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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.
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.
Enjoy.
~D
Excellent work daemonslye. I will be using this after players get through my Pathfinder conversion of your 3.5e conversion for G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King.
Thank you for updating the document with my grammatical suggestions so quickly. It encourages me to send you more in future; and I learned that "tor" is a hill or rocky peak. :)
The last page appears to be unfinished, ending with "11. The Altar of Betrayal...description."
P.S. You mentioned you have a list of outstanding corrections for your Tomb of the Lizard King conversion. If that's so, could you please post a message in that thread when the download is updated? Alternatively I'd be happy to update the pre-PDF document for you.
P.P.S. What page layout program are you using? Is it Microsoft Publisher 97?
Cheers
Rereading your latest update from pages 1-6 I have the following suggestions to make your effort that much more awesome.
(Yes it’s a lot improvements. I've proof read below twice so it's ready to go. Sadly I’ve run out of hours tonight to review additional pages)
Page 2
Replace ‘a free’ with ‘an’ in “This is a work of fan fiction which seeks to transform the original work as a free instructional example…“Page 3
Suggest replacing ‘The’ with ‘the’ in “This adventure is prepared for four characters of 16th level using The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.”
Assuming pregenerated characters will be added to the appendix, suggest adding ‘(see appendix)’ to the end of this sentence “…it is highly recommended the PCs choose from the provided pregenerated characters to maintain the proper level of challenge.”
Rearrange text. I would definitely move the sections on "Dealing with High Level Magic" and "Use of Skills" from page 5 to join their subject matter on page 3 under “Running the Adventure”. Place it right before the heading "Adventure Background".
Page 4
It would be helpful to place a small red arrow or similar indicator on the map that points out the former temple site of Riverford. That would do wonders to immediately draw the reader’s attention to the key point of interest on the map image.
Remove ‘,’ after ‘and’ so this sentence can be read easily “and, for the reality that contains Golarion, become a god.”
Replace ‘The delving into this knowledge was not without its dan-gers and comprehension fantastically difficult.’ with “Delving into this knowledge was fantastically difficult to comprehend and not without its dangers.“
Replace ‘…combining him with the very treasures he is to guard.’ with “…combining him with the very treasures he was set to guard.
Replace ‘blinking’ with ‘blink’ in “it has been but the blinking of an eye.”
Replace ‘His body was interred at the Temple of Vanar, Squire of Iomedea, an inter-mediate deity, and a great funeral planned for Harvest Day.’ with the much more understandable “His body was interred at the Temple of Vanar (Vanar is an intermediate deity and Squire of Iomedea), and a great funeral planned for Harvest Day.”
Remove ‘either’ from “They should be either direct friends of the paladin or have some other personal connection.”
As per pages 5-6 the party arrive after the temple has gone to hell.
Replace “As they ar-rive, the Temple will disappear with only a crater and the stench of brimstone left behind.”
With “As they arrive within sight of the Temple it has just disappeared with only a crater and the stench of brimstone left behind.”
Suggest adding ‘thus’ as in ‘and thus prove their worth’ to “Once there, they must make their way through several arcane barriers to reach the sorcerer and prove their worth.”
Page 5
Replace “Given the level of the adventure, high level magic will be available to the PCs.”
With “Given the level of this adventure it can be assumed that high level magic is available to the PCs.”
Replace “Auguries: (or Conjurations used to ques-tion Called extraplanar creatures).“
With “Auguries (or Conjurations used to question called extraplanar creatures):”
Replace “…can only get the PCs to the first layer of Hell, Avernus—far from their goal and no way to then find the Temple. “
With “…can only get the PCs to Avernus (the first layer of Hell), which leaves them far from their goal and with no way to find the Temple.
Replace “In most areas in this adventure, it will be the PCs who are the outsid-er, so this will be of great benefit (and should help keep the adventure on track). The forces of good work to help the PCs in this way.”
With “In most areas it will be the PCs who are outsiders. Desperate fiends may even cast dispel good, dismissal, limited wish or banishment to drive adventurers back to their home plane!”
Replace “Knowledge (local) - Assuming the PC using the skill is from Andoran, above a DC25, they will be familiar with the general layout of the Temple of Vanar and the names of those important in the priesthood.”
With “Knowledge (local) – A PC of Andoran background can make a DC 25 Knowledge (local) check to be familiar with the Temple of Vanar’s general layout and names of important people in the priesthood.“
Page 6
Replace “It drops the tube near any arcane caster PC, looks at them and says, “Message for you master”, smiles apologetically and then dissolves into an acidic yellow-green goo.”
