This post takes a look at what the would involve/require. I'm not sure if I'll ever do a full conversion, but if I do, or for anyone else who wants to try, this post should serve as a guide/outline.
Overview
I'm going to try to keep things more or less as similar as possible. This might create more work for me / anyone converting! If you want to see a version that ports the lore over to Orden and fits the existing monsters, better, see this in progress conversion on reddit. It's pretty neat! There's a lot more of it than I thought there was (see the index), but it changes quite a bit, so I'm gonna try to cleave a little closer to the original.
I think this adventure will work best starting at level 3, and ending at level 7 (just like Crack the Sun, though I didn't do that on purpose). I mathed out the Victories, and without either adding more Sandboxy elements, the adventure is a bit short on Victories - but as Matt talked about in a recent stream, it's probably fine to either 1. reduce that to 10 or 12 per level, or 2. just mark Goals/Milestones after which they level up. I'll be assuming the latter for this post.
I rather like a lot of the threads that I introduced in my pathfinder conversion, so I'm going to have a section at the end exploring those more. I would probably start out with a low level sandbox that plays into the Descent Into Avernus stuff I'd probably add in afterwards, but if you want to go from the Delian Tomb to RHoD, see that reddit conversion.
Encounter Conversions
Converting an encounter to Draw Steel is not as simple as just swapping out monsters. Structurally, a good Draw Steel! adventure is very different than a good D&D or Pathfinder adventure. Granular room positionings should be collapsed into one big sprawling combat. I'm going to try to outline where I think those breaks should be, as well as talk about whether the monsters already exist or whether they would have to be replaced/converted.
Part 1: The Witchwood (lv. 3)
Marauder Attack (1V) is pretty straightforward (see the reddit version for one option). There are lots of Hobgoblin stat blocks! If we want, we can replace the Hell Hounds with Slaughter Demons, but honestly I don't think we need them - the "Infernal Ichor" ability already gives the hellish flavor we want.
Riding Into Town need not be stated like a combat. We could make it a Negotiation if we want to fit another Victory here, or just make it automatic (esp. if coming with a trade caravan like the reddit version suggests).
Jor can be a Retainer - either a class retainer or an Arrowswift that trades "Masking Glamour" for "Determination" (under Rivals, DSM p232). You could again make this a Negotiation if you want more Victories in there, or want an option to skip the Causeway.
Blackwater Causeway (1-2V) - There's no Hydra in Draw Steel, but turns out they're not that hard to make! I made a Starving Hydra level 3 Solo and some Hydra Malice just to play around with the online tools. If you don't like that design, feel free to use this level 4 version I saw on Reddit or just use a Fossil Cryptic who got stirred up by the Hand's approach or something.
Vraath Keep should be broken into two fights, IMO:
Approaching the Keep (1V) would have a mix of Hobgoblins, Goblins, and Worgs. We could still have a single Minotaur (Karkilan) if we wanted, but I don't know if we need it.
Wyrmlord Koth (2V) would be a second wave, basically, as the Wyrmlord prepared himself and gathered his allies. I'd probably use a Bugbear Comamander or a Bugbear Channeler as a base, but as a Leader instead of an Elite, and therefore with some lightning magic themed Villain Actions and Malice Abilities. And likely +1 Victory for driving the Hand out of Rhest.
Vraath Vault should either be easier to find, or it should have clues leading to it from elsewhere (a Map or similar) and a fairly straightforward Test to notice the trap door. It should give 1-2 Wealth and some cool magic items!
I would skip the Manticore altogether, at least until later. A level 4 Solo is a lot for a level 3 party, and I really don't think this should be the main attraction here. Or replace it with a Griffin, and throw it in with the rest.
Old Warklegnaw should definitely be a negotiations. On Influence 5, he helps them with the Bridge and with the alliance! (Retainer block: maybe the Nameless, replacing Fly with more speed? Or a reflavored level 6/7 Troll) On a 3-4, pick one. Victory on 4+ I.
Skull Gorge Bridge is a tough one. I know the rules suggest encountering Solos alone, but... I wanna! I think this one will need some guidance about how and when everyone should engage. Maybe Ozyrrandion stays back until most of the rest of the defenders are defeated? Or maybe they are slower to rally than he is, so that there's at least 3+ rounds of him and like, a handful of minions, before they get there? PCs can earn up to 3-4 Victories here if they kill Ozzy and destroy the Bridge.
