Adapting 2E Modules - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Adapting 2E Modules

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
larslarsen
Sep 21, 2010 12:17:29 I know that this thread has been addressed before, but mainly in terms of "level" of the old modules. I'm interested in putting some work into converting the crunch behind a lot of the old 2E Dark Sun Modules (I just finished my collection), mainly having 4E stats for Monsters and NPCs -- anyone running these adventures for 4E would be doing this anyway, but the idea is to not take as many shortcuts and try to give it some polish. Maybe do some battlemaps as well, and provide kind of a guide with page references to the 4E stuff and DM notes on any changed details between edition fluff.

Just wondering about the feasibility of making this a public resource and/or project? Anyone think Wizards would see this as a "no no"? The idea isn't to reprint the actual modules or any monsters that appear in the books. Are there tools/resources/standard formats (Masterplan?) for this kind of project out there? I know Athas.org was a big conversion project, but their site is always down and I was never involved, so I'm not sure if this is ground that was already covered or not. Also, is this even a good idea? My main interest in adapting these modules is because I want to really get into the zone of the original feel of the setting -- so I'd like to run some of them before writing too many of my own adventures.

I'm mainly just seeking advice and suggestions here (and maybe fishing for teammates if there's interest in a community project.)
#2
flip
Sep 22, 2010 10:47:35 This is one of the things that I really want up on Athas.org -- making the old aventures runnable in 4e. So, for getting it publicly hosted? Very feasable.

#3
larslarsen
Sep 22, 2010 12:04:56 Cool. I can put up hosting for the material, that's not a problem. Great if it can be part of something that's already up though. Do you have any ideas on the kind of included material and approach that would be good for a 4E companion to one of the 2E modules? I suppose at the minimum it could just be encounter groups statted out for various encounters. More complex could include some "lists and charts" of npcs, locations, plot point paths, etc. I suppose.
#4
Pennarin
Sep 22, 2010 14:17:00
In 3e and 4e I tend to gravitate towards making conversions of certain favourite NPCs, such as Fevil, Zeburon, Lokee, Hespulto, Dhojakt, Blackspear, and the Black Sands raaig. I can provide them on a me-wants basis.

Since 4e I've been wanting to create independent adventures that take place before all the other published 2e adventures (since 4e is a reboot and a retconn), one involving the Black Sands, and the other the gith chieftain Blackspear which managed to unite the gith tribes of the Blackspine mountains (this is from a supplement released before the Blackspine adventure).
#5
OneWeirdCat
Sep 22, 2010 21:25:32 I converted "Year of Priest's Defiance" and "Raiders of the Chanth" (minus the Chanth, no offense Athas.org, but I didn't like the one up there) for 3E, and am working on converting "Raiders of the Chanth" for 4E. I want to distrubute it, so posting it on Athas.org would be great.

@ Pennarin, yeah I did Fevil, Zeburon, Lokee and an adventure about the Black Sands too in 3E. if you have any cool npc like them done for 4E, I would LOVE if you could share them!!! I don't recall some of those names, and we never played Blackspine in 2E.
#6
rothe
Sep 27, 2010 3:55:30 Related to old modules, what would be suitable level ranges for the correct feel of the adventures?
Has someone made a chart of this or something?

I have the adventure chain starting with Freedom, but I am a bit unsure how to convert the level ranges to 4e versions.

One way I was thinking about was to make it roughly 2/3rds of the 2e range.
Basically it would mean:

2nd ed level 3 = 4th ed level 2

2nd ed level 9 = 4th ed level 6

And so on...

That means, those 2nd ed adventures at 11+ levels would be around high paragon levels/early epics, which seems to suit the style of them (Athas losing psionic powers for some time etc., which is a world spanning effect).¨

Any ideas? Has someone converted stuff like this?

My idea is to run things quite freeform, so that I would not make a real big writeup for many things. Perhaps just convert some NPC's and use the monsters straight out of a 4e MM/DSCC if they fit ok - or only change level which is doable without writing everything separately down for each encounter.

