Has anyone actually converted any? I was looking for one I could run as a one-shot recently, and ended up deciding to use one written for 4E before the rules were out (Second Son, simple but pretty fun, has some story elements without them underwriting the DM). I'm using it as a prelude to the Scales of War AP, or at least as much of it as I end up running.
But back to the question, has anyone converted say Bone Hill, or any other adventures from the past?
I converted Return to the Keep on the Borderlands. How would you want me to post it? I don't want any flak from WotC.
Well, I could give a brief sample of the work and the conversion process. Each of the 2e encounters were converted to maintain thematic consistency. Example (off the top of my head):
Stirges - The stirges in the original are meant to pester the PCs. I changed the encounter to make wandering more dangerous. I wanted PCs to fear the woods outside of the Keep and focus on completing their goals. To make a necessary change I created an escalating danger when the PCs would venture too far.
1st Encounter - The 1st encounter is a even fight for 1st level characters, one Stirge per character.
2nd Encounter - Increase the threat by reducing the number by one or two and adding one Dire Stirge. The experience total will increase beyond standard by one or two hundred points. It's also important to note that Dire Stirges are insanely tough for a 1st or 2nd level party since they're 7th level. Stirges are best when they swarm a single target. My group had a tough time in the beginning with the encounter but one of the fighters really stepped up saved the day. The Rogue was scouting and botched his rolled. I said, "You hear a noise in the trees." I started flapping some index cards.
He ran in terror and when he got back all he said was, "We're not going in that direction!"
Zombies - There are two encounters in the Zombie side quest. The first encounter involves the PCs being ambushed when they inspect the bodies buried in the fresh graves. The original encounter involves swarming the PCs with crappy, ineffectual undead. The change in the encounter involves the PCs fighting lots of minions while supported by several sturdy, hard-hitting undead.
1st Encounter - The Shallow Graves - I made this a slightly above average encounter except for the experience total is average. For a 6 PC party a challenging encounter would be 8 Decrepit Skeletons, 1 Skeleton and 2 Zombies. The purpose is to overwhelm the PCs with numbers giving the illusion of an undead horde. Average EXP - 600pts
2nd Encounter - Quasqueton - Definitely a departure from the original module in game play. Rather than reveal Mendel's hand I used "Grave Guardians." The EXP total is higher and the monsters are tougher. The fight occurs in two waves to give the PCs a slight advantage. The 1st wave consists of 4 Decrepit Skeletons and 2 Skeletons (400exp). The 2nd Wave, two rounds later, adds 4 more Decrepit Skeletons, 1 Blazing Skeleton and a Boneshard Skeleton (500exp but 2 are level 5!).
Neither group gives treasure so no treasure conversion was necessary. I currently have 6 PCs in my game and two of them are Fighters. That's why I generally have two Soldiers. The Skeleton minions are for the Cleric to blast with his class ability, after shooting up the party with their shortbows.
If you want to post your conversions, keep it to what you changed about the encounters, as in your examples above. There’s no need to show literal monster stats usually. If the stats/abilities changed enough so that it affected the way the encounter plays, or if you changed the function of the encounter(as in your stirge example), that is a really good thing to post notes on. Give us a glimpse into the method behind your madness so to speak.
As to any NPCs that use a character class, it would be perfectly fine to post a 4e stat block for them, as the representation of the character classes in the 4e rules system is very different. The only thing that is a definite NO-NO would be to quote too much text verbatim. An occasional small quote here and there to illustrate the reasons behind a particular conversion bit would be alright though. We may even build a data-base of such conversions if there are enough of them.
I converted Return to the Keep on the Borderlands. How would you want me to post it? I don't want any flak from WotC.
Well, I could give a brief sample of the work and the conversion process. Each of the 2e encounters were converted to maintain thematic consistency. Example (off the top of my head):
Stirges - The stirges in the original are meant to pester the PCs. I changed the encounter to make wandering more dangerous. I wanted PCs to fear the woods outside of the Keep and focus on completing their goals. To make a necessary change I created an escalating danger when the PCs would venture too far.
