I2 Tomb of the Lizard King - Pathfinder Core Rules Conversion (Working Thread)

[daemonslye]

Hey there; I'm going to go ahead and start a conversion of "I2 Tomb of the Lizard King" (Acres, Mark. TSR, 1982). As with other conversions I've attempted, there will be some license (e.g. not a purely "straight" conversion).

Here is the current file -> [b]I2 Tomb of the Lizard King/b] [careful, its a little big]

Spoiler:

Please feel free to help out with this one and I'll get the updates formated in. I'll keep updating the same link so you can always see the latest version by clicking on the above.

I started out by placing this near the Mushfens. If there is a better place that feels closer to Eor, let me know. The Sodden Lands seemed too uncivilized and remote even though it has more lizardfolk presence.

I won't stop working on my other conversions, it's just nice to work on fresh material.

Currently, I'm trying to stay in the realm of four 7th level characters, with the setting set to "expert" (e.g. tough for 7th level characters).

Note: This doesn't mean I won't do *another* conversion (like, say, H4), but I wanted to go mid-level for a bit.

As always, thanks in advance for feedback, etc.

~D

[Auxmaulous]

I am DLing right now...

I will give it a look over and give you some feedback.

[Creighton Broadhurst]

This is one of my all-time most favourite modules! Thanks very much for taking the time to do this.

[Bill Mead]

I am all over this one. I have used this adventure a few times in my 3.5 campaign. I am very interested in how the "lower levels" will work out and I offer my assistance in making this the "expert" adventure you want it to be.

:

For example, I translated the dragon into an aerial expert, unbeatable in the open skies by the PCs, but when encountered in its lair, most of its abilities get nullified, and thus, a 7 level party can defeat it and move on

I can be reached for collaberation outside the boards at [e-mail]

[daemonslye]

Thanks Aux and Bill. I'll take all the help I can get (for example see how I am treating random encounters, I'd love to get the text and just plug and play for the swamp random encounters). I updated a few pages including the unplanned encounters to wartle/waycomb; I also added a map. The trip is about five days less than in the original and I had to handwave that they could not take a boat and skip all the encounters (plus I didn't want to recreate a whole mess of river encounters; the flavor would be redundant with the swamp). Anyone have a nice B&W map of a marsh/swamp village on stilts? There was a dungeon mag with one (I have somewhere around here) or maybe something from return to white plume... My email is my_avatar_name at aol dot com.

Oh yeah - to make sure you get the latest (and not the one cached by your browser), right-click the link and select "save target as...".

~D

[Bill Mead]

I almost forgot there is a fella that posted either here or on enworld that has already started this as well. I have not heard from him in a bit so I will shoot him an email and bring him onboard. He may have some of the immediate future already fleashed and ready for review.

Also, I am going to take a look at the initial and follow on encounter I mentioned last post and see if I can shoot you a proposal today.

[daemonslye]

Here is another quick update. Thanks in advance for the help.

~D

[Windquake]

Daemonslye,

Let me know when you are done with that conversion. I would be highly interested in getting that.

I ran that back in the day and it was one of my favorite modules.

Thanks!

[daemonslye]

more updates. kind of been wondering about Aulicus. he seems ok vs. four 7th (compared to, say, legacy of fire, the jackal's price for 7th level) but it's hard to tell. ill flesh out the encounter with him in the temple and we'll see. I will also add the weirds Bill so graciously sent over soon.

as always, right-click on the link at the top of the thread and choose "save as" to get the latest file

Cheers,

~D

[daemonslye]

after a bunch of work on the water weirds, I pulled them. As written, it would have been an EL12. So, while I want it "tough" that's probably too tough for an encounter to start the dungeon crawl. I included the conversion of the weirds in case any one was interested.

Cheers,

~D

[Auxmaulous]

I hate these forums, ate my entire post -this is getting old real quick.

Anyhow, good conversion so far - I laughed at some of those old pics - very cool.

With regard to the weirds, you could always rip out the fiendish template (which would make them also immune to detect evil) and get them down from CR 6 to CR 5 for each. You can also reduce their HD to get them down to a CR 4 or 3, 3 being ideal.

CR 10 + 3 CR 3's = an encounter at still around CR 10, getting close to 11. (Total Xp at 12,000 which is 800 shy of CR 11)

Also unless the dragon is fully healed up his CR might get knocked down a peg by the time the party encounters him again - that can also give you some wiggle room (as an assumption) on the CR of the weirds.

Personally I would try to keep them in, it would be interesting to see PCs moving around the room avoiding these stationary (more or less) threats as the dragon is bearing down on them.

I will post my version of the weird when I get a chance - it will definatly be a lower CR creature than what was printed in the Dragon mag article - something closer to the 1st ed stats.

[JadedDemiGod]

On a side note you could also come up with your own Unique creation for this. Being your personal conversion and all, i was actually flipping through a couple ideas as to what to do for that myself. One things that annoyed me is it is difficult to do a true full conversion of everything, as some things (like Sakatha Himself) are insane for a 7th level or even 8th level party. On a side note though i definitely want to run this at some point and time, i just can't get the quality you seem to have Daemonslye ;).

