5 ms·

How much work is it to port an AD&D adventure to DnD 4th or 5th edition?

kop316 6y ago
As just a straight 1:1 translation to 5e, it isn't really hard. The monsters are roughly the same, so it isn't hard to run an AD&D adventure on 5e. I would argue a "novice" DM could read through an AD&D adventure and do the translation on the fly. (EDIT: When I wrote this I meant look at the monster in the adventure, and find the analogous one in the 5e monster manual, and use that. Don't use the original stats!) HOWEVER, I would offer that from the TSR AD&D adventures I have run, AD&D is a) much more "hack and slash"/murder hobo like, and b) much more deadly/much more "random", as compared to a WotC 5e campaign. Not to say that is bad, but I find that if you want to do it, you will want to tell your players this so they have the right expectations going into an AD&D style campaign. I personally (as a DM) prefer having (some amount of) plot line in my adventures, so I find myself filling in a lot of gaps myself if there needs to be a plot line (which I personally enjoy). I also prefer not to kill my players characters (granted, I also level set that doing things you expect to get you killed will in fact get you killed), so I tend to tune back a lot more of the "deadly" traps (i.e. in some of the really deadly dungeons, just a bad roll of dice on a failed trap will kill you. I am not a fan of that, so I tune it back that it will eventually kill you, but you have a chance of reacting and your teammates can save you). But I will also offer, I have had players who want to run it "old school", so I don't do any of that and run it as a 1:1 translation, and we have had a lot of fun with it too!
- retro64 6y ago
  As just a straight 1:1 translation to 5e, it isn't really hard. The monsters are roughly the same, so it isn't hard to run an AD&D adventure on 5e. I would argue a "novice" DM could read through an AD&D adventure and do the translation on the fly. I would agree you should be able to run the module as-is and insert a monster of the same type from the 5e monster manual, but certainly not use the 1e stats straight up. 1e monsters wouldn't stand a chance against a 5e party otherwise.
  - kop316 6y ago
    Sorry, that was what was in my mind when I wrote that, you are correct on that! You want to use the 5e monster manual, not the original stats.
  - ygjb 6y ago
    That's certainly one perspective, but OTOH if you play 1e or 2e monsters straight, there are alot of instant death effects that are much higher risk and far more debilitating impacts :) If the players are comfortable with it, it can bring back some of the old-school feel of D&D where death is behind every door...
    - Jtsummers 6y ago
      "A slime mold was above the door you entered, roll a d20 and add your dex mod." "I got a 19" "OK, well, it's on you. Roll a d6" "I got a 5" "Well, you're going to die quickly then." "What did I need to live?" "To look up."
    - kop316 6y ago
      > If the players are comfortable with it, I think that is the bigyest thing DMing. I don't mind playing some of the very deadly dungeons, but you do really have to work with the players to set expectations on it. Same with how you DM, play style, etc.
- pdonis 6y ago
  > in some of the really deadly dungeons, just a bad roll of dice on a failed trap will kill you The all-time classic of this genre was the Tomb of Horrors. As a player, you basically have to be ultra paranoid about every single action you take. And even playing in that mode, you're likely to lose a significant portion of the party. And yes, you definitely want all of the players to buy in to that style of play up front before trying to run an adventure like that.
  - kop316 6y ago
    Haha, that was one I was very specifically thinking of! If you get buy in from the players, tomb of horrors is a lot of fun!
tjakab 6y ago
I never tried AD&D to 4th edition, but to 5th edition you can pretty much just do it on the fly. 5e characters are more powerful than their 1e/2e counterparts, so you'll want to increase HD and damage for monsters or just swap in the equivalent from the 5e Monster Manual. You also won't get direct indicators for skill checks or DCs, but those are usually simple enough to figure out.

As just a straight 1:1 translation to 5e, it isn't really hard. The monsters are roughly the same, so it isn't hard to run an AD&D adventure on 5e. I would argue a "novice" DM could read through an AD&D adventure and do the translation on the fly. (EDIT: When I wrote this I meant look at the monster in the adventure, and find the analogous one in the 5e monster manual, and use that. Don't use the original stats!) HOWEVER, I would offer that from the TSR AD&D adventures I have run, AD&D is a) much more "hack and slash"/murder hobo like, and b) much more deadly/much more "random", as compared to a WotC 5e campaign. Not to say that is bad, but I find that if you want to do it, you will want to tell your players this so they have the right expectations going into an AD&D style campaign. I personally (as a DM) prefer having (some amount of) plot line in my adventures, so I find myself filling in a lot of gaps myself if there needs to be a plot line (which I personally enjoy). I also prefer not to kill my players characters (granted, I also level set that doing things you expect to get you killed will in fact get you killed), so I tend to tune back a lot more of the "deadly" traps (i.e. in some of the really deadly dungeons, just a bad roll of dice on a failed trap will kill you. I am not a fan of that, so I tune it back that it will eventually kill you, but you have a chance of reacting and your teammates can save you). But I will also offer, I have had players who want to run it "old school", so I don't do any of that and run it as a 1:1 translation, and we have had a lot of fun with it too!

retro64 6y ago
As just a straight 1:1 translation to 5e, it isn't really hard. The monsters are roughly the same, so it isn't hard to run an AD&D adventure on 5e. I would argue a "novice" DM could read through an AD&D adventure and do the translation on the fly. I would agree you should be able to run the module as-is and insert a monster of the same type from the 5e monster manual, but certainly not use the 1e stats straight up. 1e monsters wouldn't stand a chance against a 5e party otherwise.
- kop316 6y ago
  Sorry, that was what was in my mind when I wrote that, you are correct on that! You want to use the 5e monster manual, not the original stats.
- ygjb 6y ago
  That's certainly one perspective, but OTOH if you play 1e or 2e monsters straight, there are alot of instant death effects that are much higher risk and far more debilitating impacts :) If the players are comfortable with it, it can bring back some of the old-school feel of D&D where death is behind every door...
  - Jtsummers 6y ago
    "A slime mold was above the door you entered, roll a d20 and add your dex mod." "I got a 19" "OK, well, it's on you. Roll a d6" "I got a 5" "Well, you're going to die quickly then." "What did I need to live?" "To look up."
  - kop316 6y ago
    > If the players are comfortable with it, I think that is the bigyest thing DMing. I don't mind playing some of the very deadly dungeons, but you do really have to work with the players to set expectations on it. Same with how you DM, play style, etc.
pdonis 6y ago
> in some of the really deadly dungeons, just a bad roll of dice on a failed trap will kill you The all-time classic of this genre was the Tomb of Horrors. As a player, you basically have to be ultra paranoid about every single action you take. And even playing in that mode, you're likely to lose a significant portion of the party. And yes, you definitely want all of the players to buy in to that style of play up front before trying to run an adventure like that.
- kop316 6y ago
  Haha, that was one I was very specifically thinking of! If you get buy in from the players, tomb of horrors is a lot of fun!

tjakab 6y ago

I never tried AD&D to 4th edition, but to 5th edition you can pretty much just do it on the fly. 5e characters are more powerful than their 1e/2e counterparts, so you'll want to increase HD and damage for monsters or just swap in the equivalent from the 5e Monster Manual. You also won't get direct indicators for skill checks or DCs, but those are usually simple enough to figure out.