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So, in honor of the other thread I'm starting the thread's inverse. What kind of stuff do you love from old editions that Paizo either doesn't wanna bother with, or can't touch because of copyright issues?
Naturally for me, things like Mind Flayers and other great enemies come to mind.
I personally really like old spells, almost to the point where I just say you can use the Spell Compendium and the Magic Item Compendium just because there is so much good and balanced stuff in there. I also really like things like the Arms & Equipment guide for new kinds of exotic weapons along with the equipment from the different race splat books like elven thin blades, and elven curve bows or whatever they were called. Allowing things like that only expands on the rules that already exist and give abilities like weapon familiarity more to be useful for other than an Elven Curve Blade or Orc Double Axe.
So what 3.x stuff do you absolutely love and gladly let your players use?
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Damn near anything. If I know that its been redone for Pathfinder or something similar has been done, I'll point them that way. But there is a reason I went to Pathfinder instead of 4e; my old books are still useful. Maybe a bit less every year, but they aren't completely obsolete.
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I havent used too too much stuff from 3.x in Pathfinder, and nobody in the campaign Im running has wanted to use anything from it, but I know my fiance was fine with me pulling a couple Psion powers for a Gestalt campaign she's running, and I've always wanted to play a Dragon Shaman or Duskblade. I've also been sort of wanting to use Arcane Thesis (I believe thats the feat? Didnt play 3.x much) and one or two others to build a Magus that drops one or two largely metamagicked spells on a group of foes before wading into the fight.
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Tripod Machine converted the Complete Adventurer Scout class for me, and it was quite enjoyable playing it. Even if I almost never hit anything.
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Stuff from Unearthed Arcana, gestalt, spontaneous divine casting, fractional saves.
I will review anything for inclusion.
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Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. There's some overlap with Ultimate Campaign now but it's still a really good resource (especially with the Dragon Magazine article adding extra rooms like an aerie for griffon riders).
I'll second Arms & Equipment Guide. Never personally owned the Spell & Magic Item Compendium but I'm sure I'd use them if a player had them.
I was disappointed by the Cloistered Cleric archetype so I crossed it with the 3.X variant class from Unearthed Arcana (giving it poor HD and BAB but removing Diminished Spellcasting and requiring one of two domains to be the Knowledge domain, independent of deity). Some of the other variant classes could probably stand to be converted to archetypes, like the totem barbarians or the divine bard.
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Book of Exalted Deeds imo is still pretty amazing for flavor and fun. I too offer the cloistered cleric, and any of the magic items from the magic item compendium.
The longer time goes on, the more I actually have come to love almost everything in Dragon Magazine as well. Yeah a lot of it's goofy and way too underpowered, but now I just cut out dead levels of old PrCs completely and just let people take truncated versions if I want. Unfortunately my players are all super boring and just okay with 20 levels of X base class :'(
I also want to second again how awesome the magic item compendium is for offering magic items that are unique and variant without overlapping all the time (much less just being will/stat/attack +X). total lifesaver for my sanity many times over while still feeling like I'm genuinely rewarding the players.
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Unconverted 1:1 from 3.5:
The Vigor chain of spells from Spell Compendium.
Reserve Feats from Complete Mage.
Twinned Spell metamagic feat.
Runestaves
3.0:
Stronghold Builder's Guidebook
A bit of conversion:
Planar Handbook and Manual of the Planes. My Great Wheel lives on and on, and although there has been some planar adventures rules published, these two are fallback tomes.
Heavily:
I've done a makeshift beholder conversion or two in the past, and of the iconic D&D monsters, it is the only one I have any interest (other than Gauth) in brining into PF.
I would consider converting things that got hit a little too hard with the nerf bat.
Wounding weapons for example, the new version is just not worth a +2 bonus.
Slay living perhaps, or at least bring it up to par with the 10 damage per caster level spells.
I would also convert clarifications to ambiguous rules such as Frostburn's clarification on what it means to be in a cold environment "unprotected". The CRB does not state what constitutes that protection, Frostburn does.
An unprotected character in cold weather (below 40° F) must make a Fortitude save each hour (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who has the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see the skill description).
3.0/3.5 clarifications are not gospel, but they certainly can be converted over for a good place to start.
Mostly monsters and races...Between Pathfinder and 3PP there is an ever diminishing number of 3.X stuff that hasn't already been converted over in some fashion or another.
Also Arcane Thesis: DHAnubis, Arcane Thesis on a Magus is fun. Very fun.
I am glad to hear this, and would love to hear of any tips/build ideas if you've personally played a Magus with that feat.
I always forget that Gestalt was a 3.x thing. I'm playing a Martial Artist (3pp version)/Psion right now in one. Had DSP not released Path of War, I would have probably been more or less fine with people using the Martial Maneuvers. In general, 3.x had a lot of classes and prestiges that had really neat ideas, but I feel would need to be tweaked or downgraded a bit. I remember there being a prestige, I think it was for Rouge/druids, where your daggers became your claws when you wild shaped. I thought that was a pretty neat idea.
Oh wow, that does sound like a whole lot of fun. I'd probably end up going that route, but I'd love to try it as more of a drop a big spell or two on the enemies to soften them up first and then wade into battle with my allies. As effective? Maybe, maybe not. Fun? Probably. I know thats more or less what I do in the gestalt camapaign Im in, and its worked well so far.
And I totally forgot the Battle Sorcerer existed. Yes.
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Everything except divine metamagic.
Like others in this thread if there's already a PF conversion by Paizo or a third party, I'll direct a player that way (for example, the Invoker by LRGG as a conversion of the 3.5 Warlock), but if there's not - or if the conversion is less a conversion and more an expansion of options, see Path of War by Dreamscarred - I'll typically allow almost any 3.5 class, possibly with a slight conversion.