1st Encounter - The 1st encounter is a even fight for 1st level characters, one Stirge per character.
2nd Encounter - Increase the threat by reducing the number by one or two and adding one Dire Stirge. The experience total will increase beyond standard by one or two hundred points. It's also important to note that Dire Stirges are insanely tough for a 1st or 2nd level party since they're 7th level. Stirges are best when they swarm a single target. My group had a tough time in the beginning with the encounter but one of the fighters really stepped up saved the day. The Rogue was scouting and botched his rolled. I said, "You hear a noise in the trees." I started flapping some index cards.
He ran in terror and when he got back all he said was, "We're not going in that direction!"
Zombies - There are two encounters in the Zombie side quest. The first encounter involves the PCs being ambushed when they inspect the bodies buried in the fresh graves. The original encounter involves swarming the PCs with crappy, ineffectual undead. The change in the encounter involves the PCs fighting lots of minions while supported by several sturdy, hard-hitting undead.
1st Encounter - The Shallow Graves - I made this a slightly above average encounter except for the experience total is average. For a 6 PC party a challenging encounter would be 8 Decrepit Skeletons, 1 Skeleton and 2 Zombies. The purpose is to overwhelm the PCs with numbers giving the illusion of an undead horde. Average EXP - 600pts
2nd Encounter - Quasqueton - Definitely a departure from the original module in game play. Rather than reveal Mendel's hand I used "Grave Guardians." The EXP total is higher and the monsters are tougher. The fight occurs in two waves to give the PCs a slight advantage. The 1st wave consists of 4 Decrepit Skeletons and 2 Skeletons (400exp). The 2nd Wave, two rounds later, adds 4 more Decrepit Skeletons, 1 Blazing Skeleton and a Boneshard Skeleton (500exp but 2 are level 5!).
Neither group gives treasure so no treasure conversion was necessary. I currently have 6 PCs in my game and two of them are Fighters. That's why I generally have two Soldiers. The Skeleton minions are for the Cleric to blast with his class ability, after shooting up the party with their shortbows.
Nice use of the 4E encounter system to influence charactter behavior :) I dunno, I've tried reading over that adventure, and its predecessor, and ended up scratching my head wondering what exactly the PCs were supposed to do. It all seemed too random for me. At least with Lost Caverns the reasons to be there made sense. I tend to run tightly integrated adventures, tightly integrating them into whatever story I am running at the time. While I see in theory where that's plausible in the Keep on the Borderlands scenario, I tend to glaze over before it makes any sense. Can anyone make me "get it"? I just don't, and honestly its a bit frustrating.
I'm converting Red Hand of Doom currently, and after that I'm going to convert the Lost Caverns (original) with some of the stuff used in the 3.5 rendition. I like the 3.5 version, but I am finding out quickly that switching 3.5 to 4E is difficult because of the extreme difference in magic items, where as 4E more closely matches 1E and 2E magic item levels. So its usually easier to convert them than it is to convert 3.5 adventures.
I dunno, I've tried reading over that adventure, and its predecessor, and ended up scratching my head wondering what exactly the PCs were supposed to do. It all seemed too random for me. At least with Lost Caverns the reasons to be there made sense. I tend to run tightly integrated adventures, tightly integrating them into whatever story I am running at the time. While I see in theory where that's plausible in the Keep on the Borderlands scenario, I tend to glaze over before it makes any sense. Can anyone make me "get it"? I just don't, and honestly its a bit frustrating.
Just like the original, Return to the Keep on the Borderlands is a campaign starter. Rather than a linear story, Return to the Keep consists of a series of short adventures that are loosely connected by a backstory. Each adventure is a mini-adventure that contains plot hooks to allow characters to figure out where to go next. The module is designed to allow players and DMs feel out the campaign's direction. As a DM it's your job to learn how to place those narrative devices without railroading. Since the module is a campaign starter, it takes nothing for granted and assumes that DMs are beginners or need a refresher course. Despite the handholding, Return to the Keep is very flexible allowing both DMs and players to decide the details of the backstories illuminating facts and dispelling rumors.
