Does 3E/3.5 dictate a certain style of play?

[Gentlegamer]

I look at 3E as more like 'my' game than any previous edition because it's the first edition I have not had to use extensive house rules or third party add-ons to make it playable, useful, and enjoyable. This is the edition that brought every gamer I know back to D&D because beforehand we could stomach it for a little while but eventually had to play something else for a while to get the taste out of our mouths.

Pardon me for saying this, but that means you and your players really don't like D&D. You like d20 (Fantasy).

 

[Raven Crowking]

Pardon me for saying this, but that means you and your players really don't like D&D. You like d20 (Fantasy).

Actually, when you look at the people who support 3e the strongest, there is a tendency among them to also be the people who claim that they disliked 1e and 2e the most. I would assume that, for those who actually "like D&D" and "the core D&D experience", the only difference between editions would be how they view the mechanics.

This doesn't seem to be the case among the most vocal IME and IMHO, although there are a large number of EN Worlders who seem to like various editions for their differing strengths. My own homebrewing is an attempt to use what I view as the strengths of each edition together, rather than letting a single edition heavily influence playstyle.

To each his own pudding, though.


RC

 

[Umbran]

Pardon me for saying this, but that means you and your players really don't like D&D. You like d20 (Fantasy).

While I'm all for making semantics clear, there's also something to be said for not trying to tell people what they do and don't like. Please refrain from doing so in the future. Thank you.

 

[molonel]

Actually, when you look at the people who support 3e the strongest, there is a tendency among them to also be the people who claim that they disliked 1e and 2e the most.

I loved First Edition AD&D. It was the first roleplaying game I ever played. I loved the game, I loved the books, I loved the artwork and I still get little geekgasms when I see a 1st Edition Player's Handbook.

2nd Edition killed the game for me.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Actually, when you look at the people who support 3e the strongest, there is a tendency among them to also be the people who claim that they disliked 1e and 2e the most. I would assume that, for those who actually "like D&D" and "the core D&D experience", the only difference between editions would be how they view the mechanics.

I loved 1E.

Unlike a lot of people, I loved 2E. I thought it had its flaws, but my enjoyment of D&D as a game never once wavered throughout the entirety of the 2E lifespan. (That said, I avoided the various Players Options books, so who knows if my experience would have changed?)

I love 3E. I think, in most ways, it's a mechanical improvement over all prior editions. Are there a few details of the older games I'd prefer they have kept? Sure. I don't know a single player who can't find something they preferred about an older edition.

But my love and support of 3E certainly doesn't stem from a dislike of any prior version.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I loved 1e, too. I admit, though, that I thought 2e was pretty durn shiny when it came out. I liked the expansion of specialist wizards. I liked speciatly priests. I enjoyed using the Kits mechanic to differentiate cultural groups and racial types. 2e had a lot going for it.....but, ultimately, it was 2e that almost got me to quit playing the game as well. In my 3e houserules, I'm doing a lot of throwbacks to 1e.

RC

 

[Raven Crowking]

But my love and support of 3E certainly doesn't stem from a dislike of any prior version.

I didn't mean to suggest that I was speaking of any identifiable individual. Certainly, I wouldn't claim that you are a strident "3e is the one true game" kind of person!

And, I agree with you about the mechanics. In terms of the base mechanics, and in terms of a lot of the specific mechanics (though not all, IMHO), 3e is an improvement over prior editions.


RC

 

[thedungeondelver]

I loved 1e, too. I admit, though, that I thought 2e was pretty durn shiny when it came out. I liked the expansion of specialist wizards. I liked speciatly priests. I enjoyed using the Kits mechanic to differentiate cultural groups and racial types. 2e had a lot going for it.....but, ultimately, it was 2e that almost got me to quit playing the game as well. In my 3e houserules, I'm doing a lot of throwbacks to 1e.

RC

Well good lord man, don't leave me in suspense! Start another thread and hit us with some!

 

[billd91]

I loved 1E.

Unlike a lot of people, I loved 2E. I thought it had its flaws, but my enjoyment of D&D as a game never once wavered throughout the entirety of the 2E lifespan. (That said, I avoided the various Players Options books, so who knows if my experience would have changed?)

I love 3E. I think, in most ways, it's a mechanical improvement over all prior editions. Are there a few details of the older games I'd prefer they have kept? Sure. I don't know a single player who can't find something they preferred about an older edition.

But my love and support of 3E certainly doesn't stem from a dislike of any prior version.

I enjoyed 2e too though it's also the edition I probably house-ruled the most because of things I considered problematic. And I liked kits as well as a way of differentiating different fighters from each other and so on (though I agree that too many kits were poorly designed). I looked into the Players Options books and never used much from them.

I adapted to 3E with some doubt but was won over by the mechanics, the choices, and the way the game plays. Does it still need work? Sure. But I find that the 1e game I'm still playing in doesn't have the same appeal to me now that I've tasted a better game system that still produces the kind of action and adventure that I favor.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Well good lord man, don't leave me in suspense! Start another thread and hit us with some!

Actually, there are several earlier threads where I updated material I had written for my 1e or 2e houserules and/or campaign flavour documents. I returned the electrum piece to my world's currency. I restored equipment options from 1e and 2e. I restored some of the descriptive text, and I restored Gary's advice to players from the 1e PHB (absolutely a must).

If you want more, email me.

RC