C&C - Maybe A Dumb Question but . . .

[RFisher]

This is interesting. I was understanding C&C was very compatible with 3X but my knowledge is entirely second or third hand.

My own experience: C&C is not significantly more compatible with 3e than older editions.

But on the other hand, I've never found conversion between any two systems all that difficulty.

Using older (A)D&D material with C&C, however, was trivial.

 

[RFisher]

For example, there is a current thread at the Troll Lords board about armor class and magic items and stacking; there are no explicit rules about how they can all stack. So, you gotta trust your DM.

To be nitpicky: That really isn't an issue of trust. You just ask your DM (er...CK) which way he falls on the issue & make your decisions accordingly.

 

[Treebore]

My own experience: C&C is not significantly more compatible with 3e than older editions.

But on the other hand, I've never found conversion between any two systems all that difficulty.

Using older (A)D&D material with C&C, however, was trivial.

I agree, adapting 3E to the older editions and to C&C is pretty easy. Much easier than adapting older material to 3E.

The only areas I would disagree with this is transferring rules from 3E to older editions. I am not sure how much you could transfer over before 1E or 2E would break under the weight. They could definitely handle Skills and feats. So maybe they could stand up to the rest.

Guess we need to find someone who still uses 1E or 2E and see how many rules they have taken from 3E.

 

[Voadam]

I agree, adapting 3E to the older editions and to C&C is pretty easy. Much easier than adapting older material to 3E.

The only areas I would disagree with this is transferring rules from 3E to older editions. I am not sure how much you could transfer over before 1E or 2E would break under the weight. They could definitely handle Skills and feats. So maybe they could stand up to the rest.

Guess we need to find someone who still uses 1E or 2E and see how many rules they have taken from 3E.

I think 3e attacks of opportunity are taken from the 2e Player's Option book Combat and Tactics.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Guess we need to find someone who still uses 1E or 2E and see how many rules they have taken from 3E.

You rang?

Zero.

 

[Treebore]

So what have you taken from 3E and how did you make it work in whichever edition you run with?

Voadam,

That may be. I largely ignored the Optional books in 2E so I don't remember.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

So what have you taken from 3E and how did you make it work in whichever edition you run with?

Nothing.

I don't run straight 1e; I ignore weapon speed factors, weapons -v- AC type, psionics, bards, monks, and several other smaller aspects that I won't bore you with. I also house-ruled initiative into something that only very vaguely resembles the 1e system... but I did this in the early 1980's, and I'm still playing essentially the same game with almost exactly the same group of people. (My son didn't join us 'til later. His excuse is, he wasn't born until 1994.)

I bought a couple of bits of 2e, then realised it wasn't for me and went back to 1e.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

The biggest thing I took from 3E and applied to older editions isn't a rule or subsystem, but rather the concept of "behind the curtain," or "why are the rules this way?" For whatever reason, 3E made me much more aware of game design (I think the Internet had a lot to do with this, actually).

When I started asking the question "why are the rules this way" about older editions, I quickly realized that many things I had previously dismissed as weird or silly or broken made sense in the context of the system's design and "philosophy." I also realized that the older approach often suited me better than the newer approaches.

C&C strikes me as a middle ground. Nevertheless, I think it's more "old school" than "new school," which is one reason it's trivial to use Classic/1E/2E material with C&C, while using 3E material is "not hard, but not trivial." I like C&C, and am running 2 campaigns that use C&C. However, I'm also running a Holmes/OD&D(1974) campaign, and I'm having just as much fun with that -- and it's *really* old-school (e.g. all weapons do 1d6 damage, thieves don't have a special ability to find traps, no skill system at all, et cetera).

My next campaign will either use Holmes/OD&D, again (it's been a real blast), or I may use 1E. I've been reading through OSRIC, lately, and it's whetting my appetite for 1E. (I think OSRIC's presentation of the combat rules are really good, by the way.)

 

[Zulgyan]

Converting d20 to C&C is a piece of cake. It's mostly about taking away the fat.

For example:

Water Mephit Small Outsider (Extraplanar, Water); CR 3; HD 3d8+6; hp 19;
Init +0; Spd 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (average) , swim 30 ft.; Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AC 16 (+1 size, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 16;
Base Atk +3; Grp +1; Atk Claw +6 melee (1d3+2); Full Atk 2 claws +6 melee (1d3+2);
SA Breath weapon, spell-like abilities, summon mephit; SQ Damage reduction 5/magic, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 2; AL Usually neutral; SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +3;
Str 14, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 6, Wis 11, Cha 15
Skills: Bluff +8, Escape Artist +6, Hide +10, Listen +6, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +2 (+4 acting), Move Silently +6, Spot +6, Swim +10, Use Rope +0 (+2 with bindings)
Feats: Power Attack, Toughness
Skills: A water mephit has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.
Spell-Like Abilities: Once per hour a water mephit can hurl an acidic blob that functions like acid arrow (caster level 3rd). Once per day it can create a mass of smelly fog that duplicates the effect of a stinking cloud spell (DC 15, caster level 6th). The save DC is Charisma-based.
Breath Weapon(Su): 15-foot cone of caustic liquid, damage 1d8 acid, Reflex DC 13 half. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +1 racial bonus.
Fast Healing(Ex): A water mephit heals only if it is exposed to rain or submerged up to its waist in water.
Summon Mephit(Sp): Once per day, a mephit can attempt to summon another mephit of the same variety, much as though casting a summon monster spell, but with only a 25% chance of success. Roll d%: On a failure, no creature answers the summons that day. A mephit that has just been summoned cannot use its own summon ability for 1 hour. This ability is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell.

After just deleting and rearraging a bit plus adding small C&C specifics:

Water Mephit/S (N-low; AC 16; M/S30’, F40’ (avrg); HD 3d8; HP 15; Pri: P/M; Atk: 2 claws (1d3); SA Breath weapon: 15-foot cone of caustic liquid 1d8 acid/ once every 1d4 rounds * spell-like abilities: acidic blob Melf’s Acid Arrow/hour, mass of smelly fog Stinking Cloud/day * summon mephit 25%; SQ Damage Reduction 5/magic, DV60’, Fast Healing 2 (only in water); XP: 155)

Ready to go!

No more than 2 minutes time.