*Spoiler Alert* Here's an example of what I've altered - In the previous post I said that I didn't want to reveal Mendel the Slaver just yet. Mendel has kidnapped Arpad, the cooper's daughter. I built Mendel as a challenging 4th level encounter (the PCs are only lvl 2 right now). He's a necromancer that is working with the Hold of Sea Princes (Scarlet Brotherhood) by building an small undead army in the Hidden Temple of the Caves. I've changed some of the fluff to make the Hidden Temple an ancient Temple of Wee Jas dating back to the diaspora of the Twin Cataclysms. Because of the powerful magic within the Dolman of Quaqueston, creating undead is relatively easy. In fact, many creatures that fall dead within the temple rise as Zombies shortly after (that's in the 4e MM fluff). The ancient magics make it quite easy to build a small Undead army to aid the Goblin hordes that the Hold is shipping over from the Pomarj.
How does all of this tie together? When the PCs started I gave some basic information:
1) The Keep was sieged twice already. Both times the defenses have held. The Yeoman marshals have hired the PCs as mercenary scouts to investigate. The Keep is short staffed as virtually every able bodied man and woman is off fighting the incursion of Giants. When the PCs arrived I gave descriptions of splintered wood littering the ground about a massive gate of mismatched planks. I left no doubts that the gate was shattered during the last siege. Furthermore, there are very few soldiers remaining which leaves everything up to the PCs.
2) The Keep locks the gates at night. No one can leave or enter under the cover of darkness. The real purpose is to give me an opportunity to introduce more plot hooks by having the PCs interact with NPCs.
3) The newly nominated Lord of the Keep is crippled. He was greivously wounded by a Troll during an expedition he led into the Caves. There is a Troll in the caves but reallly I just wanted to give a face to his injury and to warn PCs that there are wounds that cannot easily be healed. It came as a big surprise when the Cleric found his magic of no use. It also served as a warning not to run around the caves looking for trouble. And there is a Troll living in the Caves
4) Missing Persons - Every time the PCs come to the Keep someone is missing. This is pretty much in as written except there's no hard 'n fast rule on how rumors are handed out. I wanted to slowly give information to make it seem the Keep is living while the PCs are away. The first day the PCs arrive their woodsman ole Cobb has disappeared. When they return the cooper's daughter Arpad is missing and the Keep is on high alert. Next time I'll have the mysterious, eccentric travellers (two Doppleganger Assassins lvl 8; fluff changed to read Suel Doppelgangers) that are back from a journey across the sea (Tilvanet Peninsula). Arpads disappearance points to Mendel but when the characters try to catch the caravan he's no where to be found (he's in the hidden temple). Instead, the characters are waylayed by bandits.
You might be asking yourself - where is Cobb? What happened to Arpad? The Return to the Keep doesn't give too many solid answers. Instead, it allows the DM to make those decisions. For example, it suggests that the find Cobb's corpse in Spiderwoods. Or Cobb just wandered off and came back anxious to be their guide (because the PCs need a Ranger). Or Cobb was captured by the cultists and will be sacrificed if the PCs don't save him.
The point is for the DM to determine what's best for their campaign by connecting the dots. I chose to put the Keep on high alert because I planned on having the characters discover that there is a goblin army using part of the Caves as storage for food and supplies. They will find orders stating the Keep will be sieged in two weeks time when fleet Kraken has delivered the last companies from the Pomarj. It will be apparent that the PCs must also stop Mendel as well. As a necromancer, even if the Keep holds against the Goblin horde, their corpses will rise again to siege the Keep. The PCs already know that the Keep won't last another siege. Therefore, I've created tasks that they can accomplish without fighting an army directly:
1) Steals their supplies from the goblins.
2) Kill the Necromancer(s) to destroy the undead army.
3) Save Arpad - at first she was kidnapped to hold for randsom however shes proven a prodigy. A true Suel, she is a natural Wizard and has taken to studying Necromancy helping Mendel. Save the cooper's daughter, save the Keep.
