D&D 3E/3.5 1e, 2e, 3/3.5e or 4e to 5e Conversion guidelines?

[Manbearcat]

A lot has been said lately about how little new material is available for 5e and how WotC will not be publishing as much as some people may want. Also that the best option that we have is to rely on the material from previous editions by converting it "easily" to 5e (or to create your own, which is what the 5e´s DMG seems to be all about).

I haven't made any attempt to convert anything so I have no real reference about it. Without taking a deeper look it sounds more simple to convert from 3/3.5/4e to 5e because they are all d20 system and therefore more similar, requiring less conversion. Is this correct?

Are there any guidelines to convert from 1e, 2e, 3/3.5e or 4e to 5e? If this has been asked/answered before please point me in the right direction so I can find it.

Thanks in advance!!!

Hmmmm...

1e:

* Gold for xp.
* Melee needs to be more sticky by itself.
* Brutal SoD traps and magic.
* Non-proficient saves need to scale pretty near to the proficient ones (especially for fighters).
* Warrior classes need to be able to cut through piles of mooks rather than being vulnerable to them.
* All monsters need to be a hell of a lot more dangerous.
* Lessen the impact of HD on the game.
* Roll initiative each round/phases.
* Thieves and Monks need to be nerfed. Then again. Then again. Maybe one more time for good measure.

2e

Everything in 1e except Gold for xp and no Monks. Also...

* Demons and Devils need to be named Bobs and Larries (or something equivalent).
* 50 more elven subraces.
* Use the speed factor stuff.
* Lots of DMPCs.
* The PCs need to be tourists as they take in the DM's rendering of their favorite setting.
* Lots of DM force and random stuff to keep the whole thing together.

3.x

* Melee needs to be filled with quick-set cement.
* Get rid of Concentration and give the Wizard more spells and higher DCs.
* Probably split up Backgrounds to individual "Proficiency Points" that players can spend as Skill Points.
* Going to have to figure out a magic item economy.
* Trade Hit Dice for Wands of Cure Light Wounds.

4e

...errr yeah...this big tent ain't big enough for all of us. Go play your heretical not-D&D elsewhere.

 

[Uller]

I'm converting T1-4 (a bit ahead of the players) from the 1E compilation to 5E.

Monsters are being replaced with the 5E versions. Even numbers of monsters are being kept the same, though 9 Gnolls in the Moathouse Dungeon level was close to TPK. Other than that, the balance seems to be about right.

Minor NPC's can be taken from the section at the back of the DMG. Casters might need to be adjusted here and there (spell selection might need to be adjusted, for example), but again, what's out there is pretty good.

So far, I've found it to be fairly painless.

I think as levels get higher it might not be so seamless. I ran G1 for my kids. 5e giants are MUCH tougher than 1e giants and had to scale things down considerably.

 

[Mistwell]

This looks great. I just quickly perused the BECMI document and I noticed that you may have overlooked that in Holmes stat-blocks sometimes include a Dex score. Keep on the Borderlands is an example.

I'm sorry I should have noted that I did not make those, I just saw them posted somewhere by someone else. I should have given credit to the author, but I am not sure who the author is (maybe someone else knows)?

 

[designbot]

Check out Stan Shinn's conversion tools:

http://stanshinn.com/dnd-5e-resources/

 

[Jaracove]

This looks great. I just quickly perused the BECMI document and I noticed that you may have overlooked that in Holmes stat-blocks sometimes include a Dex score. Keep on the Borderlands is an example.

Exactly how I'm doing it

About the only real pain is converting npcs like Elmo the Ranger to 5ed. He's 4th level, and whilst I could just eyeball it all, it feels wrong not to give him his special ranger features from the 5ed book.

Ditto with clerics, etc

EDIT: Oh, and I also tone down the magic/coin a lot too! I think Mr Gygax must have written the magic sections when drunk at Christmas time Too generous by a lot

 

[Tony Vargas]

I second this. General rule of thumb: attempt to write a prose description of the monster or character in question. Do not fret overmuch about exact numbers, because exact numbers cannot translate. Instead, focus on (a) core concept in the more general "what effects do you achieve" way not the "specific named abilities" way, (b) any mechanics that have clear parallels (e.g. multiclassing is almost the same in 3e and 5e), and (c) approximate/relative position within the overall structure.

