D&D 5E Night Below 5E Conversion

[Staffan]

The problems are mostly in the "Long Path" bit. It's been a while since I ran it, but as I recall it was mostly "here's a really long dungeon path with some monsters in it, or adjacent to it. Wanna go after their phat loot or just bypass them?" Could be it gets better later in the middle part - I recall the rockseer thing being kinda cool. But when we played it, we never got past about half-way on account of people moving and stuff.

 

[Quickleaf]

One of my absolute favourites.

Some pretty important monsters in it are missing from the 5e MM, though.

Any monsters pop out from memory? I saw the Aboleth Savant in the back, but that's at the very end of the adventure.

So far I've only looked thru the first part in detail, which just needs a cave fisher conversion. Thankfully [MENTION=15700]Sacrosanct[/MENTION] did a conversion already: http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=30688

http://marklenser.com/5econverter/MONSTER CONVERTER

Yep, Mark's Pathfinder to 5e converter is awesome!

I've gotten good at converting AD&D monsters to 5e too, and one of my friends has taken an assistant-DM role to help with any conversions that are needed. Using a mix of:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gwlJEh8hI63FzppPtbjpOeaxhbNuDENvWl4uowgq9RM/edit
and http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?358550-Equating-AD-amp-D-2e-XP-to-5th-edition-CR

Where do I recognize the name Jim Pinto from?

 

[Quickleaf]

The problems are mostly in the "Long Path" bit. It's been a while since I ran it, but as I recall it was mostly "here's a really long dungeon path with some monsters in it, or adjacent to it. Wanna go after their phat loot or just bypass them?" Could be it gets better later in the middle part - I recall the rockseer thing being kinda cool. But when we played it, we never got past about half-way on account of people moving and stuff.

Gotcha.

So I looked over the Long Path bit. Seems like it consists of the following areas/scenarios:

• A nest of Grells endangering the svirfneblin that the PCs probably want to eradicate because they'll be passing back and forth thru this territory.
• A pack of Quaggoths engaged in a fight with Hook Horrors led by a Rakshasa! Seems like I'd want to cut out the CR 13 Rakshasa. And also expand on the primal religious beliefs of the Quaggoths, maybe include a connection to the drow. There's also adventurer's loot on the Quaggoth Thonot, so maybe there's a potential tie-in there to past adventurers.
• Ropers, Crystal Oozes, and a Xorn in "The Smooth Caverns" which connect to the Rockseer Elves. Actually a kind of cool exploration area just for the sheer mystery and unusual caverns.
• An old abandoned temple to Jubilex with lots of oozes. I'll probably pick up Rage of Demons by the time the PCs reach this area, so I might be able to tie this in to the whole Fetid Wedding storyline with Zuggtmoy. Might actually be a cool thing to foreshadow with some kind of Myconid settlement earlier.

 

[DM_Jeff]

Where do I recognize the name Jim Pinto from?

He and I wrote Toolbox and Ultimate Toolbox as well as a host of other titles for AEG last decade. Now he runs Post World Games!

And the Long Path, yes even when I ran it originally I kept everything except the duregar stronghold, seemed too side-trek-y.

 

[Quickleaf]

He and I wrote Toolbox and Ultimate Toolbox as well as a host of other titles for AEG last decade. Now he runs Post World Games!

And the Long Path, yes even when I ran it originally I kept everything except the duregar stronghold, seemed too side-trek-y.

Ultimate Toolbox! That's what it was!

Thanks for the tip about "King for a Day"; I'm reading up on it, sounds great.

 

[Eric V]

Any monsters pop out from memory? I saw the Aboleth Savant in the back, but that's at the very end of the adventure.

So far I've only looked thru the first part in detail, which just needs a cave fisher conversion. Thankfully @Sacrosanct did a conversion already: http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=30688

Off the top of my head, the biggest ones missing are the Derro. And the Ixiscit....er...the flying intelligent Manta Rays.

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6779717]Eric V[/MENTION] Thanks! Derro should be easy, probably need 3 types: a base Derro, a lieutenant type who is the child of a derro leader with better HP & gear, and a Derro Savant. The Ixitxachitl /Ixtan (?) will take a bit more thought.

EDIT: And sometime the work is done for you! http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?2851-OU-OF-THE-ABYSS-Has-Derro-Check-Them-Out!#.Vd2OWNNViko

 

[Eric V]

I was just coming to note how those two missing monsters were going to show up in Out of the Abyss!

Having said that, the manta rays seem a little low in CR, no?

 

[Quickleaf]

I was just coming to note how those two missing monsters were going to show up in Out of the Abyss!

Having said that, the manta rays seem a little low in CR, no?

They're about right, actually. In 2e Ixitxachitl (Ixzan, more precisely) ranged from 65 XP to 650 XP, depending on if it was the normal kind, mutants, priests, vampires, etc.

Using my guidelines ( http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?358550-Equating-AD-amp-D-2e-XP-to-5th-edition-CR ) I'd expect them to be CR 1/8 to CR 3 (maaaybe 4, but that'd be pushing it).

So, CR 1/4 and CR 2 seem pretty accurate.

 

[Quickleaf]

SPOILER WARNING - OUT OF THE ABYSS & NIGHT BELOW

I had a read thru Out of the Abyss this weekend, and there's a lot that can be adapted for running Night Below (or a similar Underdark sandbox).

The premise of madness and the corrupting influence of Demogorgon fits right at home with the aboleths of Night Below.

One of the main ways Out of the Abyss motivates players to explore the Underdark (once they've escaped by Chapter 7) is to seek out components for a ritual to summon the demon lords to a spot and compel them to fight each other. These components (and where they can be found) are described as:

1. Intact unhatched egg of a purple worm - for channeling great physical power. (Wormwrithings)
2. Central eye of a beholder - to break down magical resistance and overcome magical forces. (Wormwrithings)
3. 6 feathers from six different angels - the authority of the celestial realms and a force to enrage fiendish creatures. (Labyrinth)
4. Heart of an goristro - to reach and influence the hearts of other demons. (Labyrinth)
5. 13 timmask mushrooms, known as "devil's mushrooms" - traditionally associated with Lower Planar summoning because they sprout from the footprint of a demon.
6. A few drops of blood or ichor from a demon lord - to connect with the demons the ritual will call.
7. Gromph Baenre’s grimoire - with notes on the original ritual to understand the power that summoned the demon lords. (Menzoberranzan)

What sort of things can I replace these ingredients with to connect them to Night Below and give them an aberration theme (rather than demonic)?

Obviously, some of them work just fine the way they are - 1 & 2, for example.