Dungeon magazine adventures. Useable in Conan or not?
- Thread starter quigs
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Yeah, that's what I noticed. Especially with the tendency of most D&D adventures to throw in way more monsters than people. That would be just nasty for PC's with low Will saves, and probably result in a lot of deaths due to fainting 
I am planning on running a loosely knit Age of Worms storyline in Conan, probably throwing in a lot of Stygian influence as well as more emphasis on human foes. The main foes that turn out to be nasty monsters, like dragons, etc will probably need some work too, but could technically fit in a Conan campaign.
I am planning on running a loosely knit Age of Worms storyline in Conan, probably throwing in a lot of Stygian influence as well as more emphasis on human foes. The main foes that turn out to be nasty monsters, like dragons, etc will probably need some work too, but could technically fit in a Conan campaign.
toothill man
Mongoose
have given up after many years of collecting both dungeon and dragon because of that problem their is nothing of use in them.signs is brilliant as can read it all for free 8) download what I like and forget the rest
Yeah I know what you mean, S&P is very nice to have, and has some excellent adventure ideas. Unfortunately I work long hours and therefore have barely enough time to run Conan, let alone write an entire adventure in a week. So Dungeon will have to do for now. I do find that the Age of Worms adventures can be adopted, with a lot of work, to become a Conan campaign. There's some monsters, cults, arena combat, and guilds of rogues just waiting to be decapitated.
The only problem I can forsee if that 2 of the main NPC's are dragons, but one's a vampire and the other's a dracolich. I'm thinking of removing the dragons entirely, and just having a human vampire and a human mummy instead.
Pretty decent stuff for a Conan campaign I'd say!
The only problem I can forsee if that 2 of the main NPC's are dragons, but one's a vampire and the other's a dracolich. I'm thinking of removing the dragons entirely, and just having a human vampire and a human mummy instead.
Pretty decent stuff for a Conan campaign I'd say!
JohnLokiBeard
Mongoose
Dungeon #86 has a couple of scenarios that are fairly easily “Conanised”:
Rana Mor is a hidden-temple-in-the-jungle treasure hunt that could be set almost anywhere, mainly nasty sniping tribesmen and some undead [huecuvas] who are basically Scholars with d12s for HD, plus a couple of critters[a chuul and a destrachan] that the plot doesn’t depend on so if you don’t feel them to be appropriately Hyborean they can be easily replaced [e.g. by a few grey apes and a bodiless slimer respectively].
Mysterious Ways is designed for a semi-historical Crusades setting, so transfers to Shem with minimal tweaking – replace The True Cross with The Heart Of Ahriman or similar, giant scorpions in the desert instead of digesters, and make the demons at the end Hyborean types rather than the D&D zappy-magic kind.
There's also a fairly low-magic adventure set in Dark Ages Russia in [I think] #90, serendipitously called Red Sails
Rana Mor is a hidden-temple-in-the-jungle treasure hunt that could be set almost anywhere, mainly nasty sniping tribesmen and some undead [huecuvas] who are basically Scholars with d12s for HD, plus a couple of critters[a chuul and a destrachan] that the plot doesn’t depend on so if you don’t feel them to be appropriately Hyborean they can be easily replaced [e.g. by a few grey apes and a bodiless slimer respectively].
Mysterious Ways is designed for a semi-historical Crusades setting, so transfers to Shem with minimal tweaking – replace The True Cross with The Heart Of Ahriman or similar, giant scorpions in the desert instead of digesters, and make the demons at the end Hyborean types rather than the D&D zappy-magic kind.
There's also a fairly low-magic adventure set in Dark Ages Russia in [I think] #90, serendipitously called Red Sails
FailedSpotCheck
Mongoose
JohnLokiBeard said:
Thanks. These sound very promising. 8)
Personally, I'm not sure why so many people here disdain standard D&D so much. Conan is a great game, and I've been waiting A LONG time for something that treats the source material correctly. Really, this is so well done in that regards, it's basically art as far as I'm concerned. Having said that, D&D can be great too. And for me, there's nothing like a well written adventure -- and most of the best in the last 20 years have come from the pages of Dungeon.
Anyway, to the question. I have not been reading Dungeon as thoroughly as I used to, but I think several adventures from the old days could be converted to the Conan game fairly smoothly (though I understand some of these issues might be difficult to track down). Here's a short list:
The Elephant's Graveyard Dungeon #15. The title says it all. Not too many monsters that I recall, but the one at the end really screams Howard to me.
In the Dread of Night Dungeon #24. This one is about a wizard's tower that the PCs must break into. It's low level, and as I recall, not too monster heavy. A bit generic, but I think the wizard could be converted to a pretty nasty Conan sorcerer, and the hints to a bigger sorcerous organization are delicious.
