Hey there. So I decided to do another conversion. This one is for A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade (Johnson, Harold; Moldvay, Tom. TSR, 1981).
If you want a copy, email me at daemonslye@daemonslye.com.
I took a different approach with this one. While no fan fiction is ever really safe, I did not rewrite the adventure. I also did not include more than a few key pieces of art. I really just focused on re-doing the stats for the encounters. So the DM must absolutely own the module or (better yet) purchase the new book, "Against the Slavelords" (which is very nicely done BTW).
However, I did do a little more than just stats. I wanted the conversion to be "game-ready" for the GM. I wanted it to be "interactive" (e.g. useful if online). I wanted it to be purpose built to run off a touch-screen.
I understand many GMs do not own iPads and even for those that do, only some operate games while connected to the Internet. The document works fine on a PC and can operate just as well as any other PDF when offline. However, if you do have an iPad and an Internet connection, many areas and icons of the document become much more useful.
For example, touch a "gear" icon and you get a web page with the base stats or spell description. Touch a picture icon and you get a web page with a picture of the person or monster. "Teardop" map icons take you back to the relevant map, etc. On an iPad Air, these links operate quickly and smoothly. You can use a “four-finger swipe” to quickly swipe back to the PDF. Based on my testing, on a PC, they feel slow and sluggish.
It's just something different I wanted to try, being an overworked GM myself, and I hope the extra effort will be worth it.
I did do a few modifications regarding the stats here and there, trying remain true to the flavor of the original. I also threw in a few story elements cultivated from the little snippets left by the authors. I kept the setting in Greyhawk, but it can be used anywhere with ease.
I’m giving a special shout-out to the d20pfsrd.com. It was handy to be able to link directly to ready content without unnecessary frames crowding out the content. Also, I made extensive use of the Herolabs(r) software and continue to highly recommend its use.
Technical Stuff:
Spoiler:
While I tested this on an iPad Air with the Adobe Reader App, it will likely work on other devices and apps. That said, I saw some weirdness (poor rendering, highlighted linking areas where I set them to be invisible, slowness, etc.) with other apps. Also the faster the device, generally, the better.
To get it on your tablet, I recommend downloading it to a PC then using a cloud-based service (like dropbox or box.com) to sync and open on your device. From there, select the file in the cloud-app and choose “Open In” then select the Adobe Reader app you previously downloaded (for free!).
Generally, Adobe will let you open links from PDF, although it will ask you for an “OK” first. Other apps may need the settings adjusted to open links. Most of the links run through tiny.cc, so if they are having an issue or if you (for whatever reason) can’t get there, the links won’t work. Obviously, I’m using this in case the links to images or other resources change – if that happens (you get a 404) drop me an email and I’ll replace it with a link that works. All you need to do is delete your browser cache (in settings-safari on the iPad) and reload once I have the link updated through tiny.
Please read the “Tips” page for ways to streamline the experience using the iPad.
Notes for GM:
Spoiler:
I ended up needing to re-do the maps. I'm awful at making maps and, worse, glacially slow at it. So apologies for the rudimentary maps - I tried getting the dimensions accurate at the minimum.
The NPCs, both evil and no-so-evil were the most fun to convert. I've been through the adventure as a player (around the time it came out, say 1982-ish) and the NPCs, when GM'ed well, made this more than just a encounter-to-encounter tournament dungeon. I tried to "pathfinder-ize" it without losing the flavor of the original. Its interesting just how close many of the items came through all the editions relatively unscathed.
From a power level perspective, a group of four or five highly optimized 5th or 6th level PCs will probably breeze through the place without taking much damage. So, GMs should take a close look at the PCs and determine if they need to be a little lower in level. A primary consideration is that any PC with an astronomical AC won't be challenged by the lower level monsters. The adventure is light on enemy spellcasters so the "high AC offset by low will save" won't balance out here as much. As a GM, playing up the need for stealth and speed could help, but there's always a way to tip the scales. All that said, if you play the adventure as one where the PCs cannot easily rest, by the time they hit the dungeons, they could be stretching their resources.
