What changes from 3.0 to 3.5 should *not* have been made?

[JRRNeiklot]

Yeah, that does kind of suck, although the animal doesn't cast any spells or gain Intelligence.



You do know that sleep sucks by the time a ranger could get it? Why bother? Besides, I don't see Aragorn casting any sleep spells or pseudo-mystical equivalent in LotR, nor anything that could even be interpreted that way. Then again, you could say the same thing for the vast majority of ranger spells - longstrider and commune with nature are the only possible exceptions I'd noted.

Um, doesn't the animal get share spells? If so, it can cast poison, etc.

BTW, the above was not just criticism of the ranger, but of 3.5 in general.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Um, doesn't the animal get share spells? If so, it can cast poison, etc.

BTW, the above was not just criticism of the ranger, but of 3.5 in general.

Umm, no. That is, yes, the animal gets Share Spells, but that's not how Share Spells works.

Share Spells doesn't allow the animal to cast any spell. Ever. Under any circumstances. All it means is that the caster can cast a spell on himself--such as protection from elements or pass without trace--and it affects the animal as well.

That, to me, doesn't make the animal magic; it means the character has the ability to offer some protection to the animal.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

I tend to agree with this - which Ranger do you use instead? A house ruled or an 'official' variant?

(And isn't there someplace I can check out the spell-less Ranger from Complete Warrior, short of buying the book?)

I use the 1e ranger. Just add skills from 3e. I give him a d10 hit die, however, since the 1e fighter got 9d10 to the ranger's 11 d8.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Umm, no. That is, yes, the animal gets Share Spells, but that's not how Share Spells works.

Share Spells doesn't allow the animal to cast any spell. Ever. Under any circumstances. All it means is that the caster can cast a spell on himself--such as protection from elements or pass without trace--and it affects the animal as well.

That, to me, doesn't make the animal magic; it means the character has the ability to offer some protection to the animal.

Okay, I may have that confused with the familiar's ability to deliver touch spells. At any rate, I'm just sayin' I don't like the magickiness (new word) of the 3.5 animal companions.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

It may be that he's mixing up the animal companion and the paladin's mount. The paladin's mount does gain incremental intelligence and an empathic link with its rider. Though even the mount can't actually talk...

Yeah, that and familiars. I just looked at the animal companion entry again. It's not as bad as I thought. I still don't like them getting evasion, though.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Ahh, but the paradigm shift came in with 3.0, NOT 3.5. In previous editions, the spell was capable of affecting multiple allies, not just one target. This was more true to the past than their original version.

Riiiiight.

Affecting multiple targets is more vital to it's "heritage" than giving extra attacks, the actual EFFECT of the spell.

That doesn't make sense. Preserving the specific EFFECT of the spell--multiple attacks--is more important than how many people it affects. IMO.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Affecting multiple targets is more vital to [haste's] "heritage" than giving extra attacks, the actual EFFECT of the spell.

That doesn't make sense. Preserving the specific EFFECT of the spell--multiple attacks--is more important than how many people it affects. IMO.

3.5 haste does give additional attacks.

 

[VirgilCaine]

3.5 haste does give additional attacks.

No, it gives ONE extra attack. With a weapon.
I should have said "action" or something, not attack. Ooops.

At any rate, it doesn't do what it did in 3.0 and it should not have been mangled so.

 

[billd91]

No, it gives ONE extra attack. With a weapon.
I should have said "action" or something, not attack. Ooops.

At any rate, it doesn't do what it did in 3.0 and it should not have been mangled so.

There are some of us who think it shouldn't have been so mangled BY 3.0 that it allowed more than one spell to be cast in a single round. That's something the earlier editions of Haste (which also aged the target by a year, let's not forget, in return for doubling your number of attacks and rate of movement) did not do.

 

[Brennin Magalus]

Regarding Haste, they could have bumped it up a level or two instead of changing it.