D&D³ Rule Changes

This section will cover the basic rule changes as I understand them from the available official information about D&D³.

Character Creation

The six basic stats still rule (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA), I assume that the extra stats from Skills and Powers will be canned. The standard mechanic to roll stats is 4D6, keeping the best three dice, the six numbers generated are applied to the stats as you wish. The normal range for stats is still 3-18.
I think that "standard mechanic" means they realise that you´ll probably make your own up, but they wanted a flexible, fair system for new players.

Characters still have a class, and a level. Some characters will have more than one class. The multiclass system is pretty much open to any combination (e.g. Gnome Paladin Wizard), it´s not clear if humans will be able to be multiclassed or demihumans dualclassed.
A note on Eric Noah´s unofficial D&D³ site indicates that humans probably can be.

D&D³ handles PCs from 1st to 20th level, but they´ll have a separate book to handle >20th level PCs and campaigns. Demihumans will not have any level limits, all races can be unlimited in level in any class (hence the Gnome Paladin).
This is a really exciting change - gone are the days of not being able to run with whatever your imagination comes up with!

Apparently alignment has been given a treatment too. In the new DMG "a discussion is presented about how to use a few different alignment options that are less strict than the classic alignment graph." This might help people get away from fun-destroying arguments about what a character would or would not do because of their alignment ("That NPC Paladin shouldn´t do that, he´s Lawful Good!").

Skills

A new skills system will replace the old W/NWPs and Thief skills. Some skills will be limited to certain classes, or certain levels in certain classes. Like NWPs, many skills will be associated with certain classes and therefore more expensive (but not impossible) for other classes to learn. You can finally build some characters with real creative control over what they know or can do - poor wizards with real peasant farmer skills, warriors that have concentrated on becoming weapon masters or alternatively that have all the courtly skills of a traditional samurai (poetry, painting, horseriding, farming, etc.).
Hooray! About time this happened - see the comments page for my ramblings on this issue.

The Skill System uses a standard resolution mechanic. In D&D³, die rolls to determine successes are used the same way for making a Saving Throw, hitting an opponent in combat, or using a skill. You make a d20 roll, where higher is always better. Depending on the type of the roll and the situation, the die will have various modifiers added to, or subtracted from it. The final value of the modified roll is compared to a target number (called a "Difficulty Class", abbreviated to "DC"), and if the roll is equal to or greater than the DC, the roll was successful.

They do note that "In most cases, the character's class will be more important. The Skill system is designed to allow you to round out the basic skeleton provided by class and race. So much of the game relies on the classes, however, that they will always be the pre-eminent defining aspect of your character." So don´t despair, your warrior will still be the best fighter amongst the other classes.

Combat

The major changes here are in Armour Class (removing the need for THAC0), weapon speeds (there are none), multiple attacks (no more fractions per round) and the length of a combat round (6 seconds). The changes fit the stated purpose of the original D&D system, to represent the multiple passes of a swordfight as a small, discrete number of `attacks´ that might inflict damage.

Initiative has been worked over, and a simple solution suggested. Initiative is rolled by each character at the start of combat, with DEX affecting the rolls, but not weapon speed. The roll you get is kept for the duration of that combat, but they promise `standard actions´ to allow movement up or down the order of initiative.
This is an area they honestly don´t expect a lot of agreement with, but there is no reason to ditch your house rules - except you should notice that weapon speed has been (rightfully) given the flick.

Their explanation for ditching weapon speed is "Since a D&D combat round is an abstraction of a variety of feints, attacks, parries, etc. there is no correlation between the size or weight of a weapon and how soon in the initiative order that weapon should score a hit that inflicts damage. Weapon speed factors have been removed from the game in 3rd Edition."

Multiple attacks are a function of Level and Skills. Every class gets a chance at multiple attacks, although Wizards probably have to wait a fair bit longer that fighters! However, the fractional attacks, like 3 attacks per 2 rounds, have been dropped. When you get another attack you keep it every round.
Some people´s combat tactics are going to be thrown into disarray by the multiple attacks and weapon speeds rules - take note, you dart throwing maniacs!

Saving Throws have been retained. Sometimes, your character has a chance to avoid or reduce a severe negative outcome via a die roll. This looks to be a normal D20 roll like the skill checks above. The DC will vary due to the circumstances. The big change is the probably absence of dofferent Saving Throw scores (or DCs?) for each class for each type of attack. It looks like all saves will be done with the same modifiers.

Spells and Magic

Spells essentially work the same way as always. You´ve got to memorise spells, and once you cast that spell you´ve forgotten it until you memorise it again.
I still dislike the traditional spell system, after all why memorise something three times? Surely once does the job? I think we´ll still use thr Skills and Powers spell point system.

Wizards get bonus spells for high Intelligence scores. And spellcasters can prepare basic spells (such as detect magic) without taking up a 1st-level slot.
It would be nice to know what these `basic´ spells are, sounds like the good old fashion cantrip idea, where anything goes. Also what does `prepare mean?´

There are spells in the list that can only be cast by one class (such as "Druid"), but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Psionics

WotC have said that "What we intend to do for 3rd Edition is release a stand alone Psionics book in 2001 that will provide a complete system for integrating psionic powers into the core rules. That integration will include the interaction between magic and Psionics, how to use psionic monsters, how to deal with the effects of clairvoyance, telepathy, teleportation, and other powers that circumvent the normal physical limitations of the game."