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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BlackFalconKY" data-source="post: 1652029" data-attributes="member: 1890">Ran CotSQ During 3.0 to 3.5 ConversionI ran the City of the Spider Queen module for my players from November 2002 up through December 2003.  During this time, D&D went from 3.0 to 3.5, so I had the conversion of players and NPCs going on at the same time.  What I found was it was not that big of a deal.  However, here is why.When we started the campaign, my players were level 13.  Right out of the gate, I had to tweak NPCs to increase their CR and ELs.  I found out early on that a lot of the NPCs had some errors in them.  Saves would be wrong here, BAB wrong there, etc.  It was not a big deal really, but I ended up re-writing every NPC in the book.  Since I had to adjust their CR anyway, it didn't bother me.  For the minor NPCs, I'm not sure I would worry about converting them if you are running it at the recommended level.  Important NPCs I would do, but guards and sentries and such it really isn't worth your time.  You'll find a lot of monsters that you can pull right out of the SRD.  Some of the monsters presented in the book do not have a converted 3.5 version (arachnoid template, etc.).  You can get the latest Abyssal Ghoul and Quth-Maren stats from Fiend Folio.  Still 3.0 but closer to 3.5 than the ones in CotSQ.  Keep in mind monster changes that can have an impact.  There are several beholders in CotSQ.  Note that in 3.5 they cannot aim all eyes straight up.  In my campaign, we were still playing 3.0 when a character jumped on top of a beholder (in his defense, the player had never fought one before).  The outcome may be different nowadays.I would recommend you download the CotSQ web enhancement from WotC's site.  It has some good encounters in it.  The black dracolisk really ruined my party's day.  Also, be careful how you run the encounter with the fiendish kraken.  If you are ruling that the party is too deep underground to easily teleport to safety, recovering characters who are eaten is tricky at best.  The party paladin was eaten whole by the kraken, and it escaped to the depths of the Lake.  I then had to deal with several game sessions where half the party continued on toward the city of Maerimydra and the other half returned to the surface to purchase a true resurrection.  The kraken is very tough and can easily destroy several PCs, if not the whole party.  I would HIGHLY recommend you buy the FR Underdark book as well.  It came out just when we were wrapping up our Underdark travels.  I really, really wish I had that book at the beginning.  One of the biggest problems I found (and Underdark can help with this) is making the PCs feel they were underground, in the dark, in a cave, all the time.  Travel really became a chore at times, and there is a tremendous amount of travel in this adventure.  Now, my players were all first year players, so they walked the entire distance.  They never used speedy transportation spells.  They bought some lizards from the drow and away they went.  Early on role-playing can be tough.  Most of the time the party is alone in the dark.  Nasty Underdark monsters try to eat them from time to time.  RP chances come from drow and duergar encounters and whatnot.  My party is mostly a smash-and-grab style group, but even they had to do some RP to deal with the drow.  Once the party arrives in Maerimydra, there is a lot of RP potential.  In fact, I had to add in an entire sub-plot after the PCs got captured by the fire giants.  They fought for some time in arena matches until released by the giants and pressed into service of Kurgoth.  After that, they were off to try and get into Castle Maerimydra.  Finding safe places to rest is difficult.  Once inside the castle, it is all out war, and the party is going to take a beating.  The NPCs will intelligently defend the castle, and it is filled with very high level clerics, sorcerers, and wizards.  It is very hard for the PCs to maintain a hold within the castle, especially with the ghosts able to come and go as they please.  You may have to dish some DM leniency to get them through.  I am sure more than one party has met their end at the castle.  The only real problem we had in the whole adventure was the layout of the Undying Temple.  Study the map, study the map, study the map.  If you are not very prepared, it will confuse the crap out of you and your players.  Playing on a battlemat with the temple existing in two planes is arduous.  If I had to do it over, I'd use Tact-Tiles.  Anyway, embarking on this adventure is going to require a tremendous investment of time.  By the end of the adventure (which is only about two months or so in game time), the players (and their characters) were begging for sunlight and trees.  A year plus is a very long time for your players to be underground.  It wears on them.  In the end, we really enjoyed the adventure, and I'd run it for another group in a heartbeat.  If you are up for the challenge, it is worth playing.</blockquote>

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