Doing some sort of evil Fae or Checking out the The Flail Snail in the Misfit monsters redeemed (couple in that would be cool). Or you could lower the CR of the Weird by adding the Young Template (Just Summoned). Or you could just make them actual traps, that Hinder the players (slowing Movement, Blasting them around, Consuming them...).
Finally you could use Slime Molds and change the encounter up just a bit [Instead of pools of water their stagnant pools of slime and other bits put in to Brine by the Dragon, Black dragons do like their food "Pickled"] (Bestiary II) or Crystal Slimes (I forget which book its out of) anyway just some thoughts on that one.

[daemonslye]

Thanks for the input. I'll think about it - still concerned that a distracted group will be meat to the drago but ill play-test it to be sure.

More updates (maps) added.

~D

[JadedDemiGod]

daemonslye wrote:

Thanks for the input. I'll think about it - still concerned that a distracted group will be meat to the drago but ill play-test it to be sure.

More updates (maps) added.

~D

It's Possible but if you provide something that is more of a tactical then an actual threat (damage dealing) it will just make the player's think a little outside the box. I was actually kinda partial to the slimes, could add an interesting little note. :)

[Bill Mead]

Sorry I have been off the boards for the week, got family visiting...

What I need to do in my assistance is to quit thinking as I am in the past and actually reread the sections I am looking at updating. For example, I solved the problem of the combined encounter by simply leaving the dragon in his hidy hole until after the PCs dealt with the external guards. I know the module says he sticks his head out when certain conditions are met, and frankly if the PCs are wiping through the external guards, he still can, but the PCs can also completely bypass him if they take the other route from the external guard chamber (and that can also be an escape for them instead of defeating him as well if you are adamant about not altering that piece). Anywho, if my weekend opens up any, I will take a look at the first level of the tomb and its guards since I will actually be able to do their conversions...

[daemonslye]

Bill Mead wrote:

Anywho, if my weekend opens up any, I will take a look at the first level of the tomb and its guards since I will actually be able to do their conversions...

Actually, look down a level, I'm cranking through Level One now. Will update my progress in a bit. Thanks Bill!

~D

[daemonslye]

updated including the encounter with the brigands. The issue ive always seen with the encounter is that the pcs just back away and fireball the lot of them. so i fixed that. Still has the possibility to happen, but there should be some delay and possible engagement before everyone is immediately wiped out. Let me know if I over-did it. I will try to playtest this as well.

The file is getting bigger - About ~31MB so far.

~D

[Bill Mead]

I just looked over the update and I have a Pathfinder question I am not able to answer from my rulebook. Since it is not stated specifically and 3.5 was the basis from which Pathfinder evolved, I am assuming that this rule will be the same, so here it is. On the subject of NPCs with a core class, not an NPC class, are they not supposed to be the same CR as their level? In 3.5 that was the rule and NPC classes would be one less CR than class level.

At any rate, you are correct about the ubiquitious fireball being a scene ender for the encounter with the first set of guards. I have a few thoughts below:

:

A few tactical thoughts from previous run throughs on this encounter over the years. The wizard can prepare with a delay action carried over from the set of the ambush (surprise against the bad guys will be incredibly difficult, but not impossible), but the delay can be for a counter spell or a damage inflicting spell to cause a concentration check. Another tactic I used was to supply the spearman with an additional body shield instead of changing the weapon to long spear to direct the characters into a funnel toward the swordsmen to keep them from fanning out and flanking past the troops toward the bowmen and spell caster in the back. The polearms with the reach will be spread out behind the ranks for their attacks. I also left the polearm leader with the Boots of Levitating and had him levitate above the door to make an attack against any lagging PCs, usually spell casters or bowmen themselves. No one has looked up upon entering the room, ever. I also left the Lieutenant with the Ring of Invisibility and had him invisible when the PCs entered so he may be able to maneuver into a position to achieve a flat footed attack before he is discovered, or possibly even more than one. The bad thing about clumping the bad guys to keep the PCs from fanning out is that they are more subject to Cleave results, especially against the level 1 dudes, but they are going to die just as easily if they are spread out in defense anyway...

Another thing to consider is that the PCs may have well spent much of their offensive magic against Aulicus if they did not bypass him with some form of sneakiness. If they decide to stay put to heal and rest, then send a patrol from the random encounter list to discourage the idea (under the pretense that they are checking on Aulicus's condition after the noisy battle). A couple final notes are that while the Lieutenant is an obvious leader with his actions, the sub leaders are not and should be indistinguishable from the other bad guys they are leading (unless something obviously gives them away and produces some interesting facial expressions from players when they do not succumb to 10 points of damage). Lastly, if Gormundel does escape the frey under his conditions, there is no reason why he could not stop by the Captain's quarters to summon reinforcements if the encounter is going to easily against the NPCs (stating he needs more magic from his quarters prior to returning to the fray, explaining his original course of action to not return to the fray). Just some of the things I have done before to "even the odds".

