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Using older adventures with 4E, Pathfinder, Trailblazer, etc. – how do you do it?
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<blockquote data-quote="Thasmodious" data-source="post: 4958536" data-attributes="member: 63272"><p>I think the key is to ignore specificity. Just because the older module says there are 3 orcs in room 1b, does not mean the story requires 3 orcs to be in room 1b. Look at the older module in general ways, the general story, the general encounter layout, and look to how you can bring that over to the newer edition or system. You don't need to use the same numbers of monsters as the other one, or even the exact same creatures, if the level requirements are significantly different. Focus on maintaining the integrity of the story. Along a similar line, I find it useful to rewrite the adventure. Read it, know it well, then rewrite it with your own game/campaign in mind while you are redesigning it, shorthand of course. You know the story and the purpose, so keep it brief, but rewriting lets you put things in context of the edition/system you are playing without being distracted by notes and contextual trappings of the older format. The rest is just tips and tricks specific to the edition you are converting to (and what you are converting from).</p><p></p><p>For example, when converting things to 4e, consider combining rooms in a dungeon into larger encounters. 4e works well with large, spread out encounters. Hacking through four 20x20 rooms each with 3 orcs in it would be tedious and take ages. Instead, connect the four rooms as one substantial encounter of 15 orcs (some minions), with defensive strategies in place. PCs resting after a couple of standard 4e encounters is like PCs taking a rest after a half dozen encounters in an older edition.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thasmodious, post: 4958536, member: 63272"] I think the key is to ignore specificity. Just because the older module says there are 3 orcs in room 1b, does not mean the story requires 3 orcs to be in room 1b. Look at the older module in general ways, the general story, the general encounter layout, and look to how you can bring that over to the newer edition or system. You don't need to use the same numbers of monsters as the other one, or even the exact same creatures, if the level requirements are significantly different. Focus on maintaining the integrity of the story. Along a similar line, I find it useful to rewrite the adventure. Read it, know it well, then rewrite it with your own game/campaign in mind while you are redesigning it, shorthand of course. You know the story and the purpose, so keep it brief, but rewriting lets you put things in context of the edition/system you are playing without being distracted by notes and contextual trappings of the older format. The rest is just tips and tricks specific to the edition you are converting to (and what you are converting from). For example, when converting things to 4e, consider combining rooms in a dungeon into larger encounters. 4e works well with large, spread out encounters. Hacking through four 20x20 rooms each with 3 orcs in it would be tedious and take ages. Instead, connect the four rooms as one substantial encounter of 15 orcs (some minions), with defensive strategies in place. PCs resting after a couple of standard 4e encounters is like PCs taking a rest after a half dozen encounters in an older edition. [/QUOTE]
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Using older adventures with 4E, Pathfinder, Trailblazer, etc. – how do you do it?
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