Running CotCT in 3.5 or Pathfinder RPG

[Simonutti Pierre]

We are about to begin CotCT and our master hesitates between 3.5 and Pathfinder.

On one hand Pathfinder seems appealing but on the other hand CotCT does not take in account the new rules so should be adapted by our DM.

The point is that we do not have a lot of time to play so all the less to prepare the sessions.

The question is : is it worth the effort or should we wait to play a fully compatible campaign?

REM : we are waiting for the french translations because the DM does not speak english at all.

[Paul Watson]

I am currently running it in Pathfinder, having started it under the beta. There isn't much that needs changing, although it is a little easier in PF than 3.5 (especially with a paladin in the party).

[fanguad]

Agreed. There are some important NPCs who could use rewrites, but if you just use everything as-is, you should be fine. I would knock everything down by about 1 CR though, to represent the more powerful Pathfinder rules.

[Gamer Girrl]

While I am doing some tweaking (noting down CMB/CMD, consolidating a Perception Skill), I am running the game as is, and finding few problems doing so. I much prefer the skills and bennies of PFRPG, as do my players :)

I started in 3.5, switched partway through book one to Beta, and we converted to PFRPG for book two (play once a month, and rotating three campaigns slows things down a mite).

[fray]

I'm using Pathfinder and running as is.
I do look up the spells of the bad guys to make sure I know what they do and make notes of CMB/D. Other than that it's good to go.

[Brutesquad07]

I am Running CotCT with the new rules. I am updating everything and it really doesn't take much time or effort. You just add a CMB and a CMD to each encounter and then add a feat or two if it is high enough level to gain. Skill consolidation isn't even neccessary if you don't want, as Perception works against hide and move silently as well as Stealth. (I do convert the skills also and update the skill list to represent the consolidated skill list)

[Dogbert]

It all boils down to which one does your table like more? 3.5 or PF?

If you really want to use PF then system translation should't be a problem. Each book is expected to span at least 4 game sessions, and one hour at most is all it takes to translate all of a book's statblocks for monsters and antagonists, so even with little time to play this perfectly falls within a GM's expected parameters for prep time.

Also, while translating stat blocks your GM might feel tempted to revamp every single monster entry for them "to be more of a challenge". Here's my tip... don't, that's only a trap consumes a lot more time than you'd think and your GM risks wasting all of his prep time playing "pimp my mob". Revamping should be reserved for BBEGs and irreplaceable henchmen only.

My friend and I are running 1-PC CotCT and RotRL games using 3.5/BoXM and we're having a blast so far, so I can attest that going the extra mile to customize the gaming experience to your full specifications is really worth it. =)