Night of Fear Dungeon #28. PCs are trapped in a lonely inn, during a storm, and one of the guests is a murderous dopplegagger. Only monster i recall is the murderer.
Ghost Dance Dungeon #32. The PCs must stop an evil relic from unleashing the wrath of an American Indian-like people. This one could probably be reworked to the Pictish border. I remember lots of hobgoblins, but those are not really monsters.
Horror's Harvest Dungeon #38. More Lovecraft than Howard, I still think this one could work. Basically, a lonely village becomes enslaved to the will of an intelligent plant from space. Great adventure.
The Ulrich Monastery Dungeon #39. A lonely monestery's inhabitants have gone missing as the PCs arrive. I believe the only monster (s) is the murderous yeti that tries to slay the PCs.
Jacob's Well Dungeon #43. A lonely inn is besieged during a storm by something horrible. Similar to Night of Fear, but better. This one was really creepy. I enjoyed putting the fear of the shadows into my players with it.
The Dark Place Dungeon #49. This one screamed Howard when I read it. The PCs are washed ashore on a lonely coast after a shipwreck. A ruined city awaits, as does an abandoned fort. A demonic force is all that remains and it stalks the PCs.
Nbod's Room Dungeon #51. A strange inn has a even stranger secret. Magic portals in it's rooms sometimes open to far-flung places. Sounds off, but it was done in a mysterious way. I think it can be toned down a bit and the mystery emphasized. I did it back in the day. A favorite.
The Last Oasis Dungeon #51. An arabian flavored adventure with a neat twist. The PCs, lost in the desert, encounter a mysterious oasis that is not what it seems -- it's on the border of the spirit world. Not too many monsters that I recall, and an interesting premise that I think can be reworked to a Conan game without too much effort.
Spellbook Masquerade Dungeon #53. The PCs must attend a costume ball hosted by a sorcerous. She has an ape-man henchman even. With a reworked premise, I think it can work.
Well, that's all I have for now. There are others that I think could work as well, but I suspect they'd require more work. Keep in mind that the adventures I list here are all 1st/2nd edition D&D, so the stats for everything will need to be converted/provided -- though this is mostly true of anything from Dungeon converted to Conan.
Hope this helps.
Anyway, to the question. I have not been reading Dungeon as thoroughly as I used to, but I think several adventures from the old days could be converted to the Conan game fairly smoothly (though I understand some of these issues might be difficult to track down). Here's a short list:
The Elephant's Graveyard Dungeon #15. The title says it all. Not too many monsters that I recall, but the one at the end really screams Howard to me.
In the Dread of Night Dungeon #24. This one is about a wizard's tower that the PCs must break into. It's low level, and as I recall, not too monster heavy. A bit generic, but I think the wizard could be converted to a pretty nasty Conan sorcerer, and the hints to a bigger sorcerous organization are delicious.
Night of Fear Dungeon #28. PCs are trapped in a lonely inn, during a storm, and one of the guests is a murderous dopplegagger. Only monster i recall is the murderer.
Ghost Dance Dungeon #32. The PCs must stop an evil relic from unleashing the wrath of an American Indian-like people. This one could probably be reworked to the Pictish border. I remember lots of hobgoblins, but those are not really monsters.
Horror's Harvest Dungeon #38. More Lovecraft than Howard, I still think this one could work. Basically, a lonely village becomes enslaved to the will of an intelligent plant from space. Great adventure.
The Ulrich Monastery Dungeon #39. A lonely monestery's inhabitants have gone missing as the PCs arrive. I believe the only monster (s) is the murderous yeti that tries to slay the PCs.
Jacob's Well Dungeon #43. A lonely inn is besieged during a storm by something horrible. Similar to Night of Fear, but better. This one was really creepy. I enjoyed putting the fear of the shadows into my players with it.
The Dark Place Dungeon #49. This one screamed Howard when I read it. The PCs are washed ashore on a lonely coast after a shipwreck. A ruined city awaits, as does an abandoned fort. A demonic force is all that remains and it stalks the PCs.
Nbod's Room Dungeon #51. A strange inn has a even stranger secret. Magic portals in it's rooms sometimes open to far-flung places. Sounds off, but it was done in a mysterious way. I think it can be toned down a bit and the mystery emphasized. I did it back in the day. A favorite.
The Last Oasis Dungeon #51. An arabian flavored adventure with a neat twist. The PCs, lost in the desert, encounter a mysterious oasis that is not what it seems -- it's on the border of the spirit world. Not too many monsters that I recall, and an interesting premise that I think can be reworked to a Conan game without too much effort.
Spellbook Masquerade Dungeon #53. The PCs must attend a costume ball hosted by a sorcerous. She has an ape-man henchman even. With a reworked premise, I think it can work.
