I'm not entirely sure where to put this, but the RPG Discussion seemed like a good place.
So I've been working on using the Scourge of the Slave Lords series in RPGPundit's own Dark Albion campaign setting. Specifically, I've been tinkering with the various details of the modules so that they fit better into a Dark Albion campaign. I figured that I would share these notes and details for anyone interested in using them for their own Dark Albion campaigns, and perhaps I could get some criticisms to make the idea a bit more watertight. This was in part inspired by Greyhawk Grognard's series on the modules, which made me wonder how well the module would work in Albion.
Part of my desire to use the Slave Lords modules in Dark Albion came from the fact that, for the setting, it is a fairly high level adventure. As the campaign book describes, the levels needed for Against the Slave Lords would constitute the upper limit of a Dark Albion campaign. Aerie of the Slave Lords is also a fairly dangerous adventure, and could be the end of a party. However, if they are successful it could lead to fame and fortune back in Albion. Regardless, it seemed like it could be a good fit and I thought it could make for a fun Dark Albion campaign. The goal isn't to rewrite the individual adventures room by room, but rather to generally reframe it in the context of Dark Albion.
I do also want to make note that for this little project, I used the 2013 reprint of the A series. That version is still available, and includes A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry, which is supposed to be a precursor to the rest of the modules. I intend to use this "new" module in my own campaign since I think it sets up the rest of the adventure quite nicely. As such, I've included it in the analysis below. However, if you didn't want to use A0 you could just skip over it and use the basic idea to set up A1-4. The original megamodule reprint of A1-4 would also be handy in several instances, so if you can get that it'll be a hand source.
Translating Aerie of the Slave Lords to Dark Albion
Since the Slave Lords modules were written with Greyhawk in mind, the monsters that populate the modules follow suit. Orcs, hobgoblins, ogres, etc. It is mentioned in the Dark Albion campaign guide that some monsters do still exist, but probably not to the degree that is presented in the original modules. Therefore, you have two options: a) "change" these monsters to humans, or b) take a loose interpretation of Dark Albion.
A) In this case, what I mean by "change monsters to humans" is to just reskin the monsters. For any human-sized humanoids, such as orcs or hobgoblins, just use the same stats and call them humans. In other cases, such as large humanoids like ogres or trolls, you probably could substitute these monsters with a group of humans. The problem with this options is that you risk imbalancing the overall module, but that only works to the strength of the modules since they encouraged strategy over head on assaults.
B) For this option, you just crank up the fantasy in the setting a bit more to accommodate the monsters. There's no real mention of orcs in Dark Albion, but there's no reason you couldn't just make the setting more fantastic. Of course, this ends up diluting the setting since it is supposed to be realistic medieval fantasy.
My solution was to do both: I just reskinned any human-sized humanoids with humans, while leaving anything else. In a sense this works to the setting's flavor, since it'll give the Slavers a more deranged look when compared to what is normal in Albion. These monsters are rare, dangerous, and wild. Therefore if these guys are willing to work with them, it's telling of their character. Furthermore, I tend to turn up the fantastic stuff in own games in Dark Albion so most of it wouldn't seem too out of place.
A special note must be made for the A0 module. This module has dwarves in it, and relies on dwarves being a common sight. In this case I figured that you could just replace these "dwarves" with regular humans; perhaps foreigners such as Frenchmen or Eirishmen. Furthermore, these humans replacing the "dwarves" would actually be deformed to some degree. I decided to make some of them mutants, or lightly chaos-tainted as per the Cults of Chaos book. This opens the idea of the Slave Lords being servants of chaos, which is something I decided to play along with in my own campaign. I'll touch on this later, however.
These same issues could be applied to the magic present in the modules. There's a considerable amount of magic weapons, armor, spells, and other things that would be out of place for Albion. The only real solution here is to use the same mentality as above and make changes as they make sense. A2-4 are a bit easier since they'll be set so close to a source of Chaos, but you'll probably find they're still too magic-saturated for the setting. Make changes as desired/needed.
Modifications to A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry
First and foremost, I'd set this game somewhere in southwestern Albion. Somewhere close to France, where the game will eventually lead. I chose Somserset, but Devon and/or Cornwall would work as well. You could probably set it in Western Hampshire too, but I'm not sure how urban this area is. The reason I chose the southwest was because it's just wild enough to justify the slaver's presence, but lawful enough to warrant a response to their presence. Since A0 begins with the elimination of a slaver camp by the local lords, an area like Somerset would be ideal.
