D&D 3.x New 3E campaign - how to fit best with 4E later?

[Blackwind]

If you're that sure you're going to convert to 4E as soon as it comes out, I'd just go ahead and use all that 3.5 stuff you probably own before it's too late. Did you buy Ptolus? How 'bout Rappan Athuk, WotBS, all those APs, etc? Let your players use all the rules supplements they own: XPH, Bo9S... pull out all the stops. Don't pull any punches and let the dice fall where they may -- sort of a last hurrah for all your 3.5 stuff.

But that doesn't answer your question at all. If you really want to start a new campaign now and then convert when 4E comes out... the best advice I can give you is to read all the previews on D&D Insider.

 

[tlantl]

To the Op.
From what I've been reading converting to 4e from 3e won't work very well. I assume that the classes and races will be so different from what they are now that it would be easier to just start anew in July when the third book is published. Have your fun now and bide your time.

I'm kind of curious why start a new campaign now. Have all of your players reached level thirty and you need to start again. Or maybe what you call a campaign is different than that which I call a campaign. I usually have two or three groups at different levels in different parts of the game world doing different things but they all tie into the main story which is never world shattering. But that's me. I'm lazy, and hate to change things up to the point where I have to scrap everything and start anew.

 

[Kaodi]

Play Eberron, and then you don't have to worry for an extra year or more, hehehe...

 

[BlueBlackRed]

Do a lot of foreshadowing of some imminent powerful force that will change the face of the world within a year's time.

Then cause some large changes; like one day every single gnome on the face of the planet does ____ (dies in agony, disappears, or get turned into ceramic statues).

 

[Nyaricus]

Do a lot of foreshadowing of some imminent powerful force that will change the face of the world within a year's time.

Then cause some large changes; like one day every single gnome on the face of the planet does ____ (dies in agony, disappears, or get turned into ceramic statues).

I LOVE IT!!

 

[Stalker0]

Do a lot of foreshadowing of some imminent powerful force that will change the face of the world within a year's time.

Then cause some large changes; like one day every single gnome on the face of the planet does ____ (dies in agony, disappears, or get turned into ceramic statues).

Now THAT's how you prepare for an edition change

 

[Kae'Yoss]

From what I've been reading converting to 4e from 3e won't work very well. I assume that the classes and races will be so different from what they are now that it would be easier to just start anew in July when the third book is published.

You can convert without converting!

Meaning: You can take the character concept, and relative power level, and rebuild it with the new rules. That can work from 3e to 4e. It can work from 1e to 4e. It could even work from MERP to 4e.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

You can convert without converting!

Meaning: You can take the character concept, and relative power level, and rebuild it with the new rules. That can work from 3e to 4e. It can work from 1e to 4e. It could even work from MERP to 4e.

Exactly. Just tell your player beforehand that they'll have to re-invent their characters in several months of time. Perhaps they start by formulating the character concept, and then translating it to 3.5e. This concept holds true for 4e. If you fear they might be whining if all those cool options are not available in summer '08, you better drop the whole idea.

---
Huldvoll

Jan van Leyden

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm not "worried" about 4E, I'm looking forward to it, but I have this new game that should be coming up and just decided to pose the question to see what kind of responses I got.

I've actually decided to LET THE PLAYERS DECIDE, albeit with a world-stopping event. Not really world-shaking, or world-shattering but world-stopping. It will have to do with a thing I shall call "The Castle Timeless". It will be learned that it is destroying the world by an ever-increasing circle of destruction. Once inside it the players will have it in their power to make changes to a degree. The results of their actions can play out in several ways. They can start a new game entirely with 4E and new characters, 4E and their current characters converted, continue with 3.5 from where they are, or take the box where Carol Merrill is standing and enter a completely different setting, mix and match... etc. After all, I can run 1st Edition too if they want (though I really don't imagine they would).

And as was noted the decision, even though I'm largely leaving it to the players, will be many months away. Meanwhile, like every game I've run for 3E the rules will be Core. There'll be some setting-specific options that won't have a lot of impact if the players use them at all, and I STILL won't likely need to ban Gnomes because nobody plays them anyway. As always with my games all the player options are negotiable but the players have yet to go that route.

 

[Logan_Bonner]

My only suggestion would be to encourage the players to make characters based more on concept than mechanics. That way, they can reimagine the character based on theme, personality, and backstory rather than mechanics. They'll be able to get much closer to the heart of the character if they don't try mirror the mechanics.