Pathfinder Ravenloft: House of Strahd Conversion (ULTIMATE LICENCE)

[Scotifer]

Having travelled far from your homeland, you take your rest at a tavern along a dark winding road. The sky is black and starless, and the only sounds are the howling of wolves, a murder of crows, and the whinnying hound of the innkeep as the Mists encroach upon you....

You have entered the Domain of Dread, with the Dark Powers behind the scenes working their foul machinations upon the laity. Now, in the lands of Barovia, its lord surveys his realm at midnight in the dim glow of a blood moon.



Genre: Horror/Dungeon Crawl/Fantasy

Setting: Ravenloft

Rules: Pathfinder
All 3.5 material can be used, including prestige classes, spells, and feats (subject to DM approval)
I will tolerate only so much powergaming. As long as you can justify your choices from a RP perspective, it will usually be fine with me.
All humanoid races are acceptable (humans preferred)
Preferred method of character generation is using PC Gen and then converting it into FG with the FG Char Gen. Any changes can be edited in afterwards.
For spellcasters, choose your spells wisely. This is a AD&D conversion, so if you do not have any of the typical spells then you might be in for a bit of trouble later on.
Rules lawyering is ok for important things, but I will not let us get bogged down in the minute ("When in doubt, roll and shout!")

Time: TBA (Scotland, UK, GMT +0, UTC +0)
I am available on Friday-Sunday evenings, so that is the planned time (usually around 19.00-20.00)

Communication: Google Hangouts is going to be the main medium of communication. If more people have Skype, then I am ok using that, but I would prefer to use Hangouts exclusively for FG games. Roleplaying and banter through voice chat.

If all goes well, I have a large library of old modules that I am willing to convert in the long run. As I am an ultimate licence holder, I aim to make extensive use of it to get my money's worth.

Disclaimer:
I am a AD&D 2E and GURPS player by preference. This is my first time dabbling in Pathfinder (I did DM and construct modules in Neverwinter Nights, so I am not totally new to the system). I have an ultimate licence and realised I do not have the time or patience to input 2E material (of which I have an extensive library) and Castles and Crusades does not appeal to me when 3.5 and PFRPG are already available.
In my 2E and GURPS games, I favoured lethality and it was not uncommon to die (although I have never done a TPK). One player made bad decisions a lot - he died at the start and end of the session.

Will keep you updated.

Scotifer

[kwarner1986]

Sounds like fun, I only got to play this a couple of session before the players gave up and quit the game. Love to be a part of the project if it's Friday after 7:30pm US EST or Sunday after 5:30pm US EST

[Zardoz4]

So, a Level 12 Tiefling Polearm Fighter using the Pathfinder Rules would be OK? I created him using the High Fantasy Method (20 Points) at the time.

I can't play on Sunday evenings, because at that time I'm already DMing a Pathfinder Group (using Teamspeak). My party is level 6 now, but I'm still finding little, helpful things FG will allow a DM to do. Would be great to be able to play instead of DM, though ;)

I'm from Germany, so my grammar may be off sometimes.

[Swipht]

If I did my conversion right Kwarner, he's saying 1-2pm central or 2-3pm eastern?
Level 12? Where did you read level 12 Zardoz4? Tiefling is an outsider with the native quality. . . Not humanoid. . . However a Goblin is a humanoid with the Goblinoid sub-type.
Can I throw my name in the ring for a Goblin alchemist? If not then I have a Elf Rogue/Alchemist/Magus build. . . The Elf is unplay tested, He could rock or suck. The Goblin is going to be a big ball of "What are you doing now?" "Setting the whole encounter on fire *big toothy grin*" I have to say if you want voice acting, I do a great goblin. On the other hand if no one wishes to be the wizard, I can do wizard. . . Mind you I always get stuck playing the squishy full caster because no one else wants too.

Side note, I love raw darkness of raven-loft. . . You screwing paladins and clerics like 2nd ed, or you cutting them some slack?

