5.3e Ruleset Overhaul

<div class='cover-header'>5.3e Ruleset Overhaul</div>

<div class='cover-footer'>by The Dr. of Warfare</div>

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# Another Try at Making It Balanced

##### Optional Rules to Dungeons and Dragons

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# The Differences of Here and There 
Dungeons and Dragons is a wonderful and beautiful role playing game, with very balanced rules and inspiring tons of great, creative stories. But when there's multiple versions of the game, and such vastly different formats and rules, it's very difficult to try and find one that meshes well with you, and you might pick the best one on the market, but it still has a few things that you just don't think work.

So you remove it, or change it slightly. There's nothing wrong with that, you're supposed to. And each edition is going to have it's draw backs, so you bite the bullet and pick the one that best speaks to you. Still, you might feel that one thing in an earlier edition just really calls to you, but you don't want to have to learn all of these new mechanics so you stick to the one you find fun.

That's how I felt about the two most popular editions of D&D, 3rd Edition (Or 3.5e to those who picked up the revised edition) and 5th Edition. I've always loved how creative you could get with 3.5e and how many ways you could brew a class to get vastly different mechanics, but there was so much to keep track of it got overwhelming fast! And with 5e, you had simpler mechanics that made it real easy to follow, but the magic was much weaker and limited you, and you had almost no creative room to stretch because of all of the subclasses! It just got stale real quick.

But with a little bit of time and experimenting, and a whole lot of energy drinks and fast food, I've molded the two editions into a cohesive machine that is balanced and fun, and easy to follow if you started with either 3.5e or 5e. This book will go over the rules of this new overhaul rule set, and by the end I ask you to give it a try and see how it speaks to you. Of course, there will be things you enjoy that may go missing, and things you disliked about both that show up here. To that, I'm sorry, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
## The Differences in Games
Each class is going to be taken after more of the 3.5e classes with great influences from 5e. This also includes the features of each class, and the hit dice (however this is optional).
##### Base Attack Bonus or Proficiency Bonus?
In 3.5e, the numbers that helped somebody attack was the Base Attack Bonus (or BAB), three variables that differed from class to class; Good for martial classes, Average for middle caster classes, and Poor for magicians. While this makes sense, it doesn't necessarily make it fun when you're a sorcerer with a troll next to them and you run out of spell slots. In fact, it was rather annoying, because on average it would be a +4, while the fighter gets a +10, and an extra attack. And when a troll's AC is 16+ (if naked and no armor (*Looking at you, cruel GMs*)) it's difficult to land a blow at times. And the magician's casting skill is just that, a skill. And not very well told either.

The way 5e handles it works a bit better with the proficiency bonus. This way, whether or not you're a mage or martial fighter, if you're trained with the sword, you can use it properly. No if, ands, or buts about it. This same number is also tied to your spell casting, which saves you the trouble of remembering more numbers than you need.

So for this reason, **this revision will be using the Proficiency Bonus** instead of the BAB. Besides, who needs extra attacks when you already get to do so twice per round.

##### Which Set of Skills?
Well this is a very simple question with an even simpler answer. 3.5e has a much larger skill number than 5e does, and each class if trained in different ones. And to raise the number each level, you're given a number of skill points to set out to each skill, the ones you're not trained in costing extra.

5e has it where instead of skill points, you're to add your proficiency bonus to the corresponding skill depending on your level of training with it. Half proficiency for semi trained, Proficiency for trained, and Expert for complete training.

For simplicity sake, this revision will be using the **5th Edition skill** set.

##### Which Witch?
Even the magic is different across the editions. If you were to put both wizards in a room to duel, it would be quite interesting to see the result since each one has different strengths and weaknesses.

The 3.5e wizard has all of the cantrips under her belt, but a limited use out of them. Then when she gets to her leveled spells, she can get a lot more uses out of the magic since she has a ton more spell slot uses.