I renamed Darkshelf to Dulcote and moved it to the southern side of the Bristol Channel. Dulcote is the name of a real quarry in Somerset, but I'm only using the name since it alliterates with Darkshelf. You could also just keep Darkshelf, but it didn't sound right to me. You'll also want to rename characters as needed to more English sounding names.
Finally, the local lords the module mentions are just changed to be the local authorities around the Bristol Channel. Effectively the story changed to one where the authorities of the Channel have identified the slaver threat, and are deciding to deal with it in spite of the rising tensions and conflicts as a result of the Rose War. Otherwise, the rest remains the same as presented in the module. You'll need to change some things as you go, but for the most part it should slot into the region rather well.
The next few modification sections will be considerable shorter, since most of the changes above can be applied to A1-4
Modifications to A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity
I found that this module is best set somewhere in northern France. I personally chose Saint-Brieuc in Eastern Brittany, but Cherbourg would also work. As is described in Dark Albion, France has been taken over by the Frogmen and their Chaos worshipping rulers. Saint-Brieuc's proximity to the epicenter of the Frogmen outbreak meant it has likely been ruled by them for a long time. Thus, I envisioned the place similar to Highport: a chaotic city ruled by humanoids, Chaos worshippers, and Frogmen. Not much needs modified besides reskinning humans as outlined above.
A special note will need to be made regarding the danger of players in a Frogman-ruled city. The players will need to hide themselves fairly well amongst the population, or risk being outed as outlanders and spies. The Frogmen themselves are involved in the slaver ring, and as such you could reskin some of the slaver henchmen as frogmen. Furthermore, I'd suggest making some of the slavers openly displaying their mutations.
Modifications to A2: Secret of the Slaver's Stockade
Once again, amp up the Chaotic nature of the slavers and their frogmen allies. In the case of A2, I'd suggest setting it in hills in central Brittany. A good idea for a location would be somewhere near the real town of Loudeac. You could deviate a bit to make the trek to the Slaver's Stockade the same length. You should really make sure the players realize just how dangerous it is to be traveling through Frogmen controlled Brittany. Encounters with open mutants, frogmen, and scared locals will do wonders. Otherwise apply modifications as per A0-A1
Modifications to A3/A4
I've combined these two since they take place at the same location. First and foremost, there are no volcanic-crater-islands in Brittany as far as I know, so I found the next best location: the Gulf of Morbihan in southern Brittany. There are two islands in this gulf, and the larger one (Ile-aux-Moines) will be the home of A3/A4's Suderham city. To make it fit the setting, I changed the name of Suderham to Morbihan. It's a bit lazy but it's easy to remember.
The next big modification to A3/A4 is the volcano sequence in A4. Again, there is no volcano in the Gulf of Morbihan. That being said you could just put one there, or you could ignore the volcano sequence entirely and spare the city. This choice is up to you, but I chose to ignore it in favor of minor earthquakes as a result of some arbitrary reason.
Finally, there are the slave lords themselves. This is another case of reskinning. Keep any of the humans as humans, and say that any demihumans are mutants. I'd suggest changing one or two of the slave lords into frogmen to keep with the setting. As for Eldraive I suggest leaving her as a Drow. In this case, she'll be reskinned as a Dark Albion medieval-accurate elf, but she should be played up as the sort of chaotic, evil, scheming elf that is portrayed in the campaign setting.
Final Thoughts
That's all! I think that by and large most of this little project was centered around reskinning much of the module and doing some minor research into where to set the modules. If you didn't want to reskin characters and have a more accurate statblock, you could do it and it would work. I just find that reskinning stuff tends to make my job as a DM easier.
I hope this was of some help to anyone, or at the very least entertaining. Thanks for reading and lemme know what you think.
Here's some maps as well to illustrate locations of the modules.
Sounds awesome! The A series is a favorite of mine. It would be great to be aplayer in this version.
For bigger, less magical humanoids like the ogres you could probably get away with a human who is just really big. With gigantism or something of the like. I would keep the Poul Anderson troll regardless.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKKTKQ8HR8hJ4Wc_NRf4i9kLeEYiU3NRbh2prOnRdjzaaJ9LAi4JLGqFYoxoMXVNFLCPZRRbxkRBabT2T17x7pHHKjbNz1un0k261C_Pim6aCUe_qjCmobVYQNo0p_KFgRGTop6RiMelaN4V3YAdiAvbMo0caTpzcuiyH2XpTAHZ8NzE2XEL6O32wS=s1483)
Quote from: WERDNA on December 15, 2023, 03:46:36 PM
For bigger, less magical humanoids like the ogres you could probably get away with a human who is just really big. With gigantism or something of the like. I would keep the Poul Anderson troll regardless.
