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Ozreth
Learned Scribe
193 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Dec 2024 : 00:03:34
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Poll Question:
I get a feeling this forum has remained largely 3.x oriented throughout its life, which is rare among the various D&D forums (DF, The Piazza etc).
I thought a poll on the topic could be interesting going into 2025.
Bonus if you share your history with the editions and why you like and run what you do now, as it pertains to the realms or the game in general.
I’ll be surprised to see any OD&D/Classic votes!
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Edited by - Ozreth on 20 Dec 2024 14:26:19
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Gelcur
Senior Scribe
526 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2024 : 01:41:46
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I still use 3.5e for a couple reasons.
1) I find it easy to port up material from older editions and port down things from newer editions.
2) The level of complexity of the game mechanics can scale depending on the players. Some simple d20 rolls, target DC/AC, some attack bonuses and skill bonuses. Or go complex min/max dipping classes and PrCs. I'm happy to tell the story either way and build the encounters accordingly.
Overall, it's very flexible and very easy to understand.
I have stolen mechanics from 4e and 5e, I also have several house rules. My new project is to go back to 1e and 2e and bring back a lot of the details that were lost. For example, each casting of Haste effectively aging you a year and requiring a system shock check (at least I think those were the rules). |
The party come to a town befallen by hysteria
Rogue: So what's in the general store?
DM: What are you looking for?
Rogue: Whatevers in the store.
DM: Like what?
Rogue: Everything.
DM: There is a lot of stuff.
Rogue: Is there a cart outside?
DM: (rolls) Yes.
Rogue: We'll take it all, we may need it for the greater good. |
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe
USA
638 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2024 : 02:51:06
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As many of you know me, 3.5 Edition is my cup of tea.  |
Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766 |
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Ozreth
Learned Scribe
193 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2024 : 14:12:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Gelcur
I still use 3.5e for a couple reasons.
1) I find it easy to port up material from older editions and port down things from newer editions.
2) The level of complexity of the game mechanics can scale depending on the players. Some simple d20 rolls, target DC/AC, some attack bonuses and skill bonuses. Or go complex min/max dipping classes and PrCs. I'm happy to tell the story either way and build the encounters accordingly.
Overall, it's very flexible and very easy to understand.
I have stolen mechanics from 4e and 5e, I also have several house rules. My new project is to go back to 1e and 2e and bring back a lot of the details that were lost. For example, each casting of Haste effectively aging you a year and requiring a system shock check (at least I think those were the rules).
I run 3e/3.5 as well for these reasons and more. You’re right that it’s a system that can be manipulated and played in many ways and, importantly for me, it’s the last edition that still exhibits many of the sacred cows of AD&D (even if it threw a bunch of them out in the process). You can see 3e as being the culmination of the AD&D line and its various rules with a bit of Runequest influence. The team that worked on it really tried to appeal to the 1e crowd while also including much of what people had been asking for in the game by the mid-late 90s. It’s just a robust, solid a system that oozes D&D flavor even if many of the assumptions in play style had changed. But play style assumptions largely changed by late 2e era anyways, 3e just recognized it. |
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Ozreth
Learned Scribe
193 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2024 : 14:24:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Galuf the Dwarf
As many of you know me, 3.5 Edition is my cup of tea.
What’s your history with the edition(s)? And what keeps you at 3.5? |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4448 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2024 : 15:14:35
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I've played, as both DM and player in the Realms, using a myriad of editions from 3.0 to 5e. I've had great campaigns using them all, but if someone asks me to run a Realms game I'm going to advocate for a 4th Edition one. Why? Well as a DM, I think it's probably the easiest system to both run from a mechanics perspective and to adjudicate on the fly with. I can make monsters and NPCs relatively quickly too.
As a player, just a sheer amount of character options that are available to me and the unique ways in which I can express my character kind of roll with the 4th edition Style.
For myself, I've been using and tinkering with 4e since 2008, so about 16+ years and it just gels with my personal style. I'm also not a hard-lined rules enforcer, so I definitely take liberties with the system that maybe others haven. I heavily encourage players to use all their available tools to overcome obstacles or interact with the world. For example, a Ranger using his Twin Strike ability to shoot out candles down a hallway to give them added cover of darkness, even though the power specifically says Target: one or two creatures.