It's probably one of the best modules ever. Very Greyhawk in its adaptability and reusability. My suggestion is to read it cover-to-cover and take notes. Focus on the adventures that you like the most and embellish.
P.S. I'll add some more sidequests in other posts.
Here is a copy-n-paste of my file on the Spiderwoods sidequest. It's a level 4 sidequest.
Spiderwood
1. A Corpulent Feast – The characters can make a DC 18 Perception check to notice drag marks after entering Spiderwood. If they don’t see the drag marks then they must make a DC 21 Perception check to notice the Deathjump Spiders otherwise they’ll get ambushed. There are two bodies on the ground and two horses. The bodies are stripped bare. The two horses are completely drained of fluid and have broken legs. A closer inspection reveals that the horses have sticky webbing on their legs. A search of the area suggests that something has taken off with the equipment and left the bodies, only two silver pieces are found. A DC 22 track suggests that the equipment was gathered up in one area and drug off. Encounter: 6 Deathjump Spiders (1050). Treasure: None.
2. Treasure Trail – The characters find three more coins (two gold and one silver piece) as they follow the trail in the woods. They walk for at least a half an hour in the woods, traveling deep into the center. The air is thick with the musky smell of cedar. Wisps of fog cover the ground making it difficult to track. The trail stops at the last coin, almost disappearing completely. Should the PC’s say, “I look up” they’ll immediately see a sack hanging from a branch some 25 feet off of the ground. They also see four bodies stripped naked, bloody, and mouths open hanging by their feet. As their eyes adjust to the dim light of the woods, looking up at the branch they see the trees are garlanded with great webs. Stealth +11 check versus Passive Perception to determine who can act in the Surprise Round. Encounter: 4 Deathjump Spiders (700) and 2 Ettercap Fang Guards (350). Treasure: Three Parcels. There are mundane items as well: 26 days of Journey Bread, 5 Sun Rods, 3 suits of Chainmail, 2 Heavy Shields, 67 Crossbow Bolts, 3 Crossbows, and 3 suits of Hide Armor.
3. Turn Back? – Should the PC’s turn back they a group of 2 Deathjump Spiders (350) leaping from the dark, misty woods around them will cut off their retreat. Then they will immediately get chased by another group of 3 Deathjump Spiders (525) led by an Ettercap Fang Guard (175). If they try to run it off we’ll do a Skill Challenge – Woodland Chase (Complexity 3). Since they’re on the run they will gain no treasure. Primary Skills – Athletics, Acrobatics, Endurance and Nature. Characters can assist Athletics and Nature. Endurance must be rolled by each person as an easy roll. Success means +2 to any roll, failure -2. If the characters fail they lose one healing surge each and are caught near the edge of Spiderwood.
4. Continue Forward? – As the PC’s move deeper into the woods they must make a DC 18 Nature check to stay on the right track and not get lost. Getting lost in the Spiderwood is very dangerous. Should they fail the Nature check by five or more they encounter a group of 4 Deathjump Spiders (700) and 3 Ettercap Fang Guard (525). If they don’t get lost they find an area where the canopy is raising while curtains of webs are strung about the trees. The ground is littered with bones. If the PC’s are attempting to move quietly then they must make DC 20 Stealth checks to avoid detection. If they succeed move directly to number five. If not, then they’re discovered by 3 Ettercap Fang Guard (525) and 4 Deathjump Spiders (350). The Ettercap Fang Guard are armed with mundane great axes. Searching the area will reveal there are bags of loot strung high in the trees. The climber must make three DC 20 Climb checks to obtain the treasure. After the first success each success will access one parcel of the treasure.
5. Spider King – At the center of the Spiderwood is a large web. Glistening sacks of webbing hang from the branches while the ground is littered with bones of horses, goblins, orcs, and men. The PC’s must make a Stealth Check of DC 20 to avoid being seen, allowing them to ambush the Spiders. There are 2 Deathjump Spiders (350) within view, standing guard on the trees. Above the guards they can hear hissing and chittering, a garbled language. Negotiation is impossible. Encounter: 3 Deathjump Spiders (525), 2 Ettercap Guards (350) and 1 Webspinner (200).
