3.5e tidbits from the Ed Stark chat.
I'm just going to be brief here with the major points (and in no particular order). You can listen to the whole chat (2 hours worth) here:
http://www.mortality.net/shoutcast.php
1. Class-wise, the fighter, cleric, wizard, sorcerer, rogue and paladin won't see much in the way of changes. Spells are another matter of course.
2. The barbarian gets DR earlier, starting at 7th level (1/-) and gaining more (5/- @ 19th level). Abilities spread out more to make class more attractive.
3. The monk gets ki strike earlier (Ki Strike: Magic at 4th level / Lawful at 10th level / Adamantine at 16th level) and has apparantly seen a broader changes in general. Flurry/Improved Flurry and multiclassing have been clarified.
4. The ranger gets improved species enemy abilities (starting at 1st level), more skill points, track while running, "wild empathy" ability (again at 1st level)... and at 2nd level gets to choose his "combat style" (two-weapon and archery only).
5. The bard is being treated as the "diplomat" and "information gatherer". He gets more song abilities, a revised spell list.
6. There will be a new "Combat and Tactics" style book coming out later this year for more tactical minis combat options! (The Complete Warrior perhaps?)
7. Spells, if unbalanced, were tweaked if possible to keep them at the same spell level. They tried to move as few as possible (up or down)
8. Harm and Heal cap out at 15th level (max. 150 HPs and Harm gets a Save for 1/2 [Min. 1 HP]), Haste goes back to previous editions affecting a larger group of people. Everyone gains a bonus to move, AC, attack bonus and an extra move action but of course no 2 spells at once. And on that note, Sorcerers still can't make use of Quicken Spell (the only way to cast 2 spells at once).
9. Diplomacy and Perform get minor tweaks, clarifications.
10. Magic Missile and Fireball (clarifications on setting things on fire only) stay the same.
11. More definitive list of Knowledge skills and what they can do in-game. Eg. Knowlege Arcana could be used to discern what a magical monster's special attack might be (That dragon looks like it uses sleep gas as a breath weapon...).
12. Little blurb in DMG about slowing XP accumulation. Onus still on DM.
13. Monsters treated more like characters - hit dice, skills, feats, etc. New rules for creating/advancing monsters and CR determination.
14. DR... silver, cold iron, magic, adamantine, epic (+6 or better), bludgeoning, piercing, slashing, alignment. And combos possible, magic-silvered for example. Ranges 5 to 15 (but I think he mentioned 20 appearing in there somewhere...)
15. More +2 to 2 related skills feats. Acrobatic feat: +2 to Jump and Tumble for example. Skill Focus: +3 to 1 skill.
16. Artwork: mixing old with new, new iconic character, some artwork removed to make space for other rules...
17. Skill Points: Bard/Ranger get more, everybody else stays the same.
18. Magic Item creation: tweaks, not wholesale changes. Bonuses to skills more expensive. Holy Avenger improved to justify cost.
19. Combat: a little more on mounted combat. Grappling easier to handle, more options to escape (and to grapple) and every monster has a Grappling modifier entry. Overall, the combat section thinned out a little.
20. SRD updated the same day books hit the stores.
21. 12 Prestige Classes in DMG. New ones include the Duelist (tweaked for 3.5) and the Eldritch(?) Knight.... some kind fighter/wizard PrC.
22. Paladin and Monk multiclassing restrictions stay.
23. No "action dice" rules or stuff like that...
24. DM Screen not on the radar this year. Dragon Mag has a promo for one though...
25. Polymorph being re-re-redone for balance (no commoner to solar polymorphs) and is broken down into sections. Changes include bonuses to save if new form can't live in current environment (eg. fish outta water).
26. Weapon familiarity: Halfling, Half-Orc and Half-Elf don't get any familiar weapons. Familiarity only useful if class gets martial weapon proficiencies.
27. Stacking spell and magic item bonuses clarified. Expedious Retreat and Boots of Striding and Springing for example.
28. Spells: filling gaps in schools with new spells. More spells to help differentiate classes like the Bard.
29. New Spell: 5th level Necromancy spell Waves of Fatigue - fatigues targets...
30. New Feat: Natural Spell - cast spells in wildshape. Well, not really new, but in there anyway.
31. MMII - will see a web update to convert over to 3.5 and should be available the day 3.5e core books are realeased. Splatbooks won't unless there is a huge outcry.
Cheers,
A'koss!
edited Monk ki strike acquisition.
edited Monk ki strike again to fill in the progression and edited harm.
