The big one is encounter tables, obviously.

Does the updated 3.5 MM have the monster design rules (as far as standard damages for bites/claws etc. by size, feats/skills by HD, etc.) that were first put out in the Skip Williams article and the MMII and FF prefaces? Can you build a monster from scratch using the rules there?

Those are the only two I can think of. Is there anything else that's missing?

Quote from: CalithenaThe big one is encounter tables, obviously.

Eh, these can be found in plenty (if not most of) the monster supplements.

QuoteDoes the updated 3.5 MM have the monster design rules (as far as standard damages for bites/claws etc. by size, feats/skills by HD, etc.) that were first put out in the Skip Williams article and the MMII and FF prefaces? Can you build a monster from scratch using the rules there?

It has some rules, yes, though they aren't quite as focused as those that you mention.

Man ... where to even begin?  

Okay ... that post was snarky and not helpful.  Sorry. :deflated:

I'm too tired to think about this now, and the next week is going to be busy for me (off to Amsterdam on Sunday for 'business').

But a crude answer would be: 3e doesn't really 'lack' anything for 'old-school adventures'.  Rather it has too much for 'old-school' adventures (in terms of rules and default assumptions).  Also, there is a default assumption that PCs should live.  This is somewhat different from Original/Basic/1eAD&D.

However, it is certainly possible to run 'old-school' style adventures with 3e, if you mash things up a bit.  I did it in two 3e campaigns.  (The key is to end the campaign long before the PCs reach level 10.  And ignore the 3e assumptions about magic items.  And cut experience rewards by half.)

Ummm ... other stuff ... :tired:

QuoteIt has some rules, yes, though they aren't quite as focused as those that you mention.

Can I build a monster according to the rules with the material in the core books or not?

QuoteEh, these can be found in plenty (if not most of) the monster supplements.

Not buying that. Core only. I'm keeping my 1e DMG, Judges Guild Ready Ref Sheets, Midkemia Cities, and Free City of Haven/Shadows on the Labyrinth supplements to make up the gap. It's not a game without standard random encounter tables, there's no guidance for what to do in the wilderness or the city.

Quote from: CalithenaCan I build a monster according to the rules with the material in the core books or not?

Well, yes, though it requires some handwaving. Much as building monsters in earlier editions did. The difference is in where that handwaving takes place. In AD&D, you had lists of basic damages, etc but no unified system for staging up (or down) creature size and hit dice, nor templates for modifying existing creatures to behave differently and or become different things.

In D&D 3.5, you pretty much have the exact opposite. In D&D 3.5, it's up to you to provide damage ratings, though rules are provided for staging up and down hit dice according to creature size and, as all armor works on the same scale in D&D 3x, you can use the basic rules for that as presented in the PHB. Likewise, many templates are provided that allow you to create (ostensibly) hundreds of variations thereof with just the core rules.

So, yes, it's possible to create creatures using just the core rules. The downside is that the rules provide a lot of nifty stuff that was totally ignored in AD&D, while simultaneously jettisoning rules for useful things that were covered in AD&D. I wish they would have brought in the new while keeping the old.

QuoteIt's not a game without standard random encounter tables, there's no guidance for what to do in the wilderness or the city.

Okay, then, you may want to look at the random encounter tables in the D&D 3.5 DMG.

I've converted and run tons of old adventures in 3.0 and 3.5, ranging from Keep on the Borderlands to Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, to Return to the Tomb of Horrors, to the Bloodstone trilogy. In my experience 3.x has everything you need to run an old school adventure, whether you're converting or going on the fly.

Quote from: James McMurrayI've converted and run tons of old adventures in 3.0 and 3.5, ranging from Keep on the Borderlands to Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, to Return to the Tomb of Horrors, to the Bloodstone trilogy. In my experience 3.x has everything you need to run an old school adventure, whether you're converting or going on the fly.

Ironically, I'm actually buying Return to the Tomb of Horrors from Cal this payday, specifically to convert it to 3.5 as a sequel to the ToH redux

plot, setting, and attitude to rules determine old school in my opinion. The actual rule set can factor in getting people to play in the first place (people like to play what they know). But the three are what really makes old school, old school.

Neat essay on Enworld

I told you so before:

1) no morale rules
2) no retreat option

Shitloads of random tables, and faster character creation rules.

RPGPundit

Ditch the following:
Prestige Classes
Item Creation Feats
Complete XXXX
Challenge Ratings
XPs for defeating monsters
Full hit points at first level
Spontaneous healing for clerics

I was there for the old days, so I know what the feel is, I just need some rules.

Sett, point taken on morale, should be easy to cobble something together though. The rules from the D&D minis game (will save at half hit points) wouldn't be a bad sort of ad hoc thing. You could make PCs do it too... :devil:

I don't understand what the retrreat problem is though. You take an AoO and run for it, what's the big deal? I suppose someone with equal or better movement can always screw you on this in a 1 on 1 fight (in a group it's often sufficient), but maybe a 'running roll' to boost movement or opposed running contest with modifiers for different base movement rates could take care of the chase situation?

That link has one heavily underutilized piece of advice:

Quote9) Make them explore hex by hex to find places, making a map as they go.

Quote from: SosthenesDitch the following:
Prestige Classes
Item Creation Feats
Complete XXXX
Challenge Ratings
XPs for defeating monsters
Full hit points at first level
Spontaneous healing for clerics

Those are some of the best things about D&D, though. Ditch those things? That's terrible advice.