Along the same lines as the Pathfinder thread I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on the Trailblazer rules by Bad Axe games. We recently switched from standard 3.5 to using the TB rules as the core we built our characters off of. We've gotten one game down with the Trailblazer rules and it was fun. It brought some of the martial characters up, though it didn't bring them totally in line with the casters. There is a unified magic level that carries across all character classes to try to make actual multi-class casters work, which I might try out in the new game we're starting. The fact that the 'big six' magic items are pretty much a resource tax on all but the caster classes is recognized, and an attempt made to account for that. There are other adjustments to the system and problems the designers lay out with 3.5 that they attempt to address.

Since I've never been a real hard core 3.5 guy, but I've played enough to see some of the clear troubles with the system in action. Plenty here have gotten a lot more table time than I have in the last few years so I turn to the MW gaming crew for opinions on the good and bad points of Trailblazer. Any glaring troubles with the rules that weren't in 3.5? Any marked improvements that make valid options that were traps in 3.5? General thoughts and feelings of the board?

Trailbazer requires you to pay for the product. I do not have the money to pay for the product, or the incentive to acquire it through other means, so I unfortunately can't really comment...

I think that your first impression will probably hold throughout your Trailblazer experience. There did not seem to be anything that became more broken in Trailblazer. Though, there are still discrepancies (as you mentioned) between caster and non caster classes power and versatility.

The biggest problem that I've seen has been the, "Its just like 3.5, except" problem, which is true of any incremental system update. To better explain what I mean, The rules for Trailblazer are very similar (even identical to) D&D 3.5 in most instances, except where they made (sometimes a very small) a change, so remembering where the system operates like 3.5 and where it operates differently can sometimes cause confusion.

Having not been as familiar with 3.5, you may not experience this. Also, depending on how much your group looks at the actual text of the rules in play, you may or may not even notice.

I have also not had any experience with the unified casting system regarding multiclassing. I think its just that our group has it so ingrained not to multiclass that no one has been brave enough to try it out yet.

What are the 'big six' magic items?

Magic weapon, Magic armour/shield, ring of protection, cloak of resistance, amulet of natural armor and ability-score booster. You know, the 'tax' items that you always need...

I view Trailblazer as a better set of balancing houserules than pathfinder. Not a GOOD set still, but better...

They at least realized that Druid needed to be bludgeoned to a bloody pulp with the nerf stick, which is good on them, you know?