Bypass: If the PCs have perfect intelligence (easily scouting out the fort even with terrain difficulties, time pressures, and frequent wandering encounters), they will be able to bypass the curtain wall and possibly waltz right through Area 34 to Area 35 bypassing the entire Fort level. Then, if they use the trap door, to Dungeon level 20, they will bypass half of the Dungeon level. The GM has the ultimate call here - I included all of the mapped encounters as originally written. GMs could, however, remove the stairs up to Area 34 (the goblins there must traverse the roof) and remove the trap door in Icar's room. The PCs could also be motivated to kill as many slavers as possible during their raid, knowing that leaving behind Gorbin Stalworth or other leadership holed up in the Gatehouses gives the slavers command of the Fort for future operations. e.g. It's not just enough to steal in and rescue a few slaves and kill a leader or two, the PCs could be tasked with taking control of the entire fort!
While I converted the pregens, I kept most of their items and ability scores the same (although, I stacked the levels of Eljay and Kayen Telva and gave poor 3rd level Phanstern a bit of a bump through an additional template). I tried to make each pregen seem individually like a good pick, although Elwita and Karraway still seem to be default requirements. I made the pregen character sheets to be printed and did not construct them for use on a tablet.
Known Bugs: Dungeon Map - Area 22 and Area 12. The page link does not work. Just select a nearby room to get to the page. I was doing some editing and borked the link. I was not able to find an easy way to fix it.
I hope you enjoy this. Let me know what you think in a reply post, it'll help keep the thread alive. Again, sorry its just focused on updating the stats as opposed to a full re-imagining of the content. Thanks,
Hey there, did another module - this one is original, although I'm following a similar pattern as the Temple of Elemental Evil.
IF YOU WANT A COPY: Send an email to daemonslye at daemonslye.com. Please do NOT post your email address in this thread. (Thanks!) I will respond individually and WILL NOT share your email address. Emails will be deleted once sent.
This adventure is a mashup of several influences (which should be readily apparent; Gygax, Lovecraft, Campbell/Carpenter).
To be clear: This is not a full conversion of Temple of Elemental Evil. This is a similar story in that the PCs start in a town, learn some things that lead them, over time, to a Temple. In the Temple, they will deal with competing factions they can either try to take advantage of or just wander about slaying everything. This is BOOK 1. Which means they do not get to the Temple yet (which occurs in Book 2). However, there is plenty of adventure to be had in Book 1.
I may post a plot summary later - But I really want folks to begin reading it without details of the story. It is one of those tales that opens up over time.
I really like doing Pathfinder conversions (I've done "A Paladin in Hell", "Tomb of the Lizard King", "Slave Pits of the Undercity", "The Lost City", "Castle Amber" and others), but, unfortunately, they are using other people's ideas. So this time, I included a few of my own. Maybe one day, I'll team up with an artist so that original art can be included as well.
I really hope you like it - I am constantly in awe of those who do this for a living, because, darn it, it's really hard. I spent more than a few weekends working on this, and, of course its compounded by the fact that I am formatting everything as I go. I'd be honored if you want to give some feedback, provide some free editing help, or have other comments.
Cheers,
~D
Spoiler:
Postscript:
Really, once you hack away at something over time, you tend to lose your sense of perspective. My own sense is I fell into a familiar writers trap, too many competing ideas and no limits on number of pages. I tried hard to connect the dots but.. Well, you'll see.
I wrote the adventure for someone reading it - Many modules (adventure paths) tend to chop up the module with encounters in one section, NPCs in another and environs in another. Its hard to get the sense of the whole story, so I kept them mashed together - hopefully it works for you.