I think I played "Freedom" once in 2nd ed times, and I feel like it was a fun intro, so that is where I'd like to start. If I recall right, the starting level for DS in 2nd ed was 2 or 3.
#7
Alphastream
Sep 27, 2010 13:17:25 Rothe, I would honesty just wing it based on what seems appropriate story-wise for your players and their PCs. Sometimes you want a simple mod, but sometimes even low-level guys need a high heroism big stakes adventure. The only thing to avoid is illogical extremes (let's fight the weakened SK at level 3, let's face a solo king tembo in Epic). Of course, even those can work in the right situation and with some careful reasoning.
#8
rothe
Sep 27, 2010 15:08:35 Yeah, I know. I don't need exact conversions or anything. Just going by the feel of what would feel like a proper progression in the adventure paths. I know that the one starting with Freedom is a chain that I could run in sequence, but what about other ones that I could toss in between?

I don't want characters battling the SK's in heroic levels and such, so some kind of rough scale of proportion for each adventure would help. I wonder if there is a synopsis of each in some convenient place.
#9
Alphastream
Sep 27, 2010 17:34:17 Black Flames is a good one for upper heroic and paragon.

As you said, most of the Freedom chain works well for low level. I would basically look at the level and then just eyeball the mod. Most of the adventures have cool bits but could be better in overall quality, so you probably want to make a number of revisions anyway.
#10
rothe
Sep 28, 2010 2:52:29
Black Flames is a good one for upper heroic and paragon.

As you said, most of the Freedom chain works well for low level. I would basically look at the level and then just eyeball the mod. Most of the adventures have cool bits but could be better in overall quality, so you probably want to make a number of revisions anyway.

True that.

They are a bit poorly formatted for some parts. I think the plots are perhaps a bit better than some of the 4e adventures, but I would really really like for some of them to be officially converted to 4e format just for ease of reading them. 4e modules are often much easier and clearer for the DM to use during actual play (and not only for the mechanics parts).

