Classic D&D Canon in Xen'drik

[Pale Master]

I'm starting work on a new campaign. I'm trying to do the "classic" canon D&D modules in Xen'drik, with Stormreach as the home base.

My canon may be different from yours, but I will definitely be including B2 (KotB), at least one G module (Glacial Rift is my favorite), D1-2 (Descent), at least one Slavers module, and at least one S-module (probably Tsojcanth).

Has anyone tried this? Any thoughts / ideas / suggestions? Especially with regard to shoehorning the default Greyhawk setting elements into Xen'drik. Suggestions as to which modules I should run are also appreciated.

EDIT: Isle of Dread and Dwellers of the Forbidden City, I know. So obvious I forgot to mention them.

 

[jdrakeh]

I'm a little confused, as you seem to be taking modules from two other settings here -- Greyhawk (exclusively an Original D&D / AD&D setting) and Mystara (the official Classic D&D setting). Isle of Dread, for example, is a Mystara (i.e., Known World) adventure, as is Keep on the Borderlands while stuff like the Slavers modules are all Greyhawk.

Which setting is it that you're trying to import canon from -- or are you trying to import from both? If the latter is the case, I wouldn't worry too much about staying true to canon, as you'll already be mincing it three different ways -- just choose what you think is cool and go with it. In that light, I'd recommend Castle Amber as a good fit for the weird wilds of Xen'drik.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

I think he wants advice of where to place and how to plan to run classic modules in the Xen'drik setting.

 

[WayneLigon]

I've actually batted around the idea of using the Giants series in Xen'drick, but of course you'd want to adjust the encounter sizes; no way a six-man group of even 15th level people could face something like Snurr's hall throne room in 3E.

As to where to place them, it honestly doesn't matter. There can be ice-capped mountains in the middle of jungles, desert in the middle of ice terrain, etc, due to the magical apocalypse Xen'drick went through.

 

[jdrakeh]

I think he wants advice of where to place and how to plan to run classic modules in the Xen'drik setting.

Yeah, but he specifically mentioned wanting to capture the Greyhawk feel. . . which will be difficult to do (IME) with non-Greyhawk modules. So I wanted to know which was more important -- using old modules or porting window dressing from Greyhawk.

 

[hopeless]

Classics in Xendrik

I'm starting work on a new campaign. I'm trying to do the "classic" canon D&D modules in Xen'drik, with Stormreach as the home base.

My canon may be different from yours, but I will definitely be including B2 (KotB), at least one G module (Glacial Rift is my favorite), D1-2 (Descent), at least one Slavers module, and at least one S-module (probably Tsojcanth).

Has anyone tried this? Any thoughts / ideas / suggestions? Especially with regard to shoehorning the default Greyhawk setting elements into Xen'drik. Suggestions as to which modules I should run are also appreciated.

EDIT: Isle of Dread and Dwellers of the Forbidden City, I know. So obvious I forgot to mention them.

I can see the Keep on the borderland working, descent might work but you'd have to amend it because the drow are different in eberron, slavers will certainly work but who will they be based on?
Sarlona? who else deals in slavery?

Isle of dread, yes on an island near Xendrik or perhaps Argonessen...
The glacier one might be tough though unless you meant against the giants... now that would be an interesting series of scenarios to play...

Let us know what develops if you don't mind.

 

[Walt C]

I'm a little confused, as you seem to be taking modules from two other settings here -- Greyhawk (exclusively an Original D&D / AD&D setting) and Mystara (the official Classic D&D setting). Isle of Dread, for example, is a Mystara (i.e., Known World) adventure, as is Keep on the Borderlands while stuff like the Slavers modules are all Greyhawk.

Oddly enough, based on a topic I saw in the Green Ronin forums, I just learned today that a Dungeon Mag adventure path recently placed the Isle of Dread in Greyhawk.

Walt

 

[Pale Master]

So I wanted to know which was more important -- using old modules or porting window dressing from Greyhawk.

When I talk about the Greyhawk feel, I mean, essentially, old-school, dungeon-crawling. As distinct from, say, the Planescape feel or the Dark Sun feel. So I'm not concerned about specific setting elements as much as the general concept of the adventures. And by "canon" I mean the modules that are considered essential to D&D (like the "Western Canon" includes the Iliad, the Odyssey, Beowulf, etc.). My inspiration was the Age of Worms arc, which was intentionally designed to be a sort of quintessential D&D experience. I'm looking to do something similar, by an unholy fusion of the old modules and the new setting.