I could probably spend another two months rewriting the thing and tweaking it, but I thought, I should just get it out there and get feedback before I started to go too far on Book 2 (to see if anyone would even *want* a Book 2 :).
I included some pictures found on the Internet here and there in addition to some maps. I did not use anything from Paizo (not even a logo). If you don't want any pictures, please ask in your email and I'll strip them out.
The PDF is big at 146MB (the email will provide a link, not an attachment) but seems to work ok on an iPad (although its formatted for 8.5 by 11 inches).
If you do like the adventure, let me know what ideas you have for Book 2 - See the Adventure Summary in the Introduction for a rough outline of the plot.
Personally, I'm with Doug on this one (as a player or GM) based on points already made throughout the thread. However, the reason we play the game is for fun, and if healing the group to max hp between each encounter increases your group's fun, I say go for it. No style of play is inherently the "right" way - Go find some like-minded folk and, when everyone is having fun, you're doing it right. Right?
So, to answer your question: No Doug, it's not just you. Cheers,
A question for Ross, Daemonslye, et al. Basically, this conversion cannot be hosted/linked on Paizo at all then? Or was the problem a question of distribution of the converted adventure?
Pretty much all of the above - They pointed me to the OGL; Check it out: PF OGL;
If you do work on conversions, you need to be careful; Which means the safest route is to keep it to your own game and not share it. Anything more than this is a risk - it's just not clear (legally) how far you can go. Stating up a movie character? Stating up a variant mind flayer? (saying the words "mind flayer"? Oh no, I did it again! Ni!) Using someone's artwork? Emailing conversions around (KotB for example)? Derivative work on a story developed (and protected/owned) by someone else? Who really knows? It's all just different levels of risk. As much as I would want the community, including the companies producing games and art to support this fan-based work, companies are *not* people (sorry, Mitt), and you can't trust they will not act to "protect their property" given their risk of having it taken and mis-used at will. Which is just how things work (not bad or good really; Maybe "true neutral"? Nah, "lawful neutral" then ;^).
Let's not turn the thread into a discussion on IP. Maybe we should just lock it.
Been kicking around in my head for a while and with the re-release of the books, I thought I post. 1E is full of nostalgia for me (not a proper grognard, I know).
What would it look like if Paizo re-wrote the rules? I don't mean "changed" them, but re-wrote them for ease of use. Of course, some ease of use, could be construed as "changed" (or converted, which is why I post here) - but the math and the results of the die roll remain the same.
Here is a sample (simplistic one I know) but gives a flavor for it. All I did was convert THAC0 to "Hit AC 20" (which means the same thing generally) and I took the 0-level saves and made them the "Base DC" and converted the rest of the saves to "pluses". Same math, same rolls needed. Easier to use.
Thoughts? Just a fan's nostalgia trip, but interesting how far you could go with this. The 1E rules are just all over the place but with a simple re-ordering and re-structuring, how close could you get to today's game? - While still retaining the nerdy coolness of 1E? (maybe I'm the only one that feels this way - I understand there's some serious unhappiness with 1E out there).
Ok, party is FINALLY going to finish up on Monday. I want to say thank you. You have made it possible t bring in that old school fee that we remember from back in the day.
Adventure was a great time, very similar in feel to the original, and the new art was tremendously good. We will be using some of the characters as recurring NPCs
My only 'issue' is that many of the original 1st edition ideas are still present, like ridiculous numbers of wandering monsters. So, be advised this is a very faithful conversion, and you get the original everything brought over to Pathfinder. For some, this is a selling point I'm sure.
Our group cut back, and you can very easily have fewer wandering monsters. Great fun.
Hey, that's great! I have been banging away on The Lost City and will take the comments into account. I remember, way back when, many an adventure got sidetracked with random encounters (aka "wandering monsters"). I'll try to make sure I tone down the frequency and CR level of them (in B4). As it stands, I am going through re-evaluating encounters because the PCs will need to sleep every three rooms or so. I'm really happy you were able to make it through!
