AlHazred Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 I've been going through some of my old gaming files, and came across a bunch of articles from gaming magazines that I copied in the 80s. It brought to mind all of the Hero System conversions I've ever considered doing. There's a lot! Far more than I ever actually completed. So, what classic gaming material have you considered converting? And did you ever finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I should mention I thought of this topic after seeing my work converting Larry DiTilio's Cerilon articles from Dragon magazine. He published two articles covering aspects of his home campaign world of Cerilon (about runes and poisons) and then never went on to develop anything further. In fact, after writing the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign for Chaosium, he went on to write He-Man scripts for quite a while. Googling him brought me this interesting tidbit: DiTillio still writes games for his own use, and would willingly return to the RPG field. "I'm a professional writer, who will listen to any offer of paid work. I did create my own system and world, Cerilon, and I'd love to get that published. Nudge nudge, wink wink." He developed Cerilon, a percentile-based fantasy RPG system derived from D&D and RuneQuest, when he tired of "constantly checking charts and tables for every damn move anyone made. Everything players needed to know about the system was right on the character sheet. No more checking rulebooks or tables, just act and roll. My notion of roleplaying is that it should be cinematic. The more time spent rules-lawyering, the more boring the game! Flow is what you want. "[Cerilon] has a very diverse population that mirrors our real world. I found most fantasy games to be too white-bread, so I folded in black people, blue people, red, yellow, etc. Each race had its own culture and customs, culled from lots of reading on African, Asian and Native American mythologies. I did include elves, dwarves and hobbits, though I did not adhere to the typical Tolkien paradigm of these kindred races. Typically for me, it's a very adult world; Love-making and Flirting are both popular skills. The adventures ranged from small forays to full scale wars, and I wrote a ton of them, more than enough to play for several years. I intended to convert the published Cerilon articles to Hero, and got started under 5th edition, but the material has lain fallow and incomplete for years. I should get back to it sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I tried to convert the Wheel of Time (not the game but the setting) and failed to get it done to my satisfaction. I tried to convert Star Frontiers and ended up using prefabricated writeups from Terran Empire. I considered developing a Dark Sun adaptation but didn't even really get started. I did manage to "convert" a homebrew campaign, though most of that was a conversion of ideas rather than stats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barwickian Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I've used the old Corgi paperback RPG Dragon Warriors with D&D3e, GURPS, C&S and will almost certainly use it with Hero at some point. I love the setting. Mongoose have recently republished Dragon Warriors. I don't know if there are any changes between their version and the '80s one. I'm currently working on a Hero/Harn conversion for 6e. And I've contemplated a Glorantha Hero conversion. The TSR's 80s British prozine Imagine also had a very nice serialised AD&D campaign world called Pelinore that I've often thought of working with again, but never got round to doing much with (though I still have my folder with the original articles and my supplementary notes and maps). I did use Pelinore for a fairly short-lived Rolemaster game back in the 80s. I have to say, when I convert stuff, I don't worry too much about direct stat/skil/power conversions. It's more the mood and feel that I'm interested in, so my conversions are at best informed or inspired by the other system. Why box Hero in by trying to emulate a different set of rules too closely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I converted most of the Villains & Vigilantes modules to HERO Creator back in the late 90's. And when Hero Designer came around I thought I converted my conversions. Turned out I didn't. I was sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culhwch Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? At one time, I tried converting FASA's Doctor Who RPG to HERO. I didn't get very far before I gave up...I wasn't that proficient at conversions at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savinien Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I guess we would need to define 'convert' a little better for me to answer. I have ran campaigns in Middle Earth, Wheel of Time, and Magic: The Gathering, so I suppose it was conversion of a sort. Only one of those was with HERO, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifo Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I spent the last 18 months converting the OD&D Mystara setting to 5th edition with some major rule changes to appeal my tastes (for example, a non-vancian magic system). Then, last december I got my laptop stolen and, needless to say, there was everything on it. Now I'm starting again, with the few documents remaining, on 6th edition. And lots of backups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I'm glad it's not just me! It occurs to me, I converted