Goblin Raid (1V) is pretty straightforward. Should likely be an easy fight, with a few Goblin Warriors on Worgs followed by some Hobgoblins. Any challenge comes from protecting nearby civilians.
Chimera Attack (1-2V) is also easy to create, just make sure you have a good map! Add civilians to protect if you wanted added difficulty.
Victories: at least 11, possibly up to 15-16.
Milestone: either Report Back on the Hands Movements or Evacuate Drellins Ferry (maybe it starts as "Save Drellins Ferry" and when it's clear that becomes impossible, swap it).
Part 2: The Ruins of Rhest (lv. 4)
I would wait on any Horde Events until part 3.
Road Blockade (1V) mix of Hobgoblins and Ogres. Pretty straightforward!
Spawn of Tiamat (1-2V) will probably want to be 2-3 Elite creatures instead of a single Solo. I'm thinking editing Wyverns to Swim instead of Fly and change some abilities around, but you could also just swap in Slaughter Demons from the hobgoblin section.
Killiars Hunters should be a Negotiation (1V) with a few ways to get auto-successes.
Rhest should have a few phases:
- I think the Lizardfolk Huts work better as a Montage (0-1V) than a combat, given how easy Lizardfolk are at this point - can the PCs figure out a way to approach unnoticed? Maybe round 1 is about sneaking past the Lizardfolk, round 2 is about getting across the water. If they succeed, they get some surprise, and the bells might not be wrung for a bit.
- The Bell Tower and the Initial Defenders would be combined (1V) (using this map) into one big defensive area. If they can sneak in, they can arrive at either place before the alarm is raised, otherwise they're still on a boat. Hobgoblins in the Belltower, Ogres and a Razorfiend (swimming Wyvern?) up top.
- The Leaders are a separate battle (1V) - it takes them some time to rally. Saarvith is probably a Level 5 Rival Tactician, Nurklenak a Rival Talent, and then a bunch of Hobgoblins.
- Regiarix (2V) is a Gloom Dragon, and comes out last.
- The PCs can get +1V for destroying the Hatchery, and +1V for driving them off entirely!
Lastly, The Elf Alliance (1V) is a Negotiation, but much easier depending on what the PCs do. I 5+ is "also owls."
Victories: at least 10, maybe as many as 12, without sidequests.
Milestone: Drive Off the Red Hand from Rhest.
Horde Events (probably Level 4-5)
IMO, these likely won't happen until after Rhest. Either use to get them to level 5, or in dramatic moments to emphasize themes.
Easy Skirmish (1V) can be thrown in whenever the players are bored. Just some Hobgoblins.
Dirty Rotten Looters (1V) can either be a Montage Test, or it can have a handful of actual combatants with mostly civilian looters running around getting into danger - the challenge is more saving people than the fight. I think this will take some thinking to get right.
Mercenary Gold (1V) can be Ogres and Goblins as written.
The Not-So-Sick Spy is less of a combat and more of a social challenge. Easier if integrated with my dwarf nonsense. If combat breaks out, she's a Rival Shadow (lv. 5). Maybe she can also shapeshift.
Barghest Reavers (1V) can probably just become Hobgoblin Smokebinders/etc. Maybe a summoned Devil/Demon or two?
Marked for Death (2V) would also need some replacement, and I think Devil Magistrates are a great option here for the hidden threat behind the hobgoblins/ogre. Probably also some Hobgoblin Smokebinders.
Victories: up to 7.
Milestone: N/A.
Part 3: The Ghostlord (lv. 5)
Varanthian (1-2V) will have to be built. Likely a Solo creature. Maybe only level 4? You could honestly just put the Manticore here if you wanted, and play up its intelligence. Or have it be a summoned Devil or Demon.
The PCs will fight either The Lions Path or The Guradrooms. Either will be an easy fight, not worth Victories, either some Undead Wraiths or Haunts, or some Hobgoblin Firerunners.
Very quickly, they'll be beset by the rest of the Red Hand folks in there, either with the Undead or the Firerunners in tow. More Firerunners for sure, and Ulwyth is probably a Rival Conduit. 2V for this big ass fight.
I think we skip the ooze. Boring!
We could also throw in a fight with some lesser undead (1V). Bonedrinkers are cool, but not cool enough to build. Maybe a mix of incorporeal Wraiths/Haunts physical Ghouls/Mournlings/Koptourok? Definite Acid Pit (pool of Rebirth).