Let me know if there was anything egregiously off base and I can correct it in the master copy for others.
I'll see if I can get a decent room tomorrow. Not sure how the new space will support the type of gaming (in a decent sized room/space) we were able to do in the previous hotel. If I can make something work, I'm in!
N'wah, we always love it when you and CB stop by. My copy of the Anthology must have the best sig ever! (er, NSFW, BTW, depending on where you W)
@Havard: Welcome back! I'll see what I can do about the reference.
@All: Thanks for the input!! - Been thinking about doing something like this: COMING SOON
Spoiler:
OK - so I went a little overboard with the textures and such - but I'm trying to feel my way into the sense of an ancient society on the bring of degeneration.
Since the module is first level and all, I went ahead and played around with a (non-beginner box but feels like one) pregen format -> ...And since folks asked for a barbarian, I give you: MAGNUS[/b]
Hey there, here is a conversion of X2 Castle Amber (Moldvay, Tom. TSR, 1981). Note: This is a re-imagined version, rather than a straight conversion.
Here is the file -> X2 Castle Amber[74.25MB]
I recommend you right click the link and select "save as" to get the file; Otherwise, your browser may display a cached version.
Spoiler:
This one took a little longer than I wanted. I moved over to Adobe InDesign and Photoshop which took me a little while to learn well enough to produce the document. While my original plan was to reproduce all of the maps, the time requirement was high so I did the West Wing and Averoigne then used the old cut and paste method for the rest of the maps until I'm inspired to re-do them. I went for a sepia look to the document to help pull the artwork together. I don't know why, but the Castlevania artwork seemed to work with the Ambers. Hopefully, this will get some use out there or inspire others to make their own conversions.
Release Notes: Added bookmarks to the PDF. Some of the backgrounds are turned around, will fix in the future. Did a little QA but it's never enough, let me know where you see glaring issues.
Enjoy!
~D
Other Conversions Available
Spoiler:
A Paladin in Hell[67.69MB] - This is unfinished as of the date of this post;
A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity[40.00MB] G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl[23.41MB] I2 Tomb of the Lizard King[43.75MB]
Did someone mention wanting a conversion for G2? Well, here it is: "G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl" (Gygax, Gary. TSR, 1978). As with other conversions I've attempted, there was some license (e.g. not a purely "straight" conversion). That said, I opted for a closer conversion this time with inline stats. Because many of the creatures were straight from the Bestiary(s), this made sense (to me at least).
If anyone (Silke?) takes a look, let me know if you find mistakes, etc. Note that much of the text was written by Gary himself, so I may or may not change that further depending on it's impact to running the module.
Here is the current file -> G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl[careful, its big, but worth the wait!]
Please right click the link and select "Save as.." to download the file.
Silke - Great job! Looks like it's coming along nicely; I'll try to provide some more detailed input a little later (mostly around formatting - I know you're still working on this;).
For others here, I thought I'd post the originals (done several years ago - forgive the errors, mistakes, etc.) for your viewing (and nostalgic) pleasure:
HALL OF THE FIRE GIANT KING (3.5 Conversion) -> CLICK HERE[3.92MB]
Also, an unfinished prologue adventure which tries to tie in all of the interesting bits of randomness found in the Hall of the Fire Giant King. Who was that a temple to? Why were the Dark Elves working with the giants? Was there some greater plot at work? etc. This also includes the "encounter booklet" for the module.
Hey there; I've done a conversion of "A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity" (Cook, David. TSR, 1980). As with other conversions I've attempted, there will was some license (e.g. not a purely "straight" conversion).
Here is the current file -> A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity[careful, its big, but worth the wait!]
Spoiler:
I still have some "clean up" tasks at this point (Jul 06) - final editing; add the bestiary; complete the pregen characters; Then it's back to Hell (actually, a Paladin in Hell to be exact). Once I'm done with that, I'll look at moving on to A2 or something else. I still shudder to think of trying to convert the H series...
