1st Edition Monsters: from The 3rd Edition
Arabian Nights
Battle System converted to 3E (ZIP 58 Kb)
Birthright Campaign: from The 3rd Edition
Conversion 2E to 3E (ZIP 6005 Kb)
Darksun Campaign: from The 3rd Edition
How to Convert Monsters from 2E (ZIP 539 Kb)
Excerpt from the How to Convert Monsters from 2E
CONVERTING BASIC D&D MONSTERS TO THE 3RD EDITION RULES SYSTEM Revision 3
INTRODUCTION
WHY CONVERT?
I learned to play D&D a long time ago, back in the early 80s, using the Basic D&D Rules system. Not long afterward, I began to DM under those same rules. When my friends and I decided to jump straight from the Basic system into 3rd Edition, the transition wasn’t a smooth one. Many rules were missing, others were changed, and still more were conjured from thin air. Most frustrating, however, was that all my favorite monsters in the Basic Rules system were missing.
We wrote this guide as a way of sharing how I do things in my campaign…to help out those DMs like myself who are struggling with the new system of rules. I am not trying to amend any rules in the 3rd Edition game, nor am I trying to thumb my nose at Dragon Magazine’s recent articles on monster building. (The truth is, we had no idea Dragon magazine had even published an article on making monsters in the 3rd Edition rules system, until about 50 of you were kind enough to bring it to our attention.)
And another thing: ever since I posted this article on the Internet, I get at least 2 or 3 e-mails a day telling me how I am doing it wrong. Please, people. This set of rules was not written to “redefine” the way that Wizards of the Coast suggests you convert monsters. I am well aware of Dragon Magazine’s article in Issue #276 and their CD in Issue # 284. The purpose of these conversion rules is to make life a little easier on DMs like myself out there, who are struggling with starting over in a new rules system, by putting all of the charts and graphs in one easy-to-use document. I am not trying to win a contest or make any money here.
HOW TO CONVERT: A SABRE-TOOTHED TUTORIAL
Converting monsters from the Basic Dungeons & Dragons game into the 3rd Edition game (D20 system) is a complete pain in the neck. Armor class calculations were totally thrown out of whack, and the XP Values and awards were replaced altogether with a new tabular format. Attacks and damage, ability scores, and the elimination of half of the saving throws really complicated things.
There are many steps involved in converting a monster from the Basic rules system into the 3rd Edition, but the number of steps isn’t the problem. The problem is, under the 3rd Edition rules there are stats that affect other stats, so if you change one number, several more can change as well. Keeping track of them all can get tedious. Which is why it is important to separate out the stats that change other stats first, and then plug the numbers in for the other stats second.
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