[Scotifer]

kwarner1986, if I were to allow tiefling it would have to be done in a very subtle, "does that guy have horns? The light must be playing tricks with my eyes" sort of way. Give them less of a Hellboy feel to them (maybe even something uniquely uncosmetic, say Picture of Dorian Grey with a demon reflection, painting, etc for example).

I already have it advertised on the games calendar. Level 12 starting. I will play with level progression since I never was comfortable with XP tables.

Zardoz, bad grammar is fine by me if English isn't your first language (but any player who does text speak, will c a vamp 8t their heart out!).

Goblins in Ravenloft 2E material are basically savage, dagger weilding maniacs. I would have to disallow their use as a PC. I will have a look and think of a way around it, the basic concept I like though.

[Swipht]

Brains aren't exactly abundant in goblins in pathfinder either. . . He'd be an intelligent savage bomb wielding Maniac. He was tolerated in his tribe due to his pretty fire works, but he was mostly an outcast. When they discovered his written books he was chased out of his tribe. Unaccepted in any racial circle, he turned to stealth. . . More of an unknown ally, then a group member. Preferring to not have any adventurers he leeched onto to see him, let alone interact with him. Starting at level 12 he would have gone through several bad instances where he aided groups of adventurers but was chased off once again when he was revealed fully, putting him at a distance looking for a new group that he could start fresh with. Some groups didn't leave his fair share, so he took it while they slept. . . Others accepted the oddity, and left offerings to him like a house elf (not dnd elf, more of the historical version of a house elf. . . That did things for the owners in the night while they slept. . . They'd feed them and offer goodies), but once they found out who their unknown benefactor was, they were quick to judge: scaring him off before they could come to terms with who was helping them.

I've got several ideas that don't involve the goblin.

The Elf was brought up in a band of nomadic gypsies. . . His story varies slightly if I go 'Rogue', Wizard, or 'archer' with him. Alternatively I can make him human and go str Magus/3.5 swashbuckler.

If you don't gimp cleric's I've got a big dumb brute of a cleric in the form of a half-orc. He's used to being an outcast, but he's very open and resilient about it. Fighting to prove that he's not the stereo type, and taking every jab with a gritted smile. Eventually everyone who isn't evil loves him.

Guess I didn't see the game calendar invite. . . Would be a great play test to see if my 'rogue' works at lvl 12.

[Zardoz4]

kwarner1986, if I were to allow tiefling it would have to be done in a very subtle, "does that guy have horns? The light must be playing tricks with my eyes" sort of way. Give them less of a Hellboy feel to them (maybe even something uniquely uncosmetic, say Picture of Dorian Grey with a demon reflection, painting, etc for example).
(...)


So red skin is out? He's mostly wearing Full Plate anyway ;) Well, his Shark's Teeth would only be visible while smiling, which he might not do often, considering his LG alignment and Charisma of 6. He's more the "straight in your face" Spock type. His forked Tongue would also be no a dead giveaway and his blood would be hotter than normal, but since there's no Infravision anymore, that should also be unproblematic.

Another Question: which World would you use, because of Gods and Cities and such.

[Scotifer]

So red skin is out? He's mostly wearing Full Plate anyway ;) Well, his Shark's Teeth would only be visible while smiling, which he might not do often, considering his LG alignment and Charisma of 6. He's more the "straight in your face" Spock type. His forked Tongue would also be no a dead giveaway and his blood would be hotter than normal, but since there's no Infravision anymore, that should also be unproblematic.

Another Question: which World would you use, because of Gods and Cities and such.

As it is Ravenloft, I would be wary of having a LG tiefling (or any tainted PC for that matter). Any Neutral would sit better with me. I looked up the 3.5E Ravenloft stuff and have a good substitute for Goblin and Tiefling, if either of you want. Caliban (basically half-orc, but could use goblin too) are humans cursed in the womb, it would have the outcast element to it, so the PC would effectively be the same. The tiefling could be a demonically possessed humanoid: transposition swaps a fiend for an evil doer in Ravenloft. As you start at level 12, there is no reason he could not have been evil and tried to repent to remove the demon and still have a few scars to remind him of it (maybe the fiend is just dormant). Other than alignment, I would allow the rest.

