Thursday, January 29, 2009

Tangent: Material from New Books

This isn't so much a post dealing with the adventure so much as with the conversion process itself. I'm fortunate enough to have access to all released material through D&D Insider (and in many cases, hard copy) but there are probably some interested in using this material who do not. Many times I find a monster that I feel is better suited to the particular occasion than what I would be forced to use if I were limited to the Monster Manual, for instance. While I certainly could make alternate suggestions for those who have access to supplemental material and those who don't, I'm only able to playtest this conversion material once. I'd like everyone reading to weigh in on this and let me know which route you think I should take. Honestly, I'd prefer to use all the options available to me when converting the adventure but I don't want to prevent a group from making use of the conversion by filling an adventure with monsters and such that they don't have access to. For those of you who are on the fence, keep in mind that a D&D Insider subscription runs you from $5 - $8 per month and essentially gives you access to all supplemental material that I would be using through the Compendium (and is a great thing to have your group chip in for - $1 per person per month shouldn't see anyone hurting - or to buy as a thank you gift for your DM). You also get the recently released full version of the Character Builder, which is in my opinion the most useful and most promising application ever created for Dungeons & Dragons.

Please use the comments feature to let me know what you think.

9 comments:

Jesse said...

I say go for it with extra material. You aren't publishing this, so you don't have to follow the GSL. Make the best conversion you can make with the tools you have available. If someone doesn't have all the materials, I'm sure they can get access to them easily enough one way or another. Just be good about citing where things come from.

Not that I am likely your target market for the conversion.

Scott said...

Thanks. That's the way I'm leaning. Good point about citing source, though. I realize that not everyone will be looking everything up in the Compendium, so it will definitely be helpful to have the book/material cited.

Kevin said...

I'd say go for it also. Use material from whatever sources you need to make it cooler & save on your own prep time (I know I do all the time, so I couldn't see myself faulting you for it).

Just adding the book reference would be an excellent way to go.

Mysteria said...

As far as I can see, you're doing this for your own group, and posting this on the web is just a nice extra for all of us out here. Considering this, I'd say go with whatever is most enjoyable for you. :)

Scott said...

While my priority has always been my own group, I'd like to do as much for the community in terms of providing this conversion as possible.

Let me know if there are any extras that you would like to see included - like the book citations mentioned above, for instance.

Mysteria said...

Well, I do have access to all the additional stuff and I use the compendium too, so I don't have any other advice to offer.

Unknown said...

Definitely extra material. This is a great conversion and if there are more interesting monsters you shouldn't hesitate. As you state, dndinsider is actually quite cheap and very useful.
Thanks for the hard work you're saving the rest of us!

andy said...

Don't hold back. Swapping out a monster you don't have is small potatoes compared to the work you are doing and some of the DDI content is great.

Have you considered looking at the player guide again with the new classes etc. in mind?

Scott said...

I will re-evaluate the Player's Guide once the Player's Handbook 2 comes out. One of the reasons I initially avoided converting some items was because certain classes (barbarian, druid) had not been released yet.