Hi Guys,
I'm planning on running my son and friends through a number of the old, classic modules. I'm trying to plan things out and had some questions. Are the old level guides about right for the new version? I know levels 1-3 is a lot different than it was in the older editions! So, does that scew things for the rest? I've got 1E, 2E, 3E, and 3.5 E modules. Should I just guess it as I'm in uncharted territory? Or has anyone gone ahead of me to help me sense what an old 8th level adventure might be in new game turns?
Thanks!
Mike Mearls has said that they will put out some free older edition conversion guides soon.
Great! Who's Mike Mearls?
Lashan wrote:
I'm currerntly running "Temple of elemental Evil" using 5th Edition.
That campaign scenario was designed for 1st/2nd Edition ADnD.
I did the following to sort of "Convert" it to 5E.
I took out about 80% of the monetary treasure, gems etc, as ADnD had training costs and so on, which 5E doesn't. so lots of money isn't required.
I took out most of the magic items. I probably took out about 80% of magic Items I suppose and planned it so each character should some sort of +1 or equivalent item by level 5.
I did a little pre-adventure I set up to get them to level 2 before starting ToEE.
The Moathouse (the first part), which got them to level 4, had enough items to provide that.
Regarding monsters. I quickly ran thorugh the first part of the Scenario, being the moathouse and checked if I had the available stats for the scenario monsters.
I swapped out a couple and reduced the amounts of Gnolls in there by about 30% I suppose, as they're tougher in 5E.
All in all, it was very easy and took about 30 minutes skimming the book.
Generally monetary rewards should be less.
Magic items should be rarer and monsters are slightly tougher in 5E and it's VERY easy for characters to get overwhelmed in numbers by apparently weak monsters.
Based on that, so far it has gone well for me running the Moathouse.
They're OTW to the Temple next session.
Hope that helps.
danskmacabre wrote:
danskmacabre wrote:
I've been buying up old 1e and 2e modules to run with 5e and yeah, everybody and their mother are packing a magic item or three! The number of NPCs with plate armor is also rather impressive.
Lashan wrote:
Lashan wrote:
pukunui wrote:
Azzy1974 wrote:
My two copper:
One thing I love about 5e is that converting old TSR stuff into it is not that hard. I hear that the devs will be releasing a PDF at some point to aid in that as well. (Thanks again, pukunui.)
I never bothered with trying for 3e and 4e, even though I do have a stack of old adventure modules from the 80's and 90's...But now I want to. 4e was especially different, to the point of rendering such a conversion impossible...Of course, you can always use an old module/book for fluff and story, and just use new chruch/stat blocks for the numbers you need to DM stuff.
seti wrote:
I have a habit of hitting yard sales, library sales, and used book stores. I've gathered a stack of TSR era D&D adventure modules, and a few hard covers that way, for cheap. Very cheap. ie: a dollar for 10 almost complete mods. 
The only down side is that condition sometimes sucks, and some maps or adventure specific DM screens are missing, but oh well.
On influences of previous editions -- "3e is probably the most recognizable, due to its influence on the core rules, while 2e shines through in our approach to world and roleplay. 4e is embedded in a lot of the systems, while 1e is there in our approach to empowering DMs."
This quote from Mr.Mearls had me wondering which previous edition modules would be easiest to convert to 5e.
Mechanically, we are really looking at 3 prior systems
AD&D 1e and 2e (very similar to each other)
3.0 and 3.5 (practically the same), and
4e (unique to itself)
My initial impression was that 3/3.5 edition modules would be the easiest to convert to 5e given the fact that 3rd edition introduced the d20 mechanics that are still at the heart of the game. 3rd edition, however, also has a lot of layers that would need to be stripped away as it's built on many pluses and minuses and has a very specifically defined combat system.
Skill systems, imo, are the easiest to convert to a new system, but given 5e's flatter math, stats would need to be completely reworked from the ground up and I'm not sure a simple conversion document would be an easy task. Then again, I'm not a game designer by any means. Maybe a 2e conversion would be easier as there would be less to strip away?
3.5 must be the easiest conversion due to the fact that 2e still used THAC0 and contained a ton of separate systems for every area of the game, while 3rd edition streamlined most of these areas into a core d20 mechanic.
If the design team does manage to produce a decent conversion document for AD&D, I can't imagine how cool it would be to play a lot of those classic modules from the 80s under the 5e ruleset. There must be enough gronards and younger fans of the early era of D&D to support Wotc reprinting AD&D modules with 5e rules one day and I can think of no better homage to those writers of yore that brought us those classics over 30 years ago.
pukunui wrote:
Angel7 wrote:
Given the purpose of the Keep on the Borderlands, putting all its defenders in Plate Mail Armor is not such a strange thing. But all the enemies? They should be wearing less (except each Cave Boss, maybe).
Something I did for 3e was to design my own map and spread the Caves out along a range of hills. This way the PCs can clear out one cave at a time without everybody else coming over to investigate / watch / bet on favorites / cheer the winners. Put the harder caves farther back away from town.
I also added an abandoned village (at a river crossing), and explained that the Keep was built because an orc gang raided and burnt the village / bridge. My PCs decided to build an impromptu fort in town as a forward base! They also decided to attack orcs preferentially over any other enemies that showed up.
Angel7 wrote:
Zardnaar wrote:
pukunui wrote:
"Plate mail" in AD&D and BECM refers to what is usually called plate and chain. There is a backing to prevent pinching and chafing, the joints of the body are protected by chain mail, and parts of the body (breast, back, and sometimes others) are protected by plates riveted to the chain.
AD&D included full plate (and field plate, if not even more) that refered to the articulated plate armor with no chain mail incorporated.
BECMI included the same, but refered to it as "suit armor."
I think either 1E or 2E would be the easiest to convert. 1E stuff was pretty bare bones, but those are some classic modules. Most of them have been touched up with a redone at some point, though. What I would do for monsters is just sub in the current rules for them. I'm pretty sure most things have been redone in the rules. Just tweak the numbers in for power level, such as with humanoids and low levels. Also, for characters, just make them from scratch in the new rules. It's too hard to convert THAC0 or even 3E +'s to hit. I'd just remake the whole character.
Also, FYI, if you want to run an old module, google up the module name and maps. Some peopel have gone out and made player maps or updated the official map to look cooler. You can get some nice stuff to print out that really helps. Sometimes people will draw new pictures of things....like the Keep on the Borderlands. So, I can print one out and show it to the players for what it looks like. Those look really cool.
I don't know if it's just me, but since I started back when all the rules came in one box, I tend to like the early versions of all game settings. That's Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. What is cool is that we can take our players through all the major stuff. Let's say that you are a bunch of new players and want to play in the official FR world. Why start now when there is so much back story that it just makes you feel lost? Play in the Dalelands when the grey boxed set came out. The elves of Cormanthyr are still around and Lashan hasn't invaded anyone yet. I did a great campaign where the players collected magic items for this upcoming policitcal star, Lashan. He then used all those items to invade everyone and become King of the Dalelands. The Elves got disgusted in the process and left. The players had to help rally everyone and win the war. Then, Lashan ran off to Myth Drannor for that module in the boxed set. It's a great way to kick off the back story of the game world. Right now, I'm setting up a campaign for my players in Greyhawk right after Iuz escapes his prison (before the Greyhawk Wars). No one knows Iuz is back and he becomes a re-occuring villan for the party. I'll do Lost Caverns, which involves his mother, and a host of other modules that really set the tone for the campaign world. If I do the Greyhawk Wars in this campaigin....or the next, they will feel more shock and awe when all the lands of that they have gamed over for a while burn in flames.