We are set in Barovia. Anyone who wants to be a native of the demiplane of Dread can be. Otherwise, Forgotten Realms.

Regarding divine magic, assume it works vanilla (until it doesn't). I like the idea of divine magic being a personal manifestation of divine magic, but the Ur-Priest prestige class in 3.5E and Velsharoon's attempt to attain godhood provide ample concepts for deity-less divine magic (not even taking into consideration Dark Sun).

[EonVankmer]

I have a human ranger I'd be happy to join up with; I'm in GMT too and I'm free any days other than Tuesday and Wednesday.
What level would we be rolling to? He's currently level 1 but I can level him up to whatever.

[Zardoz4]

I have a human ranger I'd be happy to join up with; I'm in GMT too and I'm free any days other than Tuesday and Wednesday.
What level would we be rolling to? He's currently level 1 but I can level him up to whatever.

Level 12, it's in the Game Calendar description.

[EonVankmer]

Level 12, it's in the Game Calendar description.

Where is that, by the way?

edit:

Got it, doesn't matter.

[Ferrin]

I signed up on the Calendar, I am doing a human wizard specializing in evocation. He has a bit of a character. And I do a voice.

[Scotifer]

Okay, I now have a lot more breathing space with my coursework. So I can now leisurely get back to this wonderful hobby.

I have been playing around with Fantasy Grounds quite a bit, so I do not think I will have any trouble running the combat (which always dragged down my old AD&D 2E games, because of the amount of time my players took figuring out who they wanted to hit with the business end of their swords). So that means the best part of my f2f games will hopefully shine through on FG.

I have put the full module text-blocks into FG and all the images and monsters (except Strahd because I am trying to balance him correctly). There are not many special items in House of Strahd, so I will add some extras for random drops, tables, etc. I have also added quite a few 3.5/PFRPG modules and will add extensions too once I figure out what each of them do and whether or not I really need them.

My friend has confirmed that my new headset does not sound terrible. Rejoice!

I will make an additional post this evening confirming soonest availability for a game. Boss gave me the rota for the next month so I will know when I will be able to DM. I will also put that on the Game Calendar.

[Wind Serpent]

I would be interested in joining the game as well. I can either make an Anchorite of Ezra, or a Half-Vistani Sorceress, depending on what would be more useful to the group.

[Zardoz4]

I would be interested in joining the game as well. I can either make an Anchorite of Ezra, or a Half-Vistani Sorceress, depending on what would be more useful to the group.

Looking at the Game Calender most Characters are of the close combat type. I don't know the Anchorite Class, but we could surely use some more Area or Buff Power ;) Sorceress flinging a few Fireball or Haste spells would sound useful to me. Also Knock Spells, since we don't have a Rogue.

[Wind Serpent]

Essentially, an Anchorite is a cleric with the mists domain, so he would be able to provide healing, buffs and status removal. Also, he could try to open the domain borders so we could get the hell out of Barovia after we make Strahd mad at us by ransacking his house. ;-)

The sorceress could provide all sorts of magical support and curses, as you said, but she might be a little redundant since there's already a wizard in the party. (Though we cold probably get around that by coordinating our spell selection).

[Zardoz4]

Essentially, an Anchorite is a cleric with the mists domain, so he would be able to provide healing, buffs and status removal. Also, he could try to open the domain borders so we could get the hell out of Barovia after we make Strahd mad at us by ransacking his house. ;-)

The sorceress could provide all sorts of magical support and curses, as you said, but she might be a little redundant since there's already a wizard in the party. (Though we cold probably get around that by coordinating our spell selection).

Cool, a little extra Healing Power would be fine, too.

I'd imagine Mr. Strahd owns a Castle. Sacking a House sounds too easy ;)

[Scotifer]

Zaroz4, this means you are a native of Ravenloft, yes? If so, you need to be from somewhere other than Barovia - adds a bit of mystery not being able to rely on your local knowledge.
Most people should be new arrivals to Ravenloft. You can be the exception, just because you are the one using divine magic.