I've been working on converting Keep on the Borderlands as my first module. There are several good 1st-level adventures (T1 and B4!) so it was a tough choice. Stormreach is known as the "City of Dungeons" so I conceive of the Caves of Chaos being deep in the sewers / catacombs or on the outskirts of town; they are infested with daelkyr-spawn and cultists. So instead of goblins we have dolgrims, hobgoblins become dolgaunts, the gnoll cave is full of grimlocks, the Shrine of Evil Chaos is a shrine to Khyber, etc.

I like the idea of using the Sarlonans - psionic slavers is a great twist on a classic module, and the Cavelings in A2 could easily be some sort of quori-vessel experiment gone awry.

I know Isle of Dread was in Mystara, but really that can go anywhere. Not a difficult port compared to, say, Dragons of Spring Dawning. It's really a fairly perfect module for Eberron anyway, the kopru are practically quori or daelkyr already.

Since Eberron drow are so different from Greyhawk (/Forgotten Realms) drow, is there any race that might serve the same role as the drow in GDQ? Derro maybe? I always loved those little guys.

My preliminary sketch of the sequence is something like: Keep on the Borderlands to Isle of Dread to [Something] to Slavers Stockade to [Something] to [one or more G-series] to D1, and thereafter I'm clueless. There are so many good low - and mid- level mods but few high level ones.

I'm not adverse to mixing in new adventures if they're quality. The latter parts of City of the Spider Queen would fit well on the end of D1 (At least I think so), but is that too Realms-y to be on Eberron?

 

[Deekin]

When I talk about the Greyhawk feel, I mean, essentially, old-school, dungeon-crawling. As distinct from, say, the Planescape feel or the Dark Sun feel. So I'm not concerned about specific setting elements as much as the general concept of the adventures. And by "canon" I mean the modules that are considered essential to D&D (like the "Western Canon" includes the Iliad, the Odyssey, Beowulf, etc.). My inspiration was the Age of Worms arc, which was intentionally designed to be a sort of quintessential D&D experience. I'm looking to do something similar, by an unholy fusion of the old modules and the new setting.

I've been working on converting Keep on the Borderlands as my first module. There are several good 1st-level adventures (T1 and B4!) so it was a tough choice. Stormreach is known as the "City of Dungeons" so I conceive of the Caves of Chaos being deep in the sewers / catacombs or on the outskirts of town; they are infested with daelkyr-spawn and cultists. So instead of goblins we have dolgrims, hobgoblins become dolgaunts, the gnoll cave is full of grimlocks, the Shrine of Evil Chaos is a shrine to Khyber, etc.

I like the idea of using the Sarlonans - psionic slavers is a great twist on a classic module, and the Cavelings in A2 could easily be some sort of quori-vessel experiment gone awry.

I know Isle of Dread was in Mystara, but really that can go anywhere. Not a difficult port compared to, say, Dragons of Spring Dawning. It's really a fairly perfect module for Eberron anyway, the kopru are practically quori or daelkyr already.

Since Eberron drow are so different from Greyhawk (/Forgotten Realms) drow, is there any race that might serve the same role as the drow in GDQ? Derro maybe? I always loved those little guys.

My preliminary sketch of the sequence is something like: Keep on the Borderlands to Isle of Dread to [Something] to Slavers Stockade to [Something] to [one or more G-series] to D1, and thereafter I'm clueless. There are so many good low - and mid- level mods but few high level ones.

I'm not adverse to mixing in new adventures if they're quality. The latter parts of City of the Spider Queen would fit well on the end of D1 (At least I think so), but is that too Realms-y to be on Eberron?

City of the Spider Queen is way too Realms for Eberron. 1. No Lolth. 2. Drow are shadowlinked elves. 3. No gods.

The only problem I see is the Sarloian slavers. THe inspired don't have slaves, they have 1984 brain-washed serfs.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Since Eberron drow are so different from Greyhawk (/Forgotten Realms) drow, is there any race that might serve the same role as the drow in GDQ? Derro maybe? I always loved those little guys.

I don't recall too many specifics about the GDQ series (something about the Drow manipulating the Giants to war against humans, wasn't it?), but it seems to me, given the relationship between Giants and Drow in Xen'drik that it wouldn't require too much work to change around. Obviously when you get to Vault of the Drow you'd have to make some changes, but that seems like the most you'd have to do.

Alternately, you could reverse the situation- have the Giants manipulating the Drow. Which might make more sense from a purely mechanical perspective (ie, relative power levels in 3E).