With “It drops the tube near any arcane caster PC, looks at them and says “Message for you master”, before smiling apologetically and dissolving into an acidic splatter of yellow-green goo.”
Note: “Message for you master” would more accurately be “A message from my master”.
Replace “The tube is branded with the mark of chaos (a circle ringed with arrows), identifiable with a Knowledge (arcana) or (religion) DC25 check, and contains a scroll. A Knowledge (arcana) DC30 check will correctly attribute the mark to none other than Emirikol the Chaotic, an infamous sorcerer”
With “The tube and parchment within are branded by a circle ringed with arrows. This is a mark of chaos, identifiable by a DC 25 Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (religion) check. Furthermore, a DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) check will correctly attribute the mark to none other than Emirikol the Chaotic, an infamous sorcerer.”
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A general comment on module presentation:
I’m definitely not a fan of modules in 4e’s “Delve format” but the best fit placement of full page monster stats really breaks up the flow of your work. I definitely want full page stats for each monster but I’m wondering if these pages would be better moved out into an encounter booklet…that also includes a summary of encounters on the first page. Maybe you’ve already found what works best but it’s something I’ll be experimenting with in my Pathfinder conversion for G3.
Cheers.
Hi daemonslye, have completed a thorough review of pages 7-8 for you.
@kevin_video - me too. Hope he pastes in all these improvements :)
Page 7
Given Tinnestron the Iron Handed gains no further mention in the module it would help to add ‘(now dead)’ as in “…named Tinnestron the Iron Handed (now dead), …".
Better yet would be to replace…
‘The theft of the artifact displeased the Lord of the Ninth, and so, after much time, he bade an infernal wizard, grown from birth to fight Emirikol the Chaotic, named Tinnestron the Iron Handed, to dispatch the sorcerer and find the wherea-bouts of the artifact.’
With…
“Theft of the Oerdh Crystal had displeased the Lord of the Ninth. In response he grew an infernal wizard named Tinnestron the Iron Handed who was trained from birth to fight the sorcerer and recover the stolen artifact. In a confrontation years later it was Emirikol the Chaotic who emerged victorious while Tinnestron was lost to the Maelstrom.”
Page 8
Please replace the entire EFFECT text block for 'The Metalstorm CR 14' with the following:
Phew…I spent 2 hours on this part.
Effect Creatures or objects that enter the Metalstorm are subject to 10d10 points of slashing damage for each round that they remain within the storm. A DC 20 Reflex save reduces this by half and damage reduction applies normally. Visibility is reduced to 5 ft. with concealment out to 20 ft. and total concealment beyond 20 ft. Creatures inside the storm are deafened and the entire area is treated as difficult terrain. Any flying creatures are driven to the ground, taking another 1d6 points of damage per 10 ft. of starting altitude (feather fall does not slow the descent).
The metal shards extend into the Ethereal Plane and have the ghost touch property that affects incorporeal creatures. Travel via gaseous form or ethereal jaunt is possible but subject to slashing damage as above. Spells that deal damage and other magic such as dispel magic and globe of invulnerability are ineffective. Shards within an antimagic field temporarily lose their ethereal and ghost touch properties but the metal is solid and does not disappear when exposed to anti-magic. Indeed their momentum continues unabated unless stopped by a barrier (such as the caster’s body).
The Metalstorm is only 300 ft. thick so a daring spellcaster could cast dimension door to bypass the barrier. Clairvoyance or arcane eye could be used to get a look past the storm for say teleportation purposes. A clairvoyance spell that is not positioned deep enough to see past the storm simply shows flashing shards of deadly metal. Burrowing is another option which will be successful, provided the travellers dig at least 30 ft. deep and for long enough to exceed the storm’s width. Multiple passwall spells could be useful but each is too short to form the entire length of a subterranean tunnel.
Silke <- you rock!
I'll make the changes this weekend. Assuming more QA is coming (hopefully), please put them in a spoiler tag (to protect the innocent) and I'll get them done and uploaded.
~D
Thanks daemonslye, I will be running this module (your work) for my players so I want it to be as good as possible.
The Metalstorm is only 300 ft. thick so a daring spellcaster could cast dimension door to bypass the barrier. Clairvoyance or arcane eye can be used to get a look past the storm for say teleportation purposes. A clairvoyance spell that is not positioned deep enough to see past the Metalstorm simply shows flashing shards of deadly metal. Burrowing is another option which will be successful, provided the travellers dig at least 30 ft. deep and for long enough to exceed the storm’s width. Multiple passwall spells could be used but each is too short to form the entire length of a subterranean tunnel.
