Palace of the Silver Princess 5e Conversion

[Rhineglade]

Hi All,

I've been somewhat struggling with a conversion on the OOP Palace of the Silver Princess. Now for those not in the know, this concerns the GREEN cover version, not the older ORANGE cover.


Strictly speaking, this is just one of those classic adventures that I remembered from my child hood. There is certainly nothing extraordinary or special about it, but there was a sort of flow and innocence about it that I always think of with fondness. But since it was made with the basic rules in mind there are certain parts of the adventure that I am unsure about converting to 5e.

For the most part, it seems logical to simply do a monster-to-monster conversion. In instances where the encounter might be too tough, I just drop the total number of creatures involved.

What I'd like to know though is what do most DMs do when the monster as presented in the original adventure is simply not conducive to a low-level adventure in 5th edition D&D? Just leave it? Remove the encounter all together? Substitute the monster for something else?

I try to always keep things as true to the original as possible simply for sake of nostalgia but that is not always easy. Particularly, the yellow mold, the wight and even the ogre. That seems a bit tough for a 1st level game which is what I wanted to use it for.

Any suggestions?

 

[Patrick McGill]

This might muddy the water more than help, but I think it best to remember what the level ranges meant for the old books. When it says for characters level 1-3, it means that the adventure was built for characters that are 1, 2, or 3 from the beginning of the adventure rather than it is an adventure that will take level 1 characters to level 3, as is the way that is used on the 5th edition books.

The reason for this is because character classes leveled at different paces. A group of four folks that played the same number of sessions together would have a level 1 wizard, a level 2 fighter, and a level 3 rogue milling about in them since rogues level faster than wizards in the early edition. So when faced with the Ogre in this module you'd probably have a group of mixed levels facing it, which would make it less deadly for them than it would for a group of level 1 5e PCs.

My advice would be to have the PCs start at level 2 or 3 or else lower the HP of some of the crazier monsters if you're worried about it. My other advice would be to simply not worry about it and see how a party of level 1 characters figure out how to deal with an ogre.

 

[Riley37]

If a party of adventurers, starting at first level, encounters an ogre, can they retreat? can they deter or prevent the ogre from pursuing them? In my experience, caltrops work well for slowing pursuers; relevant first-level spells include Fog Cloud, Dissonant Whispers, and Command.

Are you OK with running the module with encounters which are lethal if the PCs just charge, and non-lethal if the PCs try something else?

"Learn how not to get your PC killed" is very 1E, IMO. I am playing in a new group, we all started at level 1, we encountered a wyrmling which had escaped from some kobolds, and it dropped two PCs with breath attack. Healing Word got one of those PCs back up, and he grabbed the other PC and ran away; we slammed the door behind him, and stabilized the other fallen PC before Death Saves could accumulate.

Then we explored elsewhere, got enough XP for level 2, took a Long Rest and did the level-up during that Long Rest. After the level-up, three of the four PCs have healing magic. I dunno if we're strong enough to take down the dragon. We aren't charging back for a rematch. Maybe traps, maybe tricks, maybe kobold allies with trained attack giant rats. Maybe buy better armor, and more healing potions. We're okay with non-immediate victory.

 

[Shiroiken]

Having done several conversions of BECMI adventures, I've found that most Basic adventures are suitable for level 2-4 characters in 5E. Level 1 characters are generally too fragile, and those adventures generally assumed ~8 PCs (with deaths common). If you want to run them with level 1 characters, I'd suggest breaking up the adventure, making the start easier and allowing a point to level up the characters (either as a milestone or using xp). Once the characters are level 2, you can start bring the difficulty back up.

Some other suggestions:
* Unless I really feel like making a conversion, I often substitute for existing monsters where possible.
* Cut non-magical treasure by at least half, probably closer to 10%
* Remove all non-necessary magic items, then re-add level appropriate ones as needed (should still be a lot less)
* Often the idea of the adventure is the best part, then simply fill in the adventure with level appropriate challenges.

 

[Zardnaar]

Having done several conversions of BECMI adventures, I've found that most Basic adventures are suitable for level 2-4 characters in 5E. Level 1 characters are generally too fragile, and those adventures generally assumed ~8 PCs (with deaths common). If you want to run them with level 1 characters, I'd suggest breaking up the adventure, making the start easier and allowing a point to level up the characters (either as a milestone or using xp). Once the characters are level 2, you can start bring the difficulty back up.

Some other suggestions:
* Unless I really feel like making a conversion, I often substitute for existing monsters where possible.
* Cut non-magical treasure by at least half, probably closer to 10%
* Remove all non-necessary magic items, then re-add level appropriate ones as needed (should still be a lot less)
* Often the idea of the adventure is the best part, then simply fill in the adventure with level appropriate challenges.

+ 1 for this, level 1 to squishy, level 5 the adventure is to easy.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The difficulties of certain monsters has changed drastically between editions. Spectres, for example, have moved from super-wrights to minion-level. Ohers have moved in the opposite direction.

Thus a direct conversion can be problematic. I would look at substituting a similarly themed creature of more appropriate power level if you feel an encounter is likely to prove too challenging.


Now, as for your specific examples: Yellow Mold is situational. If the players aren't taken by surprise and know how to deal with it is shouldn't be a problem for any level. You might consider adding an NPC ranger character to the party to advise them if the players are inexperienced. Think Aragorn. This could also add enough muscle to deal with slightly tougher encounters.

A ghoul could be substituted for the wight, a half ogre or orog for the ogre.

And I would reiterate the need to nerf the treasure!

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I ran a Silver Princess conversion for 5 characters, I swapped the monsters but as level appropriate encounters. I wanted an Old school feel, so erred on the hard side for encounters.
I ran slimes and moulds as traps with made up stats.
My players (except one) had all played 1e or BECMI and I had 1 tpk, 2 almost tpks (1 survivor) before the players got their stride and completed the module. I did not change the number of magic items and the party completed the adventure with out going into every nook and cranny.

The TPKs came from triggering multiple encounters.

It was interesting and fun. I did so redesign work in the dungeon to give it more logic and structure.

 

[fjw70]

When converting 1e modules I use a combination of substituting 5e monsters and doing on the fly conversions of 1e monster stats. I then vary the number of monsters up or down to set the difficulty I want.

For my on the fly conversions, I do the following.

I determine a level for the monster. It typically equals the HD but I increase by one if there are any plusses (e.g. an ogre is 4+1 HD so it is a level 5 monster).

HP:I either double what the modular says or use 10 times level.

Proficiency bonus is based on monster level (not CR).

Attack bonus: Equals double prof bonus.

Damage: For weapon users I use weapon damage plus prof bonus. For larger than man sized creatures I double the prof bonus. I typically use the fighter as a guide on number of attacks. For monsters using natural attacks I typically just add the prof bonus to the claw/bite/whatever damage.

For AC I use 20 minus the given AC.

I handle any special stuff as I see fit. Stuff like poison damage is typically save or take xd8 damage (with x being the creature level).

These are guidelines and I adjust as necessary.

 

[cas206]

If you want to keep the original monster for flavor, consider reskinning it with stats from a lower level equivalent that makes the encounter more balanced if you prefer not to re-engineer the beast with custom stats.

 

[cas206]

Also, there is a Classics Modules Today conversion on DMsGuild.com that could be a source of inspiration.