Dungeons & Dragons vs Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC | Ascending AC, Character Building, Classic Fantasy, Crunchy, Dungeon Crawl, Tactical, Vancian Casting |
| Core Mechanic | Make a D20 Test by rolling d20, adding relevant modifiers, and comparing the total to a target number. Ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls use this procedure. Advantage and disadvantage use two d20s and keep the higher or lower result. | Roll a d20, add relevant modifiers, and compare the total to a target number. An equal or higher total succeeds. Ability checks, skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws use this framework. Combat uses initiative and defined action types, while damage dice are rolled after a hit. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | OGL v1.0a (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2024 | 2003 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. | Groups running fantasy campaigns that want class-based character advancement, prepared-spell resource planning, and position-sensitive combat. It also supports GMs who want encounter construction, monsters, treasure, and campaign procedures in the core set. |
| Highlights | Advantage and disadvantage resolve common situational effects by selecting the higher or lower of two d20 rolls. Backgrounds, classes, subclasses, and feats distribute character choices across creation and advancement. Weapon Mastery gives qualifying weapon users distinct tactical effects without replacing the action economy. | Class levels, skills, and feats create distinct mechanical advancement paths for characters. Grid combat combines initiative, movement, action types, attacks of opportunity, and special attacks into positional decisions. The Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual supply encounter, campaign, and creature-construction procedures alongside player rules. |
| Considerations | Spell preparation, spell slots, class features, and conditions create several interacting resources for players to track. High-level characters combine many spells and features, increasing adjudication work for the DM. Bastions add a separate downtime procedure for campaigns that use the stronghold rules. | Character creation requires choices across race, class, ability scores, skills, feats, equipment, and spells. Spellcasting uses separate class lists, spell levels, daily spell counts, and preparation rules. Encounter design requires the GM to reconcile challenge ratings, creature statistics, treasure, and adventure procedures. |