much of the old SPI DragonQuest magic system to 6E Fantasy Hero. I've completed about 14 of the magical colleges (first pass) and should really get around to finishing them off, and then giving them all a second pass for consistency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I convert all the time...I purchased a large pile of 4th and earlier ed books last year and have been slowly updating them to 6th. Have done Demons Rule, Scourge From the Deep, Coriolis Effect, and am currently working on VOICE of Doom. I've also done a smattering of other characters from various books just on a whim. Sometimes I'll edit them to fit into a starting hero framework, but most of the time I convert them "straight", only changing what I feel is needed to make sense. Always willing to share for those who need updates to some of the older modules.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I have tried to convert a lot of 2nd edition AD&D and Rifts races into packages for Hero 4th and 5th edition. It's funny how expensive many of the racial and occupational packages are, yet they are not really powerful. They have things a character would never waste points on if he was writing up a character in Champions rules directly. Also, the point value of things like psionics can vary greatly when converted. One psionic converts to 1 or 2 points in her, another costs 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrilliantHelm Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I have tried to convert a lot of 2nd edition AD&D and Rifts races into packages for Hero 4th and 5th edition. It's funny how expensive many of the racial and occupational packages are' date=' yet they are not really powerful. They have things a character would never waste points on if he was writing up a character in Champions rules directly. Also, the point value of things like psionics can vary greatly when converted. One psionic converts to 1 or 2 points in her, another costs 50.[/quote'] I agree. I got the costs down to 5 pt.s. If you add everything AD&D 1st Edition did to the races, it costs at least 30 points. Tooooooo expensive for partially useful abilities. I did some design for gnomes: 4pt.s +2DCV (vs. Giant races, -1 1/2) 5pt.s Detect Subterranean Environments, Analyze 5pt.s Resist Poison 16pt.s Resist Magic, +2 to CHA rolls, 3pt.s flash defense, ego defense and power defense (only verses Magic, -1/2) 30 pt.s TOTAL Ridiculous. I had to create totally new perks to make this work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? Check My Signature Links "Hero Adaptations, Conversions, & Resources " below. Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuSoardGraphite Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I tried to convert the Wheel of Time (not the game but the setting) and failed to get it done to my satisfaction. The message board gurus did a lot of work on that stuff back in the day. There was some good stuff in there. I wish I actually used some of it. (a friend of mine did run a Wheel of Time campaign years ago and ended up using some of what I and others developed from those threads) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? The message board gurus did a lot of work on that stuff back in the day. There was some good stuff in there. I wish I actually used some of it. (a friend of mine did run a Wheel of Time campaign years ago and ended up using some of what I and others developed from those threads)Good days those. Still learning the system back then. I never could reconcile the sheer cost of some Channeling powers within the context of a balanced game. Ultimately gave up due to not having any interested players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkester Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? I'm glad it's not just me! It occurs to me, I converted much of the old SPI DragonQuest magic system to 6E Fantasy Hero. I've completed about 14 of the magical colleges (first pass) and should really get around to finishing them off, and then giving them all a second pass for consistency. I would love to see what you have done. I am working on a campaign setting and doing a lot of borrowing from different settings. I love doing conversions, though I"m a complete newb at it still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? She-Grond or Gronda http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/64024-What-would-be-your-take-on-She-Grond?p=1559215#post1559215 Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? She-Grond or Gronda http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/64024-What-would-be-your-take-on-She-Grond?p=1559215#post1559215 It would be easier to forgive you for that if you didn't bring it up! /Too soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? Not often, but sometimes I will covet old gaming materiels if I see that someone else has something I don't have and really wish I did. Especially things I had and lost. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary tells Lucius it's not "covet" it's "covert" which means covered over, concealed, or sheltered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egyptoid Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Re: Nostalgia: Anybody Else Covert Old Gaming Material? Covet Old Gaming Material happens to me all the time. Convert Old Gaming Material nah, I've gotten too lazy. besides, that's the purpose of google Covert Old Gaming Material nope, I'm about as sneaky as a bag of hammers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.