City of the Spider Queen: Any experience?

[Dark Jezter]

Any idea where these can be found?

They're not official conversion notes. Rather, they were created by fans to make the module fully 3.5 compatable by altering encounters to take into account some of the changes 3.5 made to the CR of certain monsters (for example, in 3.0 Balors are a CR 18 monster, but in 3.5 they're a CR 20 monster), and other minor changes.

I can't remember where the CotSQ 3.5 conversion can be found. You might want to look around the Conversions sub-forum under the Rules forum.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

3.5 Conversion for CotSQ

Hello,

I started a conversion thread over on the WotC FR Boards that has covered quite a bit of the adventure.

The first couple pages are somewhat random in terms of organization and what portions of the adventure are converted, but the last two pages are pretty well organized and easy to reference.

The thread can be found HERE.

 

[poilbrun]

Thanks a lot for the great feedback! Now, to address some of the points raised:

- The need for a cleric sucks a bit, since there is only a Mystic Theurge in the group. The rogue is covered, though.
- The fact that it's combat heavy isn't a problem, my players are asking me to start doing dungeons again. The first adventure (from level 1 to 3) was a dungeon, but there has been none since. The next one is more or less a dungeon, but hey!, I'll give them what they ask for!
- Thanks for the link to the Wizards board. I'll take a look at the conversion notes later today. I'll also try and dig in the EN World conversion forums and see if there's anything there!

Thanks, and keep'em coming!

 

[poilbrun]

In case someone else needs it, here is the link to a thread in the conversions forum: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=72636

 

[GlassJaw]

City of the Spider Queen is a very combat-heavy module, but I don't mind, since I like combat-heavy campaigns.

This is key for those thinking about running the CotSQ. If you don't like uber-dungeons, stay away, far, far away. There is very little, if any, role-playing contained within its pages. I like a good battle as much as the next guy but with CotSQ, it felt never-ending (although not as bad as RttToEE, if you can believe it).

 

[Gregor]

****spoilers in this reply****


Playing this module in 3.5 will significantly lower the power of certain encounters. Specifically, alot (if not all) of the Drow Wizards use the ol' Haste + (insert spell here) and then whip 2 Lightning Bolts at you in the next round. Needless to say there are a crap load of wizards to fight. 3.5 will remove the double lightning bolt trick so you'll need to come up with some new tactics.

However, some of the encounters - even in 3.5 - will seriously tax your PCs unless they fight as a well-oiled machine. I found the fight with the fiendish huge spider and the war party a tough one...the poison DC was something ungodly.

Anyway, what I am trying to get at is that be careful with this module if your players LOVE their characters...they may lose a few.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Loss of Haste/Lack of Roleplaying opportunities in CotSQ

Hello

This is key for those thinking about running the CotSQ. If you don't like uber-dungeons, stay away, far, far away. There is very little, if any, role-playing contained within its pages.

While it’s true the adventure isn’t exactly written with a lot of built in social encounters, I’ve found that (when I ran it) there were plenty of roleplaying opportunities to be had, even for goody-goody Paladin and Cleric types.

Which is to say the more personality the DM puts into certain NPCs (such as Duneth Whaeril and the members of The Hidden, to name a few), the more likely it is the PCs will have a chance to parlay and even resolve encounters without combat.

Sometimes it’s not a good idea for a DM to always have NPCs (even Drow) automatically attack PCs whenever they find them (esp. in a combat, combat and more combat type adventure).

3.5 will remove the double lightning bolt trick so you'll need to come up with some new tactics.

Ray of Enfeeblement works wonders, particularly in the later stages of the adventure where PCs are likely to face multiple Arcane Foes and the “conditions” of the campaign environment are favorable to this type of spell.

The various no-save, area effect condition inflictors (such as Waves of Fatigue and Exhaustion) also go a long way towards weakening PCs and evening the battlefield, so that one spell per turn casters have a better chance at killing off PCs.

 

[HellHound]

Thanks for this great thread. My underdark campaign is at level 6 now, and I just picked up this module and am preparing to spring it on the players around level 11, probably just after they discover the long-burried spaceship that some might remember from an Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.

 

[fourthmensch]

In case someone else needs it, here is the link to a thread in the conversions forum: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=72636

I started a conversion thread over on the WotC FR Boards that has covered quite a bit of the adventure.

The thread can be found HERE.

Thanks for the pointers, fellas!