@daemonslye - I've spent my Friday night on further updates so they are available for you to incorporate over the weekend
After this sentence from my earlier post ‘Furthermore, a DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) check will correctly attribute the mark to none other than Emirikol the Chaotic, an infamous sorcerer.’
Add “If the party successfully identify the invitation is from Emirikol then allow them to make a Knowledge History check to see what they know about him. Refer to Background page 7 for what information they might know.”
Currently there are the following encounters
A. Point Harrow
B. The Metalstorm
C. Reality Rents
D. The Magic Starved
E. Steeds of Chaos
F. The Crystal Spires
G. Audience Chamber
Some people could read that B. The Metalstorm, C. Reality Rents and D. The Magic Starved is actually three encounters that all happen at once. That would be overkill, and a complex mess to DM.
The Magic Starved are just creatures that are encountered in "Reality Rents". They could be combined into one encounter called 'C. Reality Rents'. Thus the new encounter order would be:
A. Point Harrow
B. The Metalstorm
C. Reality Rents
D. Steeds of Chaos
E. The Crystal Spires
F. Audience Chamber
Considering the above, add the following as the last paragraph under section ‘A. Point Harrow’
“The following is a series of encounters the PCs must face to reach Emirikol the Chaotic. Once the PCs have reached A. Point Harrow their first task is to pass through B. The Metalstorm. If they pass through the Metalstorm by sea then proceed straight to encounter E. The Crystal Spires. If they pass through the headland on Point Harrow then proceed to encounters C. Reality Rents followed by D. Steeds of Chaos and then E. The Crystal Spires.”
Revised first paragraph; please use this one in place of my previous post.
Effect Creatures or objects that enter the Metalstorm are subject to 10d10 points of slashing damage for each round that they remain within the storm. A DC 20 Reflex save reduces this by half and damage reduction applies normally. Any flying creatures are driven to the ground, taking another 1d6 points of damage per 10 ft. of starting altitude (feather fall does not slow the descent). Visibility is reduced to 5 ft., with concealment out to 20 ft. and total concealment beyond 20 ft. Creatures inside the storm are deafened and the entire area is treated as difficult terrain. Note that deafened casters have a 20% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components.
“Effect Once per half hour of travel”?
Suggest adding below statement as DM advice text - maybe placed at the end of the sidebar.
“Without delays, the party can cross the difficult terrain of the Reality Rents within several minutes (a distance of roughly 300 ft. between the MetalStorm and Steeds of Chaos). Thus the party may only encounter one rent. On the other hand, if rents popped up too frequently it would quickly become tiresome. DM judgement is required for timings on when and where the rents appear and how often the characters should save to avoid them.”
The area containing Reality Rents is already highly dangerous for spell casting due to the presence of Magic Starved creatures. Given the Reality Rents are problematic enough with DC 20 Reflex saves or be drawn into another plane, to make them be triggered by spell casting as well is excessive and probably unnecessary. Suggest deleting the following text block from Other Dangers:
Delete “Spellcasting is dangerous in this area. Anyone casting a spell must save, Reflex DC20 negates, or be drawn into a rent. Any conjuration (teleportation) spell has a flat 25% chance of leaving those travelers in one of the above planes with no immediate method of returning (e.g. there will be no open reality rent near them).”
Delete comma from “beginning of each, round following”
Add "(DC 5 Climb Check)" so you get “Travel through this broken area is difficult (difficult terrain) and further, half of the travel is climbing (DC 5 Climb Check).”
Update description to include glowing blue eyes as a hint at their continually active Arcane Sight spell.
“A bedraggled man with glowing blue eyes crawls up from between two rocks.”
As written the 'Steal Magic' DC would be DC 19 (Base 10 +2 Chr +7 Spell Level ‘Spell Turning’). Suggest leaving it at DC 17 and reducing the Chr of these wretches from 15 to 11.
Delete the entire Favoured Attacks or Actions text block as it’s a duplicate of what’s written on pages 9 & 11. If you really want to keep Favoured Attacks or Actions then summarise the text from pages 9 & 11 as it’s better worded.
The first paragraph of original Favoured Attacks or Actions could be moved to Background instead.
Move ABSORB MAGIC (Su) text block so it comes before STEAL MAGIC (Su) text block
Add the following as the last sentence to STEAL MAGIC (Su) “Note that a Magic Starved must absorb a spell before they can activate this ability.”
Replace “…requires a Reflex DC25 succeeds to move; Failure means the move-ment was blocked and the move action is wasted.“ with “requires a DC 25 Reflex save to succeed. Failure means the movement was blocked and move action wasted.”
Replace “Note the issues with using magic as de-scribed in the Reality Rents and Magic Starved sections.” With “Note the issues with using magic as described in encounter C. Reality Rents.”
