When is it worth updating stats from 3.5?


Conversions


Since Pathfinder was intended to be backward compatible with all my 3.5e adventures, is it ever worth the time to update monster stats to Pathfinder RPG?

If it's a monster straight from the Bestiary (like a chimera or giant eagles), it's easy to grab the current stats.

If it's a custom monster or classed monster, though, is it worth redoing the math to allow for the slight upping for the power level of PCs?

Now, it seems easy enough to do with low-CR monsters/NPCs, but also the numbers don't seem too far off to make it necessary. At mid- to high-CRs, though, it seems like the math gets off more and more, making it more necessary to adapt and yet more difficult to do.

What's experience say about playing 3.5 adventures with Pathfinder?


Well, if you're the type who likes to spend hours before each session, tweaking numbers and stats for a handful of encounters, then it's totally worth it. The disparity between systems means that older stuff is weak, as you noted, especially at higher levels and especially with class abilities (except druids).

Or, if you're the type who just looks at the adventure, compares and encounter's CR to the overall adventure and gets a general feel for how hard that fight should be, then just wings it in the battle (fudge a few rolls, allow the BBEG to hit when he really rolled a miss by 1 or 2, allow the BBEG a couple points of AC or allow him to fight on beyond 0 HP for a round or two, and are aware of obvious abilities that he should be using in Pathfinder that he might not have had in the older writeup), then you can skip all the prep time and just "fix" it on the fly.


Use the simple advanced template when needed. So easy, you can do it on the fly


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Above CR 5 or so, adding the advanced template is not a bad idea... You can also autodeliciously add 1 hp per HD and an extra feat, for good measure, if you want.


roguerouge wrote:
Use the simple advanced template when needed. So easy, you can do it on the fly

That seems sound, thanks.

I'm not at all the type of person who needs all the math, but I'm rubbish at judging encounters and trust my pre-published adventures to create fair challenges for me.

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