Well, that's all I have for now. There are others that I think could work as well, but I suspect they'd require more work. Keep in mind that the adventures I list here are all 1st/2nd edition D&D, so the stats for everything will need to be converted/provided -- though this is mostly true of anything from Dungeon converted to Conan.
Hope this helps.
I've been using DUNGEON for our CONAN RPG and D&D adventures for the past many years. Consider that you're probably working too hard on meaningless things if you are having difficulty with conversion from D&D to Conan. I suggest the guidelines below for conversion:
1. D&D scenarios have lots of monsters. Whoopdedoo. All you have to change is their appearance description to the players. Need an armor number? Pick one that sounds good.
* D&D Humanoids (and even some monsters), You don't need to change stats, classes or anything. E.g. A hobgoblin, halfling, elf, or LizardMAN or Kenku or Orc is a Hyborian race. Classes are pretty obvious. Say they're "nomads" or whatever with skills that are unusual if you happen to have Rules-Lawyer (if you haven't already kicked him out of the group). It doesn't matter.
* D&D "Monsters": A Xorn suddenly becomes a tentacled beast. An owlbear suddenly becomes a regular bear with more hit points. Why bother to convert them otherwise? Just note a page of a monster from your CONAN book if you have to.
2. Location & Theme. Grab your Road of Kings and set it. Do a quick search online for background information if you're short on time (I prefer the Marvel universe stuff). Need a god. Pick a random one and you' All players need to hear is "He's a Shemite, wielding a Broadsword, doing a sacrifice in front of Ishtar."
3. Dungeons - D&D scenarios have a lot of Dungeons. Big deal. Set it in a city or a jungle or a desert and make each room a seperate encounter if you don't like Dungeons.
4. Magic & Spellcasters. If you know your conan Rules you won't have any trouble "winging" this either. Write some spells down based on a rough estimate. If nothing else, have a 'bastardized' version of the D&D spell if you want to 'wing' it even more.
5. Weapons & Armor. Weapons are an Ape-Brainer. Armor takes about a nanosecond to figure out roughly in your head..just throw out a number. It doesn't have to be exact. You're not going to 'break the game' if it's not perfect.
6. Magic Weapons. Eliminate them. Hand out masterwork stuff, potions, or gems instead. We give out x.p. when players throw away their treasure (i.e. squander it in a city with nothing to show for it), so any gem is a treasure in our game.
All in all, I'd say the only things that may slow you down is magic and plot and that's only if you think way too hard. If you're trying to 'convert' all that stuff because you don't realize that 99% of the work is unnecessary, maybe you should consider employment in Yildiz' army as Conan-fodder
BTW, I'VE COMPLETED THE DUNGEON INDEX. It has all the blurbs, D&D levels and everything.
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1867982#post1867982
Here are some samples of adventures I've run and the thematic changes I've made:
AlQuadim (2nd ed.) - Boxed set adventures set around the Vilayet sea.
Crucible of Freya (S&S): Brythunia, Kozaki Steppes, Northern Vilayet. Used for basic plot outline only.
Racing the Snake(DUNGEON): Graaskal mountains. Major changes unnecessary. Threw in some homocidal Hyperborean raiders.
Jackal's Redemption (DUNGEON): Zamora. Easy.
The Seventh Arm (DUNGEON): Zamora; it just feels right.
Pandemonium in the Veins (DUNGEON): Corinthia; removed any 'benevolent' figures from the scenario.
CURRENT CAMPAIGN
Age of Worms (DUNGEON): 4 gods: Mardu (Shemite/Sumerian), Tiamat (Shemite/Sumerian), Pazuzu (Shemite/Sumerian), Nergal (Shemite/Sumerian). Also Derketa's religion appears in a scenario just as a tease to the PC's. Set in the deserts of Shem (instead of a swamp..no, not a tough conversion) around a salt lake near Eruk. We're currently in Sabatea, where I'll be running "Blackwall Keep."
jh
P.s. BTW, we no longer use the RPG system except for races, feats and themes. Both the GM and the players felt that the changes from D&D to the RPG were not worth the effort (a long-time gripe by my players..of which many quit our group). We have a short list of house rules now. I'm such a hippocrite
..
1. D&D scenarios have lots of monsters. Whoopdedoo. All you have to change is their appearance description to the players. Need an armor number? Pick one that sounds good.
* D&D Humanoids (and even some monsters), You don't need to change stats, classes or anything. E.g. A hobgoblin, halfling, elf, or LizardMAN or Kenku or Orc is a Hyborian race. Classes are pretty obvious. Say they're "nomads" or whatever with skills that are unusual if you happen to have Rules-Lawyer (if you haven't already kicked him out of the group). It doesn't matter.
