Running older D&D modules with 5e rules

Mar 22, 2023 5:23 pm
Hello,

Has anyone tried running older D&D modules with 5e rules? How did it go? Were there any hacks that helped make this successful? I have a few 2e modules I'm sitting on, but I suspect getting a group together would be easier for 5e.

What I'd like to avoid is having to take a lot of prep time in advance to have to re-create large portions of the modules to run them. I appreciate any insight people might have.
Mar 22, 2023 6:00 pm
Not 5e, but I've run a ton converted to Pathfinder 1.

It's hit and miss - where it's just a plug and play monster that's easy, but NPCs require conversion.
Last edited March 22, 2023 7:28 pm
Mar 22, 2023 7:25 pm
I've been doing one for a while. No big issues as long as I adjust encounters CR to not exceed the party level. Traps migrate easy enough.
Mar 22, 2023 7:25 pm
I've been doing one for a while. No big issues as long as I adjust encounters CR to not exceed the party level. Traps migrate easy enough.
Mar 22, 2023 8:37 pm
There are a lot of conversions on driverthrurpg.com. Some are better than others.
Mar 22, 2023 8:37 pm
We are playing Baldurs Gate 2 the AD&D computer game. In the early editions magic items gave you the abilities that the class gives in the later. Be careful with dealing out items from the older modules
Mar 22, 2023 10:27 pm
Any specific modules you were looking at?
Mar 22, 2023 11:19 pm
I've been running Temple of Elemental Evil for a few years now and it's worked pretty well without much issue
Mar 23, 2023 6:12 pm
I have:

- The Chilling Tales Anthology for Ravenloft (levels 3-8)
- A Darkness Gathering
- The Silver Key

I'd have to double check, but I those are the only ones
May 7, 2023 3:52 am
If you really must run them in 5e, you should probably check out how WotC did it in their Tales of the Yawning Portal release. There are several 1e and 2e adventures in that book that have been converted to the 5e rules set.
Jul 11, 2023 2:05 pm
Goodman Games has converted some of the older classic modules to 5e, though it can be tricky to find them for some reason.
Jul 11, 2023 6:04 pm
Goodman Games has done OAR1 Into the Borderlands, OAR2 Isle of Dread, OAR3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, OAR4 The Lost City, OAR5 Castle Amber, OAR6 Temple of Elemental Evil, OAR7 Dark Tower, and the forthcoming OAR8 Caverns of Thracia. They are a bit pricy, but if you run 5e and have a sense of nostalgia, they are worth it.
Last edited July 11, 2023 6:09 pm
Jul 11, 2023 8:23 pm
Agreed. Personally I'm excited for their DCC conversion of Thracia as I was a big fan of that mod back in the day. A favorite of mine.
Oct 23, 2023 10:34 pm
WhtKnt says:
Goodman Games has done OAR1 Into the Borderlands, OAR2 Isle of Dread, OAR3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, OAR4 The Lost City, OAR5 Castle Amber, OAR6 Temple of Elemental Evil, OAR7 Dark Tower, and the forthcoming OAR8 Caverns of Thracia. They are a bit pricy, but if you run 5e and have a sense of nostalgia, they are worth it.
That, so totally that... :D
Oct 24, 2023 6:50 am
Balancing isn't just a problem for old modules, it's also a problem for 5e modules. DMs shouldn't trust 5e module encounters to be balanced.

Here's my quick rule of thumb:
If the PCs are level 1-4 then add up their levels and divide by 4.
If the PCs are level 5+ then add up their levels and divide by 2.
That's the total monster CR for a reasonable encounter.

So, 5 level 2 PCs? That's 10/4 = 2.5. So, maybe one Dire Wolf (CR1) and 6 Wolves (each at CR1/4).

You're only after stat blocks. They enemies don't have to be wolves. Maybe those Dire Wolf stats belong to your bandit chief, and the Wolf stats belong to the bandits.

It's only a rough guide, and once you've seen how well the PCs perform you can adjust from there.

For PbP I tend to choose glass cannons for enemies. Fights where the enemy CR is based on lots of HP tend to be a bit of a slog. So given a choice between two stat blocks, I'd rather choose one that deals more damage but has fewer HP and lower AC.
Oct 24, 2023 4:36 pm
Adam says:
Balancing isn't just a problem for old modules, it's also a problem for 5e modules. DMs shouldn't trust 5e module encounters to be balanced.


For PbP I tend to choose glass cannons for enemies. Fights where the enemy CR is based on lots of HP tend to be a bit of a slog. So given a choice between two stat blocks, I'd rather choose one that deals more damage but has fewer HP and lower AC.
That last bit there is good advice in general for people running PbP games, regardless of system.
Nov 11, 2023 6:43 pm
I've done this several times, starting with the AD&D module N1 and continuing with many other AD&D and B/X & BECMI D&D modules. There are, broadly speaking, two types of conversion that need to happen; one is not too difficult, the other one can be VERY difficult.

First, the mechanical conversion, which is not too bad, usually. As others have posted, there's adjusting the monsters, traps, and treasure. Earlier monsters mostly have WAY fewer HP, so you usually have to adjust the number of monsters down a lot. They also tend to have very strong special abilities - sometimes deadly - and very weak normal attacks. Traps tend to be deadly, so you have to decide whether to keep them that way, or adjust them so they do enough damage that they MIGHT be deadly, rather than that they ARE deadly. Treasure is XP in (A)D&D, so you've got to drastically reduce the treasure when converting a module to 5e.

What's much more difficult IME is navigating the differences in underlying assumptions about (A)D&D vs. 5e. 5e is about adventure and combat. (A)D&D is about loot and survival. When you play AD&D, for example, you know that you need to carefully avoid or circumvent any traps because they will certainly kill your PC, whereas in 5e the expectation is that you will attempt to disarm a trap, but if you fail, it will do a bunch of damage. AD&D modules often involve riddles and puzzles, which rely on the players using their own metagame cleverness to solve. In 5e, where there is generally a stronger expectation that you "play only what your character knows," this sort of thing stumps PCs and frustrates players. The 5e death save system leads to a situation where one PC very rarely dies but TPKs happen much more often, compared to (A)D&D. How do you adjust a module for these things, given that they are underlying assumptions about the module?

A lot of the official conversions that others have mentioned in this thread only address the first part, but not the assumptions part. Playing through White Plume Mountain as I did with one of my 5e groups last year, I was struck again and again how tonally different that module is to any modern 5e play. Actually converting it so that it would make sense for 5e is ridiculously challenging. Do you try to make it as deadly as the original? Significant changes need to be made, much more than was done in TotYP. But should it be as deadly as the original, when 5e itself mostly isn't? How does a deathtrap dungeon hit when it isn't a deathtrap? It's very different.
Nov 13, 2023 6:40 am
Great insights, spaceseeker19. I will say that not all old school adventures are in the mold of those tournament modules, though. N1 and a bunch of other modules that aren't funhouses and have social and exploration components can fit the bill and support a more modern playstyle pretty well, I'd think. But I also have pretty limited experience with 5e, so feel free to ignore me. ;)

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