Yeah,
3.5 fixes 90% of the problems. But no one owns a 3.5 book except papo. Its difficult to say now we're using 3.5 when no one has one. For the most part though you say hey we're using 3.5 for the big "Problem spells" such as...
Haste, Harm, Heal, Hold Person, Polymorphing (any),
Some others are Imprisionment, reincarnate, thunderswarm.
Comparisions:
Haste:
3.0= You can cast 2 spells or do 2 anything in a round
3.5= Get an extra attack if using full round attack.
Harm:
3.0= No save. Automatically reduced to 1d4 hit points.
3.5=10 dam per level will save for half.
Heal:
3.0= Get all hit points back
3.5= Heal 10 points per level
Hold Person:
3.0= Held for long time and can be couped de grace
3.5= You get a save to break the hold each round
Polymorph:
3.0=You can become a Pit fiend
3.0 revision=You can't become an outsider, golem, or undead
3.5=Same as revison and you cant become something with more hit dice then you have levels.
Reincarnate:
I cant remmeber what but something aint right about this spell. The 3.5 version fixes whatever was wrong with it.
Shapechange:
Any version of Shapechange is bad. And the incentive with it no matter what is to become the most poweful thing you can and just travel arround like that. For the most part this destroys continiuty as now your party consists of Dwarf fighter, Human Paladin, Half elf Socerer, and Milwood the Gargantuan Destructor behemoth towering some two thousand feet tall.
I hate to totally eliminate a spell but this one calls for it badly. I have been struggling with this one for some time. Oh yeah, and anything that has your players peelin through monster manuals is BAD. Those big cool creatures are there for the DM not the heretic players.
The only way i can see this in serious gameplay is to establish a finite list of things the charcter can become. And set some kind of restriction so you dont have 1500 hit points as per epic level handbook.
Thunderswarm:
This is the druid version of meteor swarm with an additional bonus of making victum make 4 stun saves vs. the high DC possible. Very bad. I think maybe this one can survive as an exact meteor swarm clone with no stunning thing. Yes its a little wack for druids to have the baddest evocation in the game but their spell list is preatty wack to begin with and they still cant compare with clerics or wizards.
Imprisionment: (9th level wizard)
3.0= No save. Need to know some facts about victums life. Exactly How much?
3.5= Will save allowed. If you know some facts DC is +4.
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And theres still a ton of other spells in a ton of other books. But i figure give em' the players handbook and work everything else on a spell by spell basis.
