Top Ten Reasons I Love 3E

[Rolflyn]

Top Ten Reasons I Love 3E
1. I love our core-only game. We have plenty of classes and races, and with multiclassing it there is even more. I love my single-classed gnome fighter.
2. I love spending my skill points when I go up a level. Sure, some places are automatic picks, but I usually give my character enough intelligence so I can take a few ranks of swim or profession(sailor) after an extended sea voyage.
3. I love rolling for stats. Who would have expected a fighter to have a 13 charisma. I gladly forgo optimization for uniqueness.
4. I love rolling for hit points. I love the excitement of hitting that 10 for my fighter. I gladly accept the chance of rolling a 1.
5. I love save or die. Say what you will, but it is dramatic. The barbarian intentionally sets off a save or die trapping knowing full well he could die if he rolls a 1. That's heroism. The mage kills a significant NPC with a single finger of death. We will be talking about that for years to come.
6. I love buff spells. I love buffing up the party to take on a green dragon that is way out of our league. I love hacking part the buffed NPC after the mage takes him down twenty notches with a well-placed Greater Dispelling.
7. I love Mordenkainen's Disjunction. It is a nuclear bomb. If someone drops it on you, you are hosed as your current wealth is decimated. If you drop it on someone, you are also hosed as your potential wealth is decimated. We fear it in a way that is hard to reach in RPGs.
8. I love level drain. If I had one wish for 3E, it would be that level drain was more old school and permanent like 1E then it would have the same fear potential as Mordenkainen's Disjunction. Still level drain can kill you quickly and turn you undead. Fighting against something like that is just too cool.
9. I love attribute drain. One shadow can teach your mage to dump stat strength, one allip can teach you to grab a high wisdom for your next character. And nothing quite hurts as much as the constitution drain of the wraith. Charisma-drain is also loads of fun.
10. When we get sick of core only (which ain't happened yet), we have literally hundreds of books from various publishers to choose from. We have cool variants from Monte Cook, from Wizards' own Unearthed Arcana, from Necromancer, etc. Not to mention loads of adventures (although we tend to run stuff we write outselves).

 

[Khairn]

Agreed.

Except for 8 & 9, which are a pain, but something that we've been able to House Rule without too much of a problem.

The one that I would like to add is that I love how weapons with crit ranges and variable multiples make even a small combat something that you have to be worried about. I find that games where the outcome of a battle can be calculated in advance (and skipped over) are depressing. That was one of my main reasons behind dropping AD&D.

 

[Storminator]

LOL.

I was just thinking, "man, I'm really too bitter about 3.x. I had some fun with that system, I should try to remember why." Then I saw this thread and figured I'd check it out.

Now I need to wash my eyes out with bleach. Not exactly the parts I liked...

PS

 

[Alzrius]

Hm, this seems like fun - I'll join in (though these are in no particular order).

1) I can make any multiclass combination I want. Seriously, this is great. Who cares if it's not combat-optimized? If I'm really having fun with my fighter/bard/cleric, and maybe want add a level or two of rogue to the mix, there's nothing stopping me.

2) I can play as monstrous characters easily. Not just various goblinoids, but seriously monstrous monsters are available. I don't need any special rules for playing a rakshasa character; the mechanics are all right there.

3) Make your own magic items. I don't just mean having item-creation rules. Rather, there are great guidelines on constructing types of items that allow you to create what you really want/need. Want a magic ring that lets you turn invisible and teleport? Sure it'll be more expensive, but you can make it no problem. Want your sword to also bestow a feat on you when you wield it? It can do that. The sky (or the price guidelines) is the limit.

4) No limits on epic levels. Yeah, most of the time it'll never get that high. But even if it is just as a pet project, I think it's cool that I can design that ECL 44 character if I feel like it. Or even run a game that high should the urge ever strike me.

5) The sheer plethora of rules options. Experimental Might. Unearthed Arcana. d20 Past, Modern and Future. And so many more, there's so many things here that really, almost anything you want for your 3.5 game is out there somewhere. And more is still appearing!

6) A great back-catalogue of adventures. Yeah, this is really an extension from the last point, but what can I say? Adventure paths from Paizo, Rappan Athuk Reloaded, The World's Largest Dungeon...there's really a lifetime's worth of campaign material out there.

