D&D 3E/3.5 Edition Experience - Did/Do you Play 3rd Edtion D&D? How Was/Is it?

[Zardnaar]

Breath of fresh air at the time.

Played it until 2012 via Pathfinder 2009-2012.

Fun at the time but burnt out on it. Don't really have nostalgia to run it again. Would maybe play it again as a once off or short game.

Still spent the longest time with it out of all the editions. Had some great fluff as well with FRCS, and Out of the Abyss etc.

 

[Quartz]

Only issue here is those particular abilities do stack because they aren't divine bonuses.

If you call the overgroup containing those Divine then it's Divine. I could have called it Extraplanar. I could have called it Camembert. As for the damage, again you would just take the best of that overgroup. KISS applies. You don't have to spend an extended amount of time figuring out which effects apply, just apply the best.

 

[CleverNickName]

Only issue here is those particular abilities do stack because they aren't divine bonuses. Axiomatic makes a weapon lawfully-aligned and infused with the power of law. Holy makes good-aligned and imbued with holy power. Sacred sheathes the weapon in positive energy. The stacking bonuses for these three actually vary depending on the target, but the +2 bonuses are only for purposes of costing the creation of a magic weapon.

Axiomatic weapons bypass DR and does an additional 2d6 damage to chaotic targets.

Holy weapons bypass DR and does an additional 2d6 damage to evil targets.

Sacred weapons are good aligned for purposes of bypassing DR, do 1d6 additional damage to undead, and 2d6 additional damage to outsiders.

Let's say a PC with a +3 Str bonus wields a weapon with these three abilities against a demon - say - a marilith. The marilith is a chaotic evil extraplanar outsider with DR 10/cold iron or good.

The PC gets a +3 Str bonus to attack and damage. The Axiomatic effect doesn't bypass the DR but does do 2d6 additional damage since the marilith is chaotic. The Holy and Sacred effects both can bypass DR and they both do an additional 2d6 damage since the marilith is both evil and an outsider. Result: + 3 attack bonus, +6d6+3 damage bonus, and no damage reduction.

Let's say it was against a vampire. Always evil, DR 10/silver and magic. +3 Str bonus. Axiomatic = no effect. Holy does 2d6 damage but does not bypass DR. Sacred does an additional 1d6 but does not bypass DR.

--twitch-- Stacking bonuses...st-stacking b-bonuses... --twitch--

I really did love a lot of 3rd Edition. And there are a lot of things about it that I miss in 5th Edition. But having to manage dozens of different bonus types and whether or not they stack? (and when? and how?) Nope. This is the biggest reason why I would ever only run 3.X D&D again with the E6 houserules.

(I'd also cap ability scores at 18 + racial mod. So Dwarves could have up to a 20 in Constitution, but only up to 16 in Charisma. But that's another houserule for another thread.)

 

[Bohandas]

For the poll, does the playing Temple of Elemental Evil 3e computer game count as "playing right now" or would I have to go with my last tabletop 3e game which was like 10-15 years ago.

 

[CleverNickName]

For the poll, does the playing Temple of Elemental Evil 3e computer game count as "playing right now" or would I have to go with my last tabletop 3e game which was like 10-15 years ago.

Interesting question...I mean, that video game uses the 3rd Edition rules, and it's super fun...but is it really the same? Hmm.

Either option is valid, but if you ask me (and you did), I'd stick with the tabletop version from 10-15 years ago. The video game doesn't use the books that I describe in the original post.

Does that work? Feel free to tell me off. ;-)

 

[atanakar]

Forgot to say I would play 3e (d20 games) again if invited. But I would not want to GM a game. This is the only other edition, with 5e, that I would play.

 

[3catcircus]

If you call the overgroup containing those Divine then it's Divine. I could have called it Extraplanar. I could have called it Camembert. As for the damage, again you would just take the best of that overgroup. KISS applies. You don't have to spend an extended amount of time figuring out which effects apply, just apply the best.

That would be a house rule, not RAW. I'd love to hear what house rules were most popular at the time

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Wow. The strictly positive voting for this editions popularity is (demonic palpatine voice) STRONG

70% strictly positive
7% in the middle
23% strictly negative

 

[CleverNickName]

I'd love to hear what house rules were most popular at the time

Oh man, there were so many houserules at the time. But my favorite is still E6. It covers so many problems with a single, easy rule.

Wow. The strictly positive voting for this editions popularity is (demonic palpatine voice) STRONG

Eh...not really. I mean, it's doing okay (more than 2/3 of its votes have been positive experiences*), but every other edition except OD&D has it beat.

OD&D: 61.0% <--- Lowest
AD&D 1E: 75.4%
Basic D&D: 88.4% <--- Highest
B/X: 78.8%
BECMI/RC: 80.8%
AD&D 2E: 80.0%
D&D 3E: 69.6%

*A positive response means that it got either a "remember liking it," "I like it," or a "I would like to try it" response.

EDIT: numbers updated as of today, 5:00 p.m. PST

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Oh man, there were so many houserules at the time. But my favorite is still E6. It covers so many problems with a single, easy rule.

Eh...not really. I mean, it's doing okay (more than 2/3 of its votes have been positive experiences*), but every other edition except OD&D has it beat.

