I'm working on updating an AD&D adventure into 3.0, and it's going alright, I suppose, but the Find Doors checks (and similar, non-combat related rolls, stats, etc.) have me completly stymied. How does a -10% to find hidden doors rolls compare to the 3.0 Search DC? I've never played 2e (obviously), and the only book that wasn't 3.0 or higher was a MM, so I'm really lost. Any sort of help would be greatly appreciated, because I might be in over my head.
If you go with a baseline DC of 10 (easy) or 15 (moderate), I think the -10% might translate to the equivalent of maybe a DC of 15-18, depending on the situation.
I'd need a little more background to be sure, though.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
Maybe an explanation of the mechanic will help.
In 2e, the skill system was just about non-existant. Thieves and bards had certain skills like open lock, move silent, detect traps etc. Rather than rolling a d20 and beating a DC, you rolled percentile dice and got below your skill.
If a rogue might have a 20% chance of opening a lock, that's what you would need to roll for any lock. On a d20, that's the equivalent of a modified roll of 16+. A 40% chance is the equivalent of a 12+.
The problem you're encountering with your conversion is that the base difficulty in 2e is calculated directly using the character level, not as a quality of the lock as in 3e. What you should do is swap for a lock with a DC equal to say, 15+character level+2. That will approximate the level of the challenge.
Anything you do in converting this stuff is going to be messy because the rogue's skills are a very different beast. It's best if you just eyeball it for the character's levels. a -10% penalty means that something has a DC 1 to 2 points higher than would be typical for that level.
What you should do is swap for a lock with a DC equal to say, 15+character level+2. That will approximate the DC (I think).
Awesome! Thanks soooo much. That will really help move things along. And, just because I'm curious, what does THAC0 stand for/mean? I know it has something to do with the attack roll, but any unidentified acronym bugs me.
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
What you should do is swap for a lock with a DC equal to say, 15+character level+2. That will approximate the DC (I think).Awesome! Thanks soooo much. That will really help move things along. And, just because I'm curious, what does THAC0 stand for/mean? I know it has something to do with the attack roll, but any unidentified acronym bugs me.
THAC0 = To Hit Armor Class 0
In 2e, low AC is good, high AC is bad. To figure out if you hit, you compare your modified roll on the d20 to your THACO - the AC of the target. A negative AC gives a higher number to hit, a positive AC gives a lower number to hit. All classes started with a THAC0 of 20 (so they needed a modified 20 to hit AC 0) and it went down from there.
Man I love 3e.
Man I love 3e.
Indeed. The few AD&D adventures I have read seem much tougher on PCs, though. Well-nigh impenetrable traps, dungeons, and original tactics, many of the newer published adventures just don't seem to stack up.
Funny story: The very first TPK ever in our group was executed upon us by an updated AD&D adventure. We had been playing for three or four years before it happened last month. An oddly exhilirating experience for the DM. I'm kind of hoping for it to happen again, so's I can start us on the Age of Worms. It'll be nice to have a cohesive storyline for once.
But again, many thanks and GP for the DC help. Go buy yourself some Boots of Striding and Springing ;)
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
Man I love 3e.Indeed. The few AD&D adventures I have read seem much tougher on PCs, though. Well-nigh impenetrable traps, dungeons, and original tactics, many of the newer published adventures just don't seem to stack up.
Funny story: The very first TPK ever in our group was executed upon us by an updated AD&D adventure. We had been playing for three or four years before it happened last month. An oddly exhilirating experience for the DM. I'm kind of hoping for it to happen again, so's I can start us on the Age of Worms. It'll be nice to have a cohesive storyline for once.
Keep in mind that a direct conversion will sometimes lead you awry. If I remember correctly, Queen of the Spiders has an encounter with a half dozen ftr12's when the PC's are only 10th level. Under 2e rules, the fighters would not be very dangerous because there weren't as many modifiers to damage and to hit (and the class was generally weaker). Under 3e rules, the encounter is completely broken.
Keep in mind that a direct conversion will sometimes lead you awry. If I remember correctly, Queen of the Spiders has an encounter with a half dozen ftr12's when the PC's are only 10th level. Under 2e rules, the fighters would not be very dangerous because there weren't as many modifiers to damage and to hit (and the class was generally weaker). Under 3e rules, the encounter is completely broken.
Sebastian's 100% right. I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but you should really examine each of the encounters and cross-check them against table 3-1 in the DMG (p.49) to make sure your encounter levels are where they should be. I know it seems like a lot of extra work, but it'll pay off in game balance. Can I ask which 2nd Edition adventure you're converting, or do you suspect spies here on the 'boards?