7) A wide variety of magic and monsters. Need a spell for a specific purpose? It's almost certainly out there somewhere, even if you don't want to go outside of WotC's rulebooks. Need a monster your players aren't familiar with? There's volume upon volume of monsters, which you can pick and choose at your leisure.

8) Easy variants. Even if 3.5 isn't the game I'm in the mood for, there are many other games out there that are similar enough that I can pick up and play them with relative ease. From E6 to M&M to True20, 3.5 sets a great foundation that these games expand on.

9) The SRD. It's so convenient to have all the rules right there. Sites like The Hypertext d20 SRD (v3.5 d20 System Reference Document) :: d20srd.org make it possible to find stuff by subject, rather than flipping through pages. Not everyone has to bring or share their PHB so long as there's a computer in the room, and most of the monsters are at the DM's fingertips. It's a great resource.

10) The OGL. Yeah, it's what makes a lot of what I previously mentioned possible. But hey, it's just that great. That I can freely reuse what others have chosen to make available, that I can make what I write similarly available, all under a no-hassle umbrella license that can't ever be revoked or altered (or at least lets me ignore alterations)? It's really just that great.

 

[Voadam]

Rolflyn, I'm a big fan of 3.5 but your reasons are not on my list.

Alzrius is much closer to my reasoning, though I would put pretty high up the ability to play characters with mechanics that I like that suit my preferred play style. I think a huge benefit is the wide array of mechanics for different styles of resource management and play preferences. I can make characters with lots of fiddly adjustments (power attack expertise, psionic power point expenditures) or none (warlocks, rogues, certain fighter builds) or in between (barbarians, paladins, rangers, monks, etc.) as I desire, so different play styles can be accomodated in one party.

 

[Rolflyn]

Rolflyn, I'm a big fan of 3.5 but your reasons are not on my list.

None of them? Really? That's cool.

I totally agree with your reasons too. 3E supports the casual gamer and the hard-core number cruncher in the same party. And changing character types can be refreshing because you have a whole new way to look at the game.

I also agree with everything Alzrius wrote. Well, I've never played Epic, so I don't know about that. And I don't use a bunch of books with the game, but I agree the fact they are out there is very cool.

And with Khairn too: my half-orc barbarian loved to crit with a greataxe. And oh how scary it is to be first level and face off against a pick-wielder.

That brings up another love:

11. Low-level play is deadly, particually 1st leve). You can actually die from one attack. You are weak and need to survive by wits and luck. For those that don't like this fragility, there is always 2nd and 3rd level starts for greater survivability.

 

[Reynard]

I love the fact that the Core is still undeniably D&D, a few minor issues (no limits on race class combos, frex) aside. i love the fact that unless I am playing an arena combat game, I can ignore everything and anything from later books I don't like, but still take what I do like (ex: I loathe the PHB2 but adore the DMG2). I love the fact that it still plays like D&D -- fragile 1str levellers, scary level drain and instakills, and uber-mages at high level all inclusive -- BUT there are innumerable options out there, official and 3rd party for tweaking any or all of theose D&D-isms to meet my specific needs or preferences.

I think the only thing I "hate" about 3.x is that it requires a lot of prep time, and that it demands a lot of attention on the part of the DM to oversee what players want to bring to the table, character options wise. One powergamer with one late 3.5 supplement can ruin an entire campaign.

 

[daveb22]

lol like all of your reasons and it's so easy for some people to commit to 4E and nothing else. i wish more people could take both and love them each for their ups and downs.

i got started on 3rd edition in middle school and loved it ever after

 

[Remathilis]

I can't figure out if your serious or not; if you were looking for a list of the ten things most DMs around here can't stand, you're list would fit that perfectly too (all you forgot was paladin/monk restrictions and alignment).

If you were being sarcastic, bravo sir. If you're dead serious, enjoy man; you hit almost everything (save the first) that I don't miss.

 

[Dragonblade]

I can't figure out if your serious or not; if you were looking for a list of the ten things most DMs around here can't stand, you're list would fit that perfectly too (all you forgot was paladin/monk restrictions and alignment).

If you were being sarcastic, bravo sir. If you're dead serious, enjoy man; you hit almost everything (save the first) that I don't miss.

Indeed, I can't tell if this is one the most subtle and brilliant trolls of all time or if you are actually serious. If you are, thats cool. Enjoy your game and all that.

But everything on that list (except for 10) is everything I despise about 3e and reasons why I will never play 3e ever again (unless SHARK is DMing, then I'll play ).