4e Ravenloft Conversion Thread

[Isabella]

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080616

Check it out. Some new spells for the wizard which tells us how WotC is working 4e illusions. Should be helpful with our converting, both for illusions or stealing the spell effects for other mechanics.

[Jester of the FoS]

Two things.

Firstly, wasn't Laurie a fighter? At the very least shouldn't she be a fighter/rogue or rogue fighter (Fighter McRogue or Rogue McFighter in the current slang). I can also see ranger with her reliance on ranged weapons/firearms.

The second, more important point, I don't believe WotC would approve of copyright material (powers) being posted on a message board.

[Lord Soth]

Yeah, I know. She was a Fighter (or rather, Expert 2/Fighter3) in 3E, but she seems more like a Rogue to me. That and Rogue is a good intermediary between Fighter and Expert. In essence, making her a Rogue is like making her a Fighter/Expert, or Expert/Fighter.

As for posting the powers, I've done the same on the WotC boards, as have others, and nobody's said boo. So I'm guessing it's alright. I'm posting the stats for a specific character, after all. Not the method by which I arrived at those scores, for which you need the PHB. It's no different then all of those fanmade pregens which've been floating around for a while.

[tec-goblin]

This means that someone in hide possessing a decent dex bonus actually has the same AC as someone in chainmail.

Yes, but if you take into account the masterwork versions and how they scale etc, you can see that "decent bonus" in this case has to mean that dexterity or intelligence is the first or second primary ability of the character (ie rogues, wizards, some warlocks and rangers).
It is suboptimal to play a fighter in light armor, even if armed with a rapier (he doesn't need a dexterity higher than 15).
The question is whether this is a problem (in some domains yes). If it's not a problem in most domains, the +2 armor piercing bonus you suggest is enough.

Lord Soth, your Laurie seems nice. She's slightly stronger than the 3e one, but it makes sense as the timeline has advanced a bit, and she has participated in two more van richten's guides.

[Jester of the FoS]

As for posting the powers, I've done the same on the WotC boards, as have others, and nobody's said boo. So I'm guessing it's alright. I'm posting the stats for a specific character, after all. Not the method by which I arrived at those scores, for which you need the PHB. It's no different then all of those fanmade pregens which've been floating around for a while.

Posting stats should be fine. But I'd feel better if you just listed the powers and possibly their attack/damage. It really isn't hard to take apart the numbers.
Things like:
"A final lunge brings you into an advantageous position.
At-Will * Martial, Weapon
Standard Action / Melee or Ranged weapon
Requirement: You must be wielding a crossbow, a light blade, or a sling. "
are unnecessary for us to understand the character/build.

If we have the books we can find the powers ourselves.

[Lord Soth]

Well, if you folks prefer, I'll simplify them. How about this?

Deft Strike (+8 Vs. AC; 1d8+3 damage and you can move 2 squares before the attack)

Or I'll just do this.

AT-WILL POWERS: Deft Strike, Piercing Strike, Sly Flourish

I just figured it'd be more useful if I posted the full stats. Then if someone likes something, they can go ahead and print it out, rather then start going through the powers and adjusting things, themselves.

[cure]

The expert angle of her character was about giving her a speciific range of skills and a high number of skill points, which may not be (or perhaps still may be?) an in issue in 4e. Equally, there was (is?) something especially unseemly about the granddaughter of Lord Jules training as a rogue.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Actually, lots of classic upper-class heroes from IRL period literature have rogue skills. (Think of the Scarlet Pimpernel.) Nothing wrong with Laurie being a rogue, although she might take a more militant paragon path than most, later on.

FWIW, Gennifer was a thief when she appeared as a pregenerated 2E character, in the RPGA mini-module Farewell To The Flesh. (Thanks again for the pdf, Catman! )

As for the ability scores, I think the Twins should start out with the same baseline abilities, racial bonus included. (Technically, that wouldn't have to be true about their mental scores, but it's a cute OOC gag to give them carbon-copy starting values.) They can improve different scores as they advance in different classes, however.

[Nikolas of the Mists]

AT-WILL POWERS: Deft Strike, Piercing Strike, Sly Flourish

Honestly I think this might be the best way to do some stat lines until 4e becomes more accessible to OGL. Besides, it keeps the boxes real short, which is a huge bonus right now.


Stats:
At Will:
Encounter:
Daily:
Trained:
Feats:
Equipment:

[Nikolas of the Mists]

Considerations on Vistani and 4e

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, some aspects of the Vistani will have to undergo some possible revision for use in 4e.

Vistani are based off the same stat adjustments, skill bonuses and racial abilities as Half-Vistani. Full-blooded Vistani may select the Half-Vistani feats of Snakeoil Vendor and Trickster.

-the Vistani and curses
-the Evil Eye
-the Sight
-Mist Navigation
-Tracking Magic
-Static Burn

The Vistani and Curses

Vistani have classically possessed the Voice of Wrath feat, a handful of Vistani specific curses like the mishamel, and a bonus to crafting curses through sympathetic foci.

