Difference between 3.0 and 3.5 PHB?

[Deca4531]

Im working on collecting a few D&D books, 3.5 mostly. but i notice that the 3.0 handbooks tends to be much cheaper. i have seen them before and never noticed any difference between them and the 3.5 version. would it be ok for me to run with a 3.0 PHB in 3.5 games?

[hamishspence]

Most of the differences between 3.0 classes and 3.5 classes are subtle- but there's a few spells where the differences are important.

The action system is also slightly different in 3.0- with there being partial actions.

Still, if you use a 3.0 PHB book with the other books being mostly 3.5, it shouldn't need that much work to convert 3.5 content to 3.0.

[johnbragg]

Most of the differences between 3.0 classes and 3.5 classes are subtle- but there's a few spells where the differences are important.

The action system is also slightly different in 3.0- with there being partial actions.

Still, if you use a 3.0 PHB book with the other books being mostly 3.5, it shouldn't need that much work to convert 3.5 content to 3.0.

3.5 is basically a set of tweaks to 3.0. Some spells had their durations reduced--if I remember right, the 2nd level ability buff spells were all 1 hour/caster level in 3.0, which meant that a midlevel caster would cast it in the morning and you had it all day. Fly's duration got reduced.

3.0 is closer to 3.5-core-only than 3.5-core-only is to PAthfinder or "3.5 plus Tome of Battle."

[Brookshw]

They removed some trash and added a few class features to some base classes. You could probably do fine with a combo of 3.0 and srd.

[begooler]

Those books + this (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20030718a) should = 3.5

[Pluto!]

They're more or less interchangeable for broad-scope stuff like just generally addressing "how to play the game," but details of nearly every item were tweaked between them.

Generally, 3.5 does make steps toward balance, clarity and general smoothness running the game - Rangers get actual class features (maybe not great ones, but, you know, something), melee feats suck a bit less (but on the flip side, bow & arrow mechanics suck a bit more), fiddly rules like damage reduction, concealment and flurry of blows are simplified, spells like haste and righteous might become less ridiculous, ability enhancement spells give flat bonuses instead of constantly juggling characters' numbers between die rolls.

If you're playing a casual beer-and-pretzels game where you wouldn't normally mind fudging the rules, you might not even notice a difference between the PHBs. If you're playing to get some serious wargame-style play in or otherwise strictly adhering to the letter of the rulebook, there are enough differences between the 3.0 and 3.5 systems that the 3.0 PHB won't give a very reliable reference for 3.5 rules.

[Urpriest]

The only things you're really replacing per se are the PHB/DMG/MM, and those are both different enough that you shouldn't and on the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/) enough that you don't need to.