As always, right click the link and choose "Save As" for a better download experience.
Hey there; I'm going to go ahead and start a conversion of "A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity" (Cook, David. TSR, 1980). As with other conversions I've attempted, there will be some license (e.g. not a purely "straight" conversion).
Here is the current file -> A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity [careful, its a little big]
Spoiler:
OK, so I couldn't help myself, Eric T. mentioned this one and so I had to do it. I reviewed Labyrinth of Madness and the Bloodstone series. I need to finish "Paladin" before I even think about tackling those. Plus, the Slaver series always seemed like a great story but, given their initial design, had issues and limitations. That said, they also have great sentimental value. So - I will attempt to do them justice without mucking them up too badly.
A1-4 Scourge of the Slavelords and "Slavers" (by the great SKR and Mr. Pramas) are clear sources of inspiration if not direct borrowing. The "Scourge" adventure will help when tying them together but it does go a little to far afield for a direct conversion. I hope that is OK.
As always, I hope this conversion will bring a bit of a smile for those of us that still remember nervously scuttling down its hallways (those darn aspis and their multiple blades!).
Once I get it in shape, please give me any feedback/edits/recommendations - I hope this will live on for a little while in folks "download queue". I am thinking of converting all of the Slave Lords series but we'll see.
I continue to work on Paladin - I'm doing roughly one day on, one day off (of course this happens mostly on weekends. One must crank away at "real work" after all.).
Silke - Thanks much for the fixes and suggestions. I've incorporated almost all of them and updated the document in the link above.
Spoiler:
To answer a couple of questions - I use ms publisher 2010. In terms of stat block placement - I *hate* the delve format. In order for me to understand an adventure, I need to read it straight-though and see what the challenges are in line with the text. This is the reason I hated dungeons that tried to compile all the stat blocks at the end of the book. That said, with high level adventures, the stat blocks consume a whole page if not more, so this is my compromise: A full page for a major baddie (or good guy as the case may be) but sequenced in line with the story. I've used this in actual play and seems to work pretty well.
Here is the "final" thread hosting the conversion of "A Paladin in Hell" (Cook, Monte. TSR, 1998). Note: This is a re-imagined version, rather than a straight conversion.
I recommend you right click the link and select "save as" to get the file; Otherwise, your browser may display a cached version.
Spoiler:
The other thread was getting a little long. I really appreciate all of the feedback so far. Helping me catch mistakes is also a major help, sometimes you get too close to the document to edit it effectively. I'll continue to post updates to the file in the link above so check back every so often.
At the time of this post, the file is not complete but its getting closer.
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.
I went ahead and updated Malikadna a bit - replaced the spells she shouldn't have, added a couple of potions she brewed, and a few other touches. She should be a little more of a challenge for my group when they catch up to her.
Malikadna may detect the PCs if they fight the skeletons (Perception DC2 [+7 distance, +5 closed door, -10 sounds of battle]) or if a fight breaks out in camp (DC5 [+5 distance, +10 through a wall, -10 sounds of battle]). She will cast her spells, then venture out, collecting her skeletons if the PCs are in the camp proper.
She will use her potion of levitate to attempt to escape, hopping off of the cliff and scrabbling along the wall under cover.
Point of clarification: I assume wands are treated as spells with regards to delivering by familiar? Didn't see this covered elsewhere. I know the witch needs to be touching the familiar when casting and cannot cast again while the familiar holds the charge.
(don't why I'm using a spoiler, this is the GM thread after all)
It's looking like I'll have five players in the final encounter, but even with four, it's likely that Yarzoth will have a hard time unless her domination works (the whole "against their nature" thingy throws some difficult DM decisions in there - is defending a nasty snake-headed creature that is attacking your friends "against your nature"? How many saves do you get as this goes on?, etc.)
