Core Rulebook Vs. Players Handbook

[Snake]

I couldn't find anything on the Players Handbok for Ravenloft, but is there any difference between it and the Core Rulebook? 3.0 vs 3.5? Is it worth getting the Players Handbook if I have the Core Rulebook?

[Snake]

Nevermind. I forgot that the FoS has a review section on the site. Upon reading the review of the Players Handbook its the same as the Core book. Silly me.

[cpt_machine]

its pretty much the same but with 3.5 rules... and a few extra pages... nuff said.

[Brandi]

For "3.5 rules" read "Murphy's Rules;" they weren't very well thought out (and I wonder if they were ever playtested).

[Joël of the FoS]

(and I wonder if they were ever playtested).

I don't think so. My guess.

[Aslan]

I was going to post this elsewhere, but rather than start a whole new thread on a similar topic, I'll just list it here.

I currently only have the 3.0 core book. I was looking at making an Ancient Dead for my group to face and as I started looking I noticed that Rank one ancient dead are only a +1 cr. Has that been changed in 3.5? In addition, the DR that each rank gets. In 3.0 it was 5/silver, 5/+1, 10/+1, 15/+2, and 20/+3. I would assume with DR being what it is now it might still be 5/silver and then go 5/magic, 10/magic...ect? Can anyone verify that for me? Any other changes I need to know about the Ancient Dead?

[Snake]

Any other changes I need to know about the Ancient Dead?

Though this doesn't answer your question, I recommend giving him a salient ability from VRG to the Walking Dead like Bend the Land or something hehe. That will make for a fun encounter.

[Archedius]

I tend to avoid DR/magic myself but rather choose to use substance based DRs. I also like to add 5 more to the DR of any creature just about if I can get away with it. My players aren't the most forethinking and I find that my approach is gradually training them to do research/scout/skirmish rather than attack head on.
I don't know your players or what type of style you have DMing- but my advice is to make a unique DR type for each individual monster based on their past. I always thought breaches to DR were based on symbolism and in some cases irony.
Ya know- dunno if I've been helpful. Anyway there's not too much difficulty in throwing 3.0 stuff into 3.5. You can often get away with it sans consequence. Gl w/ your campaign.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

The updates of DR from 3.0 to 3.5 in the RL books is notoriously bad. For the most part, they got the part after the slash correct, but left the part before the slash intact, when they really ought to have decreased the numbers. I don't remember if that happened on Ancient Dead specifically, but I bet it did. So, don't go out of your way to find out what the RLPH said on DR.

[Aslan]

Any other changes I need to know about the Ancient Dead?

Though this doesn't answer your question, I recommend giving him a salient ability from VRG to the Walking Dead like Bend the Land or something hehe. That will make for a fun encounter.

It's interesting you mentioned that option. I had originally conceived the creature as a Revenant from VRGtWD, but have begun thinking about it being an ancient dead instead since it was drowned in one of the bogs in Mordent and could have been preserved. If I went this route, it would only be rank one. If I go the Revenant route I had already planned on giving it Bend the land, killing zone, and a couple of other little ones. I was also going to give the creature an allergen so they might stand a chance instead of going straight in and trying to kill it in combat. I may have to research this further before I decide one way or another.