a combination of pathfinder and d&d. hear me out....

[blelliot]

The idea I had is to use the classes of pathfinder with some reverse engineering to the 3.5 ruleset. Has anyone out there tried this? And before anyone asks, I don't want to play pathfinder straight up. The system has too much I don't like. Pretty much the only thing I like is the change to the classes. This idea takes the core classes only, no prestige classes. So if anyone has any experience with this, please let me know how it worked for you. Thank you very much.

[Serafina]

All you'd really have to do is split the class skills - say, Perception into Search, Spot and Listen (not necessarily all on each class) - and account for certain bonus feats/bonus spells that don't exist in 3.5.

Of course the skill consolidation in Pathfinder is arguably a good thing, so you might just skip that part. Which just leaves swapping out incompatible bonus feats/spells for others.

Now for most things that arguably not that hard (say, with combat maneuver feats, just use the 3.5 version), though with, say, teamwork feats (a important mechanic for the Inquisitor and Cavalier) you don't really have an equivalent (but of course porting them into 3.5 is an option).

[Grim Reader]

Not quite sure if it is what you're thinking of, but I've allowed Pathfinder classes in D&D. Results have been mixed. Some of the better designed, or slightly modified D&D classes hold their own.

However, things like a 3.5 Sorcerer is flat-out inferior to a Magus at level 1-5. I'd recommend using mainly the Pathfinder classes. Inquisitors also get a buttload of stuff, although they don't directly overshadow someone in their niche.

[RedMage125]

The last time I ran 3.5 (two years ago), I made a few changes. Now, I've never played PF, but I understand some of these were incorporated as well. The changes, and reasons for them, are listed below:

-I combined Hide and Move Silently into one skill, Stealth (DEX). It's understandable when a player wants to do something, like be sneaky, and rolls poorly. That's the way the dice fall. But with 2 separate skills, he may have double the chance of rolling poorly. How much does it suck to roll well on Hide, but blow Move Silently? Combining the two benefits the players who now have less skills to allocate points to, and less rolls to make when sneaking.

-I combined Spot and Listen into one skill, Perception (WIS). This is related to the Stealth thing, namely because keeping Spot and Listen as separate skills gives any "defender" of a stealth attempt 2 means of detecting a sneaking character. Note that I keep Search (INT) a separate skill, because Search represents actively searching for something, and Perception is a chance to notice something.

-I adopted 4e's ruling about healing from negative hit points. Again, this is a metagame concern about the fun players have at the table. If a PC is down to -7, and the cleric rolls up with a CLW and rolls a 1, he's at -1. Stable, but not only is that player still out of the fight for one more round, the person playing the cleric feels less effective. If a player at -7 is healed for 6, he is at 6 hit points.

On a side note, I've ALWAYS been aware of the rules that Hit Points Are Not Meat, and that loss of hp does not always reflect physical wounds. And so I also adopt the "bloodied" condition. I don't tell my players a monster's hp, but I let them know when it is "bloodied" (i.e. at half hp or below). Players also use that terminology, as I try and discourage them from sharing metagame info, such as exact hp count during combat at the table. I don't forbid it, but I frown on it. They can say things like "I'm not that badly hurt", or "I could use a little healing", or "I'm bloodied and need some healing".

-I've always thought Read Magic was a stupid spell. The effects of Read Magic are folded into Detect Magic (without concentrating).

-Detect Magic is one of the most basic functions of a spellcaster. Especially arcane ones. To that end, a Sorcerer (to whom magic is inherent), receives Detect Magic as a bonus 0-level spell known. A Wizard, who has trained hard to learn magic, may spontaneously convert a prepared 0-level spell to cast Detect Magic without having it prepared (like how a cleric does for cure spells). Both of these classes must still expend a 0-level spell slot to use Detect Magic, thus rendering the Warlock's ability to do it at-will still useful.

Those are all of my houserules, apart from that, I play pretty strictly RAW. I explained these deviations to my players, and they were universally well-received. Which shouldn't come as a surprise, since they're pretty much all beneficial to players. To me, part of a DM's job is trying to help ensure that everyone at the table is having fun. After all, that's why we play this game, ne?