[daemonslye]

Bill Mead wrote:

On the subject of NPCs with a core class, not an NPC class, are they not supposed to be the same CR as their level? In 3.5 that was the rule and NPC classes would be one less CR than class level.

Bill - I was following the setup in the Gamemastery Guide - PC classes are level -1 and NPC are level -2 (although I may have missed on the NPC class CR a few times which I will address). I'm not totally sure where this is spelled out in the PRD.

~D

[daemonslye]

Made some updates to the file (use the link at the top). Working on Dungeon Level 2, the Tomb Levels. File is ~36MB.

[edit: to make sure you get the latest version, right click the link and choose "save as"]

Enjoy,

~D

[daemonslye]

Complete! Enjoy.

- Oh yeah, don't read this if you are going to Paizocon and want to play in it. And don't read it if your name is Will, Lee, Todd or Tom. ;)

The PCs have the capability to squeeze out two levels (I think; with some encounters along the way) before facing Sakatha. To play it safe, add a couple of pre-gens to the party. Once in the dungeons, it becomes a bit of a grind and it's not very clear when the PCs can or should rest. Lower in the tombs, high ELs abound (although many of these are easily avoided).

If any one runs this, please let me know how it goes and what changes should be made. I am running the module now and will post notes as I go.

~D

[daemonslye]

Currently playtesting with a party consisting of three 8th level PCs (a witch, rogue, and an elven fighter) and two 5th level henchmen (half-orc ranger and human wizard).

The first game went well, with expected outcomes for most encounters. The first act went well with the "bad guy" able to escape. They had encounters with the hill giants (they thought they were ogres) and the old man.

The ambush at the bridge was harder than it could have been. I mentioned that there would be several terrain events coming up, fords, wetland crossings, bridges, and the like. I asked what is the PCs protocol when arriving at such a terrain. Based on this, the PCs were on the bridge when the lizardfolk swam (leaped) out of the water all around them.

Given the creatures started the battle in a most advantageous condition, it was a much closer battle than it could have been. As it turned out, the henchman wizard was knocked down and dragged off into the river headed to wherever the kidnappers take their victims.

The game ended after the PCs made it to Wartle and the Lean-To tavern. The PCs are down one henchman and without arcane support.

~D

[Drogon]

Linky no worky!

I am excited to put this into my Kingmaker campaign. Yet, when I click on the link above I get a blank page. What am I doing wrong?

[Edit] Nevermind. I switched browsers and figured it out. Sorry to trouble you before trying that...

[Marc Radle]

Creighton Broadhurst wrote:

This is one of my all-time most favourite modules! Thanks very much for taking the time to do this.

Mine too! I've also like lizard men for some reason ... :)

I'll have to download and check this out.

[Drogon]

Having read it, now, I have to say I'm incredibly impressed. Not just monster and encounter conversions, but story and setting placement, along with maps and backgrounds. My favorite part was the old style "chart" of Player Characters; that was awesome. Putting that much thought and effort into it is very telling. Well done!

[Bill Mead]

Total awesomeness! I just got back from a whirlwind two week tour of 7 countries in Europe. I should sell the experience to hollywood and book it as the worst vacation ever. I wish I could have been more use to you on this project, but damn, you are good.

Anywho, what is on the horizon as the next great project? (Bloodstone...)

[Silke]

Great job daemonslye. I love this module and have the printed original. Your conversion will allow me to run this with my Pathfinder gaming group.

Presentation is just about perfect (like the quality I strive for in my conversions). The colour coding and addition of ‘choice’ pictures is great and the inclusion of 'old style' pre-generated PCs is particularly thorough and inspired. With such an effort its likely technical details (game rules) will be near perfect as well.

I’m having to convert G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King right now and can probably wing it so that your A Paladin In Hell conversion can be the follow on module for my players.

Love your work.

[daemonslye]

Thanks much! It's great to know people may find this of value. I have a running list of "bugs" and will fix these over time, replacing the document found in the link above.

Anything you catch, let me know here and I'll fix it.

Silke - I have a similar conversion of G3 to 3.5. It is an extremely early work (so "rough"). The link is found inside the paladin in hell thread. It's probably not too useful as I was using many classes from the splat books.

Thanks again,

~D

[Windquake]

Awesome. Thanks man!

[daemonslye]

Updated with corrections and ogl. Any other corrections caught, please post and ill fix them. Thanks

~D

[Thanael]

Bookmarked.

Why is the file that big?

[JadedDemiGod]

Hey just wanted to say Awesome job, though im curious if you have thought about updating Sakatha into a Magus from the Ultimate Magic Book?

[KTFish7]

Just found this on the message boards, have downloaded it and can't wait to unleash on my playgroup, I've got a handful of old schooler's who constantly talk about how modules used to be, so they'll love this nod to a classic. Thanks

[Spaceman]

Has anyone done any Hero Lab conversions for this adventure? I can't wait to run it!

[Cardboard Dragon]

Has the DL link gone wonky or is it me?

[Shem]

They had to be pulled a while ago. Had to do with using IP from a company.

[Cardboard Dragon]

ah, that's what I was kind of figuring. thanks though.