3.5 PH & DMG necessary for 3.5 campaign?

[MacMathan]

Well let me say that the SRD on a laptop is not a bad way to go but I tired eyestrain quickly myslef.

If price is the big issue you can probably get the PHB3.5 20-25 at ebay or online elsewhere.

I would suggest saving up slowly and selling you 3.0 books to support youe FLGS.

Overall I just love the ease of being able to flip to pages quickly while holding the hardcover in my hands

 

[Thanee]

I did not regret to buy the 3.5 core books. There are so many small differences in there, it would really be hard to play without them.

I'd just add in some of the stuff you like from the 3.5 SRD and otherwise stick with 3.0, if you don't want to use them, but if you want to play 3.5, I'd probably get at least the PHB, altho the other books are pretty useful, too (MM more so, the DMG can most easily be replaced by the SRD).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Belegbeth]

I was thinking of printing up the relevant parts of the SRD (which I can do for free), and putting them together into a single "book" (bound with one of those inexpensive plastic things at Kinko's). If I print up 2 SRD pages on every sheet side, I think I'd have a pretty light-weight package, with all the necessary rules.

Also, I'm much more comfortable underlining and marking up a rule-book like this, than I am with a nice colour hardback.

Aside from saving 50+ bucks, though, there is just something about paying for a book that looks almost the same (and includes a lot of the same material) that annoys me on principle. Maybe it's irrational, but I'd just rather not do it.

 

[Belegbeth]

... There are so many small differences in there, it would really be hard to play without them. ...

Wouldn't these differences all be covered in the SRD, though? (Slightly worried now...)

I don't need any flavour or Greyhawk stuff. And having played RPGs for over 20 years (off and on), I don't think I need any "general guidance" help (any such general help would probably be in the 3.0 books anyway, I think).

 

[billd91]

Wouldn't these differences all be covered in the SRD, though? (Slightly worried now...)

It's the spells that get ya. There are so many spells that were changed or had little bits changed that you'd kind of have to print them all off. That's what sucks about printing the SRD. There have been plenty of threads about all the niggling little changes that I won't really go into them here, but it's these little changes that will blind-side you from time to time and make having a book really convenient. The SRD on a laptop does an OK job, but for my money, there's nothing as easy to consult or tote around as a book.

 

[Thanee]

Wouldn't these differences all be covered in the SRD, though?

Sure. Most of the stuff from the core books is in the SRD as well.

But I find the PHB and MM to be much more handy as a reference, than the SRD.

Bye
Thanee

 

[S'mon]

I use 3.5 PHB along w 3.0 MM & DMG, and SRD - seems to work ok, very occasionally there are magic item changes in 3.5; I choose which I prefer - I use 3.0 Ioun stones (not manufacturable IMC but imported from another plane) and 3.5 skill-boosts.

 

[Li Shenron]

I run a 3.5 campaign by using only Sovelior's HTML SRD on my laptop and it works perfectly.