Is 3.0 Playable?

[Psion]

There are some things that could use some shoring up (haste and rangers have already been mentioned), but it's absolutely playable. One of the greatest campaigns I ran (from 1st-21st) was under 3.0.

 

[EricNoah]

I think 3.5 haste is the only thing I would port back to 3.0 if I were going that way, otherwise very doable!

 

[scourger]

Yes, 3.0 is playable. In fact, I refuse to convert my old 3.0 game to 3.5. I also still love a couple of the 3.0 spin-offs: Omega World d20 (brilliant!) and Judge Dredd d20 (honourable mention). I would be more likely to keep 3.0 than 3.5. But, I would run a 3.5 game, too. Core books only in any event. Have fun with it.

 

[Greg K]

Definitely playable. I use 3.0 with Unearthed Arcana (a 3.5 supplement), some third party material (3.0 and 3.5) and a few bits from the 3.5 srd.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Yep. Our group actually prefer it over 3.5. In fact, we never downgraded to 3.5.

 

[kitsune9]

Ok. First things first:

WS-EDITION-WAR = 'N'

Now that I have that out of the way, I have a question. I can pick up the 3.0 books cheaply. Is there any reason that I shouldn't use them? Is a game using just the 3.0 books playable (and hopefully enjoyable)? Your experiences and/or opinions are welcome!

Oh, yeah. Very enjoyable. The things that I liked most about 3.0 even though some of you have made it quite clear that you hated these, so if you disagree with me, that's fine, but remember, everyone's got their own tastes:

1. Haste. Yes, it's broken. Broken with a capital B, but if it didn't bring about some really nasty, hair-raising, hang-by-nails fights, I don't know what did. Being able to cast up to three spells in a single round was cool unless you were on that receiving end, but hey, it's all good!

2. Double a monster's HD only increases the CR by 2. Really nasty for higher CR monsters, but overall made for a fun encounter when you just wanted to have a solo encounter. You got the HP, the attack mojo, the size increase, etc, and it was fun. As a DM, I used these advancing rules a lot.

3. Toughness feats (dwarves toughness, dragon's toughness, etc.). Very easy to build up a fighting type character and cap out around 400+ hp at 20th level.

Now, others will say that the rules were broken, battles were wonky, etc, etc. Again, everyone's got their own tastes. As you can see, I'm a bit of a powergamer, so are my players. 3.0 scratched that itch for me.

Happy Gaming!

 

[N0Man]

I mostly prefer 4E to 3E or 3.5. I mostly prefer 3E to AD&D. I prefer mostly AD&D to OD&D.

All of them always have been and always will be playable, and will appeal to different tastes and preferences of each player. Play what you and your friends enjoy.

Edition wars suck and are pointless. They are typically more about emotion that logic, more about a perception than a reality, and more often than not are really 2 people arguing about some minor detail that really has little to do with the underlying thing that bothers both of them.

Let me add a quote attributed to Gary Gygax that I think applies here:

The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.

 

[Doodles]

Ok. First things first:

WS-EDITION-WAR = 'N'

Now that I have that out of the way, I have a question. I can pick up the 3.0 books cheaply. Is there any reason that I shouldn't use them? Is a game using just the 3.0 books playable (and hopefully enjoyable)? Your experiences and/or opinions are welcome!

It is playable, and enjoyable.

Do yourself a favor: grab them, and enjoy.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

OP: 3Ed is absolutely playable. Up until 3.5 was released, it was my favorite version of D&D.

 

[fanboy2000]

Definitely playable. I use 3.0 with Unearthed Arcana (a 3.5 supplement), some third party material (3.0 and 3.5) and a few bits from the 3.5 srd.

If I were to go back to 3.0, that's likely what I would use.

3.0 was better at calculating EXP, and I continued to use that method until I went to level independent xp from UA.

For some reason, I never parsed the 3.5 monk, the 3.0 monk made more sense to me.

Also my favorite supplements: Monster Manual II, Fiend Folio, and Deities and Demigods, are 3.0 supplements.