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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:
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:
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,
~D
Hey thanks MF! Funny enough, I may have already converted A1.
I'm glad the links work for you. They should work fine on any system that can get links in a PDF (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, etc.).
If you end up converting A3 or A4, let me know. I had some ideas on those given the setting.
~D
Thanks for the copy D! I have good memories of A2 so this should be fun to run when I get the chance.
Hey daemonslye, I just sent you an email requesting a copy. I love your conversions and am planning on using them in my next game soon.
Hey Daemonslye Could you please email me a copy of your conversion.
This very cool. I would love a copy of this and A-1 if I may. Thanks!
Hey daemonslye, Is this still available?