This thread is focused on converting the adventure module 'Pyramid of Shadows' (H3) to fit into the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. It's a group collaboration that all are welcome, and encouraged, to help with.
~Will
I'm on vacation the next four days, so I'll probably be pouring over the Campaign Guide and Players Handbook for Forgotten Realms, as well as the modules. So hopefully I'll have some thoughts and idea posted soon.
Right off the bat I started to think about the main bad guy at the end. They give a history for him, but I'd like it to fit into the Forgotten Realms a bit better. I'm not the most knowledgable of Faerun history, so if anyone has any idea on how to convert him and/or his story that would be great.
Cheers,
Will
18DELTA
At the moment I'm debating whether the Pyramid is where Gondegal ended up, betrayed by his army and imprisoned for all time or whether it holds Galaghard I, the king who killed his own heirs to become Draxius "the Neverdying". Perhaps his reign ended a little as Karavakos' reign ended by an invasion by devils and his imprisonment. The true history of Draxius' reign and his fate is lost to time and only recorded in a few old dusty tomes.
Just a couple of thoughts. Beyond this I don't intend to change much else since as someone has said above, the module is fairly easy to place anywhere.
18DELTA
The forest is the Hullack Forest (Close to the Thunder Peaks) where H2 took place, so the party is still in Cormyr.
Given the aproximation to Netheril (the Netheril that 4.0 brought to life again), I made Karavakos a Netheril wizard, that after a pact with a powerfull devil he was transformed into a Tiefling. He was imprisoned while the old netheril was still alive, and the Pyramid was brought to shadows as did the old netheril wizards who survived in the city of Shade. That's why it's called the Pyramid of Shadows.
Besides that, I've changed Vecna for Cyric, as also in the H2 adventure.
That's all I have for now. Most conversions are on the fly... in my case.
Another option is to place the adventures in gray vale. Winterhaven is Loudwater, the keep is the barrow of the ogre king. Make it look more dwarven using the illustration in FRCG. Perhaps sir Keegan can be King Olaurin the hero-king of Ammarindar slain by the deep dragon Erthungaron.
Thunderspire can be 1 of the sisters in star mounts. The endless caverns lead to the underdark section west of the High Forest known as the Labyrinth (see Underdark 3e), the old and mysteriously vanished minotaur kingdom.
Pyramid of Shadows can be Draigdurroch Tower. A frozen black pyramid west of the dire woods. Possible villains? A clone of Wulgreth, or a vanished Kaanyr Vhok. His undefeated army lost in Menzoberranzan, triggering his master's displeasure.
Want to continue with P series? Make Secomber the raided town.Instead of Mishka's warren hook in the high moor, place the troll king. Phaervorul could be a drow outpost of Ched Nasad, or if you want to "play" with spellplague go for the plaguecave of Eryndil.
Of course if you want to use orcus as the BBEG you can choose to run the adventures in the demonlands.
Great dale can be used easily.Demons are released in Dun-tharos and a cult of orcus forms to back them up against the nentyarch. Use bezentil as the base city, the keep could be 1 of the many dungeons left of the city of Val-Murthag. Perhaps the portal was a weapon ready to be released by narfell bringing the might of the rotting legions, in the struggle against raumathar. The battlemages managed to destroy the site before the ritual was completed.
The pyramid could be Fortress Clymph. Karavakos(clymph) was a Narfelli general who lost a major battle misguided by an agent (eladrin princess) from the cycle of Lethyr. The now destroyed one way portal to the Abyss was a way to permit demons to enter the tower and mock/torture karavakos of his failure. With the portal gone, karavakos killed his jailers and for the first time he could plan his escape. The oracle powers are a way to attract adventurers to the place. People who are not deemed powerful enough to help him return with prophetic visions. Tasty adventurers can come in ofc ;)
Further options.... Impiltur, the cult of orcus, is fraternity of Dun-tharos. The pyramid is the citadel of conjurors. There is an excellent map in the map section you can use. Prisoner could be the balor Ndulu, servant of Eltab, banished/imprisoned by the paladin princes of impiltur at the battle of the moaning gorge (786 DR). Or you can use another location, with the pyramid as is. Karavakos is Agrosh the Scaled (half-fiend son of Eltab), briefly king of Impiltur in the 726-729 DR period, "slain" by Belthar Garshin, a paladin of Torm, at the battle of Horned Heads.
Soneillon, the queen of whispers, is a good candidate too (a female karavakos). The spellplague returned her to thanatos. Her sweet words, did not convince orcus who imprisoned her for her repeated failures. She managed to transport her prison back to impiltur so she can free herself and prove her worth to orcus, by becoming queen once more. The traitor can be a handsome eladrin (from the gray forest) acting as a councilor when she was queen of Impiltur (925-935 DR, I think). He was the one betraying her true nature to Soargar, archmage of Lyrabar, allowing him to craft a spell of banishment, which prohibited soneillon from entering impiltur again. Of course the pyramid of shadows is not Impilturan soil allowing her to "enter" the kingdom once more.
Thesk, is another region that can be used if you want a Shou presence. Make Ethvale your base town. The rotting legion could be used by narfell to bring thesk on its knees. Led by a promising mage of the time who had the right blood, karavakos conquered the whole region. The atrocities he commited to ensure his authority against humans,elves and centaurs in the region led to his downfall. Raumathar and the elves of yuireshanyaar combined their forces to stop him. High rituals ensured the banishment of the horde back to shadowfell. Place the rift where fort thesk is. Perhaps someone found the old catacombs beneath the keep. The thayans investigated and sir keegan, the thayan commander was driven mad and killed them all in a night of bloodshed. The catacombs were sealed by the angry spirits of the dead and noone found a clue of what happened. A cult of orcus of dan-tharos or necromancers of Thay may eventually have figured out what happened.
Again, a displeasured fiend or as a result of the same ritual karavakos was imprisoned in the pyramid, torn between fragments to ensure he would never be able to call the legion again. You can place the original place in Thay, with centaurs guarding the underground passages to it. After the failed ritual of the Regent last year (1478), the pyramid was freed as an earthmote drifting to the place of the shadowfell rift with karavakos ready to free himself and restore his kingdom. You can let your PCs see the earthmote near thesk fort in the first adventure. The pyramid could be invisible, blinking in and out of view as karavakos tries to control it. You can offer a tantalising glimpse of the pyramid, upon the seemingly empty mote.
Further adventures, thunderspire in the thesk mountains with 1 of the ancient roads leading to it. Phaervorul can be the mt. Nirg drow outpost of Phaundakulzan. I think I saw the appearance of a larva mage in one of the previews for a future adventure. So you can use the former genasi Espera and the boneyard site.
Im very sorry for the long post, but when the ideas started to form I couldnt control myself :embarrass . Anyways have fun and I hope some ideas were useful to your campaign.
Vyrellis who appears in H3 makes a quick cameo at the end of H1 being sacrificed by Kalarel as part of ritual to opening the portal.
Then to fit it in properly I've said that the Pyramid exists in a different time space to the rest of the world so for the party its been a few weeks/months but for him he has been trapped there for a thousand years.