3.6E SRD

SRD

Our Epic Sixth rule system is located here: d20 3.6E Epic Sixth Standard Reference Document   Epic 6 is a variant rule that came around 3rd edition. The rule capped out leveling at 6th level, keeping the adventuring party firmly at a more realistic power level. They can’t meld reality to their will, but once a had they can make some fire come out of their hands. They can’t lift up mountains, but they can roll moderately sized boulders.   Since 3rd edition we’ve had lots of changes, so I was wondering if anyone has tried this type of campaign in 5e? Is level 6 a good point, or should it be level 7 or 8? Did the campaign feel rewarding even when you’ve capped out your level progression? Overall was it a fun change of pace?   I haven't played it, but I am interested in it and have thought about it, and I don't think 6 is a good level for it in 5E.   E6 was chosen for 3.X because it gave fighters their second attack, rogues 3d6 sneak attack, all casters 3rd-level spells but not fourth-level, another feat for everyone, and so on. 6th level is just a very round level where everyone has gotten comparable powerspikes. The same is not true in 5E; clerics, for example, get a major feature at 8, and with the variety of class and subclass options there's just a large variety of where power spikes fall.   I think your options for it are to either knock it down to level 5 or bring it up to level 10. Level 5 leaves a few kinds of characters without their powerspike (like melee clerics), but level 10 unlocks 5th level spells, so there's drawbacks to either choice.   Yeah, stopping at 5 is when you have tier-2 abilities, but 6 is bad because it misses a bunch of subclass abilities at 7 that make characters a lot more interesting, and 7 is bad because 4th level spells might be too much with martials still only having 1 ASI, so I might actually say 8? But an ASI is a crappy capstone.   As I understand it, the point is to curb the use of some more powerful abilities. I think most 5e games end before you get to the most powerful abilities anyway naturally, so I really don't think it's necessary. But I'd try and place the cap around when you start getting 'epic' abilities.   What are epic abilities? Well, for the most part I'd say they're the tiers of spells that only full spellcasters get access to. The game treats spell levels 1-5 a little differently from levels 6-9. For example, recovery features such as Arcane Recovery or Font of Magic only allow the player to recover up to 5th level slots. Half casters only get access to spells up to 5th level. The DMG Spell Points variant rule only allows you to create a single slot for each spell level above 5th.   I'm really using magic ability here because higher level spells are the abilities that really 'break' campaigns. A level 20 fighter is amazing but still mundane, so even though they can tear through combat encounters they are not going to be changing the way all the other pillars of the game are run. I think the only things you need to worry about with 5th level spells is stuff like teleportation circle or scrying. I think these are decent capstone utility spells that won't outright break the game because they still have limitations. It's when you get to teleport, magic jar, plane shift, clone, demiplane, and of course wish that you feel the impact more. Why have a ranger guide you through the wilderness when you can just warp in?   Given all that, I think level 9 or 10 would be a good breakpoint. There are still issues though and honestly I'd recommend against it entirely. Wherever you cut it off, some classes are going to be better than others. Subclasses like enchantment wizards never really get their defining feature til 14.   So I absolutely love 3.5 D&D. I've been playing it since it came out and started playing D&D 25 years ago. But 3.5 always got out of hand or you ended up with a useless or massively underpowered (compared to others) character at high levels. We started playing Epic 6 (E6) about 7 years ago and haven't looked back, but there are still lots of issues with regular 3.5 D&D even at E6. SO I started to rewrite the system. I did not create the Epic 6 rule set, but I think my changes make it come to life in a way that it lacked previously. I removed a ton of arbitrary rules, reduced skill clutter, added in a ton more skill points, added something I call class additions, which is sort of a mini gestalting, for each class, rebuilt all of the classes that I kept in game (a lot can be emulated by other classes without having to be an entirely different class), and a ton more. I'm thinking about releasing it for sale under the OGL when I finally have it finished, but I'm not sure if anyone is even interested in buying it. So I'd like to ask all of y'all if this is something you'd be interested in. I have a link to a google doc (currently something like 88 pages) that would be my new Player's Handbook. I'd also be releasing a Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide once I have them completed. So my question is, would anyone care to look at my PHB and give any comments or criticisms? Is this a product you'd be interested in?   One of the bigger elements about E6 that appealed to me was minimal need for any house rules. I loved the idea of handing players a PH and just 4 pages of E6-related rules (and my minimal house rule changes/additions), and never intending or foreseeing anything more. Any remaining issues I've ever found with the underlying 3.5 rules are so slight as to be irrelevant. Since I have had house-rule sets for other editions that are 60, 100 pages AND MORE (with no end in sight, and struggling to select a set of house rules from all the possibilities that was manageable for myself much less the players), the ability to let a set of rules stand on its own, unmolested, for the entire duration of just one campaign much less more than one was what REALLY sold me on E6.   To each their own and best of luck to you, but 3.5 plus 4 pages of E6/house rules is all I want or need without just changing editions to something else altogether.   E6 has been our favorite version of 3.5 D&D and we've been running it solidly for about 4-5 years now with no complaints from any member. You actually feel like a hero in a story, but it is challenging at the same time!