For characters in particular, part of this will always mean making a compromise between what you used to be able to do, what you want it to feel like, and what the 5e system allows. Some things are just impossible, I'm sure. Some things are "possible," if you're willing to accept a heavy re-definition of what they are. Some things are easier to do than they were in 3e, like the Eldritch Knight, though they often don't do exactly the same thing, either.

That said, though, it sounds like your questions revolve more around converting adventure material, DM-side stuff. Unfortunately, I'm not gonna be any help answering questions there; I'm no DM.

I was thinking DM converting settings and adventures.

From the player (or NPC conversion) side, I'd echo what you had to say, and focus even more on concept over class or build. Think about the concept you started with before you build the character in an earlier edition, and work toward that concept. If for instance, your concept was a erudite mystic who practices both theurgy and thaumaturgy, you'll find it a easier to just MC Wizard/Cleric (w/Sage background) in 5e, than to go Mystic Theurge with ranks in knowledges in 3.5 or hybrid Wizard|Invoker (w/Scholar background) in 4e, let alone break classic D&D multi-classing rules to get there.

Because if you focus on re-creating a build, like a 3.5 Gattling-Gun Chain Tripper or 4e Lazy Warlord, you're going to come up short.

 

[JEB]

I'm sorry I should have noted that I did not make those, I just saw them posted somewhere by someone else. I should have given credit to the author, but I am not sure who the author is (maybe someone else knows)?

That's me. I suppose I ought to have put my name on there somewhere... I appreciate the mention!

I will note, I've had some updates on pause while I work on stuff for my campaign, getting some better conversions for the numbers... we'll see if they're out before the official guidelines are ready.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

.. we'll see if they're out before the official guidelines are ready.

I predict 4 months or less until the official guidelines.

 

[meomwt]

I'm converting T1-4 (a bit ahead of the players) from the 1E compilation to 5E.

Monsters are being replaced with the 5E versions. Even numbers of monsters are being kept the same, though 9 Gnolls in the Moathouse Dungeon level was close to TPK. Other than that, the balance seems to be about right.

I'm curious, how many PCs did you have in the party and what were their levels when they took on those nine gnolls?

Sorry for the delay in replying, I haven't been on the internet much at the weekend.

I think that the Gnolls combat was while the party was at Third Level. I'd need to check me combat notes, but I suspect that there were only five in the party that night (we have six regular players, but it seems that in most cases, we only get five on any one night!) - cleric (home-brew Diplomacy Domain), fighter (Champion), Bladelock, Wizard (Diviner) and Rogue (Assassin). If we did have all six, the last was a Trickery Domain Cleric.

 

[the Jester]

mostly good stuff

4e

...errr yeah...this big tent ain't big enough for all of us. Go play your heretical not-D&D elsewhere.

Dude. Can we not start edition warring?

I'll speak to the ease of conversion of 4e material- you have to be willing to go back to basics with it. You don't need to convert each power a monster had, just the monster's concept. Once in a while a special ability might convert over; that's cool, but too many ingredients spoil a dish, if you get my meaning.

I've done several 4e powers and rituals, too; again, it's more work than the material from 1e, 2e or 3e and you have to basically do at least a partial rewrite, but it's pretty easy if you have a good sense of how powerful a spell of a given level ought to be. Look at the spells like hunger of Hadar that made it from 4e to 5e for examples of how to convert them. I've done probably a couple hundred magic items, too, and those are often problematic, too, requiring a near-total rewrite (since so many items gave powers or properties that were variants of each other, many were tied to 4e-specific mechanics, etc). But it's not that hard; just be creative, approach it from a "what does this look like in the world, and how do I translate that into 5e?" perspective and be willing to do a little work.

As for adventures, the first published adventure I'm using in 5e is 4e's Thunderspire Labyrinth, which I'm changing a great deal but plan on using as many of the encounters as close to as-is as is practicable.