* * * Wizards Community Thread * * * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thread : Reverse Dungeon to 3.5 Started at 01-16-08 08:18 PM by Rell Visit at http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=979397 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 1] Author : Rell Date : 01-16-08 08:18 PM Thread Title : Reverse Dungeon to 3.5 Hi. I'm currently trying to convert the AD&D2 campaign Reverse Dungeon to the 3.5th edition for my players. For those who don't know it, it's basically a series of adventures set in a classical dungeon, in which the PCs are the monsters and must repel various invaders. I've already run them through the first part, where they play goblins. Now, I'm moving on to the second part, where they play the guardian monsters an ancient wizard has set in his dungeon. The problem is, in the original product the creatures have very varied CRs. I'm not even wondering about their ECLs because almost all of them are way more alien than the usual humanoids. In the original product, the playable monsters range from a beholder (CR 13) to a mimic (CR 4). Even if the mimic is made more powerful with extra hit dice and expanding its powers a bit, it'd be hard to make it as powerful as the living artillery platform the beholder is. It's all the more messed up with the magic item some of the monsters can use (for instance, there's a troll with a vorpal sword). The monsters are : - A beholder (apparently the most powerful bloke of the lot) - an illithid - a mimic - an 11-level antipaladin (nowadays she'd be a blackguard. At least, she's the most scalable of the lost) - a troll - a doppelganger (with such a powerful magic item that I don't find him underpowered at all) - a medusa - a night hag - a group of cloakers with a gestalt (which I'll probably change into something else, since they're really too weird) So, my questions are : has anyone played this campaign ? In AD&D2 or D&D3 ? Did you deal with that imbalance, or did you find it wasn't a problem ? And how can I make the beholder weaker without replacing it with something less typical of D&D ? Thanks. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 2] Author : cjerowe Date : 01-17-08 08:29 AM Thread Title : Re: Reverse Dungeon to 3.5 If you have access to the books, I would suggest replacing the beholder with one of the beholder-kin. They can be found in numerous monster manual sources and have a full range of CR's from 3 to 23. That would keep the flavor of the monster (most of them look enough like beholders to fool most players) while achieving some level of play balance. Otherwise, put the tougher monsters in less advantageous positions or allow the "invaders" to prep before coming into the fight to make the challenge more difficult. (a well prepared adventuring party can do some pretty wonderous things as I'm sure you've noticed when your players are running the heroes). To raise the difficulty of the encounter, put some of the weaker monsters in more advantageous positions which allow them to utilize their abilities. I've been in a 7th level party who nearly got wiped in a surprise attack from 8 well prepared orcs fighting in the dark. The humans of my party were hurting outside of their light source range and the one dwarf couldn't reach the orcs on their platform and behind their firing postions. It was rough. Just some suggestions that might throw some surprises at your monster PC's. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 3] Author : Rell Date : 01-19-08 03:53 PM Thread Title : Re: Reverse Dungeon to 3.5 Thanks. In the first part of this adventure, the PCs were playing a tribe of goblins, and it's true that preparation and different settings made a world of difference (between the silent assault from the PCs, by surprise, taking lone goblins off with spells, and the last battle against a pack of goblins dug in with traps everywhere). I'll try to look in the few books I've got for a weaker kind of beholder. If I don't find anything, I'll just downgrade the spells a normal beholder can shoot and remove a HD or two. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Downloaded from Wizards Community (http://forums.gleemax.com) at 05-10-08 08:22 AM.