Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Agentzero13 Mar 17, 2015 20:01:29	Okay tried to look but hasn't worked so far So i need to ask. I am new to d&d so I am unsure on the crossover in this game I noticed that the essentials contain maps while the 5th edition does not. Can i use maps or books for older versions in the 5th edition? Also where do I find character sheets? Also his many ft. Is one square on a map? Is is one square foot?
#2 mellored Mar 17, 2015 20:25:18	all the numbers, characters stats, abilites, math, and monsters change between editions, but the plots, stories, character personalities, and maps are universal. and they use 5' as a square.
#3 Mad_Jack Mar 17, 2015 23:10:25	The Essentials books were 4th Edition - almost nothing other than the names of things carried over into the new edition. It was a complete game rewrite.    However, although any adventures from previous editions would have to be updated to reflect the change in numbers, math and game mechanics, any old maps or non-mechanical narrative details/story ideas from various previous-edition campaign settings or places can still be used.  At least a couple of popular adventures from as far back as First Edition and even Basic D&D have been updated to whatever was the current edition and re-released several times over the years either by WotC officially or by dedicated fans.   Interesting Anecdote: In the last 4E game I played, the DM was using a piece of an old board game as our campaign map. Two sessions into the game, it finally hit me why the names of places looked familiar - we were adventuring on a map of North Carolina during the Civil War, lol.  (Ever since then, I always picture gnolls wearing grey Confederate uniforms...)
#4 Agentzero13 Mar 18, 2015 4:15:54	Okay awesome thanks I looked for that simple answer to no avail
#5 Batgirl_III Mar 18, 2015 11:28:36	Agentzero13 wrote:
#6 Tempest_Stormwind Mar 18, 2015 14:30:00	There is an interesting bit of numeric coincidence, though - apart from situational modifiers, which use advantage/disadvantage instead of +/-2, low-level 3e adventures (specifically adventures, on the DM side of things) are actually usable almost as-is in 5e. The scale of the numbers low-level characters can reach is similar, the scale of the target numbers for different task difficulties (DCs) is similar, the expected size (in number of opponents and number of rounds) of fights is similar....   Just swap out monster stats with the equivalent 5e Monster Manual critters and it's just about good to go. You'll occasionally hit a snag - for instance, I did this sort of rapid conversion with an adventure that had 1st level characters eventually square off against two hobgoblins; in 3e, they're just moderately tough melee fighters, but in 5e, they have a teamwork technique which can very easily slaughter 1st level characters. (The party was fine with this - they were clever and avoided engaging the obviously muscular sword-wielding goblinoids in melee, sticking to ranged weapons and cantrips, and using the terrain to prevent the party from getting flanked. So it wasn't impossible by any stretch.) Certain critters are much tougher - notably zombies, which went from "simply have a lot of hit points" to "they're really hard to kill without divine assistance" - while others are easier, but in general the low-level threats are directly swappable.   (Edit: if people are curious, most of the 3e original adventures are still freely available, though their index page isn't. Just use this Google search. In some cases, I was pleasantly surprised how well this swapout worked - as in, a direct 5e swapout comes out almost exactly to the right amount of XP for a given amount of time adventuring at a given difficulty, by DMG guidelines, without any special DM adjustment or special rewards.)   This won't work at higher levels, since 5e levels off numerically while 3e keeps growing (for instance, in 5e, high-level characters become unlikely to fail at less-difficult tasks but not necessarily more likely to accomplish "virtually impossible" DC 30 tasks, while in 3e, DC 30 is doable by 20th level characters with zero magic or equipment, and rules had to exist for tasks with DC 120 (i.e. "Balance on a cloud").) But it'll work fine for the lower levels in most cases.
#7 Batgirl_III Mar 18, 2015 17:16:12	Published adventures for heroes much beyond 10th Level tend to be almost entirely narrative-driven plot suggestions, rather than the more structured adventures you find at lower level. By the time the heroes can fly, walk through walls, stealthily hide in a glass house at high noon, and/or win a sword fight with one-versus-fifty odds... It becomes really hard to write a canned module for them.   As a new DM, I advise you to start at level one for the heroes. You can grow in your skills as your players grow in theirs. Use some of the many excellent starting adventure modules to get your feet wet.   I'm a big fan of U-1 'The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh' and U-2 'Danger at Dunwater.' Starts the heroes in a solidly playable hometown that the GM can build a great supporting cast into. Then starts things off with a fun "haunted" house, adds some great intrigue, fun set-piece fights, and isn't all dungeons and caverns.