Converting 1E/3E/4E adventures to the new rules

[mikeawmids]

How much work would be involved in converting the vast amount of existing DCC adventures for use with the new rules? Any recommendations on how to go about doing this?

Are there any stand-out adventures I should check out?

[finarvyn]

First of all, keep in mind that while 1E and 3E have a lot of points in common, 4E is really its own beast entirely. You can take a 3E stat block and simply trim out the parts you don't need and you get a pretty decent 1E approximation, but in 4E the terminology and power scale is so different that there aren't many elements in common.

I run 1E/3E adventures in the DCC RPG without much conversion at all (other than trimming out the 3E stuff I don't need). In early playtest I used a lot of older DCC modules since we didn't have a real source of official stuff at the time.

Having said all that, an adventure is basically an adventure and clearly the text and plotline don't need to change. What you would want to do for 4E is basically throw out the monsters and redesign them in DCC. Take the "soul" of the monster and recreate it without worrying about if the new one is a true conversion, but instead give it whatever special spark made that monster unique in 4E. For example, if the adventure calls for a dragon throw out the 4E version and grab a 1E dragon instead, or simply make up a dragon using DCC rules. Don't try to fiddle with a 4E monster to somehow make it fit.

Keep in mind that balance isn't as important in the DCC RPG as it is in some other games. If a monster is too easy, throw more of them at the characters next time. If the monster is too tough, characters die or get smart and run away. Don't stress trying to "get it right" but instead have fun with it.

That's my usual plan for conversion.

[reverenddak]

I'd use the stats AS-IS. I do it all the time. Though I havent' done so with 4e stuff, the way those adventures are written, it might "feel" funny with all the compartmentalized encounters, but it could work.

The STATS between editions have become tropes, and pretty much work the same no matter what. Hitpoints are the same. AC is the same. Saves can be weird, but they're Defenses in 4e, saves in 3e, but plain old ability modifiers in 2e and earlier. It should be easy enough to convert on the fly.

Every edition's power curve increases as the edition increases. But I don't think it's a big deal that a 0e orc is weaker than a 3e orc. Just imagine that they're different orcs. It's not a big deal.

DCC RPG doesn't focus on Encounter Levels or Challenge Levels. But DCC RPG characters are so dynamically broader in power, it'd be interesting to see what happen. I don't want to get into the philosophy of encounter design between editions, but in later editions there are assumptions that encounters are "balanced", while in early editions those assumptions didn't exist, and you really had to be a good GM and leave enough clues or pull some punches early, to give the adventures an idea how powerful the encounter was going to be, so they can make an educated decision to flee or fight. DCC RPG emphasizes that style of play, which a lot of modern gamers aren't used to.