Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 gerg Nov 10, 2009 10:19:47	Hey all, I'm converting the 1e module the Isle of Dread for my 4e Eberron game. The party will be 4th level when they get there. I'm making the location a part of the Eberron history and would like some feedback on my concepts. 1. I've replaced the dungeon at the top with the 1e Tomb of Horrors, which I'm also converting. 2. the tomb is the last 'resting' place of Minara d' Vol. A renegade splinter group of dragons and elves involved in her execution preserved her in an undead state so they might expolit her power and knowldge. Knowledge of the tomb's existence has since become all but lost to time. 3. The tribes on the island are decendents of the drgonborn used to construct the tomb and other structures on the island. Given thier isolation they've declined into a primitive state, and know little of the tomb. 4. They do hear Minara through dreams and portents and have developed a religion recognizable as an offshoot of the Blood of Vol (they even have zombie workers in the original text!). the pirates are eladrin which also worship Vol in a more bloodthirsty fashion. 5. The island exists pricipally in the feywild but has wordfallen to the Thunder Sea thanks to a ritual the PC's had a role in completing. They know little of the real story and think all they've done so far has been to open a new shard harvesting site.   6. Once on the island, the team will learn the truth be in a race against House Cannith agents and The Emerald Claw, who wish to plunder the tomb for a powerful artifact. this is our first Eberron game and none of my players have read the novels, so we're not experts. Any suggestions as to how I can deepen the immersion in Eberron history or if the concept suggests somehting I've overlooked would be great. -G
#2 Igfig Nov 10, 2009 13:29:45	I can tell you one important thing about the Isle of Dread adventure, and that's to take a look at the Savage Tide adventure path from the old Paizo Dungeon magazines.  Not only does a lot of action take place on the Isle of Dread, but "City of Broken Idols" from Dungeon 145 is in many ways a remake of the original module.  Dungeon 114 also had some useful Isle of Dread information. Paizo also released conversion notes for some of the adventures in the path.  The notes for "Here there be Monsters" are pretty handy. Also, our own Misterfido has made a Tomb of Horrors conversion that's really good, so you might want to look at that.  Or you could wait a year for the official remake to be released, that'd work too.
#3 gerg Nov 11, 2009 8:11:09	I can tell you one important thing about the Isle of Dread adventure, and that's to take a look at the Savage Tide adventure path from the old Paizo Dungeon magazines.  Not only does a lot of action take place on the Isle of Dread, but "City of Broken Idols" from Dungeon 145 is in many ways a remake of the original module.  Dungeon 114 also had some useful Isle of Dread information. Paizo also released conversion notes for some of the adventures in the path.  The notes for "Here there be Monsters" are pretty handy. Also, our own Misterfido has made a Tomb of Horrors conversion that's really good, so you might want to look at that.  Or you could wait a year for the official remake to be released, that'd work too. html_removed html_removed html_removed html_removed Thank you! I just got a copy of 'Forge of War' which is proving helpful. I’m adding 'the forgotten forge' to the island as the source of Woeforged creation due to the prevalence of the Mark of Death power on the island. I have Critter Cache for the beasts and dinosaurs and I imagine many of the encounters as skill challenges, as fighting a T-Rex may be beyond the team's abilities. I'm thinking the rakastas and the flying squirrel guys may be replaceable, but they are iconic so I might have them remain- if I can think of a reason for the pc’s to interact with them in a meaningful way. The rope bridge to the top of the plateau is kind of a weak device, so I’m thinking House Cannith built elevators or used flying discs to get from top to bottom and these must be repaired, leading to a scavenger hunt around the island. A bit of a cliché but so is the notion that the goal of the adventure is at the top of the island’s central feature. Is misterfid's ToH available somewhere or should I reach out to him?
#4 hastur_nz Nov 17, 2009 19:32:59	I'm running Savage Tide, converted to 4e - higher level than you are planning, but still, it's possible there might be some ideas of mine you could find useful... So far the PC's have been ship-wrecked on the northern part of the isle (which was fading in and out of the Feywild - they were using a ritual to cross the boundary when the island came to find them), made their way down the coast (via a dungeon infected with Demogorgon's cult) to Farshore, which was under attack from pirates. They then trecked around the Isle, getting things in order before the main pirate invasion. Once they defeated the pirates, they went back up north to negotiate free-trade terms with the resident dragon eel, then are descending through the underdark to the centre where the Kopru are manufacturing their black pearls - they go to the ruins on top of the central plateau in the next adventure, then after that they pretty much leave the island and continue their adventures elsewhere. I'd recommend playing up the Fey nature of the place - plain old dinosaurs and other animals will get boring, but things like Feyborn Snakes, and crazed stegosaurus (bloodspike behemoth with relentless killer template added) are more interesting. I used Fang Titan Drake stats for Terror-birds, as they are more interesting than your usual dinosaur, and for a Dimetrodon pet I just used a Rage Drake's stats. Having NPC's opposed to the PC's - fellow adventurers allied to one or more Houses or other power groups - will also make it interesting, and quite Eberron; for example, my pirates were human grunts, with warforged sailors provided by House Cannith, and a couple of captains were Cannith Artificers, while one was a cambion and another yuan-ti. They arrived in elemental galleons.  I'm using Troglodytes early on in the underdark piece. I've posted a few more things here that may be of use here: paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPubli...