So - One thought to make things a little interesting is the introduction, -late into combat- of the mouther from area 7. I am thinking this would happen only if her suggestion works, and by the time it shows up, she will likely be running.
Ostensibly, it will up the EL (CR) of the encounter into dangerous levels for a four person party, but it seems like all of the elements are there for Yarzoth to use - assuming she has had some time in the temple to learn her way around and has devised such a strategy.
I'm not a fan of the disguise and illusion route, maybe because I've taught my players not to trust anyone. I highly recommend Yarzoth instead stays gaseous and waits until the PCs pass her in the tube then she sneaks out and finds the NPCs. *Then* she will take on the guise of one of them and the ride back to Eleder can become "eventful".
Anyway, in working up the encounter I put together an aid with Yarzoth's stats (minor mods, full hp at first level, etc.):
Hey there; I'm going to go ahead and start a conversion of "A Paladin in Hell" (Cook, Monte. TSR, 1998). As with other conversions I've attempted, there will be some license (e.g. not a purely "straight" conversion).
I've looked around and understand that there is not any good conversions out there quite yet - although a few are thinking about it.
Here is my take. (And, thanks, in advance, for the input, etc.);
Here is a compiled version of the previous thread. These are (for the most part) conversions of the Second Darkness Adventure Path creatures to Pathfinder Beta Rules.
The format is an attempt to make things easier for DM's without searching the book for changes between v3.5 and PFRPG/Beta.
Spoiler:
The format has changed somewhat over time; When I have a spare minute, I will go back and clean up for consistency; Post corrections where you see errors. Thanks;
Until I'm completely done, some links will contain "coming soon" pages.
Thanks to Dennis, Anguish and AlKir for their input;
Enjoy,
~D
SHADOW IN THE SKY
Riddleport Thief (Shadow in the Sky p.9) -> CLICK HERE
Riddleport Thug (Shadow in the Sky p.9) -> CLICK HERE
Angvar Thestlecrit (Shadow in the Sky p.17) -> CLICK HERE
Thuvalia Barabbio the One-Eyed (Shadow in the Sky p.18) -> CLICK HERE
Old Scratch (Shadow in the Sky p.18) -> CLICK HERE
Angvar's Goons (Riddleport Thief) (Shadow in the Sky p.18) -> CLICK HERE
Gold Goblin Bouncers (Riddleport Thugs) (Shadow in the Sky p.18) -> CLICK HERE
Lavendar Lil (Shadow in the Sky p.20) -> CLICK HERE
Saul Vancaskerkin (Shadow in the Sky p.21) -> CLICK HERE
Drunken Brawlers (Riddleport Thugs) (Shadow in the Sky p.25) -> CLICK HERE
Cindersnake (Medium viper) (Shadow in the Sky p.25) -> CLICK HERE
Samaritha Beldusk (Shadow in the Sky p.26) -> CLICK HERE
Lymas Smeed / Otsk (Shadow in the Sky p.28) -> CLICK HERE
Braddikar Faje (Shadow in the Sky p.30) -> CLICK HERE
Zincher Thug (Shadow in the Sky p.30) -> CLICK HERE
Jasker Gant and Croat Thugs (Shadow in the Sky p.32) -> CLICK HERE
Kwava and Ganmeed (Shadow in the Sky p.35) -> CLICK HERE
Wererats (Shadow in the Sky p.36) -> SEE MODULE
Swarm (Shadow in the Sky p.37) -> SEE MODULE
Bojask and Pigsaw (Shadow in the Sky p.39) -> CLICK HERE
Gold Goblin Bouncers (Riddleport Thugs) (Shadow in the Sky p.40) -> CLICK HERE
Swamp Barracuda (Shadow in the Sky p.42) -> SEE MODULE
"One-Legged Louie" (Shadow in the Sky p.42) -> CLICK HERE
Darkland Sentinels (Shadow in the Sky p.42) -> SEE MODULE
