D&D 3.x I miss 3.5 edition

[nevin]

I have a fondness for 3e (both 3.0 and 3.5/PF1). The customization, the way rules fit together into a fairly wholistic structure - I found a lot to recommend it. I played 3.5->PF1 for quite a few years (though, given my drothers, I would steal some of 3.0 back into it).

But 5e really won me over. I've DMed a campaign up to 20th level in it and it's a lot easier to deal with than running 3.5/PF1 to the same level.

yeah in some ways 3rd /pf 1e is like the MMO version of D&D. Prep time is higher, some players tend to spend hours and hours going through all the rules online looking for a surprise or to find minmax perfection. Which just makes DM prep time even worse.
As I get older and have more things pulling on my time I do appreciate the light easy version that is 5th. Haven't DM'd a game with it yet but it just plays easier with less prep and less stress.

 

[aco175]

I recall the Dragon Magazine articles counting down to 3rd edition. I remember thinking that they are ruining the game and this will be terrible and all the rants others say each time a new edition comes out. By the time it came out I realized it was a great edition that made the game better. I do not question some of the new stuff anymore. I just take each edition and find that it is fine enough.

 

[Retreater]

My main issue when 3e first came out was that it was my first "crunchy" TTRPG. I didn't understand the concept of exact rules. Counting movement squares, having precise skill check mechanics, Encounter Levels, gold per level for magic items, etc. All that was a very difficult concept. It took a couple years and someone else running the campaigns for me to be able to DM again.
And honestly, it hamstrung my DMing style for decades. I gave up everything that was creative and joyous in my style. I was the ignorant muscle of the system, and I grew to resent the hobby.
I don't think I'll run a crunchy game again.

 

[Tonguez]

I used to play 3.5 but moved over to 5th after a long hiatus from D&D (playing FATE instead)

I never thought I'd go back to 3rd because it was a bit overwhelming when you take a gander at the rules but I recently joined a two of 3.5 pbp games.

I like it so much better than 5th. It has so much more flavour, IMO and I like the added crunch. Leveling a character in 3rd is fun. Levelling a character in 5th is boring. You have, like two or three choices - if you have any at all.

That said, the Character building in 3.5 is a headache because of all the 3rd party stuff. Trying to figure out the best comboes etc... I tend to stick to the PHB but when you see all the other players cherry picking feats and abilities from obscure books, you suddenly realize you're underpowered in comparison.

I actually found character creation in 3.5 to be easier than in 5e. It may be because I previously played GURPs but I found that the options of 3.5e made for easy plug n play to get the exact character I wanted all working logically together in a clear framework.

5e hasnt got that same plug n play ease, its not hard but it does take a bit of squinting trying to twist subclass and backgrounds and stuff to fit a concept and the maths is inconsistent too.

 

[Voidmoji]

I played 3.5e throughout its run. Near the end, the game started to wear me out. It was mostly higher levels of play that killed my interest. As a GM I rarely used published adventure, but the last thing I ran was Shackled City, because I didn't want to have to plan out higher level stuff.

I moved to 4e when it came out, and used it to run the best D&D I've ever run. I really do think 4e is a great game. But for me, 4e is a game best played with the character software. I can still theoretically access it, but expecting players to jump through the hoops to use it seems unreasonable.

I have skipped out on 5e. It's just not a game I'm interested in.

And so these days I'm kind of a D&D expat. I'm currently running two Shadow of the Weird Wizard games.

But...recently I was reminded of the existence of E6. I went back and read up on the threads here on ENWorld. I always found E6 interesting from an academic point of view, but never engaged with it. But it really has me thinking.

What I miss from 3.5e is all the optional power systems, and how flavorful they are. More than any other version of D&D, they were really willing to experiment. I live the 3.5e psionic system. I loved Tome of Battle. I had a player play a Binder from Tome of Magic. In my Shackled City game we had a Psion, a ToB Warblade, and a wizard using the spell system from Arcana Evolved.

So, I've been tinkering with Pathfinder, thinking about a P6 game somewhere down the road, using all of the Pathfinder versions of those systems. Ultimate Psionics, Path of War, and so on. All the fun disparate systems, but none of the high level issues I had.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I actually found character creation in 3.5 to be easier than in 5e. It may be because I previously played GURPs but I found that the options of 3.5e made for easy plug n play to get the exact character I wanted all working logically together in a clear framework.

5e hasnt got that same plug n play ease, its not hard but it does take a bit of squinting trying to twist subclass and backgrounds and stuff to fit a concept and the maths is inconsistent too.

I guess what I mean is you have to do a lot of advance planning: what feat tree do I want? What skills do I want to focus on? You're more locked in to your decisions. 5e lets you switch things up much more and you can't really make a sub-optimal character in 5e unless you really try. I agree that you can get the character you want in3e. Which is why I like it. I find 5e characters all kind of samey now that I've gotten an opportunity to play both at the same time.