D&D General EverQuest's Norrath via D&D. Any good conversions?

[DarkCrisis]

While the spirit of Classic EQ is more AD&D than 5E and current EQ leans more to 5E (yes I know a 3rd ed official version came out, I own the core) would anyone know of a good 5E or OSR/AD&D conversion? I found some notes a fan made like 5-6 years ago, but perhaps someone might know of something more current?

I suppose it's mostly a races/classes thing. Then kind of making adaptions of bosses and dungeons. And I suppose some of the monsters not standard to D&D.

Speaking of the Official 3E versions, man if you thought 3E was bloated check out EQ3E. It's insanity. I actually ran a game of it once.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Not that I know of. EverQuest isn't exactly in the zeitgeist any more, unfortunately.

And the sad thing is that sites like Allakhazam's are just terrible for a DM to draw from, with the most 1980s CRPG maps ever and not something one can slap on a table and satisfyingly use in D&D.

The races are good, but I think some of the spells like ice comet are probably worth converting, too. (Ice comet is probably just 8d6 frost damage, like a damage-shifted flame strike and turned into a wizard spell.)

 

[Seramus]

I'm imagining rolls for camping monsters, pulling them, avoiding trains, and how many other adventurers are in the dungeon with you right now.

 

[Unwise]

I ran a full campaign set in Qeynos. It was using Everquest 2 as the basis though. It lends itself really well to rediscovering the world. If the players don't know something, that is fine, as nobody else knows for sure anyway.
My main takeaway is not to try and come up with rules for everything and lots of monster conversions. Races did not require any conversion. Only spare a thought for the races/classes that players actually want to use. Don't bother writing a list of Magician spells if nobody wants to play one.

I also played an excellent campaign set in Freeport. It had a real Ankh Morkpork feel to it, dangerous to the point of being humourous. Given that the law was draconian, it was interesting playing a setting where Trolls would not eat Gnomes as they didn't want to get executed. Over time all the 'evil' species were all just like everybody else, doing whatever they could get away with, but mostly keeping out of trouble. Old loyalties to hateful deities and evil empires had given way to simply obeying the Overlord and vying for his favour.

I think it is much less work than you might think. A typical party requires no conversion, nor do most monsters.

One thing I did make a big deal of was guild prestige. The best contracts and jobs go to the best guilds. People on the street acknowledge them and they are treated like nobles/generals if they achieve enough. Inter-guild rivalries was a big deal. Sure the PCs could spend weeks making a plan to attack the dragon, but what if the other group beat them to it? Did the other group purposely lead a train of monsters to them before teleporting out? Or was it an accident?

 

[Scott Christian]

Interesting to note, and I very rarely share this, but I feel a open about it at this time. During the EQ reign, I visited headquarters several times with a beta EQ TTRPG. (My friend worked for the company.) It was card based, and I got so far as to have several of the medium level corporates play it in their boardroom. Things were really looking good, and of course, me being a TTRPGer was ecstatic. Then, SOE sold EQ. And immediately, the two people that were interested and contacting me weekly were no longer with the company.

I'm not going to lie, I was a bit devastated. I worked four straight summers on the game and put so many hours into it. People at the game store helped me playtest it for two and half years. Oh well, c'est la vie.

On the bright side, I still run games in the system (it is no longer Norrath). I have run over a dozen campaigns, and as far as my GMing style goes, the system has evolved to work better with my lore anyway. I don't sell it or try to brag. But it is a ruleset I am proud of. And to this day, it has many elements that were my original thoughts, yet 5e, PF, and even newer systems coming out now use those same thoughts.

So to answer the question, I do not know of an EQ system other than mine, which has changed so much, that it is now unrecognizable from EQ.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Its amazing that EQ and EQ2 are still around. Never played them, but I looked into the lore.

EQ is 25 years old, seriously a active 90s game that still gera updates.

DDO is owned by the same company, Daybreak, and its 18 years old. LotR and DC Online as well. Magic the Gathering Online (the only none MtG Arena video game not to have been cancalled at this point, Spellslingers just got cancelled).

Daybreak is less a video game developer at this point and more a retirement home for video games that keeps games that certainly would have been cancelled by now otherwise alive. Its kind of playable musuem.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Its amazing that EQ and EQ2 are still around. Never played them, but I looked into the lore.

EQ is 25 years old, seriously a active 90s game that still gera updates.

DDO is owned by the same company, Daybreak, and its 18 years old. LotR and DC Online as well. Magic the Gathering Online (the only none MtG Arena video game not to have been cancalled at this point, Spellslingers just got cancelled).

Daybreak is less a video game developer at this point and more a retirement home for video games that keeps games that certainly would have been cancelled by now otherwise alive. Its kind of playable musuem.

Not to mention Project 1999 which is the only real way to play classic EQ. I love hopping back in for a bit of the nostalgia now and again.

Not to mention setting up a private server and making my self invincible (etc) so I can wander around freely.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The most important thing to make D&D feel like EverQuest is to be absolutely draconian about the encumbrance rules, especially monitoring the weight of every coin adventurers pick up.

 

[Seramus]

The most important thing to make D&D feel like EverQuest is to be absolutely draconian about the encumbrance rules, especially monitoring the weight of every coin adventurers pick up.

Everyone sits on the ground to increase their healing and mana regeneration.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Everyone sits on the ground to increase their healing and mana regeneration.

Isn't that a short rest?