Going Back to 3.0

[Reynard]

I am just curious: has anyone played 3.5 for a while and then decided to go back to 3.0? Why? What were the advantages? How'dit work out for you?

As a corrollary -- what is the complete list of WotC 3.0 products, and how do I tell if a 3rd party product is a 3.0 one or a 3.5 one?

Thanks.

 

[Tharkun]

I have mostly been playing 3.0 well after 3.5 came out. I've found it is better than 3.5.

As for what is 3.0 or 3.5 I think the cut off is July 2003. Savage Species was the last 3.0 book IIRC.

 

[Voadam]

how do I tell if a 3rd party product is a 3.0 one or a 3.5 one?

Thanks.

Some 3.5 ones will say compatible with the "revised" or even flatly say "3.5" version of the rules. Otherwise publication date is the best guide for guaranteed 3.0.

 

[Greylock]

Some games and settings are still 3.0. Dragonstar, for instance. When my group played around with that, we were using 3.0, with a few 3.5 tweaks.

 

[Odhanan]

I have mostly been playing 3.0 well after 3.5 came out. I've found it is better than 3.5.

Why, specifically, is it better than 3.5?

 

[Gundark]

Yeah ...I'm curious too

 

[Wik]

3.0 is much better, simply because it's easier to write it's name in Roman Numerals. III.V just doesn't look cool, people!

In all seriousness... 3.0 is a bit wonky in a lot of ways, but it does kinda feel more "old-school" than 3.5, and is, simply because of the limited amount of products released by wotc for it, it's maybe a bit more "rules-light".

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

While I personally prefer 3.5Ed, most of the people in my current game group (esp. DMs) haven't made the move, so what I usually get to play is 3.0.

IMHO, the only solid advantage 3.0 has over 3.5 is found in spell durations. Several (mostly buff) spells had their durations axed from hours to minutes. That is a bit of a pain, but overall, it's probably better for game balance. Were I the designer, though, I would have bumped the spells' levels instead of shortening their durations.

In addition, there are several good products that simply never got updated for 3.5- at least, not as a full product release. Oriental Adventures was updated only in Dragon #318 (as I recall), and Green Ronin's Book of the Righteous is still only available in 3.0 form AFAIK. The same could be said of several fine products from AEG and other 3rd party publishers...some no longer in business. Of course, that means you can probably assemble a nice 3.0 library via the used book market for not a lot of $$$$. Besides the ones mentioned above, I'd add FFE's Book of All Spells and AEG's Feats and Mercenaries to the list of quality 3.0 products, as well as some of the games like Arcana Unearthed or Swashbuckling Adventures.

Still, 3.0 remains a solid game. I just wouldn't play it if I had the option of being in a 3.5 setting.

 

[GlassJaw]

For all the flack it got when it was announced, 3.5 is a better system. 3.0 definitely had some balance issues.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You might also wish to check out this thread:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=214234