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<blockquote data-quote="touc" data-source="post: 7408520" data-attributes="member: 19270"><p>Very doable. I ran a campaign to 7th level based off the original <em>Pool of Radiance</em> computer game. Coincidentally, I used the Baldur's Gate 5E mini-adventure's ambush of a public official to kick off my campaign and get the party involved with the political players in the area. </p><p></p><p><strong>Major fixes:</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Maps.</strong> The original Gold Box games used a 16x16 grid for area maps. While a few could be salvaged, I made heavy use of both <strong>maps of the week </strong>and old maps from stuff I never ran. Dragon Magazine or old issues of Dungeon Magazine great resources. </p><p></p><p><strong>Treasure.</strong> Random rolls or preset treasure? We went random and I had the players roll after a boss/lair battle, with a few presets tossed in.</p><p></p><p><strong>Tone down the combat & XP.</strong> Computer games obviously have you fighting enough to depopulate most areas. But, in PoR, the city is swarming with monsters and you're clearing block by block. So, I opted for milestone XP (liberate X areas, gain a level). This is probably the most difficult part of conversion. This is where the DMG comes in handy for developing the adventuring day. I knew my BBEG was designed for a party of 7th level characters. Too low or high and it's a problem. [<em>And XP remains a problem for pre-fab modules, which rely on random encounter XP.</em>]</p><p></p><p><strong>Where's the role play.</strong> In many computer games, the dialog often doesn't matter and you're locked into responses A-D. But players will go off the rails, do something that doesn't fit. Be ready to adapt and don't follow the game scripts. For example, in PoR, there's a wilderness encounter where the party meets nomads and helps them defend against a kobold horde. It's scripted in the game. But, what if the party feels Barbarian nomads are just as bad for trade in the area as kobolds and works against both? Ensure your story-line can survive variations from the scripted material.</p><p></p><p><strong>Don't let the NPCs rule the game.</strong> In a computer game, Elminster or Drizz't pop in. Don't. Remove them from the game. They detract from the party's role of being awesome by suggesting if the NPC had time, they could handle things because they're much more awesome.</p><p></p><p><strong>Minor Stuff:</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Behind the scene plots.</strong> I had to script my timelines for PoR. Since there was an accompanying book, I read that and the game, and developed a timeline for activity (e.g. after party attempts to clear the gnoll temple, this happens).</p><p></p><p><strong>Too many side quests.</strong> Computer games are notorious for fetch quests. Make sure all your quests are meaningful. For example, an optional quest the party liked quite a bit involved sneaking into a monster auction of a powerful magic item. That's good stuff: subterfuge, intelligence gathering (or, if they're really really clever, combat). That's a keeper. </p><p></p><p><strong>Game Journals/Lore.</strong> The old Gold Box had some decent journal entries. If you replay the game, even ones without a print journal, you can find some good dialog/quotes/lore. A select number became handouts.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="touc, post: 7408520, member: 19270"] Very doable. I ran a campaign to 7th level based off the original [I]Pool of Radiance[/I] computer game. Coincidentally, I used the Baldur's Gate 5E mini-adventure's ambush of a public official to kick off my campaign and get the party involved with the political players in the area. [B]Major fixes:[/B] [B]Maps.[/B] The original Gold Box games used a 16x16 grid for area maps. While a few could be salvaged, I made heavy use of both [B]maps of the week [/B]and old maps from stuff I never ran. Dragon Magazine or old issues of Dungeon Magazine great resources. [B]Treasure.[/B] Random rolls or preset treasure? We went random and I had the players roll after a boss/lair battle, with a few presets tossed in. [B]Tone down the combat & XP.[/B] Computer games obviously have you fighting enough to depopulate most areas. But, in PoR, the city is swarming with monsters and you're clearing block by block. So, I opted for milestone XP (liberate X areas, gain a level). This is probably the most difficult part of conversion. This is where the DMG comes in handy for developing the adventuring day. I knew my BBEG was designed for a party of 7th level characters. Too low or high and it's a problem. [[I]And XP remains a problem for pre-fab modules, which rely on random encounter XP.[/I]] [B]Where's the role play.[/B] In many computer games, the dialog often doesn't matter and you're locked into responses A-D. But players will go off the rails, do something that doesn't fit. Be ready to adapt and don't follow the game scripts. For example, in PoR, there's a wilderness encounter where the party meets nomads and helps them defend against a kobold horde. It's scripted in the game. But, what if the party feels Barbarian nomads are just as bad for trade in the area as kobolds and works against both? Ensure your story-line can survive variations from the scripted material. [B]Don't let the NPCs rule the game.[/B] In a computer game, Elminster or Drizz't pop in. Don't. Remove them from the game. They detract from the party's role of being awesome by suggesting if the NPC had time, they could handle things because they're much more awesome. [B]Minor Stuff:[/B] [B] Behind the scene plots.[/B] I had to script my timelines for PoR. Since there was an accompanying book, I read that and the game, and developed a timeline for activity (e.g. after party attempts to clear the gnoll temple, this happens). [B]Too many side quests.[/B] Computer games are notorious for fetch quests. Make sure all your quests are meaningful. For example, an optional quest the party liked quite a bit involved sneaking into a monster auction of a powerful magic item. That's good stuff: subterfuge, intelligence gathering (or, if they're really really clever, combat). That's a keeper. [B]Game Journals/Lore.[/B] The old Gold Box had some decent journal entries. If you replay the game, even ones without a print journal, you can find some good dialog/quotes/lore. A select number became handouts. [/QUOTE]
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