ConversionsDiscuss converting RPG materials from older editions of D&D and other systems to D&D 3rd Edition. Monster conversions should go in the Creature Catalog forums.
After years of posting rather little, I seem to have got the urge to post rather a lot!
May be it's old age - that or I'm gently cracking up
Anyway - I've been working on a conversion of the Council of the Wyrms for a LONG time - it was always one of the favourite campaigns with my group (or it seemed to be guys!) & i felt disappointed at abanonding it when D&D 3 came out.
The Draconomican never quite converted all the material in Council of the Wyrms so I felt the need to do some work on a full blown converstion. Hence this project.
I thought that I'd see what all you good people that have done many other conversions thought of this (not so little) offering. May be you'll get some use out of it & I'll not be the only one considering a return to the Council Isle !?!
Attached is a ZIP file containing (in a single word file) the afore mentioned conversion - constructive critisism, feedback & comments welcomed.
Cheers - FMD
EDIT - 08-09-2007 - Version 1.8 removed, 1.9 added
Last edited by full_moon_draw; 8th September 2007 at 05:38 PM..
This is a conversion of the boxed set rather than the hardback book. However, as far as i am aware - the hardback is simply the boxed set + a few clarifications & a little extra material that originally saw the light of day in the Dragon magazine.
Cheers - FMD
PS - If I'm wrong about the differences between the hardback & the boxed set, I'd very much like a summary of the differences - if anyones feeling all kind & considerate :-)
It's great stuff (not perfect) & I think this (along with my conversion) will give anyone 90% of what they need to Council of the Wyrms up & running in D&D 3.5! I'd credit the author here - but I can't find a name on the website - whoever you are, great job, hope you don't mind this link?
There's all sorts of great little links to Gem Dragon stuff on this website & it includes the Obsiden & Ectoplasmic "Gem" Dragons.
I had got part of the way through doing just that when I discovered the work on Geocites by the "mysterious" author! I'd love to include some of the hard work that he's gone through in his Gem Dragon conversion (not that I agree with all of it but . . .). I'm still trying to track the author down! Also - I've got the various things from the Complete Psionic to consider! I don't think there's a lot of work to be done (that hasn't already been done).
I'd hope to have it all sorted awy before the end of October 2006! I'll post the new version here when it's done!
Thanks for asking - I needed a little chasing on the XPH issues :-)
Thanks for that! Hopefully setting myself end Oct as a deadline isn't unrealistic.
Hi There RavinRay,
Or should I say Hearald of Saridor Obviously, in the next couple of weeks I'm going to be going through your gem dragon project quite extensively - I'll post any comments I've got here rather than over on the Wizards Boards if that's OK with you? Only I seem to get more reliable access to these boards than the Wizards ones!
The only comment that I'd make at this stage is Re: Psionic Invisibility (which I'll be the 1st to admit is a personal bug-a-boo of mine). The GD Project gives Dragons Spell Invisibility! Psionic Invisibility (for most of it's career - since AD&D PHB) has had a different effect to Spell Inivisibility. I tend to want to preserve the original psionic effect as it's more limited than the spell effect. Does that make any sense & what do you think?
Here's a quick reply re: invisibility. Bruce didn't update the 3.0 version of the power to 3.5, and the duergar use the arcane version as a psi-like ability, so I did likewise for the amethyst dragon.
One thing that sorely needs to be addressed is the change in hierarchy of the gem dragons. In 2e, the amethyst was the most powerful and the topaz second last; now the topaz is marginally the most powerful just above the amethyst. Considering that the amethyst dragons consider themselves the rulers (of a sort) over all gem dragons, how will this change?
The only comment that I'd make at this stage is Re: Psionic Invisibility (which I'll be the 1st to admit is a personal bug-a-boo of mine). The GD Project gives Dragons Spell Invisibility! Psionic Invisibility (for most of it's career - since AD&D PHB) has had a different effect to Spell Inivisibility. I tend to want to preserve the original psionic effect as it's more limited than the spell effect. Does that make any sense & what do you think?
Thats perfect. I'm a real big fan of 1st Edition psionics myself.
Just finished going over the Gem Dragon Project as part of my Council of the Wyrms (COW) conversion update
Just a few points :-)
1. I don't like the re-introduction of spell-like invisibility as psionic-invisibility (I know - it's my personal "bug a boo" & no one else cares! but I do have to keep on) - only in the D&D3.0 psionics handbook do the two abilities have the same capability! Other than that, psionic invisibility has always been "different" I know - this is a personal thing & no doubt we'll agree to disagree. But I think that the duergar update was a mistake that we shouldn't perpetuate!
