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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Saracenus" data-source="post: 5581935" data-attributes="member: 47839">Rodney Thompson talks about converting the 3rd Edition Dungeon adventure <a href="http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dun/adaptinglqb" target="_blank">The Lich-Queen's Beloved</a> (Behind the DDI paywall).He wanted to give his 4th Edition group some 3e encounter design sensibility and see what it would do to their play. He tried to stay true to Chris Perkins original design as much as possible (deadly traps, magical effects, and encounters built outside the standard 4e design principles).The effects where surprising to him (probably not to a bunch of folks here) and will probably influence his design ideas for the game in the future.His take away:1) The overall experience was positive for both DM and Players.2) Players relearned skills from previous editions, "such as the caution they began exercising after they started running into things they couldn’t overpower."3) "[He] resisted the temptation to provide ways around problems. This decision ran counter to my usual style of adventure design, in which a character overcame a noncombat test by making a skill check or passing a skill challenge. As soon as the players saw that they couldn’t just make a skill check to design a spell to counter whispers of the damned, they realized that they needed to become more creative. The way they rose to the occasion made me realize that I had underestimated them when I designed my old adventures."4) While making encounters hard on the players made them get sneaky, some judicious use of "easy" encounters, for example, 2 to 3 monsters that the party steamrolls were just as important. In the larger context of the overall adventure the party was still chipping away at their resources which made medium and hard encounters more challenging and meaningful.5) "[He] learned that exploration is essential to the classic Dungeons & Dragons feel, and that traps and hazards are more than set dressing—they constitute an important part of the exploration and discovery process. The weird doors in the Palace of Whispers aren’t just obstacles; they are something to investigate—dire entryways that reinforce the alien feel of the adventure’s setting.Included are some sample 4e monsters he converted from the original and there is a section on how to down convert it to 1e and 2e with example stats for Vlaakith (the lich-queen) in AD&D Monster Manual format.Also included is the original Chris Perkins adventure for comparison and conversion.Overall, an interesting read that I will keep on tap when I tackle converting The Temple of Elemental Evil this Summer for a home game.NOTE: Rodney's D&D Encounters adventure March of the Phantom Brigade lightly adapted some elements from Ghost Tower of Inverness.</blockquote>

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