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Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:53 pm
by ubrgeek
I'm really interested in starting a BFRPG campaign with some friends but really want to have something long-term (akin to the Pathfinder Adventure Paths). I think - and I might be being naive - that with some tweaking I can convert some of the old D&D adventures (the B series, etc) and use those. My question is, were there ever any published that could be used for a long campaign? It's been <never mind how long. Get off my lawn!> years since I played B/X but I really don't remember any. The closest I can think of would be the G series that morphed in the Drow ones. But I think those were AD&D. Any suggestions would be really, really appreciated.

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:43 pm
by quozl
You should be able to use any old D&D or AD&D adventure with no problem. Just subtract the AC from 20 and you're good to go. If you use an adventure with THAC0, subtract it from 20 to get your bonus to hit.

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:10 pm
by Solomoriah
I've been running my Glain campaign since the early 2000's, first using my Project 74 rules and then Basic Fantasy. I've run most of the adventures on this website, plus a handful of classic BX adventures and a few free downloads. I guess the question is, just how long term do you need it to be?

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:11 pm
by Clever_Munkey
Technically there many differences between BFRPG and older D&D, but most are not crucial. And because those modules rarely make specific references to the "core" rules (with exception to descending AC and THAC0) you can run them as they are, and just refer to the BFRPG rules when something comes up.

If you want to try converting a PF adventure path I would recommend you look at The Fine Art of Monster Conversion: A Basic Fantasy Supplement on the Downloads page. Honestly though this seems to me like it could be about as much work as just writing your own adventure, but don't let that stop you. There's probably a fairly simple procedure you could come up with to make conversion easy.

There aren't any BFRPG modules, that I'm aware of, that are like the PF adventure paths. That said, Saga of the Giants comes really close, although the starting level is high.

It should not be hard to string together any of the BF series modules, as they all come from the same setting, and presumably have been, or were meant to be, played in some sort of order. Solomoriah could tell you more about that.

The Chaotic Caves and Monkey Isle are very meaty modules on their own, and could probably last several weeks, if not months of regular play.

A few of the modules in the AA series can also be directly connected. If it really came down to it you could also pull the old "Our villain is in another dungeon" trick, and run a dungeon of the week with some sort of mastermind behind it all.

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:31 am
by Solomoriah
I've got a thread about my ongoing Western Lands campaign here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2457

I'm doing just what Munkey says... stringing adventures together. They weren't all written for the same world, actually; Morgansfort is specifically for the Western Lands, Fortress, Tomb, and Tower is from Glain, J.D.'s modules are designed for a "generic" BFRPG campaign, and of course DC1 is for Dragon Claw Barony. And that's not even considering all the AA1 adventures.

But as I say, I'm writing it all down as I do it in the thread mentioned, if you are interested.

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 6:45 pm
by ubrgeek
This is great all! Thank you for the feedback and suggestions.

quozl & Munkey- In your opinions, do you think it would be doable to, for example, the Scourge of the Slave Lords to 11 and then switch to the QDG Queen of the Spiders series (which switches to AD&D)?

Solomoriah - TBH, I'd love for it to last at least a year (if I can get the players to commit for an hour or two every other week then I imagine that won't be an issue). Heading over to read the thread now. Very excited :)

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:35 am
by Clever_Munkey
Solomoriah wrote:They weren't all written for the same world, actually; Morgansfort is specifically for the Western Lands, Fortress, Tomb, and Tower is from Glain, J.D.'s modules are designed for a "generic" BFRPG campaign, and of course DC1 is for Dragon Claw Barony. And that's not even considering all the AA1 adventures...
Ahh right I forgot that Morgansfort was Western Lands, not Glain. I used DC1 the first time I ran/played BFRPG. If you want some sort of story, then I would recommend it, but it may not last very long unless you change things around (e.g. our villain is in another castle.)
ubrgeek wrote:quozl & Munkey- In your opinions, do you think it would be doable to, for example, the Scourge of the Slave Lords to 11 and then switch to the QDG Queen of the Spiders series (which switches to AD&D)?
Absolutely. Both the modules themselves, and BFRPG rules are mutable enough to easily fit together.

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:10 am
by Solomoriah
If you're trying to string together adventures where all of them have a theme, common villain, or something like that... don't. Really, it gets boring for players when every adventure features the same basic goal, i.e. Beat the Big Bad's Minions. Mix it up.

I prefer to run "random" adventures for a new group. I don't even think about any overarching theme until I see how they work together, what kind of goals the players have, and so on.

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:00 pm
by ubrgeek
Solomoriah - I see what you mean. I'm thinking about just being able to have a long-term campaign that is set in the same world, lets the players establish themselves as heroes, etc. I want them to feel like they're actually affecting the world around them.

Re: Long('ish)term campaigns?

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 10:33 pm
by Solomoriah
Don't overthink it. Don't overplan. Get started, get them into the game, and let things develop as they will. No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy, and no GM's plot survives meeting the actual players.