3.5 Missing Link

[Warbringer]

This is not a 4e thread, so please don't post 4e remarks

I love this game and have played it some variation since 1978 and in recent years I can't help but feel thgat something is missing. This simply be my own jadedness, my own group experiences of late, or something else. I don't know. It just seems that something is missing from when I was 13,23, even 33 playing the game.

The missing link is I simply don't seem to be creating, or participating in a suspension of belief. Too often I jump from being in character and panicking as a black dragon hurls an acid infested bogie my way, to counting the correct number of dice to calculalte damage from the maximixed fireball that my elementalist specialist cast.

Maybe it is the variation on options? If I wanted to play a wizard specialist in using the corrputing power of a demonlord to power his magic in 1e, well, then it was a Wizard... his character was that of a wizard using the corrputing power of a demonlord. A barabarian lord from the outer reaches hunting for the elven assassin who killed his family was a fighter who wore only hide armor.

Is the issue that class/prestige class defines the character, rather than roleplay?

I don't know. Maybe I should play a jaded knight; a 38 year old fighter whose bronze coated armor has seen a little too much wear and tear.

 

[Len]

Oh no! He... he's grown up! Farewell, Warbringer.

I don't know. Maybe I should play a jaded knight; a 38 year old fighter whose bronze coated armor has seen a little too much wear and tear.

That sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't mind playing that character.

 

[DMH]

Have you ever tried playing someone with faults or defects (or simply low ability scores)? Ones that are much more than mechanical in nature? Playing the best of humanity (and allies) for a long time makes them seem hollow to some. Why not try playing the average joe?

Or, you could buy the Book of Broken Dreams from Bloodstone and play up lots of mental defects (the mild illnesses we all have).

Or, talk to the other player and DM and see if there is some non-standard setting that may draw your interest.

 

[Quasqueton]

If I wanted to play a wizard specialist in using the corrputing power of a demonlord to power his magic in 1e, well, then it was a Wizard... his character was that of a wizard using the corrputing power of a demonlord. A barabarian lord from the outer reaches hunting for the elven assassin who killed his family was a fighter who wore only hide armor.

Why don't you do it this way now? No one is forced to play specialized classes. No one is forced to play prestige classes. No one is forced to play non-core classes. There's nothing that says you *have* to play a barbarian class to be a "barbarian".

Quasqueton

 

[pntbllr]

Oh no! He... he's grown up! Farewell, Warbringer

Getting older is still mandatory, however growing up is optional.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Why don't you do it this way now? No one is forced to play specialized classes. No one is forced to play prestige classes. No one is forced to play non-core classes. There's nothing that says you *have* to play a barbarian class to be a "barbarian".

Quasqueton

Quoted for extreme truth. Too often when I find someone near my age (39) or older who complains that something about the current game just doesn't float their boat, it seems that invariably they cite things like "half dragon tiefling kobold paladin wizard rogue" characters or some such as among the reasons they don't like it.

The entire point of the game in its current iteration is that there are many options to choose from - and perhaps one of the most important options is that one could easily play the game with as few options as there were in 1e and other older editions. Play the agme the way you remember playing it.

 

[Graf]

Getting older is still mandatory, however growing up is optional.

This is a very sig-able line.

 

[Thunderfoot]

I'll agree with the above posts. In my current game, only the scout is available as a "non-core" class and currently there are only 6 prestige classes available (mostly banal type classes such as Warpriest to keep game balance in check). Race is strictly limited and each one has its own place in the world. Half dragon, half tiefling... I don't think so. A half demon would be slain if found out and evil is out right not tollerated by the population at large. Magic is mostly distrusted so the magic item/magic shop is nowhere to be found.

Story is as important as the action and that I would surmise is what you are "missing"...
(i.e. why do you do the vodoo that you do?) Try a low power character with some depth and see if that works, if not - try a vacation from gaming and come back in a month or two, sometimes, you just need some time away.

 

[ghul]

This is not a 4e thread, so please don't post 4e remarks

I love this game and have played it some variation since 1978 and in recent years I can't help but feel thgat something is missing. This simply be my own jadedness, my own group experiences of late, or something else. I don't know. It just seems that something is missing from when I was 13,23, even 33 playing the game.

The missing link is I simply don't seem to be creating, or participating in a suspension of belief. Too often I jump from being in character and panicking as a black dragon hurls an acid infested bogie my way, to counting the correct number of dice to calculalte damage from the maximixed fireball that my elementalist specialist cast.

Maybe it is the variation on options? If I wanted to play a wizard specialist in using the corrputing power of a demonlord to power his magic in 1e, well, then it was a Wizard... his character was that of a wizard using the corrputing power of a demonlord. A barabarian lord from the outer reaches hunting for the elven assassin who killed his family was a fighter who wore only hide armor.

Is the issue that class/prestige class defines the character, rather than roleplay?

I don't know. Maybe I should play a jaded knight; a 38 year old fighter whose bronze coated armor has seen a little too much wear and tear.

You are coming to the same conclusions that I recently have. 3.5e is a bloated power-gaming mess. Feats, prestige classes, and all this over-the-top crunch material. Where has the role-play gone when you spend half your session or more doing the math for a single battle? It goes out the window. Maximized spells are awful. And how about the actions? Move action, full round action, standard action, quickened action, swift action, etc, etc. It's mind boggling. The game has been reduced to something more akin to a video game.

So what to do? The answer may lie in an elegent third party solution called Castles & Crusades. They have simplified the d20 system. No more feats, no more skills, no more prestige classes. Better saving throw system, simplified movements/actions. Class abilities gained by the level = old school. This means more RP in your game, less numbers crunching. C&C is a nice combination of 3e and 1e, and I'll soon be moving my group over to it. Conversions from 1e, 2e, and 3e are all quite easy. Check out a few sites on it -- you might like it:

http://www.trolllord.com
http://www.grey-elf.com/candc/
http://www.castlesandcrusades.com/
http://www.cncplayer.net/


Oh, and it's also the system Gary Gygax is working with these days for his Castle Zagyg series.

--Ghul

 

[Mercule]

Gaming fatigue happens. Try a different system for a while. WoD and Hero worked for me when I fatigued on D&D.