The 5e wizard has four cantrips he can use infinitely, and his leveled spell uses are severely limited in comparison. As a trade off, however, he can specialize in a school and get perks out of it like infinite wards and more potent cantrips. Yet when you do look at the results of the duel, more times than not you will find the 3rd edition wizard on top with even more spells to use throughout the day before requiring a long rest.

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So for this reason, this revision will be using **3.5e edition magic system**.

##### Subclass or Prestige Class?
Prestige classes are different from core classes that you take later on in the game. In game, you'll likely take training in a specific area and it'll give you benefits while furthering your core class. So while multiclassing with core classes stunts the progress of one, and furthers another, prestige classes progress both and make the game a lot more interesting.

Now I could describe what the subclass is for those who are new to the game, but the only difference between the two is that the subclass is an in built mechanic for the game that gives you perks to specialize in things. Prestige classes, on the other hand, are completely optional. You can continue as only a fighter, or only a druid, and not dabble in any of the prestige classes, and it wouldn't hurt you too bad.

And for those who remember that this is supposed to help keep up to customization fun of 3.5e, you can bet this revision is going to **use the 3.5e Prestige Classes**. The subclasses are far too limiting and cause stigmas that are hard to break out of. But for those who feel the subclasses are indeed superior, I suggest you take a look at the Prestige Classes located in the ***Complete Series*** of 3.5e.

If you still believe the subclasses to be better, then look at table 1-1 to see the classes where adding the subclasses won't change things too drastically. Use to your own discretion. (+ = Yes, X = No)

| Classes  | Subclass Applicability |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  Barbarian  | X |
|  Bard  | + |
|  Cleric  | X |
|  Druid  | + |
|  Fighter  | + |
|  Monk  | + |
|  Paladin  | + |
|  Ranger  | + |
|  Rogue  | X |
|  Sorcerer  | X |
|  Warlock  | + |
|  Wizard  | + |

##### Saves or Saves?
Yes, even the saving throws were different in the editions. 3.5e had Reflex, Wisdom, and Fortitude saves that would be added with the appropriate stat. Each class had different sets for what they were good with. 5e had it very simple, with the proficiency bonus and each class was proficient with two saving throws. Unsurprisingly, this revision will be **using the 5e Saving Throws** for simplicity sake.
##### Races of Old or New?
The races in 3.5e were a bit more important when it came to picking them. All of them (besides for human) gave you the addition to certain stats and features, but some of them also subtracted from other stats, which made it more strategic on picking. 5e allowed more lenient stats, so it didn't need a ton of thinking.

This can be used with either or, but for this we'll be **using the 5e race stat blocks.**
##### Experience Points
With the 3.5e experience blocks, the character levels up every 1,000 experience points, unlike 5th edition which increases 300 experience points upon every level increment. Table 1-3 shows both level progressions, and both can be used depending on what monster stat blocks you end up using. My suggestion would be to use **5th editions experience block** for ease of understanding.

| 3.5e  | EXP |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  1  | 0 |
|  2  | 1,000 |
|  3  | 3,000 |
|  4  | 6,000 |
|  5  | 10,000 |
|  6  | 15,000 |
|  7  | 21,000 |
|  8  | 28,000 |
|  9  | 36,000 |
|  10  | 45,000 |
|  11  | 55,000 |
|  12  | 66,000 |
|  13  | 78,000 |
|  14  | 91,000 |
|  15  | 105,000 |
|  16  | 120,000 |
|  17  | 136,000 |
|  18  | 153,000 |
|  19  | 171,000 |
|  20  | 190,000 |

| 5e  | EXP  |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  1  | 0 |
|  2  | 300 |
|  3  | 900 |
|  4  | 2,700 |
|  5  | 6,500 |
|  6  | 14,000 |
|  7  | 23,000 |
|  8  | 34,000 |
|  9  | 48,000 |
|  10  | 64,000 |
|  11  | 85,000 |
|  12  | 100,000 |
|  13  | 120,000 |
|  14  | 140,000 |
|  15  | 165,000 |
|  16  | 195,000 |
|  17  | 225,000 |
|  18  | 265,000 |
|  19  | 305,000 |
|  20  | 355,000 |
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