Anyone Remember...

[Keifer113]

When all you could play were fighters, magic users, thieves and clerics? ( and paladins, rangers, druids, monks and assassins...and real bards. That could kick tail).

Is it me or are there 38973943789 books out there to juice up characters? Whatever happened to having a good character be good not because of a "build" but because of background and history of play?

I guess I'm getting crotchety in my old age, but I think this prestigeclass arms race is going to kill the game. And lets not get into the whiny players who demand their characters have X amount of magic items because the DMG says thats how much they should have...

Sorry had to whine myself.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Sure I remember. Been playing since '83. But the notion that the PrCs and extra classes are going to kill the game is just silly.

I agree that it's possible for a game to get bogged down in options. That doesn't mean the game shouldn't provide them; it means the DM should decide what fits into his campaign and what doesn't. I've not yet run, or played in, a D&D 3E game that threw the doors open to everything published. But I have allowed some of the stranger stuff where it was appropriate, and gotten some great characters--with personalities and histories--out of doing so.

I utterly reject the notion that having multiple class options and builds is contrary to making up a good character background and history. Players who want character backstories will create them whether they have one class to choose from or a thousand. Players who don't will not, no matter how you curtail their options.

 

[Tsillanabor]

Been playing almost as long as Mouseferatu-options simply allow a character's abilities to match the concept. I love this version of the game.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Oh noes.

 

[cwhs01]

Just wondering... Is this what they call the silence before the firestorm of a flamewar?

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I guess I'm getting crotchety in my old age, but I think this prestigeclass arms race is going to kill the game.

Kill it? Nah. There are lots of people who like all the defined options and bells and whistles of 3E.

However, I agree that 3E is definitely a different game in the way it plays and feels. There are a lot of people who prefer the older editions. I know I've been enjoying some other systems, including classic D&D, recently. It's been a refreshing change. There's no reason to put-down 3E, though; it's a well-designed game that is good at what it does, IMO.

If you're getting 3E fatigue, there are lots of other systems out there, not the least of which are the earlier editions of D&D. There's a surprisingly big following for the older editions. Check out Dragonsfoot, for starters. There're also newer games (often OGL) that mimic older editions and capture a lot of their feel. One of the more popular is Troll Lord's Castles & Crusades, which feels a lot like AD&D, to me. There's also Basic Fantasy, which is very similar to classic D&D, and is free. Pied Piper Publishing is putting out modules that can be used with older editions (or C&C). Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz are writing modules and supplements for C&C (e.g. Castle Zagyg). There's an upcoming SRD-like document for old school rules called OSRIC.

Anyway, there's lots of activity (nothing like the activity around 3E, but still a surprisingly large and active community). Don't waste time bashing d20; just start checking out some other options. There's room for more than one system in the gaming world.

Lastly, yes, I remember; I started in 1978.

 

[Gwaihir]

Bards Aha

I must admit, the 1E bard was a tough old coot.

 

[diaglo]

remember it, i'm still playing it. Clerics, Fighting Men, and Magic Users with the optional Thief class added from Supplement I Greyhawk

 

[JoeGKushner]

Anyone remember when 3d6 rolls straight and randomlly rolled hit points meant that the fighter had less hit points and strength then the cleric and that a cat could kill a first level mage?

 

[diaglo]

Anyone remember when 3d6 rolls straight and randomlly rolled hit points meant that the fighter had less hit points and strength then the cleric and that a cat could kill a first level mage?

i'll do a search but i'm pretty sure the cat vs commoner thread was using the 2000ed.