***Notes***
The purpose of this sidequest is to give life to the surrounding environs. I wanted to maintain the idea that the Keep is a living, breathing location. The Spiderwoods has an aura of mystery to it. I've dropped clues that the Spiders are natural pack hunters, which is why the Keepers refer to them as Wolf Spiders (it's in the module). However, I've decided to add a Spider King (Ettercap Webspinner) as the Ruler of the Woods. Deathjump Spiders, or Wolf Spiders as Keepers call them, don't use webs. The PCs have heard rumors of webbing found on the bodies of victims, bodies that were stripped bare. Dun-dun-dunnnn.
If you follow the encounters, they're designed to add more Ettercaps and less spiders to give the feeling that the deeper they travel, the further they enter the domain of the Ettercaps. The encounters also tend to increase in difficulty. The bodies discovered are adventurers and therefore they have adventuring gear. I've snipped the specific treasures out of the side quests because I was still getting use to the Parcel System and haven't updated any side quests yet.
1. History of the Tower – The Keepers say that the Shy Tower is haunted by the restless soul of Tyrell, the last watchmen. When the goblin horde stormed Tower and Keep, Tyrell a young man of 16 was killed. The memory of his disappearance is still close to the Keepers. Jayden longs to see what became of Tyrell but like many Keepers she is reluctant to investigate. The last to approach the tower was a group of adventurers. They were staying at the Keep and, after hearing rumors, decided to investigate the Shy Tower. Unfortunately, the adventurers fell to the Wraith. After the goblins killed Tyrell, the slaver Mendel used a scroll and raised Tyrell as a Wraith. One by one, the adventuring group fell to the Wraith. And one by one their animus rose as a shadow under the command of the Last Watchman. Use as many wraiths as needed. Currently the Encounters are around level four or five.
2. Habeas Corpus – Outside the Tower rotten body parts are cast about. A successful tracking roll (DC22) will tell the PC’s that four Hyenas and two Gnolls fought a pitched battle here a few days ago (typical Hunting Party). It appears that the canines were killed and the Gnolls fled south into the woods. There are human and goblin footprints dragging the canines back into the Tower.
3. Turn Back? – If the PC’s decide to turn back at this point – no harm, no foul. They will have two of the adventurers that killed in the tower. The Keepers will be able to tell them about the adventurers, but they won’t have their names straight. It’s been over a week and the body parts are bloated and disgusting. Jayden will tell the adventurers of Tyrell, holding back tears, and beg them to investigate further. The PC’s will receive a quest reward for finding Tyrell’s body and returning it to the Keep.
4. Continue Forward? – The door of the Shy Tower is locked. Only Mendel can or one of the Wight lieutenants can enter. The skeletons on the other side will open the door for them. Opening the door requires a DC 22 Thievery check. The first room of the Tower contains a weapons and armor rack (all mundane) that is fairly empty. The creatures using the weapons and armor are the Gnoll hunting party raised as zombies. The tower has three rooms and each is locked.
5. Room 1 (1st Floor) – When the PC’s open the door to the 1st floor there are a number of bodies on the ground in armor with weapons and shields. There are also canine bodies on the ground as well. When two PC’s enter the zombies will come alive and attack. Only the Gravehounds will be able to ambush. A thorough search of the room will yield a pile of dust radiating necrotic energy. Arcana DC 25 check will indicate that there were scrolls being used to create Zombies. Encounter: 7 Zombie Rotters (255), 4 Gravehounds (600), 2 Zombie Brutes (250), 1 Corruption Corpse (175) – total (1280). Treasure: None. Mundane weapons and armor.