#5 hastur_nz Nov 18, 2009 13:32:25	Is misterfid's ToH available somewhere or should I reach out to him? community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
#6 gerg Nov 18, 2009 20:37:50	html_removed html_removed html_removed Thanks, hastur_nz. The link isn't working but I'll keep an eye on the tread to see if it gets repaired.   The suggestions of how to 'fey up' the encounters are good ones. Dinosaurs don't seem to be very fey so any additional thoughts in that direction would be welcome.   I'm also sweating over how to lend purpose to the various factions of the island. Here's what I have so far:   I've replaced the areana with neogi and see them as a clan who collects slaves from the island to trade to formians.   The rakastas are a clan of traders who were local suppliers for House Cannith when they were building their forge on the island. They will serve the role of providing the PC's with ritual and fabrication support on the island, if needed. I'll include a few warrior-themed skill challenges as the rakasas test how the PC's measure up to thier marial standards   The phanetons are a bit trickier. They could just be native denizens but I want to underline a reason for the PC's to intact with them.  So far I'm providing the hook that the neogi are fostering a conflict between the rakasa and the phanetons by using captured slaves of each group in their raids on the other. So the rakasas blame the phanetons for their losses ands vice-versa.  The rakasas could charge the PC's with striking a blow against the phanetons and maybe the PC's would reveal the real enemies?   The ogres I've augmented with an Ettin boss who 'runs' the island as the formians run their territories.  I'll take your advice and have this group aide the House Cannith team (I'm, stealing Garrow from the 3e eberron modules as my Cannith agent) so there will be several interactions and combats with this group.   The Neanderthals and lizard men I've  replaced with gnomes and bullywugs respectively. I'll use the 'treed' and 'stcik in the mud' side treks from dungeon to flesh out those encounters with little effort on my poart.   The natives at the top of the plateau I've replaced with Wilden the island has spawned to try and combat the influence of the tomb, which replaces the korpru lair.   Not sure if I'm going to tie the pirates in directly or just have them be a unincorporated threat.  They will be eladrins with a hag commander.   Those are the ideas I have so far. I think it's very Eberron but not so fey yet.  I'll keep at it, and look thought the other threads for more inspiration. The dragon eel is a great idea I may steal for a nautical skill challenge.
#7 hastur_nz Nov 19, 2009 18:03:59	One idea I saw elsewhere, liked, but forgot so didn't really use, was to replace with Island's "natives" (humans in X1, I think, although I think that's assumed rather than explicitly said) with something a bit different... They suggested something like blue Elves, but any kind of Elf or Eladrin would work in well, and have a tie with the Fey side.  It depends on exactly how you see the Isle fitting in with your history of Eberron, e.g. they could be Elves who escaped from Xen'drik or sailed across from Aerenal, or Eladrin who got trapped e.g. when the Mourning broke the Feyspires, or earlier on somehow... For example I have a feyspire located at the bottom of the Isle, which is pretty much a cut-down Taer Lian Doresh (ECG, page 143) moved to the Isle.  But my players never went there, and I have had the natives (Khunan in my game) seem pretty much like humans, although like my reading of X1, it's never explicitly been said in my game that they are human, they just look fairly human and I'd guess my players assume they are because I never said they were anything else.  In fact, if it ever became important, I'm now planning that the natives are in fact Shifters (both types), but it's not obvious until they shift (i.e. are bloodied).  I figure that the natives originally came from Riedra (Sarlona), but inter-mixed with the Eladrin, and the original Savage Tide that created a number of twisted savage creatures lead to the surviving humans becoming, essentially, Shifters. However, having the natives actually be a kind of Elf is a good idea, especially as Elves who left Aerenal; at least that links in with the Zombie Master angle.  But as I say, it may not be important what race your island's "natives" are, I guess it depends on whether you want to describe them as your typical tropical island's dark-skinned folk, or something a little more "fantasy"...
#8 hastur_nz Nov 19, 2009 18:06:19	p.s. the link works for me - try cut and paste on this... community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19707526/Tomb_of_Horrors_4E_Released
#9 gerg Nov 24, 2009 15:28:57	Ok I found a link to the ToH update that worked and it's a great help! We're still a few sessions from the island so I can make all the tweaks I need between now and then. I'm thinking of making some of the sauropods to be almost hazards. They are surrounded by stirge-like parasites, for example.
#10 dulsi Nov 30, 2009 19:37:24	Apperently Keith Baker did a Eberron conversion of the Savage Tide adventure path in Dragon.  Some of the adventure path took place on the Isle of Dread. Conversion Notes 1 Conversion Notes 2 Conversion Notes 3 Conversion Notes 4 These are Eberron and FR conversion notes for the Savage Tide.