Adapting adventures from other games

[LuciusT 128]

Ordinarily I'm not a fan of pre-made adventure modules, or of DnD, but there are some exceptions. I came across a set of DnD modules a while ago that I picked on cheap... Bleeding Edge Adventures by Green Ronin publishing. I've found that, with very little modification, they make great Dark Heresy adventures. They have  a good mix of action, investigation, intrigue and gothic horror.

I wondered if anyone else had had similar experiences adapting adventures from other game systems to Dark Heresy.

[Varnias Tybalt 3]

I have yet to try my hand at it myself, but we have actually run an adventure from Mutant Chronicles/Mutant R*Y*M*D (these were the swedish editions that came out before Target games started to translate their game into english as well). It was called "Operation: Kirkwood" (don't know if this has been published in english or not), and it worked pretty good for a Dark Heresy game. Although my GM at the time wasn't very familiar with the 40K world and didn't have the time to do most of the changes you'd need to do (like changing the names of some people, since the Mutant Chronicles names are mostly a bit too american sounding), but all in all it worked out really well.

As for me, my goal is to try adapting (or at least take heavy inspiration from) "Escape from Innsmouth" from Call of Cthulhu to Dark Heresy. My intent is for that adventure to be the final concluding part of my Ordo Xenos Trilogy campaign, but so far im still writing the second part so I'll cross the next bridge when I get there.

[graver2 4]

Ha! I also converted Escape from Innsmouth to a DH story involving a Slought transgenetic heresy though it's all but begging for a Genesteeler makeover or a quick trip to Spectoris.

I regularly mine other games for inspiration and ideas. My current campaign is based partially off of Delta Green: Countdown's interpretation and write-up on the Hestaur Mythose. I have somethings brewing in my mind concerning an old Dark Conspiracy adventure, Down Among the Dead as well as designs to turn some of the proto-dimensions from DC: Proto-dimensions into planets or locations for Rogue Trader.

I have a small stack of old Ravenloft modules which I regularly mutate into what ever game I'm running and have altered Web of Illusions for one of our earlier DH stories already. I also have an old AD&D module called Treasure Maps which is just a whole stack of various odd treasure maps, a hook for the PC's to get the map then a page long adventure synopsis for the GM. They're just begging to be mined for launching points for RT endeavors i think.

 

[Varnias Tybalt 3]

Graver said:

Ha! I also converted Escape from Innsmouth to a DH story involving a Slought transgenetic heresy though it's all but begging for a Genesteeler makeover or a quick trip to Spectoris. 

Im going to go with the genestealer approach myself, but I don't intend for it to be on Spectoris. Because in my book, Spectoris is the way aethel described it in her prize winning scenario here att FFG, and my vision of it is being more of a carribbean looking paradise (but with lots of dangerous seamonsters of course), rather than the dull and bleak Innsmouth setting.

My trilogy has been divided so that the first one introduced the threat of a few frozen genestealer specimens has gotten into the hands of a rogue Inquisitorial Interrogator. The second part will primarily concern finding these missing specimens and destroying them, while the third will be about tracking down the Interrogator on his homeworld.

I intend to have my 40K version of Innsmouth located on Sinophia. Sinophia being a rather bleak and decaying world with poor Imperial control would be just the place for a large genestealer cult to hide. The larger cities have trouble enough as it is with rampant crime and heresy, so no one would bother a small, remote fishing town where inhabitants keep to themselves, regardless of all the outside rumours of the "Innsmouth look" and prevalent mutations.

[Salcor 78]

I am also playing an escape from innsmuth convertion sometime in the future, although the scenario I am currently working on is a conversion of the DnD module the red hand of boom.  Essentially the characters will be dealing with an orc Waaaaaagh!!!!, but this one is different.  The warboss has actually found an old slaan ruin that has some brain fungus in it and has converted himself and his leaders in to actual Krorks!  Thus you have intelligent orks running the show with a few other 'allies."  A third group of adventures I am going to convert is the Venusian Apocolypse from Mutant Chronicles (don't know if this is what Operation Kirkwood is.)

 

Salcor

[Varnias Tybalt 3]

Salcor said:

I am also playing an escape from innsmuth convertion sometime in the future, although the scenario I am currently working on is a conversion of the DnD module the red hand of boom.  Essentially the characters will be dealing with an orc Waaaaaagh!!!!, but this one is different.  The warboss has actually found an old slaan ruin that has some brain fungus in it and has converted himself and his leaders in to actual Krorks!  Thus you have intelligent orks running the show with a few other 'allies."  A third group of adventures I am going to convert is the Venusian Apocolypse from Mutant Chronicles (don't know if this is what Operation Kirkwood is.)

 

Salcor

Orks huh? Interesting choice. What made you go with orks as the baddies?

Anyhow, I looked it up and Operation Kirkwood was apparently the first adventure released for Mutant R*Y*M*D ("RYMD" means "Space" in swedish for anyone wondering), and this game eventually evolved into Mutant Chronicles. I don't think the scenario was ever translated to english, but I could be wrong. Here's a site with some pictures from it and comments written in english:

retarded.se/mc/

[Fideru 0]

Is there any scenarios from any games that would be easily accesable and adaptable to Dark Heresy, or a general consensus of what is best?

[bogi_khaosa 267]

I think the classic Tomb of Horrors would work really well, with Acererac reenvisioned  as a sleeping Necron Lord.

[Alasseo 66]

 bogi, you have just given me an evilgasm of a plan. I just happen to have gotten hold of the Tomb of Horrors redux, and I've been steering my group towards investigative and social play...

