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Hi all,
I am currently running this under 5e and converting as I go. I thought I may share my experiences for anyone else who decides to go down this path. My group has just hit the science deck for context as of this post.
Because 5e is more like 3.5e than any other editions in terms of stats its pretty straightforward to run monsters as written. That was my initial plan but as the monsters start ramping up in power the bounded math of 5e makes running them as is problematic. The biggest reason is players won't be able to hit the mobs by the end of the first adventure reliably.
The other issue I found is the 3.5e mobs don't quite have the HPs of 5e mobs so die very quickly if they are hit.
First thing I did was replace monsters wherever I could with their 5e MM equivalents. I would beef them up or reduce their power as needed. I have six players in my party so generally I didn't need to modify them if they were a CR or 2 above the actual monster.
Failing that I would find base monster in 5e and build off that. For example a zombie for Hetuath. For the truly original monsters/characters I used a conversion document I found an enWorld which was very useful as well. They are simple enough to use them on the fly.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?335778-Attempt-at-Conversion-do c-to-convert-3-5-edition-and-Pathfinder-monsters-to-D-amp-D-Next-on-the-fly
The next thing I had to look at was the DCs of various doors, traps etc, in particular the technological items. Had to remove the escalating numbers due to the bounded math of 5e. So initially I have reduced all the DCs by 5. I suspect I may need to reduce it further.
For technological items like the e-Pick I also had to "5e them" here is an ePick example:
An e-pick (short for “electronic lock pick”) is a small device that can be used to unlock and disable electronic locks and devices, much in the same way that a set of thieves’ tools can be used to dismantle mechanical locks and devices.
The colour of the e-Pick determines what, if any, bonus the user receives with the tool. When a higher ranked -determined by colour - e-Pick is used on a lower level lock the character gain advantage on the roll. On higher level locks the character takes disadvantage on the roll. On the same colour locks the character gain neither advantage nor disadvantage.
A character who already has proficiency in Thieves Tools and takes the Technologist feat gains proficiency with the e-Pick automatically.
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Here are the campaign traits in 5e-ish terms:
Against the Technic League: Mechanically your attacks all have advantage (or disadvantage as appropriate) against targets you know are associated with the Technic League.
Local Ties: Mechanically you may choose either proficiency with ePick (As Thieves Tools for purposes of technological devices) or gain the skill Engineering (intelligence).
Nimmerian Archaeologist: No change.
Robot Slayer: Mechanically you gain +1d4 on attack and damage rolls against robots.
Skymetal Smith: No change.
Stargazer: Mechanically you gain a advantage on skill checks to identify alien monsters’ abilities and weaknesses. In addition, you gain double proficiency bonus on Nature (wisdom) checks, and this skill is a class skill for you.
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Monster conversion index for Fires of Creation - I didn't list monsters which were played as is unless I modified them somehow:
Malfunctioning Repair Drone: As is but with maximum hit points and an electrical damage shield.
Fire Beetles: 5e MM version.
All the skulks became drow.
Ghelarn: As is but I replaced all the special abilities with 5e powers instead. For example the sticky ground had the same rules as a web effect and so on.
Kasatha Skeletons: I originally converted these to 5e but that made 7 of them too deadly so ran them as is.
Hetuath: Subjected to the PF -> 5e conversion rules.
Boilborn: Replaced by 5e oozes for no other reason than I have kids in the game and I felt it was a bit too disturbing for them.
Cerebric Fungus: Replaced by an "alien Grell". Essentially the 5e Grell with Cereberic Fungus special abilities. Functions in game almost the same.
Medical Drone: Rebuilt from scratch using animated armour as the base monsters. It otherwise functions the same way as written.
Ropefist Thugs: 5e MM version.
Sanvill: 5e NPC mage.
Scrapwell Fanatics: Changed to 5e MM orcs and wererats respectively without the lycanthropy.
Gruether: 5e MM version.
Meyanda: Undecided, currently planning just to run her as is but with 5e spells instead.
Finally (so far) because the ship has been rethemed as a Rouge Trader I have had to change some of the technological items to make them less Star Trek and more w40k. Functionally they generally stay the same its just the way they look. Here is an example:
Neroplast armour becomes Cameleoline armour:
This lightweight, formfitting bodysuit is made from Cameleoline material. This material is made up of mimic fibres that blend the colouration of the wearer into their surroundings. Capable of cycling through dozens of hues, the armour can even be used to adopt sophisticated camouflage patterns that grant advantage on Stealth checks. They are also considered 1 range increment further away when targeted by ranged weapons.
