IDrownFish wrote:
O_O
That's... that's a lot of books. Downloading now....
As a beginner, you can probably ignore a lot of those. Most of those books are either setting-specific (Dragonlance, Eberron, Forgotten Realms, etc.), or ones that present alternate rules or new options for the basic material. Some of them are for the older 3.0 rule-set; while they're compatible, some of the specific terms are different, and a few classes were "re-balanced."
To play 3.5, you really only need the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual.
The subsequent MMs added a lot of new beasties, which can be either helpful or overwhelming (ditto for the DMG 2 and PHB 2). The Complete Arcane/Warrior/Divine/Adventurer each presented new core and prestige classes, along with new feats and equipment, for each of the four archetypes (melee, arcane spellcaster, divine spellcaster, skill-user). There's a handful of books presenting environment-specific details (like the desert-based Sandstorm), which can be invaluable if you want your campaign in, say, an arctic setting.
Allegory wrote:
If what you've been hearing about 4.0 is that it has been "dumbed down," then those are the opinions to entirely ignore. There are people who have played both 3.5 and 4.0 and genuinely prefer 3.5. There are also people who have barely played 4.0 and are too stubborn to admit that Wizards made a lot of game play improvements.
Aside from making combat faster, I think the best part about 4.0 is balancing classes in combat. In 3.5 it was almost necessary to have a skill monkey, someone who wasn't useful for fighting, but did all the lock picking and other skill related checks. Wizards were overpowered when they had their spells and useless when they didn't. Melee classes were highly repetitive. 4.0 fixes that.
QFT. I've played off and on since 2nd edition, mostly with 3.0/3.5 rules. The 4th edition rules changed everything, even more dramatically than the 2nd-3rd change, and people don't like change.
The most important change, IMO, was the view on how classes needed to work. Previous editions placed more emphasis on HOW the character did things than on WHAT they did. A melee class was more-or-less restricted to realistic abilities, but for the spellcasters the sky was the limit. Melee just swung at the enemy, and the spellcasters were basically useless at low level and ridiculous at high level. Often a high-level campaign would revolve around the wizard, with other characters being marginalized.
4th edition divided the classes into four roles instead: defender, striker, controller, and leader. I almost hate to draw the comparison, but these translate into MMO roles: Tank, DPS, AoE/Debuffer, and Healer/Buffer. The Defender keeps the opponents in one spot and focused on one target. The Striker deals out hefty damage to one enemy at a time. The Controller deals damage to multiple enemies (but less per target than a Striker) or does things to restrict enemies' options (restricting movement with fields of icy spikes, for example). The Leader does things that keep his allies alive and/or enhance their ability to do what they're doing. These roles are much clearer and easier to understand than the old classes.
Combat abilites were changed. Each class has At-Will, Encounter, and Daily powers. At-Will ones can be used as often as you'd like, Encounter powers are usable once per encounter, and Daily powers are once a day. Each class has more options in combat, unlike previous editions, as I noted above. Everyone gets to do more than "Hit the [insert baddy name], and no class is marginalized at high levels.
They reduced the learning curve for 4th ed. My friend and I introduced his younger brother to D&D just before 4th arrived. We played a couple of quick sessions in 3.5, then swapped over to 4th. His brother picked up the 4E rules far quicker than 3.5's. Combat was quicker and more intuitive, and they removed a lot of the confusing mechanics. 3.5 had a lot of "legacy" mechanics from older rules, which were intended to enforce role-playing but really only made things harder for those who just wanted to RP without memorizing an entire library of rules.
If you and your friends honestly prefer 3.5E, power to you. However, I'd recommend at least trying 4E, if nothing else because it's easier to find those books. On a side note, check actual book stores for D&D books. Most big chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders have a small RP section these days (usually near the comic books). Also check Amazon.com and eBay; you should be able to find older edition books there.
Good luck, and above all,
have fun!