And if a character concept is difficult to achieve, say someone who enjoys a more passive role of buffing allies without requiring that to trigger off of an attack they make, I will 100% work around that so they can get the concept they want and still be kind of balanced. The point of the game is to have fun, and the rules are supposed to help facilitate that fun, and when they don't you change the rules to accommodate that fun |
Edited by - Diffan on 20 Dec 2024 15:21:32 |
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe
USA
638 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2024 : 20:34:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Ozreth
What’s your history with the edition(s)? And what keeps you at 3.5?
That's the edition I really got started with, got the most sourcebooks for, and was the most financially stable for. Nowadays, I don't have the money, time or (above all else) shelf space to house most of the 4th Edition and (especially) 5th Edition manuals. Hard drive space is also a major issue, so I just find it easiest to stick to 3.5 Edition. |
Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766 |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2482 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2024 : 04:28:14
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| I've only DM'd using 4e and 5e rules, even if I started in D&D as a 3.5 player. And I prefer to run and play 4e, because that was the system that I grew accustomed for. It fits my style, to say something. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36814 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2024 : 03:14:36
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I've never had a chance to play 5E, but I've no objection to doing so.
I grew up in 2E, and I also really liked the various flavors of 3.x.
As for Forgotten Realms lore, nothing will ever beat 2E. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1272 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2024 : 14:38:02
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I use 5e mechanics because it's simpler for me to DM that system on the fly. I started DMing with 3e, did it for years. Me and my players had a lot of fun, told some great stories. But I spent a lot of time going through blogs, videos, and such looking for ways to streamline the crunch on my side of things. It just wasn't fun in that aspect. I tried the open Beta for 5e, loved it, it solved the "too much crunch" problem for me, and haven't gone back. I came to the Realms through the first Baldur's Gate game, so in that regard, I kinda started with 2e, sorta but not really.
Lore wise, though, I use a heavy dose of 2e and 3e lore, with a dash of 5e thrown in. My game is set in 1490, but I routinely pull NPCs from the 2e era material and just use them. Sometimes with a name change, sometimes not. But my players and I have fun. |
- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
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DoveArrow
Learned Scribe
128 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2024 : 16:30:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Galuf the Dwarf
As many of you know me, 3.5 Edition is my cup of tea.
Whaaaaa? |
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DoveArrow
Learned Scribe
128 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2024 : 16:46:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Ozreth
I get a feeling this forum has remained largely 3.x oriented throughout its life, which is rare among the various D&D forums (DF, The Piazza etc).
I thought a poll on the topic could be interesting going into 2025.
Bonus if you share your history with the editions and why you like and run what you do now, as it pertains to the realms or the game in general.
I’ll be surprised to see any OD&D/Classic votes!
I use 5E primarily. A big part of it is that's just the edition that most people are playing these days. Despite the fact that some of the rules are a bit vague, it is, in my opinion, the simplest, streamlined version of the game. I also like to publish things for the DM's Guild and it's nice to be able to play the adventures I've written and to share them with others.
I haven't played enough AD&D to really know what I think of the mechanics of the game. That said, I am familiar with much of the lore created during that time. Whenever I need to go int a deep dive on a region, I often refer back to material from that era.
I do have fond recollections of 3.5. However, I also remember having to spend 45 minutes to an hour creating stat blocks for every single NPC and I don't miss that at all. The big thing for me that came out of that era is the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book. It has, by far, the most comprehensive summary of lore on the various regions in the Forgotten Realms and is always the first place I go when deciding where to place a campaign.
As for 4E, I have played enough to know that I wasn't a fan of it. There are things I liked, such as the ability to lower the challenge rating of monsters pretty easily. However, like many people here, I was sorely disappointed with much of the lore they created for the Realms during that period, particularly centering around the Spellplague. 5E rectified much of it but nevertheless, the damage was done. That said, I did like much of what they did with Erlkazar and some of the things they did with Calimshan. |
Edited by - DoveArrow on 24 Dec 2024 16:52:14 |
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Which edition do you run your Realms games in?