[bogi_khaosa 267]

ToH is something that would have to be made LESS lethal. "Make your saving throw, or you die. Turn left instead of right, or you die. Press this unmarked button instead of that unmarked button, or you die."

Necron technology is so indistinguishable from magic you really wouldn't need to alter most of the traps hardly at all. Just add some scarabs running around the place, take out the decorations and treasure chests, add some creepy green light, and presto! Necron tomb. Use a Tomb Spider instead of the Juggernaut.

The whole thing is available free in the WotC website by the way.

[Cat that Walked by Himself 0]

Old WEG D6 SW scenarios are great with little (or a little bit more) tweeking. I am currently building a campaign for RT based on DarkStryder campaign and The Lords of the Expanse boxed set.

I might write more about that in the near future and provide some new stats and creatures.

[Gregorius21778 249]

I recently purchased a rpg-book called "Necropolis 2350" which seems to be part of game system called "savage worlds".  It has a strong gothic-sci-fi theme similiar to WH40K, completely with a katholic ruling class and "knights" going to battle with swords and automatic guns and tanks.

While this thing isn´t worthwhile if you are into a "regular" investigation-based thing, it provide a read-made skeleton for military campaign...plus a small map and some details concerning a world called "Salus" and the different megacorps settling there besides the church. With maps and stuff. 

Unfortunately, the rules system isn´t similiar to DH, so one would have to redue all the stats. So "good for idead, but that´s it"

[Salcor 78]

Varnias Tybalt said:

 

 

Orks huh? Interesting choice. What made you go with orks as the baddies?

 

Well I am not choosing orks for Escape from Innsmuth, when I convert that it will most likely be genestealers.  I am converting the dnd adventure the red hand of doom which is about a orc warlord trying to start his own kindgom.  Taking the same story and 40king it.

 

Salcor

[Agent.0.Fortune 0]

I see I'm not the only one with visions for converting Innsmouth to DH 40k. Pretty much any Cthulu/ H.P. Lovecraft will morph perfectly into DH, with its emphesis on insanity, forbidden lore, and the narrow veil between the real-world and the "immaterium". (FYI I was definately going with gene stealers, sure its a little cliche, but it give me a chance to introduce the group to a Lictor, who has made his way to the GS cult).

[Salcor 78]

With so many people planning an Innsmuth convertion what are people doing.  Right now my players are in the middle of Rejoice, and I am thinking of changing the Joyous choir into the human front for a growing genestealer cult.  The black monk will be changed to a genestealer hybrid with perhaps the assault troops attacking the strophes are brood brothers. The farcosia is a drug created to instill a temporary connection to the hive mind, and the reason they are looking for psykers is they are trying to breed a few cult magi.  I am just having difficultly with a middle adventure leading to the 'innsmuth' area. I was thinking of placing it on one of the outer worlds of the Scintilla system that is a mining colony to support the forges on the main world. 

 

 

Salcor

[Varnias Tybalt 3]

Salcor said:

With so many people planning an Innsmuth convertion what are people doing.  Right now my players are in the middle of Rejoice, and I am thinking of changing the Joyous choir into the human front for a growing genestealer cult.  The black monk will be changed to a genestealer hybrid with perhaps the assault troops attacking the strophes are brood brothers. The farcosia is a drug created to instill a temporary connection to the hive mind, and the reason they are looking for psykers is they are trying to breed a few cult magi.  I am just having difficultly with a middle adventure leading to the 'innsmuth' area. I was thinking of placing it on one of the outer worlds of the Scintilla system that is a mining colony to support the forges on the main world. 

 

 

Salcor

Well, in my campaign, the leads acquired from the first scenario will eventually lead the acolytes and their Inquisitor to the Innsmouth area. What they know so far is that an Ordo Xenos Interrogator gone rogue called Marneus Gorre, has stolen twelve frozen genestealer specimens and taken them somewhere in the Calixis Sector.

The second part of the trilogy will have the acolytes tracing the missing specimens back to Scintilla, where Marneus Gorre has sold the genestealers off to some depraved nobles heavily connected to Solkarn Senk and the Beast House. These investigations will unfold and somewher down the line they will acquire knowledge of Marneus Gorre's homeworld (Sinophia) and that he wa last suspected to return there.

The truth of it all is that Marneus Gorre is a genestealer cult magus, sent away from Sinophia in order to extend the cult's influence to a sector wide level, but during this period he was picked up as an acolyte by the Inquisition. They of course knew nothing about his alien heritage and he has just bided his time to break out.

[Salcor 78]

Yeah unfortnately I have to sum my campaign up pretty quickly due to upcoming work issues that will preclude me from playing.

 

 

Salcor

[SJE 1]

For those mentioning "Escape from Innsmouth", especially using Genestealers, you might be interested in a similar idea I had a little while ago- The Castermere Look

 

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=101&efcid=3&efidt=99281&efpag=1#116436

And the nice looking one-

http://www.darkreign40k.com/plot-seeds/the-castermere-look-3.html

 

SJE

[Casamyr 0]

I ran a great campaign based on a Mutant Chronicles Adventure called Venusian Apocalypse. This was a 3 part campaign that I fiddled with to fit DH, namely changing the location of Venus to Vanaxhide (similar enough setting from my research). The players loved, though by the time they had finished Vanaxhide was pretty much destroyed. I interspersed the first part (which ended badly for the PCs) with Purge the Unclean and when they found out they were returning it was great to see the reaction of despair and horror when they finally had to face up to their initial failure.

Much fun to be had and worth checking out. Currently i am in the (massive) process of converting Masks of Nyarlothotep to DH. A huge campaign spanning several worlds, multiple cults plus masks of of Ruinous Powers floating around.