Considerations for 4e:
-Vistani now, like in previous editions should receive the Voice of Wrath feat, or if such a feat isn't handled for 4e, a racial bonus to crafting curses
-upon completion of curse mechanics receive one or more curses available only to the Vistani
-a slightly reduced bonus through sympathy foci to accommodate for lower saving throws and defenses (reduced by half perhaps)
-Half-Vistani: Half-Vistani selecting the power of Curses through the racial feat Scion of the Blood receive the Voice of Wrath feat and access to Vistani only curses. They do not receive bonuses to curses through sympathetic foci like full-blooded Vistani.

The Evil Eye

Vistani have classically been able to perform several different abilities related to their mastery of this specific power. These different abilities are as follows: Paralysis followed by convulsions (sometimes even leading to death), Fear, Domination, and Suggestion. Obviously with the changes in 4e, some of these may need to be toned down somewhat.

Considerations for 4e:
-Paralysis and fear aren’t completely beyond reason, but some of the compulsion effects are strong with the removal en-masse of many charm related abilities in 4e.
-mechanically the Evil Eye would work almost the exact same as in 3.5: It would be a Charisma based attack against the target’s WILL save. (10 +1/2 lvl + Cha bonus vs WILL, +2 bonus to hit if the attacker is female). This attack is an encounter power, with a Save to end the condition.
-instead of some of the more control and charm related abilities, I think a viable replacement option would be for the Evil Eye to inflict a Condition upon the target (p277 PHB). Obviously these conditions would have to be restricted (no petrified, helpless, dying etc), so recommended combat conditions would be something like: Blind, Daze, Deafened, Immobilized, Restrained, Slowed, Stunned, and Weakened.
-Half-Vistani: Half-Vistani selecting the Evil Eye power through the racial feat Scion of the Blood may only Apply the Conditions of Blind, Daze, or Slowed. Half-Vistani use of the Evil-Eye is considered a Daily Power.

The Sight

Female Vistani have classically possessed the ability of prescience. Many utilize the Tarokka deck to enhance and focus their foresight.

Considerations for 4e:
-I will be honest, for now I really have no clue for any mechanics of this. Augury and foretelling has always rested in the hands of the individual GM to utilize how they will. The only thing I mechanically considered was a racial bonus to divination rituals, but being driven by GM plot makes this totally unnecessary.
-Half-Vistani: Half-Vistani selecting The Sight through Scion of the Blood should work out with their GM how their foresight works. Auguries were removed from the range of many PCs in 4e for a reason, not the least of which was to make the GM’s life easier. Keep in mind any male Half-Vistani possessing The Sight will be hunted as a Dukkar. The rise of Malocchio Aderre proved that not all Dukkar’s had to be pure of blood.

Mist Navigation

The Vistani have always had the freedom and control of the mists. Van Richten’s Guide to the Mists outlines the likelihood of a Vistani’s control of mist travel being slightly flawed.

Considerations for 4e:
-Half-Vistani: Half –Vistani selecting Mist Navigation through Scion of the Blood have an additional 2% chance for a slightly flawed navigation error.

Tracking Magic

The Vistani have always been experts at tracking individuals across the demiplane.

Considerations for 4e:
-like The Sight, Tracking Magic exists and works as well only as much as the GM wants or needs it to
-Half-Vistani: Half-Vistani may not select Tracking Magic through the racial talent Scion of the Blood. This ability is pretty much for NPCs only.

Static Burn

The Vistani mechanics for Static Burn have performed just fine for over 13 years, I see no need to change them now.

New Feat:Scion of the Blood
Half-Vistani only.
You may only take this feat once.
You must take this feat at Level 1.
You may not retrain to swap out this feat, even if you suffer from Burn out.

Select one of the abilities of the Vistani: Curses, The Evil Eye, Mist Navigation or The Sight (with GM permission). You receive the abilities listed under the power given for Half-Vistani. In taking this feat, you suffer from the curse of the Vistani bloodline – Static Burn. Should you ever remain in place long enough to turn a full-blooded Vistani into Mortu, you can no longer use this Feat.

[DocBeard]

Well, rogue is just a name. It can be 'fencer', 'swashbuckler', or 'swordswoman' just as easily. A lot of the flavor is fairly negotiable.

Personally, I'd make her a ranger with a focus on pistols, because she's been written primarily as a gunwoman, but that's me.

Which reminds me, skills. Specificly, monster lore. Let's see if we've got this:
Arcana: Any magical thing, like abberations, abberants, or anything that makes you go 'huh?' or involves the other planes.
History: Historical figures. Identifying a particular noble's standard, ect.
Nature: Natural creatures, from ogres to plant monsters.
Religion: Spiritual threats, from angels to demons to the undead.
Streetwise: Lower-cultural threats, such as identifying a common superstition or a particular gang's colors.

That seem about right?

