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Message: <blockquote data-quote="knifespeaks" data-source="post: 1811505" data-attributes="member: 25248">Ok, background first:33 yrs old, only ever played first ed advanced (never played second) and just recently started again with 3.0/3.5.  (2 first ed campaigns which ran concurrently for almost 12 years and ended about 8 years ago). Not trying to poke holes in 3.5 - there are plenty of things I like about it! But some inconsistencies that I cannot get my head around. 1. My sunder query from earlier here <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=104232" target="_blank">http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=104232</a>Still not sure what the difference is! I understand what the feat is trying to achieve - what I don't get is what the difference is between the two actions, namely - blocking an attack with my shield (ie, the attacker missed me) and the opponent specifically attacking my shield! An item saving throw would work just fine, but that kinda destroys the 'usefulness' of the feat, doesn't it? 2. Initiative - ok, the PH outlines the roll d20, add dex bonus to get initiative order. This seems to indicate that, in game, if I get a 19 and you get a 12, I am going first. Flip to the DMG (pg 24 to be exact) and it states that the activity in a round is simultaneous! So why add dex bonus and implement feats such as improved initiative? Either I am going first, or I am not. 3. The biggie <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> How long does a spell take to cast - ie, as a 'standard action', exactly how long is this? This ties in with #2. I don't really get the whole standard/move action breakdown anyway, as if I am going last in a combat round (ie, I have less time out of the 6 seconds to act) then losing initiative is no big deal - I can still do 2 things, the same as the dude who won initiative. If a spell takes, let's say 1 second to cast, then I move - it seems a little unreasonable that I can still do both even though I am going last, doesn't it? (I assume that, feats aside, a spell takes a set amount of time to cast, which the rules aren't clear about)I am running a 3.5/first ed hybrid, as I just can't reconcile these issues! We also have a few females in the group, and frankly the whole battle grid and miniatures thing just doesn't appeal to them - it's a bit too much of a guy thing for them, which is fair enough. And trying to run 3.5 without it seems like a massive headache.</blockquote>

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