Is 3.5 backward compatible?

[MUKid]

I don't want to get into an "I hate 3.5" "Well I don't" "Well I do" sort of debate here, but I don't really like 3.5 all that much. It doesn't seem to add much, and I'm not really into minis. Most of all, though, I don't want to spend $90.

However, I also don't have time to convert everything that comes out from now on from 3.0 to 3.5, if such a thing is necessary. Plus, I loathe the idea of all my old 3e stuff suddenly being obsolete and incompatible with the newer 3.5 stuff.

So for those of you who have read the 3.5 much more thoroughly than I have, I've got a question. Is it going to be a lot of trouble to convert from 3.0 to 3.5 or vice versa? If I buy a 3.5 adventure, but I am still playing 3.0, can I run the adventure without much in the way of alteration?

It seems to me that many of the changes are small, and probably won't matter too much in terms of play balance and so forth. Is that the general consensus?

 

[Darrin Drader]

3.5 is very much backwards compatible. The only things that could cause a minor (emphasis on minor) issue would be character stat blocks. There are a couple feats, a couple spells, and a couple skills that either changed names or were reworked and called something else. Prestige classes still work without little to no modification. Other mechanics stayed mostly the same. I haven't had any troubles yet.

 

[haiiro]

WotC put out a conversion guide of sorts, which mentions some of the general changes as well as converting several specific books (Deities & Demigods, the ELH, etc.). It's available here: http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20030718a.

For the most part, I would say that tweaking things to work with 3.5e (or vice versa) won't be too difficult -- most changes are fairly minor. The most noticeable changes are in the classes and some of the spells.

If you don't want to shell out for the core books, you can always sift through the 3.5e SRD and decide for yourself: http://wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=srd35.

 

[Eternalknight]

I'm running a 3.5 game with 3.0 modules from Dungeon, and they really are a breeze to convert. Very little has changed to be a problem. Plus if I'm not sure of something under 3.5, I just use the 3.0 version of it.

 

[Kershek]

Don't fool yourself - it's not a breeze to convert. People with Rangers and Monks, for instance, will find themselves with a very different character upon upgrade. People who multiclassed may find that their upgraded character is not viable because of the way they changed certain class abililties (The rogue-ranger comes into mind, which is a popular combo). Any type of specialized spellcaster is going to need a lot of work to convert, since a lot of spells changed schools and it's quite possible that their main attack and defense forms are now unavailable, and on top of that they may need to pick a second prohibited school. Any clerics proficient with buffing that included metamagic feats may need reworking since the buff durations are much shorter and perhaps not as viable for metamagic. Magic items have changed functions and costs in many cases, causing someone to have much more (or much less) value upon upgrading.

Now imagine all of these changes in a module, where certain tactics, wealth levels, spell choices, class levels, etc. now need to be adjusted because of these changes. You will suddenly have a lot of work on your hands. I know, because I'm looking at that very thing quite soon.

If you use electronic aids, you may be in for a very rough transition period, depending on if and when your tool will be upgraded to 3.5. If you use PCGen, you have to wait until mid-November for their module set to be released for purchase. Other character and campaign managers may release their updates sooner or later than that date.

No, this is not going to be an easy transition.

 

[Eternalknight]

I should point out that I have neither a monk nor ranger character in my game.

However, you don't need to make it hard for yourself. Why not just use the stat block as is? Let's say there is a ranger NPC in the module you are running. You don't HAVE to convert it to 3.5... it will be fine left as is.

Believe me, 3.0 -> 3.5 is easy (well, at least compared to 2 -> 3).

 

[Kershek]

For the simple reason that NPCs should follow the same rules as PCs. Not doing that is unfair to whoever is weaker, especially for the classes that got power increases.

 

[Deadguy]

For the simple reason that NPCs should follow the same rules as PCs. Not doing that is unfair to whoever is weaker, especially for the classes that got power increases.

I don't think that that is necessarily so, Kershek. Unless you are playing a very 'Gamist' campaign, where the exact power of the opponents is essential for the fight, and where DM intervention to reblance things on the fly is discouraged, then the exact details are not important. After all, the PCs don't have access to the stat blocks, do they? They don't know, in detail, about the NPC in question. As such they aren't in a position to know whether a particular character is built per the 3.0 or the 3.5 rules. So long as the DM has some idea of how things have changed, any necessary alterations can be made on the fly.

I think this is largely a matter of perspective and style, rather than being a matter of game balance.

 

[Derulbaskul]

Like Eternal Knight, I have just used some stat blocks as they are. The differences are modest, particularly as monks have such a small role in my version of FR.

Damage reduction for monsters is something, however, I do convert, on the fly if need be simply because I like the rules so much (also recognising that 3E's rules were still so superior to 1E/2E's that it's not funny... IMO, of course).

I've used 3.5 for about 5 (or more; can't recall) 4-6 hr game sessions now across two campaigns and everything proceeding very smoothly. One of those campaigns has included a 3E Dungeon adventure and I sometimes just use the stats as they are.

Cheers
D

 

[Eternalknight]

I don't think that that is necessarily so, Kershek. Unless you are playing a very 'Gamist' campaign, where the exact power of the opponents is essential for the fight, and where DM intervention to reblance things on the fly is discouraged, then the exact details are not important. After all, the PCs don't have access to the stat blocks, do they? They don't know, in detail, about the NPC in question. As such they aren't in a position to know whether a particular character is built per the 3.0 or the 3.5 rules. So long as the DM has some idea of how things have changed, any necessary alterations can be made on the fly.

I think this is largely a matter of perspective and style, rather than being a matter of game balance.

That pretty much covers what I was going to say.

If, in your campaign, you have player's who MUST know what classes and levels of NPC's they are facing, then yes, it would be not so easy to convert. However, the player's probably shouldn't know what classes and levels they are facing.

It's up to the individual DM how hard he wishes to make it for himself. There are not enough differences between 3.0 and 3.5 to make it worth the hassle, in my opinion.