LabyrinthLord718
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D&D 5E A helpful guide for converting older edition monsters to 5e
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LabyrinthLord718
Explorer
Sorry about the dummy OP, but the formatting is all wacky when posting a new thread on iPad on this forum for some reason.
Anyway:
I have been converting the classic module I3, Pharoah, to 5e and have been having issues getting the CRs set up just right. One of the reasons is, of course, the fact that 1e predates the CR system and hit dice + special abilities was the general way to determine a monster's challenge level against a party of level X.
When I started comparing apples to apples, however, even from 3.5 to 5e, monster stats vary pretty widely now due to bounded accuracy and the CR-by-Braile method of 5e. I thought it would be helpful, though to see if there was any general correlation in the Monster Manual between CR and Hit Dice. I could then use that to ballpark the CR of 1e monsters as well as have a guideline for incasing hit points.
So, I combed through the Monster Manual front to back and made a spread sheet that noted each entry and its Hit Dice relative to CR. I was surprised to find this to be relatively consistent regardless of the actual die type, though MOST monsters have bonuses added to their HP.
For example, the Sandman from the 1e Fiend Folio has 4 HD and listed in the module as having around 12hp on average. By using this data I can convert the Sandman this way:
The closest average to the Sandman's HD in the 5e Monster Manual would be either a CR0 (3.5 HD on average) or CR1 (5 HD on average).
Looking at the DMG, and converting the Sandman's descending AC to ascending, this puts him pretty much right where he belongs.
It's not foolproof, but it helps me have a real compass point to get the monsters and NPCs faithfully converted.
Alternatively, if I wanted the Sandman to be a real challenge to an APL 5 party, I could increase its CR to 4 and using the average from the Monster Manual, see that its Hit Dice would increase from 4 to 11!
Anyway:
I have been converting the classic module I3, Pharoah, to 5e and have been having issues getting the CRs set up just right. One of the reasons is, of course, the fact that 1e predates the CR system and hit dice + special abilities was the general way to determine a monster's challenge level against a party of level X.
When I started comparing apples to apples, however, even from 3.5 to 5e, monster stats vary pretty widely now due to bounded accuracy and the CR-by-Braile method of 5e. I thought it would be helpful, though to see if there was any general correlation in the Monster Manual between CR and Hit Dice. I could then use that to ballpark the CR of 1e monsters as well as have a guideline for incasing hit points.
So, I combed through the Monster Manual front to back and made a spread sheet that noted each entry and its Hit Dice relative to CR. I was surprised to find this to be relatively consistent regardless of the actual die type, though MOST monsters have bonuses added to their HP.
For example, the Sandman from the 1e Fiend Folio has 4 HD and listed in the module as having around 12hp on average. By using this data I can convert the Sandman this way:
The closest average to the Sandman's HD in the 5e Monster Manual would be either a CR0 (3.5 HD on average) or CR1 (5 HD on average).
Looking at the DMG, and converting the Sandman's descending AC to ascending, this puts him pretty much right where he belongs.
It's not foolproof, but it helps me have a real compass point to get the monsters and NPCs faithfully converted.
Alternatively, if I wanted the Sandman to be a real challenge to an APL 5 party, I could increase its CR to 4 and using the average from the Monster Manual, see that its Hit Dice would increase from 4 to 11!
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