My project this summer is going to be going through the 3.5 Spell Compendium and assigning each spell to Pathfinder spell lists. Possibly with some minor tweaks. (Hello Orb spells, you are going in Evocation where you belong. There's good lads.)
Feats, items, monsters, races, you name it, I probably allow it, either as-is or with a handful of minor tweaking.
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I consider individual 3.x rules on a case-by-case basis, which is my policy on 3PP PFRPG stuff.
That said, one feat I always allow is Practiced Spellcaster (from Complete Arcane) which is pretty much necessary for a multiclassed caster.
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Various: Combat style feats like Elusive Target, Combat Brute, etc.
PHB II: Bounding Assault, Rapid Blitz
Spell Compendium: Whirling blade, close wounds, the pact spells, the enhance familiar spells, delay teleportation (and greater), Extract Water Elemental, Dragonskin, Dispel Ward
Magic Item Compendium: Probably about half of it. (I like the book better than ultimate equipment).
Mini HB: Marshall class
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While I might be a tad biased, because a few people from my group put a decent amount of comments/suggestions into it, but this conversion of the beguiler is in use for at least one character at the table in all three campaigns we have going right now.
Design Manager
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The Marshal from the Miniatures Handbook and Magic of Incarnum were the two most commonly ported ones in my group, but I've written updated materials based on both that we now use instead (The Battlelord from Amora Games Liber Influxus Communis took the place of the Marshal, and Akashic Mysteries from Dreamscarred Press now serves the Incarnum fix).
Of the stuff that's still out there that I gladly port in:
1) a lot of the Eberron setting specific stuff, though I've found a lot of PF materials to use in place of the 3.5 versions
2) The Healer. I don't like it, but a few players do, so I accommodate them.
3) Dragonfire Adept. It's cool, balanced, and flavorful, so it's welcome in my games.
4) The Complete Psionics classes, particularly the Lurk, though I usually use DSP's updated rules.
4) The Complete Psionics classes, particularly the Lurk, though I usually use DSP's updated rules.
I'm rather fond of the Ardent myself.
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Feats: Practised Spellcaster and Spellcasting Prodigy (PGF, and going by the feat description, not the table entry). Regional feats (Pathfinderised as necessary) for characters with non-Golarion origins.
Unearthed Arcana: fractional BABs and saves (with one house-rule), flaws (plus some from Dragon and some home-brewed ones, all Pathfinderised as necessary). I would probably allow bloodline levels. I would like to get at least two of the three other extreme alignment Paladins converted (Liberation and Tyranny; Slaughter is probably covered by the Anti-Paladin).
Racial pantheons, preferably with some additions from pre-3e Dragon.
Dragon Compendium: Battledancer, bloodline feats for Sorcerers (often easier to mix two bloodlines that way than using the Cross-Blooded archetype).
I still use Libris Mortis, but the addition of human sacrifice as a spell component for all undead raising spells a d class features and the heroic focus of my games means players don't typically use it. Aside from my Legends and Lairs books, the rest is mostly shelf dressing.
Monkey Grip.
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Certain spells from the spell compendium, certain monsters such as the bonedrinker from monster manual 3. I also like the healing belt and the crystals that add to weapons and armor from the magic item compendium.
I also like Tome of Battle. I have a copy of the DSP version, but I have not gotten around to reading it yet.
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I also like Tome of Battle. I have a copy of the DSP version, but I have not gotten around to reading it yet.
The two work alongside each other quite well. I've been meaning to go through both and work on blending the two - giving Bo9S disciplines to PoW classes and vice versa - but it's a bit down the list on things to do.
Everything except divine metamagic.
Like others in this thread if there's already a PF conversion by Paizo or a third party, I'll direct a player that way (for example, the Invoker by LRGG as a conversion of the 3.5 Warlock), but if there's not - or if the conversion is less a conversion and more an expansion of options, see Path of War by Dreamscarred - I'll typically allow almost any 3.5 class, possibly with a slight conversion.
My project this summer is going to be going through the 3.5 Spell Compendium and assigning each spell to Pathfinder spell lists. Possibly with some minor tweaks. (Hello Orb spells, you are going in Evocation where you belong. There's good lads.)
Feats, items, monsters, races, you name it, I probably allow it, either as-is or with a handful of minor tweaking.
oh my god thank you for pointing out a PF version of the Warlock. I was JUST lamenting the lack of the feylock in Pathfinder the other day!
also if you don't mind and feel like sharing, I know I'd love to see what you tweak to the Spell Compendium. I actually really enjoy hunting down rare spells that are way more flavorful and specific to my character than the broad strokes stuff that's out there now. it'd be really cool to see what gets changed where.
I just picked up the D20 Weird War 2 rulebooks, which, despite the WW2 setting, are meant to run off of the Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 ruleset (this is because Weird War 2 was first published the year before D20 Modern came out), and I can tell I am going to be using them extensively. It feels like a better set of firearm rules than D20 Modern, though I am still making adjustments to fit it to my liking and better conform with Pathfinder norms, such as toning down damage values. With damage scaled back, it looks like a combination of Pathfinder general combat and melee rules with Weird War 2 firearms rules should work well enough. The vehicular combat rules also feel superior, though adjustments do need to be made. The artillery rules it provides are solid enough, as are the air and naval rules. Though I have no plans for a fighter pilot or naval skipper campaign now, it is nice to have the option present itself. Plus lots of useable monsters with a good mix of the magical and the pulpy.