I think I will start my DS game with freedom in any case - somewhat modded and converted to 4e.
#11
Alphastream
Sep 28, 2010 12:43:11 You won't see anything official. I am pretty sure there will be no more Dark Sun adventures released by WotC outside of Dungeon. Their model for campaigns likely means that they are done with all DS print material (barring a minor miracle). That is probably the best decision profit-wise. The support via Dragon and Dungeon has been really good. And, of course, the community can do more. I'll be sharing more once my campaign gets further along.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 larslarsen Sep 21, 2010 12:17:29	I know that this thread has been addressed before, but mainly in terms of "level" of the old modules. I'm interested in putting some work into converting the crunch behind a lot of the old 2E Dark Sun Modules (I just finished my collection), mainly having 4E stats for Monsters and NPCs -- anyone running these adventures for 4E would be doing this anyway, but the idea is to not take as many shortcuts and try to give it some polish. Maybe do some battlemaps as well, and provide kind of a guide with page references to the 4E stuff and DM notes on any changed details between edition fluff. Just wondering about the feasibility of making this a public resource and/or project? Anyone think Wizards would see this as a "no no"? The idea isn't to reprint the actual modules or any monsters that appear in the books. Are there tools/resources/standard formats (Masterplan?) for this kind of project out there? I know Athas.org was a big conversion project, but their site is always down and I was never involved, so I'm not sure if this is ground that was already covered or not. Also, is this even a good idea? My main interest in adapting these modules is because I want to really get into the zone of the original feel of the setting -- so I'd like to run some of them before writing too many of my own adventures. I'm mainly just seeking advice and suggestions here (and maybe fishing for teammates if there's interest in a community project.)
#2 flip Sep 22, 2010 10:47:35	This is one of the things that I really want up on Athas.org -- making the old aventures runnable in 4e. So, for getting it publicly hosted? Very feasable.
#3 larslarsen Sep 22, 2010 12:04:56	Cool. I can put up hosting for the material, that's not a problem. Great if it can be part of something that's already up though. Do you have any ideas on the kind of included material and approach that would be good for a 4E companion to one of the 2E modules? I suppose at the minimum it could just be encounter groups statted out for various encounters. More complex could include some "lists and charts" of npcs, locations, plot point paths, etc. I suppose.
#4 Pennarin Sep 22, 2010 14:17:00	In 3e and 4e I tend to gravitate towards making conversions of certain favourite NPCs, such as Fevil, Zeburon, Lokee, Hespulto, Dhojakt, Blackspear, and the Black Sands raaig. I can provide them on a me-wants basis. Since 4e I've been wanting to create independent adventures that take place before all the other published 2e adventures (since 4e is a reboot and a retconn), one involving the Black Sands, and the other the gith chieftain Blackspear which managed to unite the gith tribes of the Blackspine mountains (this is from a supplement released before the Blackspine adventure).
#5 OneWeirdCat Sep 22, 2010 21:25:32	I converted "Year of Priest's Defiance" and "Raiders of the Chanth" (minus the Chanth, no offense Athas.org, but I didn't like the one up there) for 3E, and am working on converting "Raiders of the Chanth" for 4E. I want to distrubute it, so posting it on Athas.org would be great. @ Pennarin, yeah I did Fevil, Zeburon, Lokee and an adventure about the Black Sands too in 3E. if you have any cool npc like them done for 4E, I would LOVE if you could share them!!! I don't recall some of those names, and we never played Blackspine in 2E.
#6 rothe Sep 27, 2010 3:55:30	Related to old modules, what would be suitable level ranges for the correct feel of the adventures? Has someone made a chart of this or something? I have the adventure chain starting with Freedom, but I am a bit unsure how to convert the level ranges to 4e versions. One way I was thinking about was to make it roughly 2/3rds of the 2e range. Basically it would mean: 2nd ed level 3 = 4th ed level 2 2nd ed level 9 = 4th ed level 6 And so on... That means, those 2nd ed adventures at 11+ levels would be around high paragon levels/early epics, which seems to suit the style of them (Athas losing psionic powers for some time etc., which is a world spanning effect).¨ Any ideas? Has someone converted stuff like this? My idea is to run things quite freeform, so that I would not make a real big writeup for many things. Perhaps just convert some NPC's and use the monsters straight out of a 4e MM/DSCC if they fit ok - or only change level which is doable without writing everything separately down for each encounter. I think I played "Freedom" once in 2nd ed times, and I feel like it was a fun intro, so that is where I'd like to start. If I recall right, the starting level for DS in 2nd ed was 2 or 3.
#7 Alphastream Sep 27, 2010 13:17:25	Rothe, I would honesty just wing it based on what seems appropriate story-wise for your players and their PCs. Sometimes you want a simple mod, but sometimes even low-level guys need a high heroism big stakes adventure. The only thing to avoid is illogical extremes (let's fight the weakened SK at level 3, let's face a solo king tembo in Epic). Of course, even those can work in the right situation and with some careful reasoning.
#8 rothe Sep 27, 2010 15:08:35	Yeah, I know. I don't need exact conversions or anything. Just going by the feel of what would feel like a proper progression in the adventure paths. I know that the one starting with Freedom is a chain that I could run in sequence, but what about other ones that I could toss in between? I don't want characters battling the SK's in heroic levels and such, so some kind of rough scale of proportion for each adventure would help. I wonder if there is a synopsis of each in some convenient place.
#9 Alphastream Sep 27, 2010 17:34:17	Black Flames is a good one for upper heroic and paragon. As you said, most of the Freedom chain works well for low level. I would basically look at the level and then just eyeball the mod. Most of the adventures have cool bits but could be better in overall quality, so you probably want to make a number of revisions anyway.
#10 rothe Sep 28, 2010 2:52:29	Black Flames is a good one for upper heroic and paragon. As you said, most of the Freedom chain works well for low level. I would basically look at the level and then just eyeball the mod. Most of the adventures have cool bits but could be better in overall quality, so you probably want to make a number of revisions anyway. True that. They are a bit poorly formatted for some parts. I think the plots are perhaps a bit better than some of the 4e adventures, but I would really really like for some of them to be officially converted to 4e format just for ease of reading them. 4e modules are often much easier and clearer for the DM to use during actual play (and not only for the mechanics parts). I think I will start my DS game with freedom in any case - somewhat modded and converted to 4e.
#11 Alphastream Sep 28, 2010 12:43:11	You won't see anything official. I am pretty sure there will be no more Dark Sun adventures released by WotC outside of Dungeon. Their model for campaigns likely means that they are done with all DS print material (barring a minor miracle). That is probably the best decision profit-wise. The support via Dragon and Dungeon has been really good. And, of course, the community can do more. I'll be sharing more once my campaign gets further along.