The Ghostlord is a Negotiation (1-2V). Probably pretty similar to what I wrote up previously. Pretty easy with the Soul Cage, pretty hard otherwise. Note: Killing the Ghostlord basically isn't an option. He's a Level 10 Lich.
Victories: only 5-7. Combine with dwarf nonsense and/or with lots of Horde Events.
Milestone: Sever the Alliance.
Part 4: The Battle of Brindol (lv. 6)
Or alternatively: there's a TON going on, and the PCs have to stop as much as they can - they can send allies, but can't be everywhere. The Degree of Victory is just how many of them they stop.
Preparations are a Montage Test (1V), a mix of planning and shorting up defenses and whatnot.
Aid from the City: lots of Healing Potions! They're gonna need 'em.
Save the Walls (1V) I think I'm leaning towards a pair of Hill Gaint Clobberers and just hand waving the rock throwing, maybe with a quick Group Test to see how many rounds they have before the walls fall. Or maybe they're defending Siege Engines, and the PCs have to destroy them? That could be fun!
Abithriax's Rampage (1-2V) is a Solo fight against a Crucible Dragon. Spooky! I definitely think minimizing collateral damage will be a factor here (unless your players did what my Pathfinder ones did and draw the Dragon to that open field area).
Streets of Blood (1-2V) is a big ass wave of foes where the PCs must "Hold Them Off" until things calm down. Mostly minor threats (lots of Hobgoblin Minions), but one Manticore (that will focus the PCs), maybe some Bugbears if you want. I might skip the Thunderlizards honestly, though obviously the Razorfiends and possible Undead will come through if they failed previously as well. 1-2V based on how many enemies they prevent from passing them.
Sniper Attack is a Montage Test (0-1V) followed by a combat with some Hobgoblin War Mages and the Assassin. I'm honestly leaning a Devil Magistrate, but YMMV.
Instead of fighting the Ghostlord if that alliance doesn't hold (he won't risk himself for this), he'll send along a scary force of undead. Maybe a Vampire Lord and some underlings?
The Final Battle (2V) Koth is a Hobgoblin Bloodlord with a bunch of Underilngs. +2 Victories for saving Brindol!
Victories: 7-10.
Milestone: Defeat the Invasion.
Part 5: Avernus Rising (lv. 7)
I'm going to use my own remix here. It works much better for Draw Steel! Like honestly, it feels like it was designed for it.
The heroes get a free Respite (either weird sun magic or an aftereffect of the bloodred sky) and some healing potions.
The Maw of Hell (1V) will be some Devils/Demons guarding the entrance to stop escapees instead of the 4th Dragon, mostly because no good stat block exists for a Blue Dragon and I don't wanna be bothered. A level 7 Water Dragon could be really fun to mix with Lava though (maybe it makes stone pathways?) if you wanna go that route! Lots of bubbling lava hazards.
Waves of Fire (1-2V) will have 3 trivial/easy encounters, one against Hobgoblins, "Caught in the middle," and then a big Devil/Demon. There should be lots of chaos though, to allow the PCs to escape their attackers (other than the last big guy probably) if they rush through. 1V for killing the big guy, 1V for getting through.
Approaching the Ritual (1V) is a mix of Wyverns (for real this time) and Hobgoblin higher ups.
The Inner Sanctum will be two Solo fights in a row.
- The High Wyrmlord (2V) will be imbued with terrible power. Level 7 Solo. The PCs can stop the ritual instead of fighting him if they prefer.
- The Aspect of Tiamat (2V) will be a Level 8 Solo! I know that's not recommended, but the PCs will be so flush with victories that I'm excited to let them try. I'll probably use the Omen Dragon as a base for numbers, but change the flavor quite a bit.
- +1V for stopping it!
Escape! A Montage Test (1V) as it crumbles beneath you!
Victories: 9-10.
Milestone: Defeating Tiamat and Escaping.
Monster Creation List: Final Tally
What monsters would I have to make for this to work?
Hydra- Done!- Wyrmlord Koth (Bugbear Elite base, turn into Leader/Mage)
- Greenspawn Razorfiends (Wyvern Base?)
- Possibly Miha and other Aranea, if going that route
- Possibly the Thunderlizards?
- Possibly a blue dragon for Part 5?
- High Wyrmlord Koth (level 7)
- The Aspect of Tiamat (level 8)
That's... honestly not too bad! Only 4 confirmed stat blocks to create (+1 that I already did), 2 of which will be pretty similar to existing monsters. That seems super doable!
