Is 3.0 Playable?

[Starfox]

To be the only fly in the ointment...

I dislike the 3.0 ranger. I much preferred Monte Cook's 3.0 ranger variant (http://www.montecook.com/images/Ranger3.pdf) to the core ranger.

Beyond that, I see no searing problems to running in 3.0.

The greatest improvement in 3.5 were in the classes:

Ranger
Paladin
Bard

I remember being stunned when 3.5 came that the sorcerer was not on that list.

However, class changes was not the only thing that changed in 3.5; I would not go back to 3.0 and not bye the books today. But I am a picky one.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Yeah, haste was pretty broken, but 3.5 went way too far imo. They made it pretty much useless. I houseruled it similar to AD&D's haste. An aoe effect that doubled movement and attacks, aged everyone a year and implemented a dc 6 fort save or die (to simulate system shock rolls.) This made haste a great spell to cast when tshtf, but one not used as standard tactics. A 5% chance of death is nothing to sneeze at, half the party could drop dead from one spell. This might not work for everyone, after all, the bad guys could still cast it every fight, they could generally care less if their minions died from a failed save. It worked for our group, though.

...I wouldn't go that far, but glad you like it with your houserule. I've long thought of making 3.5 haste (and by extension 3.0 haste, as I'd never allow it as written) actually owrk like the opposite of Slow. In other words, you gain an extra move action each round, as well as the speed boost (but no extra attack on a full attack). Makes it easier to move and full attack, especially nice for mobility classes like rogue, monk, and scout. Doesn't help spellcasters any more or less than 3.5 haste, and is marginally less useful to archers (who'd probably rather get an extra rapid shot in than get to move after doing it).

 

[Gort]

If I was running 3.0, I'd make it clear that the campaign wasn't going to exceed level 12 or so. The game doesn't balance too well above that level, and running it becomes a bit of a chore for the DM.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I ran a 3.0 campaign from 2001 - 2007, 1st - 25th level. I used the ELH, the 3.0 splat books, MM 1 & 2, the 3.5 psionic book, and Book of 9 Swords (I treated it as Epic level classes). I played in a 3.5 game and for every good fix there was something I found irritating, and one that was completely inane. Odds are for a 3.5 player they'd have the same feel about 3.0.

If you can get them cheap enough and other people don't mind not playing the newest version, go for it.

And don't worry, you can mix and match 3.0 and 3.5 supplements without issue 98% of the time. The bigger issue tends to be the differences between settings or publisher (Forgotton Realms, Mongoose, White Wolf, etc).