D&D 3E/3.5 A list of 3e problems and how they were tackled in PF

[Shazman]

Well, I do know that they wanted to make grapple more streamlined, which they did. I don't know if they said they wanted to make it more difficult for grapplers to suceed at keeping opponents grappled. I'll have to check my book. Of course, you could ask Jason yourself at the Paizo boards. I don't think they did anything just for changes sake.

 

[Mark Chance]

Precisely, Shazam. For the questions, "Is grappling more difficult?" or "Is grappling easier?", you get different answers depending on how you equivocate the meaning of "difficult" or "easier". The game mechanic to determine if you succeed in a grapple is easier. Actually succeeding with the CMB to successfully grapple may or may not be easier.

Oh, for the days when schools taught rhetoric.

 

[ruemere]

IMO, each class (or type of class) should have one way to escape a grapple. Casters should be able to teleport away/entice the monster to let them go; rogue types should be able to wriggle free; fighter types should be able to break free.

Core 3.5 didn't provide enough options for this to work. Does Pathfinder?

Warrior types have the highest chance to escape grapples. They have the highest chance to break existing grapples, too. Offensive Combat Maneuver specialists (monsters with Improved Grab, for example or Warrior types with proper feats for improving grapple) may get better chance, while more defensive types just need to pack more Dexterity and deflection and dodge bonuses.

The easiest way to memorize formulas:
CMB = BAB + STR bonus + SIZE bonus
CMD = CMB + <stuff you improve your AC with> + 10

<stuff you improve your AC with>: anything you can add to AC excluding shield and armor bonuses

So, a naked 20th level Fighter with 20 Strength and 16 Dexterity who just took penis... sorry, could not resist... enlargement pill (to increase his size to Large) is going to have:
CMB = 20 + 5 + 1 = 26
CMD = CMB + 3 + 10 = 39

Were he to fight his identical evil twin (also size Large), he would need to roll 13 or more on d20 to Trip, Grapple, Disarm, etc, however his twin would find it pretty easy to break from grapple or use other maneuvers.
Obviously, size of your shoes, special feats and nice magic items could alter chances for both sides. You can also play dirty and use Freedom of Movement (All combat maneuver checks made to grapple the target automatically fail. The subject automatically succeeds on any combat maneuver checks and Escape Artist checks made to escape a grapple or a pin).


The full definition from PRD:

CMB = Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + special size modifier

Creatures that are size Tiny or smaller use their Dexterity modifier in place of their Strength modifier to determine their CMB. The special size modifier for a creature's Combat Maneuver Bonus is as follows: Fine –8, Diminutive –4, Tiny –2, Small –1, Medium +0, Large +1, Huge +2, Gargantuan +4, Colossal +8. Some feats and abilities grant a bonus to your CMB when performing specific maneuvers.

CMD = 10 + Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + Dexterity modifier + special size modifier

A creature can also add any circumstance, deflection, dodge, insight, morale, profane, and sacred bonuses to AC to its CMD. Any penalties to a creature's AC also apply to its CMD. A flat-footed creature does not add its Dexterity bonus to its CMD.

Regards,
Ruemere

 

[Jeff Wilder]

The easiest way to memorize formulas:
CMB = BAB + STR bonus + SIZE BONUS
CMD = CMB + <stuff you improve your AC with> + 10

<stuff you improve your AC with>: anything you can add to AC excluding shield and armor bonuses

And doesn't include natural armor, which is so big it deserves clarification. Basically anything that improved Touch AC, I think.

As someone who has used CMB (in its Beta form) for quite a while, I very much like it. I haven't dissected the final tweaks to it yet, but what I've seen so far I like even better.

 

[frankthedm]

Do lances and mounted feats still multiply damage so much that "Nuke the Mount" is still the smartest thing to do?

Giant In the Playground Games

 

[Shazman]

They still multiply damage, but you can use the unseat feat to knock the rider from his mount.

 

[darkdragoon]

Save or Die/Suck

A particular spell may be less potent, but the same problem is there. Spell DCs love races and bloodlines. If Skill X was one of the ones combined, you have it easier, if it wasn't, you don't. Not to mention Fly.

The 15 minute work day?

Worse. Bardic Music was massacred. Rage has bonuses that could very easily be burned leaving the Barb out of it when **** goes down. Monks also have issues if they use up their pool.

Not enough feats for characters?

Feat trees are even more bloated now.

 

[Starbuck_II]

I don't know, the Barb doesn't seem that worse than 3.5 Barb.
He might be on rds/day instead of uses/day, but unlike the Bard no one was Raging all day long.

Monks: should have just given them full BAB I thought.

 

[Twowolves]

A particular spell may be less potent, but the same problem is there. Spell DCs love races and bloodlines. If Skill X was one of the ones combined, you have it easier, if it wasn't, you don't. Not to mention Fly.

No skills got "less potent", they almost all across the board got better. They certainly didn't get worse. Every class has access to 1 more skill point per level (favored class bonus). Fly skill isn't a skill tax, unless you can, you know, fly.

Worse. Bardic Music was massacred. Rage has bonuses that could very easily be burned leaving the Barb out of it when **** goes down. Monks also have issues if they use up their pool.

Resource management has always been a part of the game. In 3.x, the barbarian had to keep count of how many rages he got per day, and how many rounds were left in each rage. Now instead of ticking off uses/day, he ticks off rounds/day. Almost in every case, this leads to MORE uses of rage, not less (no activating a rage for a fight that is suddenly and unexpectedly over in 2 rounds). You may not like that Bards now have a limited number of rounds/day of singing, but that is not related to the "15 minute workday".

Feat trees are even more bloated now.

"Bloated" feat trees were a way to increase the power of the fighter. Fighters get more feats and needed a higher level power boost. What you derisively call "bloated" is actuall a fix to another area of complaint. And really, the way people bought of 3.x splatbooks for more and more feat choices, I really have a hard time seeing how more feats in the core rulebook is something for people to complain about, unless they are just looking for something to bitch about.

 

[Starbuck_II]

Resource management has always been a part of the game. In 3.x, the barbarian had to keep count of how many rages he got per day, and how many rounds were left in each rage.
Now instead of ticking off uses/day, he ticks off rounds/day. Almost in every case, this leads to MORE uses of rage, not less (no activating a rage for a fight that is suddenly and unexpectedly over in 2 rounds).
You may not like that Bards now have a limited number of rounds/day of singing, but that is not related to the "15 minute workday".

But part 1 is totally opposite situation of part 2, no?

Barbs have rds and per day to count, but Bards only had per day.

Why the extra counting for Bards now?