D&D 4E Convert Forge of Fury to 4e

[soggybag]

I want to convert Forge of Fury to 4e. I'll looking for some suggestions.

Looking through the MM there are a good selection of monsters at various levels. But a few things are missing.

The first encounter, if you are familiar with FoF, has some Orcs at the gate and some other Orcs with Bows. There doesn't seem to be Orc artillery listed in the MM. I was thinking about using the Hobgoblin Archer as a substitute. It seems in 4e to just give someone a bow is not as easy as it was in 3.5.

Also, thinking about the last encounter with the Black Dragon. The MM lists a Young Black Dragon Level 4 Solo Lurker. Which seems a little too weak, if the characters get to 5th level at the end of the game. Event if they are 4th level. This might not be enough for a good climactic battle.

 

[Krensus]

The Orc raider has a fine ranged attack that can ignore concealment within a few squares if I recall correctly. I would use those for some of the orcs, but a hobgoblin archer is a deceptively strong artillery for a 3rd level mob, especially attacking from an advantaged position. Depending on the level of the characters initially, I'd probably use a mix of raiders and one or 2 of the hobgoblins as leaders somewhat.

Secondly, I wouldn't underestimate the black dragon's darkness ability. With an already beefy AC coupled with total concealment, he could be pretty hard to hit. His damage is weak, but he has an excellent chance to hit while attacking blind characters and his breath weapon debuff. If you're going to do anything to it, maybe buff his hit points, but honestly I'm not sure that level 5 PCs will have an easy time hitting him, leading to a long, boring fight.

 

[soggybag]

Thanks for the reply.

The problem I had was with the Orc Raider's ranged attack was that it was a hand axe. I saw a problem with throwing these through the arrow slits. I guess you could take this attack and just call it shortbow.

The Young Black Dragon does look pretty tough. It's listed as a Level 4 lurker. Going by the DMG, one would make an easy encounter. It will probably get a boost working in it's lair. I'm just worried if it's too easy the last battle of the game will be a little anticlimactic.

 

[malraux]

The Young Black Dragon does look pretty tough. It's listed as a Level 4 lurker. Going by the DMG, one would make an easy encounter. It will probably get a boost working in it's lair. I'm just worried if it's too easy the last battle of the game will be a little anticlimactic.

I would bump him up to party level, but no more. The party has almost no warning there is a dragon there, and little way to engage her directly. Also, Nightscale has effectively either traps or hazards around her lair that should factor into the XP budget: the collapsing bridge, the current in the water. Those dynamic terrain elements can make it more than just a slug fest, and probably should be expanded for the 4e conversion, rather than just fiddling with Nightscale's level.

 

[soggybag]

I need to set up an encounter with some troglodytes. The trogs given in the MM are a bit too tough for the level of the party at this point. The weakest trog, the Mauler, is level 6 soldier. The Party should be 4th level at this point. So I need a 2nd to 4th level encounter.

Two maulers makes 500 xp. Which sounds like an easy encounter. But, the AC of 22 and 74 hp makes them a tougher proposition for a 4th level party.

I figure I have two options, either find a substitute or modify the Mauler.

 

[malraux]

I need to set up an encounter with some troglodytes. The trogs given in the MM are a bit too tough for the level of the party at this point. The weakest trog, the Mauler, is level 6 soldier. The Party should be 4th level at this point. So I need a 2nd to 4th level encounter.

Two maulers makes 500 xp. Which sounds like an easy encounter. But, the AC of 22 and 74 hp makes them a tougher proposition for a 4th level party.

I figure I have two options, either find a substitute or modify the Mauler.

Don't forget the leveling/de-leveling rules. +/- 1/level to defenses and attacks, +/- 0.5/level to damage, adjust HP according to the chart.

so:


Troglodyte Mauler Level 4 Soldier
Medium natural humanoid (reptile) XP whatever
Initiative +6 Senses Perception +5; darkvision
Troglodyte Stench aura 1; living enemies in the aura take a -2 penalty to attack rolls.
HP 58; Bloodied 29
AC 20; Fortitude 19, Reflex 16, Will 17
Speed 5
Greatclub (Standard, at-will) Weapon
+10 vs Armor Class; 2d4+3 damage, and the target is marked until the end of the troglodyte mauler’s next turn.
etc...

 

[the-golem]

Has anyone done a hard-core conversion of this, with the monster changes documented?

By the way, you could use the Moster Creator tool from the WotC website to alter the monsters however you wish.

 

[KarinsDad]

If you want a given level artillery, go to the back of the Monster Manual or MM 2 and grab an artillery monster for that level (or one up or one down), check it out, and if it is close enough to what you want, reskin it as an Orc and use it.

Alternatively, give one of the Orc Raiders in the MM a longbow (or a shortbow, whatever). Bows do D10 damage, so instead of using the +7 to hit D6+3 handaxe, you could use a +6 D10+2 bow. The Orc will average about the same amount of damage. You could follow the actual proficiency and dex rules on bows, but that would make the bow +5 D10+2 bow and that does bring the average damage of the Orc down a bit.


Ditto for the Trogs. Use the rules to make them weaker, or reskin another monster for them and add the Stench Aura to it.

 

[Klaus]

I want to convert Forge of Fury to 4e. I'll looking for some suggestions.

Looking through the MM there are a good selection of monsters at various levels. But a few things are missing.

The first encounter, if you are familiar with FoF, has some Orcs at the gate and some other Orcs with Bows. There doesn't seem to be Orc artillery listed in the MM. I was thinking about using the Hobgoblin Archer as a substitute. It seems in 4e to just give someone a bow is not as easy as it was in 3.5.

Also, thinking about the last encounter with the Black Dragon. The MM lists a Young Black Dragon Level 4 Solo Lurker. Which seems a little too weak, if the characters get to 5th level at the end of the game. Event if they are 4th level. This might not be enough for a good climactic battle.

Do a reverse-thinking: pick the end monster you want to replace Nightscale, and work back the levels.

So a Young Black Dragon is a Level 4 Solo Lurker. Factor in a couple of levels of advancement and you get Level 2 at the entrance. But maybe you want a Deep Dragon, or a Gray Dragon (turning the Forge into an inactive volcano and the lake into a bubbling acidic lake)? If you aim at a Level 7 final fight, you can have a start at level 4 or 5.