Overland Travel / Timeline
I think we elide Random Encounters/Events when traveling. If we want travel to be variable, we can do a quick Montage Test each time they travel, with a difficulty based on the terrain and the total length of travel depending on the result.
Travel Pace: Baseline 24 miles per day, 1/2 (12) in Difficult Terrain (forests, mountain paths), 1/3 (8) in Greater Difficult Terrain (swamps, mountains).
Failure: takes an extra +50% of the time. Partial Success: +25%. Full Success: Normal time. (Optional: let the PCs keep rolling at this point to possibly reduce time by 25%.)
Generic Tasks: Find the Path (Navigate), Look Out for Danger (Alertness, Monsters, Nature), Recall Local Paths (Culture, History), Keep Up the Pace (Endurance), Manage Supplies (Lift, Strategy)
Conditional Tasks: Inspire Followers (Interpersonal Skills), Lead Mounts/Vehicles (Handle Animals, Ride, Drive), Avoid Notice (Hide or Sneak), Follow Tracks (Track)
Specific Obstacles: Ford a River (Swim, Jump, Climb, etc), Withstand a Storm (Endure, Nature to avoid, craft something to protect), Clear a Road (Endure, Lift, perhaps Ride or crafting)
I think we'd want to go through and add a little more detail to different regions, but that's a later project.
Boats
Likely, taking the boat North from Drellins Ferry to Rhest.
Travel Pace: Difficult Terrain (1/2) upstream (e.g. North to Rhest), normal downstream
Conditional Boat Tasks: Row (Endurance, Drive), Fix the Boat (Carpentry)
Owlback
Travel Pace: 36 miles per day (18 on a Failure, 27 on a Partial Success), I don't think Difficult Terrain is relevant.
Conditional Owlback Tasks: Don't Fall! (Ride, Gymnastics, Endurance)
The March of Time
I'm not sure honestly how well all of this will work with the book's timeline. Probably fine? Since there's a chance they'll be slowed down? The more time they have at the end, the more they can do Downtime Projects - will probably want a more fleshed out chunk of Defensive Projects they can work on.
My Custom Content
While most of the core monsters in the adventure are in Draw Steel! not all of the expanded ones are.
- Renard in the Blackfens could become a Vampire Lord, though he probably hasn't raised many followers since he doesn't actually want to hurt his sister.
- For the Hammerfist Holds, example, there are no Aranea, though we could replace them with Shadow Elves or Devil Cultists. Or just antagonistic Dwarves who would rather serve the Red Hand!
- The Infernal Circus could probably have a mix of Rivals, Human Bandits, and actual Devils.
- The stuff in the Endless Plains that I never got to would also be pretty doable, amostly Orc clan, some Gnolls and Demons, etc.
I think the Hammerfist Holds in particular are too cool not to include.
I would likely be making a little sandbox. Idk if it'd be levels 1-2 or just level 2 - depends on if my players wanted to keep going straight from The Delian Tomb or make new characters and restart at level 1. Some things I'm thinking about:
- A Wode Hag final boss could be cool, though perhaps slightly too powerful - reducing Stamina from 300 to 200 should be fine though. Or maybe we don't need to! Idk. I'll do the math later.
- It would generally be an exploration of that middle section of the Witchwood that RHoD never enters, east of the Rhestwatch. A tiny little node-based adventure.
- I would probably push the Bandit stuff (The Black Knives / Lady Dagger) into this chunk.
- Goblin refugees, fleeing the purges from the Kulkor Zhul.
- A local Ogre or Minotaur tribe who is considering whether to join the Kulkor Zhul or not.
- Rhestilorean Ruins - perhaps a tower of the Hellriders, a Library, etc.
- Probably a Ghost or similar that can be put to r(h)est
- Something infernal - probably Demons just based on level, though possibly reflavored as Devils (not 100% sure how the Draw Steel! differentiation is gonna work with Descent Into Avernus, but that's a later problem).
- Some way for the PCs to learn about the Lizardfolk in Rhest beforehand, to potentially be able to negotiate with them for their aid rather than bypassing them.
How much of that got included, and how meaty each bit was, would probably depend on how many levels it was meant to take up.
I think that's enough to get started - whether I do or not, who knows! But it was a fun use of an afternoon at the very least. If you have thoughts or suggestions, please let me know in the comments!
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