D&D 5E Savage Tide Adventure Path
I personally preferred Age of Worms out of those Dungeon Magazine APs. I don't know if either would be easier to convert than the other (much the same I imagine). That said, wasn't there an updated compiled version of ST? I don't know if it was different to the magazine version.
Savage Tide has one massive problem: the details of the initial setting (Sasserine) are done extremely well and it makes the game falter once you leave its environs. We got about half-way through the AP before abandoning it. The first couple of adventures were great, because you had the potential of a lot of intrigue and role-playing, but once you set sail for the Isle of Dread, we found everything got very boring. We just didn't care any more.
[MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION], it was the Shackled City (the first AP) that got the compiled version. Age of Worms was the best of the three APs in Dungeon magazine.
Trivia note: Wizards extended the duration of the Dragon and Dungeon licenses so that Paizo could finish off the Savage Tide AP.
Cheers!
[MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION], it was the Shackled City (the first AP) that got the compiled version. Age of Worms was the best of the three APs in Dungeon magazine.
Trivia note: Wizards extended the duration of the Dragon and Dungeon licenses so that Paizo could finish off the Savage Tide AP.
Cheers!
We started Age of Worms in April under the September play test rules and converted to 5e as parts of it have come out. We are currently in chapter 4 and having a blast. Let me know if you ever decide to run Age of Worms or have more general questions about converting 3.5 adventures.
Strange, I found that the xp did not keep up after going to 3rd level. The players were not going to make it to 5th level of the Age of Worms chapter 2. So they would not have been level 5 for the start of chapter 3. So I abandoned XP levelling for milestone halfway through chapter 2.
Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
I'll be ignoring the levels anyway. My party is 6th level, and since I need to replace the challenges to convert to 5e anyway, I'm just replacing them with level-appropriate challenges.
I decided on Savage Tide because my party got themselves a pirate ship and wanted an adventure related to using said ship. Savage Tide has that, at least in part, so I figured I would give it a try. That, and Sassarine seems to be a great city with lots of potential for adventure, and the maps are beautiful.
We started tonight, the party is set to reclaim the Blue Nixie as the first part of the first adventure "There Is No Honor". I think it will be fun for now, but I have not read the adventure much beyond this first part. It sounds like both [MENTION=3586]MerricB[/MENTION] and [MENTION=6716779]Zardnaar[/MENTION] agree that the first part is good, and that the later parts are not as good, so I will keep that in mind. Perhaps I will remove everything from Isle of Dread onwards and switch to something else or 100% homebrew at that point. Though knowing my players that won't be necessary as they are already talking about a raid on the Temple of Wee Jas and possibly trophy hunting in the jungles.
My biggest question at this point is converting from 3.5e to 5e. My plan so far is simply swap monsters entirely. For instance, the first combat encounter involves 7 human thugs and their leader, and as my party is 6th level I am just using the stats for a Hobgoblin Warlord (CR 6) and 7 Gladiators (CR5), and giving the gladiators a crossbow in addition to their spear and shield, while switching the Warlord's javelins for a crossbow and some daggers as well.
We're using milestones for leveling already, so that won't be an issue. Every 3-4 sessions or so they're leveling.
Treasure will be an issue, but then until we have a DMG all we have are the playtest guidelines on that anyway so I will continue just using those and winging it as I have been for the past 18 months.
Any other advice on conversions? I am reducing the magic shops way down, and some of the spells and such are not available so that may impact some of the challenges as well.
I decided on Savage Tide because my party got themselves a pirate ship and wanted an adventure related to using said ship. Savage Tide has that, at least in part, so I figured I would give it a try. That, and Sassarine seems to be a great city with lots of potential for adventure, and the maps are beautiful.
We started tonight, the party is set to reclaim the Blue Nixie as the first part of the first adventure "There Is No Honor". I think it will be fun for now, but I have not read the adventure much beyond this first part. It sounds like both [MENTION=3586]MerricB[/MENTION] and [MENTION=6716779]Zardnaar[/MENTION] agree that the first part is good, and that the later parts are not as good, so I will keep that in mind. Perhaps I will remove everything from Isle of Dread onwards and switch to something else or 100% homebrew at that point. Though knowing my players that won't be necessary as they are already talking about a raid on the Temple of Wee Jas and possibly trophy hunting in the jungles.
My biggest question at this point is converting from 3.5e to 5e. My plan so far is simply swap monsters entirely. For instance, the first combat encounter involves 7 human thugs and their leader, and as my party is 6th level I am just using the stats for a Hobgoblin Warlord (CR 6) and 7 Gladiators (CR5), and giving the gladiators a crossbow in addition to their spear and shield, while switching the Warlord's javelins for a crossbow and some daggers as well.
We're using milestones for leveling already, so that won't be an issue. Every 3-4 sessions or so they're leveling.
Treasure will be an issue, but then until we have a DMG all we have are the playtest guidelines on that anyway so I will continue just using those and winging it as I have been for the past 18 months.
Any other advice on conversions? I am reducing the magic shops way down, and some of the spells and such are not available so that may impact some of the challenges as well.
MarkB
Legend
My biggest memory when running this was its extreme lethality. It was pitched towards experienced groups, but still, beyond the earliest levels, it felt like we were losing characters every other encounter, and that's a big problem in an adventure with heavy continuity links.
We got through the long sea voyage, and there were some good fun parts, but we called it quits after arriving at the island.
We got through the long sea voyage, and there were some good fun parts, but we called it quits after arriving at the island.
delericho
Legend
We only played a single session (about a third) of the first adventure in "Savage Tide" before real life killed it off. I did find two problems with that first adventure:
- The "investigation phase" of the adventure really lagged. IIRC, my players missed a key clue early on, and spent the next while floundering without success. I recommend re-writing that part of the adventure, bearing in mind the Three Clue Rule.
- The pirate base is a warren of very narrow passageways. This led to my PCs getting stuck in a very static fight where most of them could barely act, and likewise the enemies couldn't get at them. Such passageways are probably more realistic, but they made that fight really drag. Again, I would recommend redesigning that area to open things up a bit.
- The "investigation phase" of the adventure really lagged. IIRC, my players missed a key clue early on, and spent the next while floundering without success. I recommend re-writing that part of the adventure, bearing in mind the Three Clue Rule.
- The pirate base is a warren of very narrow passageways. This led to my PCs getting stuck in a very static fight where most of them could barely act, and likewise the enemies couldn't get at them. Such passageways are probably more realistic, but they made that fight really drag. Again, I would recommend redesigning that area to open things up a bit.
Zardnaar
Legend
The rest of the AP is good its just that Sasserine is so good you find of don't want to leave. I quite liked the Isle of Dread Adventures and recently ran them as stand alone. Sasserine was also supposed to be the centerpoint of my new 5E campaign and I located it near Threshold but the campaign kind of stayed near Threshold.
BTW Gladiators are very nasty in 5E. Our DM love throwing them at us or rekinning them slightly by swapping the states around and throwing on full plate and shields for armor.I use them tweaked for elite archers as well.
I'm running the Dying of the Light Adventure from 3.0 Dungeon for 6 level 10 PCs and they took down 3 Vampires in a single fight. There are 7 total to find+ others and they have not had much in the way of magical treasure lately so they will get a bit once they are done (by 5E standards). +2 weapons and a +2 ring of protection seem to be exciting again. Cutting the magical loot in half roughly.
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