I can also confirm it is a castle. Raiding Strahd's 'house' would be a lot less lucrative for a ragtag band of murder hobos.

Some ranged capacity would be helpful. You don't need a ranger or anyone who is specialised at ranged combat, but if you don't at least have some skill in it, it might bite you in the *** later.

[Zardoz4]

If you want to, I could be a Native, if it fits the Setting better. Otherwise I would be a Tiefling from good old Waterdeep, tutored in a Lathander Temple to be a Temple Guard after being abandoned by my parents. I don't know the Ravenloft Setting enough to name any Cities I would come from. Also I own a Magic Bow, but I don't have ranged Feats.

[Scotifer]

Oops, I meant to direct the question to Wind Serpent. As an Anchorite I assumed he would probably be a native.
It is not necessary for you to be native, Zardoz4. In fact, it suits my purpose that only those who really have to should be natives.

Zardoz4, pm me your character sheet details and/or bio and I will edit the tiefling a bit (mostly to make it a bit more unique, but also In have some good ideas that need forethought),.

[Scotifer]

I have been trying to work out starting gold and equipment today.
Think we should follow one of the guides for starting gold.

80,000gp each. Spend 20,000gp on any one item. Try to include adventuring gear and one off equipment. As long as the equipment is appropriate, its ok. Spend 8,000gp in gems and coins, minimum.

[Wind Serpent]

You're right, Scotifier, as an Anchorite, I would be native to Ravenloft - but I certainly could be from Mordentshire or Borca, that probably makes more sense for an Ezran anwyay.

I'll get to work on the character sheet and send something to you as soon as possible.

[Ferrin]

Do we have a start date and time in mind yet? If you accept us as players on the calendar we can start voting on times.

[Zardoz4]

I hope our Mage has learned some Item creation feats. Sadly it's a Spellcraft Check to use them and that's not really a thing for fighters. "Craft Wondrous Items" and "Arms and Armor" are great to equip us properly after we liberated some Undead of things they no longer need ;)

[Scotifer]

To accommodate Zardoz4, this week I would like to run the game on Saturday evening (probably 18:00 GMT+0). Is that okay with everyone?

I will reveal my inherent bias towards supporting crafters of any ilk (especially constructs!). The more creative you are with you characters, the happy I am as a DM, even if it ruins my chance for a well deserved kill.

Also, the Undead do not have property rights, so it is not THEIR stuff!

[Wind Serpent]

I'm afraid that Saturday doesn't work for me, at all. My regular FTF group is on Saturday evenings, and I'm often busy during the day as well.

[Zardoz4]

Ok, this Week's Friday at 18:00 GMT?

[Wind Serpent]

Unfortunately, I'm already comitted to two games at Aethercon this Friday evening. Maybe you should go ahead without me, though, if you're aiming for a weekend slot - making regular times on the weekend is generally problematic for me, and I don't want to be the one who keeps holding up the game.

[Zardoz4]

So no Sunday, Saturday or Friday for you this Week. But Fridays would usually be OK?

I'd say the rest of could meet this Friday and either discuss our schedule or start roleplaying a bit. Meeting up and such shouldn't necessarily need a Cleric. I promise not to hit the Mage ;)

[Wind Serpent]

"Usually OK" might be overstating it. Looking at the rest of the Fridays in this year, I could only offer Nov 27th, and Dec 18th (on next week's Friday I have a game that was postponed from FG Con).

If I made a conscious effort to avoid scheduling things on Fridays, I could probably ensure two to three free Fridays a month going forward. But that might still be a bit thin if you're aiming for a weekly game.

[Zardoz4]

"Usually OK" might be overstating it. Looking at the rest of the Fridays in this year, I could only offer Nov 27th, and Dec 18th (on next week's Friday I have a game that was postponed from FG Con).

If I made a conscious effort to avoid scheduling things on Fridays, I could probably ensure two to three free Fridays a month going forward. But that might still be a bit thin if you're aiming for a weekly game.

You told us you could play roughly every second Sunday. I could talk with my Sunday Group and ask them if we could play Bi-Weekly. Then we could play the other two Sundays. If that's better for you.

