They will be level 7 by then and so the adventure is going to be 7-8. I plan on continuing with Oasis of the White Palm, but will skip Tomb of Martek, the third part of the series.
I am not too good with drawing plans and maps (read: lazy), so this is a minor roadblock.
I still have to come up with a solid version of the two quest items, the staff of ruling and the star gem of Mo-Pelar, which will work and have meaning in 4E, too.
I am stuck atm, as I want to draw the maps next (I need the location numbers), and it will take some time to get that roadblock out of the way. I am unused to the CAD program (I used to hand draw everything), but I would like this to be legible by others...
I am happy, if you can come up with ideas for the traps and hazards (e.g. the energy walls in Pazar, the sinkholes, etc.) or a spot where to include a skill challenge (and how to do it), or other suggestions for things which I should do.
Have you thought about just copying the existing maps that came with the original adventure? Or maybe that won't work because you are rebuilding the encounters from the ground up?
One idea for a skill challenge I had is probably fairly obvious - traveling through the desert to get to the tomb of Amon Re in the first place. If you fail, then you end up at one of those side adventures, such as the efreeti in the sunken tomb or whatever (don't have the game in front of me so this is from memory). And the exploding coconuts would probably be a hazard or trap . . . sounds like fun.
I might also add a room or two in the pyramid...the former high priest has probably not stood at the top of the gauntlet for more than a hundred years. I am also undecided about the gnome with the spoon, which is probably a cheek-in-tongue reference to the movie "Top Secret". Logically he has no place in the ancient tomb, though. The room with the golem also needs a little overhaul...something to keep the adventurers from getting to the container too easily.
In the maze level I am still wracking my brains about a description which makes the exit through the domes less obvious than in the current one, where the broad ledges are specifically mentioned. There is also the water of Athis which runs from the top to the outer temple. At several points PCs can get swept down by it and I need to put the procedure probably into 4E terms.
(I sent you the files I have atm, and my first map.)
- Fear: it had a fear effect with an enormous range (in miles), and I think 5 charges of it.
- Lightning: it could be "spun", building up a charge of 1d10 per round, but the one doing it cannot move until he releases the blast.
- I am not sure about #3, could have been another lightning power or an earthquake, possibly also with 5 charges.
Anyone could use the staff, there was no class restriction. Lorewise it belonged to the pharaos of old, who worshipped a god of the sky.
The first star gem is simple: looking through it lets you see everything as it really is - invisible becomes visible, what is polymorphed is seen as it was, illusions are seen through. There is a 5% chance, that the gem will show false readings. Physically it's a 4" faceted gem (you need a hand to hold it before the eye).
The question is how much call is there in 4E for such an item? Illusions and invisibility are not as common as they were, and polymorphs became rare...although writing this I remember about shapeshifters and lycanthropes, which the gem would also reveal for what they are.
The 2nd star gem has a simple power: Cure Serious Wounds three times per day. This can probably easily be turned into some appropriate heal effect.
The 3rd star gem is a problem. It let magic-users meditate for more spells per level (1 turn memorizing granted +1 spell level, so 2 hours granted 12 spell levels), what was extremely powerful in 1st edition.This power is useless in 4E as written and needs a total overhaul.
The three gems together form a mystical key in the third part of the module, and are lost after they fulfill their purpose.
None of the items had any "+" or other effects or properties, and the staff was a sceptre (typical egyptian design), not usable as a weapon.