Add “towards you” after “…gouge the rock as they clamber.”
Replace
“These iron golems share traits with others but move at 40ft, even over difficult terrain and have a climb speed of 20ft. In addition, they are each protected by a spell turning (with an unlimited number of levels) effect.”
With
“These iron golems have the following modifications from those in Pathfinder Bestiary: Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.; unaffected by difficult terrain; continual spell turning effect with unlimited spell levels.”
Note: Given their enhanced abilities consider making them CR 14 and the encounter EL 19.
For the Throne of Power, replace “(minor artifact)” with “(major artifact)”. There is no doubt about this.
Replace “An ancient gray stone throne covered with lichen inscribed with barely discernable whorls and glyphs.”
With “This ancient throne of grey stone is covered with lichen and inscribed with barely discernable whorls and glyphs.”
“any where” is one word “anywhere”
Replace “Emirikol suspects demon of treachery” with “Emirikol suspects the balor of treachery”
The Ring of Joining should be a “(minor artifact)” due to this power “Can subjugate the will of the one wearing the slave ring as per dominate monster at any time with no saving throw or spell resistance allowed”
The Ring of Joining page 14 and Prismatic Rod page 15 should be moved to come immediately after the stats page for EMIRIKOL THE CHAOTIC (page 16). In addition it may be better to place the Throne of Power there as well. Currently they are floating around for a few pages before the reader can figure out what they are about.
First question after “For the questions he does answer, here are a few possible answers:”
“What is this place and how long have you been here?”
“Most people would know the name Emirikol the Chaotic [he flatters himself], though I dropped from public view 30 years ago at the height of an arcane struggle that took place over this spit of land called Point Harrow, on the Prime Material Plane. This spot was cut off from the world by a magical conflagration created during the battle between me and a mighty wizard named Tinnestron. To this day, the region is buffeted by powerful magnetic winds that carry shards of iron and steel.” [he smirks] “Some would hypothesize that the metal comes from the Quasielemental Plane of Mineral, which exist both in the Material Plane and the Ethereal Plane. So here I dwell in a tall spire of crystal within the calm of the eye of the storm. My servants are iron golems and nearby are pathetic, formally-human creatures called the Magic-Starved, as well as an endless stampede of mutant horses I like to call Steeds of Chaos. Satisfied?”
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Silke - Thanks much for the fixes and suggestions. I've incorporated almost all of them and updated the document in the link above.
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.
Thanks for including most of my feedback. People who have been watching your effort for 2 years will be pleased it’s nearing completion.
Pages 1-16 now make for a solid start leading up to Demonwing. It may be a while before I can provide further input. In the interim it would be great to see the module completed past page 160 "11. The Altar of Betrayal" and include the appendix along with Pregenerated Characters. By that stage you could take a rest and encourage forum posters to provide enhancement feedback as I have done.
P.S. I would be keen to get your feedback on my Pathfinder conversion for G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King, but wait until after I post the next progress update in that thread.
Page 10 Magic Starved
You kept Chr at 15 thus you need to change "Special Attacks steal magic (DC17)" to "Special Attacks steal magic (DC19)"
Page 14 Emirikol and the Demons
Replace "Emirikol suspects balor of treachery" with "Emirikol suspects his seneschal of treachery"
Page 15 Ring of Joining
For the Ring of Joining can you put "(minor artifact)" in small font size.
Page 16 Emirikol
Replace "Melee rod (light mace) +17 (1d6+4)"
With "Melee prismatic rod (treat as light mace) +17 (1d6+4)"
It would be helpful to mention at this stage that "the Slave Ring of Joining is worn by Emirikol's protégé Tiae (refer page 158)".
Perhaps it could be mentioned on page 16 under Emirikol's Gear as part of "ring of joining (master, see sidebar)"?
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I have Publisher 2010 but have chosen to use Word 2010 for my G3 conversion. Does Publisher make it harder to do a table of contents and index? What about rearranging text across pages? When to use Word or Publisher?
P.S. It would be ideal if your PDF had bookmarks for each chapter.
Cheers
Thanks a lot for this... Amazing effort!
But... The file I downloaded apparently misses all sections of the temple past 11 (the altar of betrayal). Is that normal?
Unfortunately, it is! I'm still working on them. Should have things finished by July-ish (2011). Thanks for the comments and encouragement.
~D
Hey hey,
Been awhile, my group is still playing through this (awesome conversion btw)
So far I can't say enough on how well done this is! My only small nit-pick is when we got to the part with the Gnome Alchemist and the Samurai chic - (they really helped in the battles) the game came to an abrupt halt when they freed them and rearmed them - and had to wait for me to recalculate all armor classes, to hit bonus, damages and such for the npc's. Anyway you could include it in the character sheet stat blocks? For future users it might be nice.
