Backwards compatibility advice?

[fireinthedust]

I'm trying to figure out tips and tricks for using older 3.x stuff, like templates and monsters, with PF.

any advice?

 

[Perram]

Well, one of the first things I would look at is the conversion document:

http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/pathfinder/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy89m6

It should answer the most basic questions. But some things to keep in mind:

• A class' Hit Die now corresponds with its Base Attack Bonus. Make sure any conversion matches. This is true for monsters, too.
• The skills have been consolidated, and cross class skills no longer cost twice the normal amounts. This often results in a monster having more skill points than normal.

Any specific questions or an example of a template you are trying to update? Most stuff will work fine as is or with minimal changes.

 

[Voadam]

Recalculate grapple to CMB.

You are pretty good to go after doing that. Most everything else is little details that will not be that important for the monsters use.

The biggest trick is recognizing that it is ok to leave a lot unconverted and just run with it in PF.

Note skill name changes (relatively unimportant IMO). You don't really need to recalculate all their skill points so it fits the new monster formulas exactly.

Note spell changes if desired. It is ok if monsters use 3.0 or 3.5 stuff like spell like abilities etc., they are the monsters. If you want everything to be official PF you can change to the new versions as desired but it won't be a big deal.

Decide if you want to redo monsters with classes if you are working with something like a dungeon adventure so that the classes work more closely with the PF versions. It is ok not to do so.

etc.

 

[Falling Icicle]

Recalculate grapple to CMB.

You are pretty good to go after doing that. Most everything else is little details that will not be that important for the monsters use.

This. The only really important thing you ever need to convert is CMB and CMD, and that's only if you or the party intend to use combat maneuvers. The rest works fine as is.

 

[pawsplay]

The only thing you need to do is calculate CMD and CMB... and you can fudge that by using the Grapple modifier, if you have to. If you have a few minutes,k you can add extra feats, adjust BAB and hit points, and spend skill points. With a smaller skill list and no c-c skills, many monsters have much higher skill totals.

 

[fireinthedust]

What about things like spells? I suppose I could just refer to the listed spells from the PFCR, rather than the 3.x versions.

And the classes? For NPCs, I mean.

I'm working off the idea that I'd like to add PrCs and Templates to monsters. Also to NPC mortals.

Examples:
Half-golem from MM2.
Lords of Madness Ropers & super Ropers, Illithids, etc.
Creature Collection revised's Hags
GR's advanced bestiary. I'm not 100% on any of that stuff, in play, and knowing if it will work would be good.
Drow of the Underdark's Deep Dragon, in particular, looks fun, ditto some other breeds. However, I've noticed a major shift in the CR of the chromatic dragons in PF. So, I wonder, will the other versions be alright? Can I use a dragon like that, and would it screw up the game in general?

It's good to hear that there isn't much change from the 3.x as far as monsters go, at least in use (and if I swap out older versions of spells).

What about modules? Like, if I want to grab some old Dungeon issues, or Dungeon Crawl Classics modules, are those still good? Or should I convert all the NPCs?
I guess, for sorcerers and other classed creatures, it's a good idea to do conversions by adding new class powers.

 

[pawsplay]

You don't have to update NPCs to the Pathfinder versions of classes. Even if you really wanted, you could even continue to have them use their old skill ratings, although I think updating skill lists and calculating CMB is worthwhile. In Pathfinder, most classed NPCs are going to be -1 CR. If you are really concerned about a classed NPC coming up weak, you could even compare them to the monster CR estimator in the MM. I would worry about updating class features and adding feats last, but it's worth doing for some NPCs. As you noted, sorcerers deserve their bloodline features, so if the NPC is going to do something other than hurl a fireball, you might want to update them.

 

[James Jacobs]

Well... We use Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary a LOT for our adventures; it's probably tied with the Tome of Horrors Revised for the "d20 book we use most often" for Paizo adventures. In my opinion, the Advanced Bestiary works quite well with the Pathfinder RPG. I make changes to the templates now and then, but that's no different than when I'd use the book for our 3.5 products.

And while we can't use any of the WotC books that aren't in the SRD, all of them should work fine with Pathfinder.

In my experience, most campaigns have so many house rules as it stands that inconsistencies between similar editions of the game are usually inconsequential.

 

[fireinthedust]

Well... We use Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary a LOT for our adventures

It does add a lot of options. More of these would be handy, actually. The Force creature was particularly fun-looking (as if my personal PCs didn't have enough problems with gelatinous cubes!)

And while we can't use any of the WotC books that aren't in the SRD, all of them should work fine with Pathfinder.

How do you deal with "empty" levels for PrCs from other sources? Not even the WOTC books, but really for most of the other sourcebooks out there? Any rules of thumb?
I like the changes to the PrCs in the main book, so I'm wondering if there is a "method" that can be applied as a guideline for other favourite PrCs out there.

 

[MichaelSomething]

I think a possible easy fix solution is to simply knock down most monster CRs by 1, or to just add an extra feat or two to compensate for the slight increase of power/options.