OD&D: 60.6%
AD&D 1E: 75.4%
Basic D&D: 88.2%
B/X: 78.8%
BECMI/RC: 81.7%
AD&D 2E: 79.8%
D&D 3E: 69.2%

*A positive response means that it got either a "remember liking it," "I like it," or a "I would like to try it" response.

I left out a piece of info

Every time ive checked its been trending upward so its increasing

The negative votes were some of the earliest

Interesting pattern

Im thinking it may end up around 75-80

 

[CleverNickName]

I left out a piece of info

Every time ive checked its been trending upward so its increasing

The negative votes were some of the earliest

Interesting pattern

Yeah, I've noticed that for all of the editions except for OD&D: that edition has had a steady stream of positive, neutral, and negative votes since I first posted it. But for every other edition I've surveyed so far, there was a surge of negative votes for the first few hours but then the negatives start coming in a lot more slowly.

People are quicker to express their disdain than they are to express their delight, I guess?

Im thinking it may end up around 75-80

There are a lot of fond memories out there about this edition. I mean, it saved the entire hobby, for crying out loud. It gave us the OGL. It brought us Pathfinder, the d20 System, Eberron.

But there are just as many unpleasant memories about it, too. A lot of people were frustrated that the wrong things were changed, or were changed in the wrong way. For some folks (me included), it was too complicated and slow. And I voted "played it and liked it."

At 13.9%, it has more "I played it and I didn't really like it" votes than any other. More than the last four editions combined, in fact.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

At 13.9%, it has more "I played it and I didn't really like it" votes than any other. More than the last four editions combined, in fact.

tbh im not surprised about this and actually although it being the savior edition (it really is) will probably help it out some i dont think it will all that much. It is also much beloved for other reasons. Extreme customizability for instance. No other edition comes close on that front imo. Yet, actually, the reason i think it will rise to be somewhere between 75 and 80 is actually related to the very thing you mention in the portion of your quote that i reposted. I believe a higher percentage of haters of this edition than any other (not all the ones who dislike it, just a higher percentage than the haters of other editions) essentially have the rabid sort of hate. It burns hot and bright but loses interest quickly. So the remainder that trickle in i think will actually be fewer in number. There are a lot of people who hate it more than any other edition but i think there are not actually quite as many of the slow burn haters (which are a larger portion). So i think where ass the negatives slowed to a trickle with most other editions, with this one i think it will slow to a drip.

 

[atanakar]

ot surprised about this and actually although it being the savior edition (it really is) will probably help it out some i dont think it will all that much. It is also much beloved for other reasons. Extreme customizability for instance. No other edition comes close on that front imo. Yet, actually, the reason i think it will rise to be somewhere between 75 and 80 is actually related to the very thing you mention in the portion of your quote that i reposted. I believe a higher percentage of haters of this edition than any other (not all the ones who dislike it, just a higher percentage than the haters of other editions) essentially have the rabid sort of hate. It burns hot and bright but loses interest quickly. So the remainder that trickle in i think will actually be fewer in number. There are a lot of people who hate it more than any other edition but i think there are not actually quite as many of the slow burn haters (which are a larger portion). So i think where ass the negatives slowed to a trickle with most other editions, with this one i think it will slow to a drip.

Wait until we get to 4e...

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Wait until we get to 4e...

I consider the hate for 4e a completely unique animal. Its the one edition i didnt mean to include in my umbrella statement because the sources of the hate are...differently motivated in the extreme. Yes. Its also rabid, but its just...different. I do think it will benefit from a similar statistical effect.

I could write a whole page om the weirdness that happened during that edition. Not just in d&d but in table tops all around from many different angles. It was an awkward time.

 

[3catcircus]

I consider the hate for 4e a completely unique animal. Its the one edition i didnt mean to include in my umbrella statement because the sources of the hate are...differently motivated in the extreme. Yes. Its also rabid, but its just...different. I do think it will benefit from a similar statistical effect.

I could write a whole page om the weirdness that happened during that edition. Not just in d&d but in table tops all around from many different angles. It was an awkward time.

We just need to make sure that one of the 4e options isn't "I didn't really like it" but "my hate is to infinity."

 

[Salthorae]

The most resonant word I can think of when I started playing 3.0/3.5 is/was "freedom" after playing 2e as my starting point about 8 years before 3.0 came out.

My very first 3.0 character was a dwarven sorcerer. Because. I. Could!

 

[Son of the Serpent]

The most resonant word I can think of when I started playing 3.0/3.5 is/was "freedom" after playing 2e as my starting point about 8 years before 3.0 came out.

My very first 3.0 character was a dwarven sorcerer. Because. I. Could!

The spirit of 3.x is basically, "if you can imagine this thing you can do it or you can get there, just dont die and just keep swimming"

 

[CleverNickName]

Regarding "edition hatred" and such:

Ya'll don't remember the "my hat of d02 know no limit" thread?

 

[Salthorae]

It was great when I got Overland Flight because at some point I lost a leg...

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Just occurred to me that a choice on this poll should have been "My hat of d02 know no limit"

edit: just ninja'd by @CleverNickName !