2. The web update of MM2 seems to indicate that all Gem Dragons have Planar Travel (no where does it say how often they can use it) & that it's now a Psionic[Sp] ability. The Gem Dragon project doesn't seem to cover this.
3. Gem Dragons are given attack & defence modes (now powers) for free. Though the rules don't indicate at what point these abilities are granted, I've always ruled that they are granted when the Dragon acquires a manifester level. The Gem Dragon project doesn't seem to cover this point either.
4. Just an observation really (please don't shoot me) but I kind of felt that virtual power point system seems a little over complicated (may be it's just me being a tad slow or some such?)
I'd have gone with something along the lines of:
If a Dragon has a psi-like ability & no power point reserve (i.e. no actual Psion level) then he may manifest that ability un-augmented a given number of times per day as indicated in the write up. However if the Dragon has a power point reserve (i.e. has levels of Psion) he may augment that ability as applicable within the limits of his power point reserve & manifester level.
It is also worth noting that a Dragon's psi-like abilities are given a manifester level. If that Manifester level is higher than his actual level in the Psion class, he may ONLY use that higher level for the manifestation of psionic-like abilities NOT powers gains through levels of Psion.
No doubt I've missed the point in a couple of cases - may be you can put me straight? In any case, I did promise a comment or obseration or two & here they are.
Cheers - FMD
PS - Re: your comment over on ENWORLD about the new relative strangth of the Amythyst & the Topaz. You are of course spot on - they are a LOT closer in termsof real power! I've gone back as far as Dragon 36 where the Gem Dragons originally appeared & the Topaz has ALWAYS been significantly weaker than the Amythyst (who after all is supposed to be the Gold/Red of the Gem Dragon brand) - I can't imagine why this decision was taken in conversion! But for the purposes of my COW conversion - I'm going to have to address it!
PPS - Obviously I don't apply my comments to the Obsidien or Ectoplasmic Dragon - they are outside the scope of any expertise that I might claim to possess! Incidentally though - whilse searching the Dragon archive - I came across the "original" obsidien Dragon, it wasn't a psionic or gem dragon at all!!
Obviously I don't apply my comments to the Obsidien or Ectoplasmic Dragon - they are outside the scope of any expertise that I might claim to possess! Incidentally though - whilse searching the Dragon archive - I came across the "original" obsidien Dragon, it wasn't a psionic or gem dragon at all!!
Yeah, I noticed that in 3e monsters are not necessarily the same as the 2e monsters of the same name. The Spelljamming 2e radiant dragon is not the same as the extraplanar 3e radiant dragon of Celestia, for example.
Speaking of... I've seen conversions of those radiant and stellar dragons, and wondered if they wouldn't be better off as epic dragons, and start as Huge as wyrmlings and end up Colossal Plus? The sun and moon dragons can be standard, of course.
Yeah - must admit that I'd like to see the radient & steller dragons done as epic dragons as well - how about it Boz?
sorry I haven't got the revised conversion done yet! I'm still umm-ing about a couple of the finer points! Hope to have it done soon as my mind settles on what to do!
Have you got a copy of Dragon Magic? I'd consider it a source of material for the humanoid vassals of the CoW dragons. In fact, in the gem dragons' favor, a few psionic goodies there seem to be taken from the gem dragon psionics article (which was written for CoW in mind) in that Dragon issue featuring Bahamut and Tiamat's first ever 3e stats.
Nope - I never picked up Dragon Magic, I wasn't that impressed with it when I browsed through a copy. I hadn't noticed that it had Gem Dragon related material in it! I'll have to have a look & re-assess - thanks for the pointer.
Well, here's the latest version of the COW conversion! Sorry it's a "little" over due!!! I lost my access to ENworld from work - which was a pain! Mind you - the real reason for the delay was me trying to decide how to handle the conversion. In the end - I didn't go with our good hearald of Saridors conversion in it's entirity! I hope that the conversion explains why that is. Anyway - I'd really appreciate any feedback that anyone would care to offer!
Obviously, in the next couple of weeks I'm going to be going through your gem dragon project quite extensively - I'll post any comments I've got here rather than over on the Wizards Boards if that's OK with you? Only I seem to get more reliable access to these boards than the Wizards ones!
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