* D&D "Monsters": A Xorn suddenly becomes a tentacled beast. An owlbear suddenly becomes a regular bear with more hit points. Why bother to convert them otherwise? Just note a page of a monster from your CONAN book if you have to.
2. Location & Theme. Grab your Road of Kings and set it. Do a quick search online for background information if you're short on time (I prefer the Marvel universe stuff). Need a god. Pick a random one and you' All players need to hear is "He's a Shemite, wielding a Broadsword, doing a sacrifice in front of Ishtar."
3. Dungeons - D&D scenarios have a lot of Dungeons. Big deal. Set it in a city or a jungle or a desert and make each room a seperate encounter if you don't like Dungeons.
4. Magic & Spellcasters. If you know your conan Rules you won't have any trouble "winging" this either. Write some spells down based on a rough estimate. If nothing else, have a 'bastardized' version of the D&D spell if you want to 'wing' it even more.
5. Weapons & Armor. Weapons are an Ape-Brainer. Armor takes about a nanosecond to figure out roughly in your head..just throw out a number. It doesn't have to be exact. You're not going to 'break the game' if it's not perfect.
6. Magic Weapons. Eliminate them. Hand out masterwork stuff, potions, or gems instead. We give out x.p. when players throw away their treasure (i.e. squander it in a city with nothing to show for it), so any gem is a treasure in our game.
All in all, I'd say the only things that may slow you down is magic and plot and that's only if you think way too hard. If you're trying to 'convert' all that stuff because you don't realize that 99% of the work is unnecessary, maybe you should consider employment in Yildiz' army as Conan-fodder
BTW, I'VE COMPLETED THE DUNGEON INDEX. It has all the blurbs, D&D levels and everything.
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1867982#post1867982
Here are some samples of adventures I've run and the thematic changes I've made:
AlQuadim (2nd ed.) - Boxed set adventures set around the Vilayet sea.
Crucible of Freya (S&S): Brythunia, Kozaki Steppes, Northern Vilayet. Used for basic plot outline only.
Racing the Snake(DUNGEON): Graaskal mountains. Major changes unnecessary. Threw in some homocidal Hyperborean raiders.
Jackal's Redemption (DUNGEON): Zamora. Easy.
The Seventh Arm (DUNGEON): Zamora; it just feels right.
Pandemonium in the Veins (DUNGEON): Corinthia; removed any 'benevolent' figures from the scenario.
CURRENT CAMPAIGN
Age of Worms (DUNGEON): 4 gods: Mardu (Shemite/Sumerian), Tiamat (Shemite/Sumerian), Pazuzu (Shemite/Sumerian), Nergal (Shemite/Sumerian). Also Derketa's religion appears in a scenario just as a tease to the PC's. Set in the deserts of Shem (instead of a swamp..no, not a tough conversion) around a salt lake near Eruk. We're currently in Sabatea, where I'll be running "Blackwall Keep."
jh
P.s. BTW, we no longer use the RPG system except for races, feats and themes. Both the GM and the players felt that the changes from D&D to the RPG were not worth the effort (a long-time gripe by my players..of which many quit our group). We have a short list of house rules now. I'm such a hippocrite
..
Very interesting. I'm actually running the Age of Worms adventure path from Dungeon, but in Corinthia.
Diamond Lake become the town of Vesci, and the Free City is none other than the Polopponi. I kept most of the town intact, with name/race changes where needed. I'm also going to be running 3 Faces of Evil (substituting demon lords for Hextor, Vecna, and Erythnuul) and Blackwall Keep (substituting those reptilian humanoids from the Shadizar boxed set in for the lizardfolk)
Diamond Lake become the town of Vesci, and the Free City is none other than the Polopponi. I kept most of the town intact, with name/race changes where needed. I'm also going to be running 3 Faces of Evil (substituting demon lords for Hextor, Vecna, and Erythnuul) and Blackwall Keep (substituting those reptilian humanoids from the Shadizar boxed set in for the lizardfolk)
Oh man, I just got a hold of Dungeon issue 134 and it has an adventure about the King in Yellow called "And Madness Followed".
This has Conan written all over it! A mysterious tome that whispers of dark things beyond human perception, villagers transforming into hideous creatures and slaughtering the others (who have gone mad). And a finale with a huge mob of deformed townsfolk guarding a portal to an alien world.
I just gotta wait until my PC's reach 9th level before I can run this though
This has Conan written all over it! A mysterious tome that whispers of dark things beyond human perception, villagers transforming into hideous creatures and slaughtering the others (who have gone mad). And a finale with a huge mob of deformed townsfolk guarding a portal to an alien world.
I just gotta wait until my PC's reach 9th level before I can run this though
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