6. Room 2 (2nd Floor) – The stairs to the 2nd floor are covered in dry blood. Not a spot of it is wet. It appears as if the blood has been dried for weeks. There are a few goblin corpses on the stairs. None of them are zombies. Goblins often make horrible Zombies (they usually end up as Rotters). The door to the 2nd Floor is also locked. The characters must pick the lock, DC 22. When the PC’s are picking the lock they will hear “whispers” but none of the other PC’s can hear anything. Inside the 2nd floor of the Shy Tower is the necrotic lair of Zombie Hobgoblin Warmages. Encounter: 8 Zombie Rotters (300), 2 Corruption Corpses (350), 2 Gravehounds (300), 2 Zombie Brutes (250) – 1200 total. Treasure: None.
7. Room 3 (3rd Floor) – After they clear out the 2nd floor and search around (giving the characters time to rest), all of the characters start hearing whispers. A hissing sound of threats and agony that manifests from no where. As the characters search for a source, the shadows expand to dim the light in the room. If the characters flee, nothing comes of it. If the characters search further, the whispers grow louder. The voices speak in unison and grow stronger at the hatch to the 3rd Floor. There’s a ladder leading to the hatch. When the characters climb the ladder and open the hatch an earsplitting shriek comes from the all around. A great shadow hisses, “who dares enter the Shy Tower?” The character on the ladder sees a shadow in scale armor with spear and shield, face covered by a long, wispy black cloak. The shadow continues, “The watchman never rests. The watchman is ever vigilant. You will serve the watchman forever.” The shadow thrusts his spear into the air three times and three more shadows emerge from the darkness. Their faces are a pale gray. Their eyes glow a faint red. From their mouths they exhale black smoke. Encounter: 5 Wraiths. It depends on how spent the PC’s really are. It will be a difficult encounter because of the Wraith’s ability to hit and run. Treasure: The characters will find the armor and shield of Tyrell, the Last Watchman. His body will not be present (it was slain as a Zombie a week ago by the adventurers). None of these items are magical but returning them will grant the PC’s a bonus quest reward. Jayden will give the PC’s the shield she wished to give to Tyrell (higher level magic shield than usual).
***Notes***
This is a major change from the module. In the module the Shy Tower is actually a gargantuan Mimic that is disguised as a tower. Sorry, but that's just too damn silly for the kind of games I generally run. I decided to change the Shy Tower so it fits my game. The first change was to show that the Keep lost ground during the last siege. The Tower sits on a hill that overlooks the valley, thus giving the Keep warning of a siege. Furthermore, the Tower is quite large and can hold a sizable force itself. I have half-a-mind to create a Dungeon of the Tower but we'll see.
I wanted to maintain coherency when populating the Tower. It should be fairly obvious that the Tower is inhabited by the bodies of Goblins, Gnolls, Hyenas, adventurers, and Keepers. The inspection outside of the Tower will reveal a Gnoll Hunting Party lost to the Zombies. Inside the Tower we get to see what became of the Dead Gnolls. All of this ties together how important it is to kill Mendel and Stop the Cultists in the Hidden Temple.
That's a big enough amount of material that it would make for a better article than forum post. I recommend that you submit it as an actual article for the Canonfire! front page. Hopefully more people who are doing the same sort of conversions will do likewise.
Last edited by Cebrion on Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:34 am; edited 1 time in total
That's a big enough amount of material that it would make for a better article than forum post. I recommend that you submit it as an actual article or the Canonfire! front page. Hopefully more people who are doing the same sort of conversions will do likewise.
Heh, I was coming back to add some more pages. That would be a good idea since I'd probably have a post with 30+pages of original material. I'll have to edit the treasure, proof read the work, and make sure all of the skill check DCs are present (I didn't add any except for Perception and Tracking since they're not in the DMG). It might be a while though, school is starting next week.
Nice collection of conversions AtomicPope! Keep up the good work. My suggestion is to post em here, and ask for feedback on anything you want feedback on, and then you can edit all into one cohesive conversion document.
I remember just before 3rd Edition came out. Wizards of the Coast released a small booklet that systematically described how to update older edition characters to 3e. I think it came with the introductory box set.
As anything like this, other than the article linked in the original post, come out for 4e?
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