Hi daemonslye,
Now that A Paladin in Hell - The Game has passed do you have any extra material available and will you be adding the pre-generated PCs to the module appendix?
It's notable that party members are not all at the same character level (a hallmark of the modern game). Is this in homage to 1e style pregens or is there some other reason?
Curiosity piqued :)
Cheers,
Silke
RE: When I run this game, I will name NPC's after you!
Wow that is so awesome. Go go NPC Silke :)
I plan to run this module (would you believe as a replacement for modules D1-3) after my player's get through G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King. Even though I've only had time to provide thorough feedback on the first 16 pages of Paladin in Hell...writing those improvements took hours of effort.
Now that I'm working on a Pathfinder conversion for myself (module G3), I have a real appreciation for the labour of love Daemonslye has put into his conversions and his skill at page layout/presentation. It takes so many weeks of work to do a quality conversion that any forum feedback is a welcome morale boost. And if you're lucky enough to get someone provide actual input (such as proof reading, alternate ideas, tactics and the like) that is pure gold.
Cheers
One of my favorite adventures for 2E revised, even though I never made it out of Demonwing, no matter how many times I ran it.
I love the quality of work you've put into this thing, and I am inspired to write something of my own when Paizo publishes Mythic rules, and do so in such a snappy format.
Gorgeous, and looking forward to incorporating it into my campaign.
Been away for awhile...
I just found this thread with your completed work in it.
Great work Daemonslye !
Unfortunately, it is! I'm still working on them. Should have things finished by July-ish (2011). Thanks for the comments and encouragement.
Hi Daemonslye,
First, thanks a lot for your amazing job in adventure conversion to PF game system.Then... did you complete the "Paladin in Hell" chapter 11?
I saw you started to work on "Castle Amber (X2)" conversion, so I was thinking about the PiH finishing.
Is it done? In the case? Where would it be possible to download it?
Excuse me for my questions and thanks in advance.
Gian Luca
Just downloaded the PDF, and have to say am blown away by the level of dedication you have put into bringing this module up to date for current usage. This is amazing, and I'm hoping that you have not chosen to leave it unfinished. If you have already finished, have you made it available elsewhere perhaps? Again, absolutely amazing work, very impressive.
What an amazing labor of love.
I truly appreciate and highly respect the dedication put into this.
awesome conversion good job.
Daemonslye,
This is amazing. Thank you so much for your efforts.
Daemonslye,
This is amazing. Thank you so much for your efforts.
Yes, Daemonslye, really a great work.
I start the campaign with my friends in Italy and all are amazed by the adventure and the effort put in it.
Daemonslye, have not seen you on the site for some time, was wondering if this GREAT REMAKE of the Paladin in Hell will finally come to a conclusion? I realize that reality and life tend to get in the way of things. I for one plus others appluade you on the work that you have done thus far!
Dotting. Do want.
Well, I put in another couple of hours on it yesterday.
I have been cranking though B4 The Lost City lately and it has been consuming my time. Also, since I moved over to InDesign and Photoshop, I've become somewhat addicted to those tools and working MS Publisher feels restrictive. Given the cult following of "Lost City", I am trying to do it justice, but it was a big effort to bite off (more than I knew when I started). I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out though (working on Tier 6 now).
I will endeavor to put more time in PiH - I'm slogging through the stats for those in the Holy of Holies as well as fine tuning the ending (which has morphed several times). I'd love to re-do the entire thing having had a little more experience and seeing things I would want to address but it's a lot of work for probably little incremental benefit.
Hang in there - It's coming.
~D
Just 'leafed' through the PDF of this.
WOW!
Amazing work! Tonnes of info, but v well laid out. The pages are very consistent from one to another.
Brother Mennos seems like a better fit as an Oracle with the blind curse.
Where do you get the pictures for the modules?
@Johnny: I keep hacking away at B4. Completed Appendix i, ii, and iii. Should be done soon, then I can finish PiH.
@Darth: Good suggestion, I don't think APG was fully complete when I originally stat'ed him. I'll re-look. We should remember, his "curse" was to be in the Temple when it transitioned and happened just recently (and late into his career). In terms of pics, I find them where I can, borrowing them from the Internet making just enough modifications to make them work with the content. I'm a huge fan of all these artists.
~D
Fantastic work i am really impressed can i ask u what programm u used to create this masterpiece ?
I am not able to open it, is there something that I need to do other than click on the link?