[Wind Serpent]

In the long term, Friday would work better for me, since on Sundays I have another FtF group that is already a scheduling nightmare without adding any further complications into the mix.

That said, in the next few weeks Sundays might indeed be preferable, but I can't give you the exact dates I'll be available until Saturday.

[Ferrin]

I am good to go anytime but sunday mornings MST. If you have time today or tomorrow shoot me a PM, Id like to go over some of the item creation things.

[Wind Serpent]

Okay, guys - after Ferrin's nice "reputation comment" to me based on a handful of posts, I really have no interest anymore in playing with him in any campaign. So, regardless of any scheduling issues, I'm out...

Scotifier and Zardoz, thanks for trying to make this work and sorry for taking up your time.

[Scotifer]

For those who are available on Saturday (and anyone else reading this that has yet to join), I will be online on Saturday at 18:00 GMT and there will be a small introduction. As I have never used FG outside of FtF games, this will give me time to get a hang of the system beyond my casual tinkering.

Anyone who is interested, PM me and I can get some special prep done for your characters.

-----------------------------

With regards to item creation, I have some nasty tricks up my sleeve so you will need any help you can get.

[Zardoz4]

When is the next date? Saturday 18:00 GMT again?

[Scotifer]

Next date will be Saturday 18:00 GMT.

I have had some luck with connecting to FG using the external IP which means there should be no trouble connecting to me as host this time.

[Squeak]

Next date will be Saturday 18:00 GMT.

I have had some luck with connecting to FG using the external IP which means there should be no trouble connecting to me as host this time.

Nice to hear that.

If you want to run a connection test some evening before Saturday let me know and we can try to arrange a time.

[Zardoz4]

I have a friend who wants to play our Rogue. Also he owns a TS Server, so we could skip Hangouts, if we want to. His name is Dennis and he's already in the Calendar.

[Scotifer]

Despite my best efforts, I cannot fix the problem with my modem. As I am upgrading to a better service shortly, any fix I can get will obviously be temporary, so it makes sense to wait and only do it once.

My internal ip address is not appearing, and the poet forwarding guide isn't producing results.

Maximum delay will be 02/12/15

[Squeak]

Thanks for the info - a two week delay hardly matters for a long-term campaign anyway....

Feel free to PM me about testing the port forwarding for the new broadband.

[Crazy Aido]

Hey guys, I'm in GMT if you're still looking for a rouge-y player.

[Scotifer]

Sorry guys, after a horrendous property exam today I have come to conclusion I need to spend substantially more time on my postgraduate degree. It is a pain considering how much I wanted to run a Ravenloft campaign (I really should have taken a photo for posterity of all the notes out for the failed intro session!).

If it is any consolation, I am telling my boss to get stuffed for their terribly unhelpful rota in exam week and will be getting a new job shortly.

I appreciate all the time you have put into it, but this campaign is a non-starter for now - which is a shame considering I copied all the artwork from House of Strahd into FG and built the encounters at the end of November.

Wish you guys all the best and happy gaming.

Rega

[Zardoz4]

I wish you luck for your next exam. Perhaps you'll find time in 2016. You could just sent us a PM here ;)

[damned]

Sorry guys, after a horrendous property exam today I have come to conclusion I need to spend substantially more time on my postgraduate degree. It is a pain considering how much I wanted to run a Ravenloft campaign (I really should have taken a photo for posterity of all the notes out for the failed intro session!).

If it is any consolation, I am telling my boss to get stuffed for their terribly unhelpful rota in exam week and will be getting a new job shortly.

I appreciate all the time you have put into it, but this campaign is a non-starter for now - which is a shame considering I copied all the artwork from House of Strahd into FG and built the encounters at the end of November.

Wish you guys all the best and happy gaming.

Rega

Ahhh.... real life.... hope that you get on top of the studies soon!

[Squeak]

Thanks for letting us know, and good luck with your studies!

[Crazy Aido]

Sorry to hear about that dude, hope you can kick dem studies in the nuts!