Has anybody done a PF conversion of 0th Ed module X4: Master of the Desert Nomads or X5: Temple of Death?
I am thinking of doing a conversion but if somebody has already done one, then I'll move on to something else.
Found my old Master of The Desert Nomads and started going through it. First thing I noticed is that the encounters would be too hard for a 6th level party.
Just for example, the opening encounter with the wizard mounted on a wyvern with 3 trolls would be about about a CR 11 encounter. Not to mention the evil army camp with 25 mounted archers, 20 orc warriors, and a couple 7th level fighter commanders.
The extra monsters would need some conversion or re-imagining.
Nagpa: Change to vulture-head rakshasa?
Tabi: Just make it an imp?
Luckily the soul eater and Bhat are already in the bestiary.
With a conversion of Master of the Desert Nomads I've been tinkering with I think I made the nagpa a tengu sorcerer with the arcane bloodline, Improved Familiar, and spell selection as closely mirroring the spell-like abilities of the nagpa as I could. Juggernauts make for fine animated objects (a wooden one could be a CR 9 Gargantuan animated object with the trample, grab, and constrict special abilities)
Most of the low-level mooks would most likely be warriors (CR 1/3 or so) and likely not be that much of a problem for a party to take out if they're careful. A group of 20 would only be about a CR 6 challenge. Some of the other issues with the harder encounters like that and the wyvern one is if you spread the bad guys out into smaller encounters of waves of enemy troops (ie, the wyvern mage flies in after most/all of the trolls have been dispatched, splitting the enemy camp into two or three groups, etc).
Also, remember a lot of the older modules had a larger expected party or a loose level range to take that into consideration that in PF you might be running it for a higher level group.
I've thought about doing this one myself. I've thought it would probably need to be expanded a bit beyond the 2 module format, for many of the reasons you cite, as a strict conversion would just not really fit the levels suggested. I'd actually love to see it as a full AP, including conversions for X10: Red Arrow, Black Shield.
Note that the Bhut (or Bhuta, in Bestiary 3) is a different sort of monster than the X4 Bhut, and probably wouldn't work the way you're thinking (given the nature of that entire Black Monastery encounter area). If you're not interested in making a conversion of the Bhut, then you would probably be well served to use lycanthropes or some other form of shapeshifting creature (oni, perhaps).
Actually, one thing that comes to mind vis a vis a conversion of this would be that it would be a great time to find and/or create some monsters out of Turkish mythology to incorporate into it, particularly X5 when the PCs reach Hule.
Another idea that came to mind just this morning is that the Broken Chains module just announced would fit well in Hule, particularly as an expansion of one of the suggested encounters from X5 (where the PCs are kidnapped by a band of gnollish slavers).
I've also long wanted to do a juggernaut conversion, making use of the vehicle driving rules from Ultimate Combat, as well as just generally giving the thing its own map and interior encounters.
I was just going to have the Bhuta from Bestiary 3 wear long robes to disguise the fact they are floating.
I suppose you could do that, but I think you lose a lot of the nuances of the entire encounter that way (the seemingly benevolent monks who are actually evil beings in alliance with the Master), especially given that the entire climax of X4 takes place there.
And that's not to mention the m.o. of the Bhuta (a creature of vengeance) and its undead nature would, I think, be at odds with things.
Not unworkable, but something perhaps to consider.
Contributor
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The Temple in the last module is a pretty accurate recreation of a south Indian temple to Shiva or Vishnu.
The Bhuts could be replaced with Rakshasas, or perhaps were-tigers, were-apes, or the like. Bhutas in Bestiary 3 are based on Indian folklore, where they are assuredly undead or outsiders (Bhuta is actually a word meaning spirit - or incorporeal being - in Sanskrit, and can be applied to minor gods and good beings as well, but it is best known from medieval and later folklore, where it generally has a negative connotation.)
If you're interesting in locating it in Golarion, it fits well near the Narhari Desert. Sind might be a region of Vudra near the borders of the Padishah Empire, similar to the RW Sindh in Pakistan next to Persia/Iran.
OOh! I just saw they can Magic Jar. So the Bhuta could have possessed the bodies of the real monks.
Been thinking about this a lot recently, and how it would make for a really good AP (or at least a partial AP). I'd probably make it military based, with the PCs starting as low-level recruits in the Darokinian (Republic) army, as per X4, and then eventually working their way up to commanding units.
I'd combine X4/X5 and X10, and try to stick as closely to the Mystara timeline as possible (though I think they sadly condensed it way too much in the Wrath of the Immortals timeline; the trek across the Sind desert to Greatrealm alone would take longer than the WotI timeline gives for the whole war.)
Offhand, I'm thinking the invasion of Akesoli from X10 could form the first act- with the PCs helping to evacuate the city. Then they'd move on to X4, where they are called in to help hold the lines as the Republic Army drives the Master's forces out of Sind. Of course, the Republic Army ends up getting devastated, and the PCs have to go on their mission into the heart of enemy territory to assassinate the Master. (X4 and X5)
They do this, temporarily throwing his army into disarray and buying time for the Republic to start building up its forces. They aren't strong enough on their own, however, and the PCs end up being emissaries to the other nations of the Known World to try and rally opposition to the Master. (X10)
At some point in there, probably as early as the first couple of adventures, I'd start dropping hints about the dagger of Cymorrak and the Master's deathless nature (from X10), and eventually leading to them assembling the dagger so that they can have their ultimate showdown against him.
One thing that I'm trying to figure out, right now, is how to keep the PCs on the X4 overland track, when going overseas around the Serpent Peninsula and up through the Gulf of Hule would seem to possibly be a quicker route.
I'm very interested in this idea of turning X4/X5/X10 into an adventure path. X5 was the first module I ever purchased back in the day and have had X10 probably since it was new. I recently got a copy of X4 off of ebay to complete the series. Are you including any content about Sind from the Champions of Mystara boxed set?
I'd probably just ignore Wrath of the Immortals as far as this proposed AP goes. Assume AC 1000 as the starting point using the gazetteer content to help shape the war, provide War Machine statistics, etc.
L
Are you including any content about Sind from the Champions of Mystara boxed set?
Absolutely; I was thinking it would be a great way to expand the modules, and add some of that flavor content- cities, monsters, etc.- that I love from the Adventure Paths. At the very least, I'd like to add some Indian mythological flavor- I've been looking over the 1 Legacy of Fire module I have for that sort of thing- and may pick up the others, as well.
I'd probably just ignore Wrath of the Immortals as far as this proposed AP goes. Assume AC 1000 as the starting point using the gazetteer content to help shape the war, provide War Machine statistics, etc.
Probably a good idea, actually. I appreciate the feedback! I'll keep you updated as I go along fleshing things out.