[Nikolas of the Mists]

I will post the 4E build for my signature character later on this week. He is a Half-Vistani Ranger who wields pistols, and has a bit of arcane scholar tossed in. He utilizes a number of shiny new things in my 4e Ravenloft efforts, so it will be interesting to see what people think of him.

As for any applicable Skill changes for Ravenloft in 4e, there really isn't any. Almost everything related to the skills in 4e can be used as written straight from the PHB.

(Incidentally aberrant origin creatures are identified by dungeoneering monster knowledge, not arcana. Arcana is elemental, fey and shadow origins.)

[DocBeard]

Well, since the setting has a much greater focus on lore, arguably, I figured it was worth discussing.

Anyway, one thing I was thinking might be nice is a series of feats representing the ability to 'see' the supernatural. Ghost-sight, visions from your power of choice, that sort of thing. Not only is it fun for the DM, but being able to peek into the veil of the unseen world is a classic ability of horror story heroes.

But since my mechanic-making skills seem to unanimously suck, I'm looking for some advice on how to make said feats.

[Nikolas of the Mists]

In converting things from earlier editions to 4E I follow a three step attack plan.

1. Look at the subject and how it was handled in any previous editions

*Did the old feat get picked often. Why or why not?
-was it mechanically sound
-were the game mechanics cumbersome
-was the feat far too specific to be considered most of the time
-how much did it add to the setting by having it

*Understand the old mechanics of your subject fully, along with any intent and desired effect you want to bring into 4E. Know what you want to keep, what you can cut, and what you'd like to make it in if there is space.

2. Consider 4E in its entirety

*Recognize the 3 Facets of 4E and follow them
-Simplicity in mechanics
-Balance across classes, races and all aspects of the game
-Comprehension through terminology and clear, concise writing

*Look through the corebooks to see if there is something similar in mechanics or effect that you can relate to your subject. There is a lot more to 4E than most people consider -- often times you don't have to re-invent the wheel, just toss a new spin on it and add a new coat of paint.

The more you look into 4E, the more you come to understand that coming up with something brand new without similarity to anything already in 4E is a difficult feat.

*In the event you are having trouble figuring out how to handle a new mechanic for 4E, break it down into it's simplest terms. Describe without any game mechanics at all what the subject is, what you want to have happen with it, and those things which you want to influence it. From there decide whether it will be combat related (be an attack, improve any defenses, provide combat bonuses, etc) or skill related (select specific skill(s) that will be used and a have a rough idea of the DCs you are looking for). Once you proceed from conceptual to general to specific, you're pretty much done. After that it is just a matter of cleaning it up and making sure it adheres to the 3 Facets of 4E and you're pretty much done.

3. Editting, Revision, and Independence

*Always have at least one other person edit your work before you unleash it upon your hapless audience. I often toss it at a second person on top of that that knows nothing about the subject to ensure that it is written to be clear and concise.

Do not ever, ever, ever assume that your work is infallible, flawless and perfect. Fun fact -- it's not. Even if the work is everything you ever dreamed of for the project, realize that other people might not agree. Take the criticism and recommendations of others well, and don't get discouraged. Even if other people don't like it, you've created something for yourself which was probably why you embarked on this endeavor in the first place.

*Your work is never finished. Even with a copy editor who mercilessly assaults your work with the zeal of a marine corps drill sergeant (aka me) I personally guarantee you one of the first 5 readers will find a mistake or ask for clarification on something. That's just the way it is. Continue to amend and revise your work until it is a finely honed machine or you resign it to the scrapyard.

*Independence: Your work should stand alone. Try not to make extensive references to any other works you have done. Each work should be as modular and self-contained as possible. This makes it easy for people to take what they like from your works, and abandon or change that which they don't.

==

Well, that's about it. If you made it this far congratulations. If you didn't I totally understand; TLDR

[Lord Soth]

I've been slacking, lately, but here's a quick contribution for the Von Zarovich Bloodline.

VON ZAROVICH FAMILY TRAITS
Prerequisites: Must be a caliban, half-elf, half-Vistani, or human.
+2 Intelligence: Von Zaroviches tend to be cunning and shrewd individuals. This bonus is in addition to any normal racial ability score modifiers.

Taint of the Blood: The cursed taint of Von Zarovich blood is etched deep into the heart and soul of all family members. Though these fearsome traits are strongest in those most closely related to Strahd himself, nearly all of Von Zarovich ancestry show at least one of these inherent curses. The DM should assign at least one of these features to any Von Zarovich character, although the character should not be made unplayable; for instance, if more than one is assigned, then the curses need not take effect every time their requirements/triggers are fulfilled.

Nightmares: From time to time, Von Zaroviches are tormented by terrible dreams of darkness and blood. Whenever he takes an extended rest, the Von Zarovich character must make an Endurance check with a DC of 10 + one-half his level or be visited by nightmares; if nightmares do occur, the character doesn’t regain any hit points after an extended rest. If they visit the Von Zarovich for any three extended rests in succession, he doesn’t regain any healing surges, either.