*Old man voice* New? Lad.... I remember THAC0. *Haunting visions of to-hit tables flash before eyes*


And it's probably a good thing Bhagrim is on the search for some spirits and not in earshot of any flapping tongues at the moment....
This message was last edited by the player at 12:37, Thu 30 Dec 2021.

I also remember THAC0 -- though that's mainly because the first DM I had was still living in the past.  He would've run original D&D if he could've found enough interest.  It's been a little while since I played 5e, but it's coming back to me.  :)

Indeed. I chose my flapping wisely ;)


5e is relatively new to me. Pathfinder/3.5 veteran though.

Another question; what are the timezones you're in. Seems to be a lot of Europeans. That,  or very late/early Americans.  I'm gmt+1.

Another original D&D player from the 80s here.  THAC0 was the crap back then, but only because it was all we had.  I kept wondering why AC was done that way.  I've played every version of the game,plus over a dozen other systems.  I own some that are pretty obscure now.  Like Elfquest, Top Secret, Lords of Creation, and Ghostbusters International.
Yeah, I agree that Bhagrim is better off wandering right now. LOL
Eastern Time Zone, US here, GMT-5.  I work second shift and tend to be up pretty late.

PST (GMT-8) here.

I started with 2e in the early 90's. I still have a soft spot in my heart for THAC0, I think its gotten a bad rap/rep in the last couple of decades, it's not really as complicated as people paint it to me.

Anyway, been playing/DMing 5e since the NEXT playtests, skipped 4e completely with Pathfinder.

I dimly remember THAC0, though it's been a while since I played a version that used it. I started on 3e in high school, have done some Original online, but most of my experience is 5e.

I still want to learn/get better at Pathfinder someday, but with that people usually start using words like 'gestalt' and 'spheres' and I back away slowly with confused whimpers :)

US Eastern (GMT-5) for me too. Only I do 1st shift starting at 7 am, so my only late nights will be weekends.

Hehe.

Pathfinder's basically the same as 3.5 but on steroids in terms of the sheer number of options that are available to players between alternate racial features, Traits, Classes and all the archetypes, skills, feats, etc. It can take me DAYS to make a pathfinder character, even level 1. Which is why I love 5e so much, as I can make a 20th level 5e character in about 20 minutes.

Gestalt ... I love the concept, but EVERY game I've tried to be in that used it just went down in flames because the DM's could never properly get a handle on what all the PC's could do and so it was either too easy or WAY too hard and everyone was dissatisfied.

I did one Spheres game, and it' an interesting system, but its like... trying to make Pathfinder into GURPS a bit. It's really a whole new thing that you have to learn separate from Pathfinder/3.5 rules.

I actually thought about making this a Pathfinder game, but this is pretty much the reason why I didn't do that. Same with 3.5. Also, I'm kinda sick of adding up circumstantional bonuses that might and might not stack with each other etc.

This is actually a second attempt at a 3.5 game I ran here 5 years ago. Was the first game I ran here. It went pretty badly I think.

PST US here, (gmt-8)

I work all day and have nights off, but stay up late.

My dad taught me THACO and Baldurs Gate taught me it. It wasn’t until I was 16 that I learned there was a better easier way to play, 3.5e.

Skipped 4e for Pathfinder and more 3.5

I have been playing 5e since play test.

I played a fair bit of 3.5 and pathfinder. In retrospect I think I was busier gaming the system then enjoying the actual game. With so much splat, power creep and 'optimal' builds, the system was rotten at the core because inevitably you'd have a few characters in the party that were copy-pasted from some build guide and would dominate every encounter. That was effect was multiplied in the few gestalt games I joined and these games ended rather quickly because the DMs got in way over their heads. Spheres I looked at, made a character for, then decided it was not for me.

I was actually hopeful at 4E since it seemed more balanced, until I realized it came at the cost of the actual RP. The battles were like playing some weird strategic card game, while the mandatory encounters were so glaringly artificial it was like eating plastic.

And then came 5E, and it returned to the simple basics I love. The system is simple and infinitely more balanced then 3.5/PF and the focus seems to be once again on the RP. It's definitely my favorite system, so much so that I wouldn't even dream of going back to any of the others.

The 3.5 era did leave a very vile legacy though. Look up anything D&D on the internet, and it's inevitably about what class/build is most powerful in 5E. That mindset of having to be the most powerful is now so deeply ingrained in the D&D culture that I get the impression many players now play to 'win' instead of to roleplay.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:44, Thu 30 Dec 2021.

I'm US Central time, GMT -6.

Back when I first started playing, my mother used to ask me now and then after a D&D session if I'd won.  If there hadn't been a TPK -- and I've only experienced one of those -- then I'd just smile and say yes.  :)

I would always prefer Pathfinder over 5e. There are so many things I miss from Pathfinder but it seems that 5e is the new hot shit. It is newbie friendly but soooo lacking when you're used to endless options.

I don't find 5e lacking for options these days.

Pathfinder, both editions now, are just way too much booking to be fun anymore for me.

If you want to talk options and crunch, look into the Palladium systems....

Pathfinder has its place, and 3.5. I would agree with everyone though. I came to the table with a suboptimal character and was more or less bullied into changing, I left straight away. But that kind of behavior was rare sadly. There is definitely that happening in 5e, but at a far smaller scale because it’s far harder to”power game” in 5e I feel like.

3.5 could be extremely deadly, on lower levels included. During the previous game, one player left, so I had his character return as a zombie enemy later on. The issue was, said character had a Heavy Pick as his weapon. For those who don't know, Heavy Pick deals relatively low damage and only crits on a roll of 20, but it does x4 the damage on it. And said crit happened, on two different attacks. This completely deleted both the Sorcerer and the Paladin, so they had to reroll.

5e has better survivability and much weaker criticals, so it should hopefully be better.

Happy new year! Gleðilegt nýtt ár! Godt nytår!

Hello.

Normally, I'd wish you a happy New Year, but unfortunately, I have some bad news.

Due to some circumstances I'd rather not go over, I most likely won't be able to run this game.

I'm very sorry about this, especially since we have quite an assortment of interesting characters that fit really well into the story and the world at large. If any of you want to take over running this game or if you want to try looking for another GM, I can turn over the game to one of you. If you want, I can also give one of you a rough outline of what I had planned and atleast the first planned encounter that was supposed to have started around now.

Once again, I'm very sorry about this.

Yeah too good to be true. Sorry about your circumstances.

Oh man! Bummer!! I hope all is ok with you in the end!

Is there anyone who is interested in taking over the game? I was really looking forward to exploring Nedal and this world!

If no one else, maybe I could give it a try.

*Crossed-arm dwarf glare of disapproval*

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Fate.  :(  I hope things get better for you.

Sadly I'm no good at running games myself, but I'd be very glad to keep playing if we can find someone to take over.

What a shame.  Sorry to read that.  I quite looked forward to developing Durgo, and seeing how things played out with everyone.
Alas, I am no good at running a game.  And I do not have the time to devote to it.  I wish I was, and did.

I'm sorry to hear that, Fate. For my own part, I'll be keeping the game on my list and would be happy to resume if you ever feel up to it.

Well, that sucks. I understand though.

Does everyone wanna keep playing? I would be willing to pick it up, I am typically a DM, so nothing necessarily new for me.

I would just need to know the world better that this is set in. From there we can figure out a path to take the adventure.