Whenever the wearer enters a terrain of significantly different coloration and background patterns, the armour must be recalibrated to its current area to maintain this bonus. A character wearing cameleoline armour gains advantage on stealth checks.
Selecting a colour or pattern is a full-round action that consumes 1 charge and provokes an attack of opportunity.
Androffan tech + gothic paint job = w40k gear :)
Thats a good idea actually. Next time :)
Here is my 5e radiation damage:
Radiation Poisoning
Radiation poisoning is checked anywhere between per round, per hour or per day depending on the lethality of the dose the creature is subjected to. Each has a separate DC:
Low: Constitution DC 10 saving throw.
Medium: Constitution DC 15 saving throw.
Severe: Constitution DC 20 saving throw.
Lethal: Constitution DC 25 saving throw.
Radiation (Contact). A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion.
Example of a 5e conversion - Meyanda:
https://i.imgur.com/QDvarZo.png
Here is the player primer redone for my 5e campaign. By a fluke I have a place in my home-brew campaign world called Nimmeria with a one word description "Thundarr the Barbarian" so Paizo setting of Numeria fits in well and fleshes out Nimmeria for me.
Another thing to keep in mind when reading this the ship that crashed is a Rogue Trader so its more gothic/Space Opera than Star Trek/Super Science in terminology and technology. So I redo the tech items as well as I go along.
The primer contains the android race and a new ranger archetype - mechromancer. Both being used by one of my players as well as campaign backgrounds.
As I got to the end of Fires of Creation I decided to switch strategies and start converting everything before the session instead of on the fly. I found that it would be more work but better for my sanity (I kept saying "make a reflex save, I mean Dexterity save") and better thematically (Super Science weapon: Laser Rifle, Space Opera weapon Lasgun). So I converted the last few monsters to 5e. This particular Menace Manual has - repair drone, gearsman, collector robot, hunter-killer k9 (created this to add more strength to the Sanvill encounter since I have a party of 6 players), arachnid robot (a LoR monster but a trial run), Sanvill, Scrapwall brawler and fanatic, Ogre Ratfolk (add muscle to the fanatic encounters), vegepygmies, thronie (vegepygmy muscle), Gruthur and Meyanda and her inferno pistol.
And here is the Menace Manual for Lords of Rust. This has all creatures converted to 5e. We haven't started this adventure yet so they are untested. I am concerned that Hellion, in particular, may overwhelm the party. But I will wait and see.
And here is the Menace Manual for Lords of Rust. This has all creatures converted to 5e. We haven't started this adventure yet so they are untested. I am concerned that Hellion, in particular, may overwhelm the party. But I will wait and see.
Updated Menace manual for Lords of Rust with some additional info like Scrapworth encounter modification. Previous link will not work.
For simplicity sake I just shared the whole folder. Will make note here when something is updated.
Thanks for sharing these.
Thank you for this!
I wasn't happy with using the forums to share the info due to the lack of formatting and also wasn't happy linking to screen grabs of my documents or the documents directly. So I ended up making a blog just to share the ongoing conversion:
http://itsmygamemyrules.wordpress.com
I will also eventually put up the game log my daughter writes up for each session.
Enjoy.
I just noticed, I have not updated this thread in a long time. Here are all the Fire of Creation conversion information, game logs etc. This is the lightest of the conversion batch because I initially just converted things on the fly.
Next up - Lords of Rust
And now The Choking Tower
You are welcome PUNK MONKEY!
Here is The Valley of the Brain Collector though this is still a WIP as my players have not finished it yet but its done enough I feel for conversion purposes.
Palace of Fallen Stars was completed recently as well. The characters are taking a "break" from Nimmeria and are plane-hoping at the moment trying to get to Sigil. Divinity Drive will start after their "side quest" is done.
I used your monsters and creations heavily in my Event Horizon 5e game. They had a blast with your shadow flayers, androids, and brain gobblers.
Thank you for your hard work and please continue!
hah! You are welcome. Good to hear! What is Event Horizon? I will have all the Divinity Drive creatures published by the end of FEB and will link them here. Drip feeding them at the moment if interested in checking them out.
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Final chapter done - the Divinity Drive.
3 YEARS LATER...
Heya! Been thinking of running Iron Gods in 5e recently (heavily rewritten to fit my campaign world), and came across this thread! Awesome conversion man, love your blog too!
I too thought of 40K when the reference was to a city-sized space ship, particularly for the warpish way it got to Golarion.
The links for collections through the Choking Tower are not functioning, the individual blog entries seem to be there though, just tough to navigate to.
This all looks great.