

Now, we still have some of the same house rules that we had in 3.0 - like our take on alignment, etc.

Have you had any game balance issues with a mix of 3.0/3.5 material ?

Nope.

How are your 3.5 games compared to how your 3.0 games played ?

Combat is a little faster. ALL of my players are much happer with their converted PCs.

Thanks.

You are welcome. Good question.

 

[Melkor]

Thanks again for all of the replies.

When I bought 3.5, and realized that a lot of the 3.0 materials I had were either 3rd Party and would have to be converted, or WoTC and not in the conversion PDF, I was a little annoyed, but figured I could do the conversion work.

After working through the Oriental Adventures book (and getting it ALMOST, but NOT QUITE fully converted to 3.5), I decided that it was a much more daunting task than I wanted to go through for my other books to make them "100% Compatible" according to nitpicky nature.

I shelved the 3.5 books and kept my campaign 3.0....Then I got on this kick where I realized that the "fun of the game" is more important than the "100% accuracy of the rules"....That, combined with the fact that several 3.5 books are out now (Draconomicon, Underdark, Book of Exalted Deeds, Miniatures Handbook), have caused me to decide to go ahead and try to run a 3.5 game, and farm 3.0 for things that I want (instead of doing a wholesale conversion).

I mainly posted to see if anyone had experienced issues when using 3.0 stuff in 3.5 without any conversions......I had a long talk with one of the other players in my group who also serves as a Dungeon Master at times. We sat down with some higher CR monsters and compared the number of skill points and feats they received in 3.0 with the same in 3.5. Generally, the difference wasn't drastic, but I could see where the addition of some extra feats and skills a monster might have in 3.5, could really shift the balance of a combat. The same could be said for any major NPC.

I'm tired of doing a lot of work to play - I prefer to spend my time actually playing the game....so conversion added onto campaign and adventure design is a bit too much. I really don't feel like converting monsters from Necromancer Game's Tome of Horrors (for example) to 3.5 - So I will probably use them "as is" with the new DR rules. I was posting to see if any like-minded individuals have experienced issues when playing without this type of conversion.

Cheers!

 

[Nighthawk]

The group I was with voted to change to 3.5. We did so, and there were some bumps in the road, mainly due to the changes and some 3.0 rules and products were used. My personal conclusion was that I do not like playing both versions at the same time, so it's one or the other for me. It makes my gameplay smoother and allows for less rules questions, IME.

 

[Voadam]

Thanks again for all of the replies.

When I bought 3.5, and realized that a lot of the 3.0 materials I had were either 3rd Party and would have to be converted, or WoTC and not in the conversion PDF, I was a little annoyed, but figured I could do the conversion work.

After working through the Oriental Adventures book (and getting it ALMOST, but NOT QUITE fully converted to 3.5), I decided that it was a much more daunting task than I wanted to go through for my other books to make them "100% Compatible" according to nitpicky nature.

I shelved the 3.5 books and kept my campaign 3.0....Then I got on this kick where I realized that the "fun of the game" is more important than the "100% accuracy of the rules"....That, combined with the fact that several 3.5 books are out now (Draconomicon, Underdark, Book of Exalted Deeds, Miniatures Handbook), have caused me to decide to go ahead and try to run a 3.5 game, and farm 3.0 for things that I want (instead of doing a wholesale conversion).

I mainly posted to see if anyone had experienced issues when using 3.0 stuff in 3.5 without any conversions......I had a long talk with one of the other players in my group who also serves as a Dungeon Master at times. We sat down with some higher CR monsters and compared the number of skill points and feats they received in 3.0 with the same in 3.5. Generally, the difference wasn't drastic, but I could see where the addition of some extra feats and skills a monster might have in 3.5, could really shift the balance of a combat. The same could be said for any major NPC.

I'm tired of doing a lot of work to play - I prefer to spend my time actually playing the game....so conversion added onto campaign and adventure design is a bit too much. I really don't feel like converting monsters from Necromancer Game's Tome of Horrors (for example) to 3.5 - So I will probably use them "as is" with the new DR rules. I was posting to see if any like-minded individuals have experienced issues when playing without this type of conversion.

Cheers!

Monsters, shifting only the DR should be fine for using 3.0 critters in 3.5 the variance of a few skill points or a feat or two are not that big a deal for things that are encounters and not PCs.

3.0 classes for NPCs in modules are still viable, NPCs can be wierd custom classes no problems. Rangers will have more hit points, less skills and poorer combat abilities than PC rangers or new rangers, but if they are just NPCs in a specific module it is not a problem to run them straight 3.0 in a 3.5 game and only convert if you feel you have the time/desire to do so.

 

[shadow]

I'm using 3.0e as written with the exception of my own version of the ranger. I refuse to touch the abomination called 3.5e!

 

[CleverName]

Then I got on this kick where I realized that the "fun of the game" is more important than the "100% accuracy of the rules...

Yep. That's the key to happiness, man!

I like rules. I like the fact that 3.5 is better than 3.0.

Is my game 50% better?

No.

25%?

Nope.

15%?

Maybe.

But it _is_ better. My players like thier new Monsters and like I said, some of my 3.0 monsters are a little weaker, and no, I did not adjust the CR -- life's too short for me to spend hours on that. I'd rather play with my 3 year old.

I just thought of this. So far, I've run seven 3.5 games. So, the books have cost me about $2 per hour of gaming (prob. down to pennies if I count prep time). What a bargain!

And they keep getting cheaper too.

 

[Vocenoctum]

But it _is_ better. My players like thier new Monsters and like I said, some of my 3.0 monsters are a little weaker, and no, I did not adjust the CR -- life's too short for me to spend hours on that. I'd rather play with my 3 year old.

I like CR's for use Pre-game, where they don't matter except as a general idea of what the party can fight.
For XP, I don't use the CR as written, just figuring XP based on the actual challenge in the encounter. So modifying all them CR's would be wasted time for me.

 

[Desdichado]

Preach on brother Vocenoctum! That's exactly what I do too.

 

[baseballfury]

My group is basically using the 3.5 rules, but we still use all our 3.0 books. Most conversion is pretty easy and I've spent enough on 3.0 books that I'm not about to box them up!

 

[JoeGKushner]

If there is a 3.0 and a 3.5 book, like Creature Collection and it's Revised version, I go with the revised.

I've disallowed all of the alternative rangers.

I've started to really watch some of the books and PrCs where before I was much more willing ot let players take just about anything.

Monsters I watch carefully by comparing them to others that are updated in the WoTC conversion book.