That would work really well too. You could even make a lot of the monsters into mutated frogmen. Imaging fighting a 9 foot tall frog man, that'd be pretty cool.
Something else I took into consideration with this idea is that you could probably port over a few other modules to Frankenstein together a fairly involved campaign. Running off of A0, you could tie in the moathouse from the Hommlet as the slaver base that was mentioned in the beginning. The toughest part is keeping it medieval authentic, but it sort of works in the way that the module itself isn't so much a dungeon romp to find treasure, but rather a quest to destroy the slaver ring.
Following with interest! I'm planning on using B2 (Keep on the Borderlands) for my own L&D game, and these notes are relevant and useful!
Quote from: Brigman on December 16, 2023, 11:18:14 AM
Following with interest! I'm planning on using B2 (Keep on the Borderlands) for my own L&D game, and these notes are relevant and useful!
Now that sounds interesting! Do you have a setting in mind?
That's some awesome stuff!
Quote from: 1stLevelWizard on December 16, 2023, 11:21:52 PM
Now that sounds interesting! Do you have a setting in mind?
Yeah, I've set my burgeoning campaign in the Northern Marches, and I planned to put "the Keep" (Thorne Keep in my game) near the Wall south of the Debatable Lands. I've only run one session so far, and the group has yet to reach the Keep; I'm planning to run them through Pundit's "The Child Eaters" before they get there.
Campaign log here: https://www.therpgsite.com/design-development-and-gameplay/lion-dragon-dark-albion-the-northern-marches/
Quote from: Brigman on December 17, 2023, 03:12:24 PM
Quote from: 1stLevelWizard on December 16, 2023, 11:21:52 PM
Now that sounds interesting! Do you have a setting in mind?
Yeah, I've set my burgeoning campaign in the Northern Marches, and I planned to put "the Keep" (Thorne Keep in my game) near the Wall south of the Debatable Lands. I've only run one session so far, and the group has yet to reach the Keep; I'm planning to run them through Pundit's "The Child Eaters" before they get there.
Campaign log here: https://www.therpgsite.com/design-development-and-gameplay/lion-dragon-dark-albion-the-northern-marches/
That sounds like a great setting for the keep! Do you have any plans for all the caves, or are you going to run it by the book? B2 is one of the best modules I've seen, so I'm interested in seeing where you take it.
Quote from: 1stLevelWizard on December 18, 2023, 11:04:38 AMThat sounds like a great setting for the keep! Do you have any plans for all the caves, or are you going to run it by the book? B2 is one of the best modules I've seen, so I'm interested in seeing where you take it.
That's what I'm working on now. I want to go through and identify/name important NPCs at the Keep proper, and then, the Caves...
The goblins are an easy fit, no changes needed. The evil cultists are likewise easy, and the chaos forces they're playing with make an easy route to explain the horrors within - chaos corrupts and mutates!
Kobolds? Bugbears, Orcs? None of those are in L&D as it stands. So I may play them as chaos mutants, or a variant of goblin, or some as just corrupted humans.
Somewhere - I can't remember if it was Pundit's blog or Alexander Macris' - there was a discussion on "When Orcs were real", positing that neanderthals or somesuch were basically part of a racial memory of when we fought for survival against an evil race. The image was so striking, I googled similar and plan to use them to terrify my players:
(https://i2.wp.com/www.servantsandheralds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Nephilim-Orc.jpg)
As for the gnolls, I'd recently read about Cynocephaly in myth and thought they would fit that bill...
Quote from: Brigman on December 18, 2023, 01:00:56 PM
...
Somewhere - I can't remember if it was Pundit's blog or Alexander Macris' - there was a discussion on "When Orcs were real", positing that neanderthals or somesuch were basically part of a racial memory of when we fought for survival against an evil race. The image was so striking, I googled similar and plan to use them to terrify my players:
...
As for the gnolls, I'd recently read about Cynocephaly in myth and thought they would fit that bill...
Was it this article:
https://treeofwoe.substack.com/p/when-orcs-were-real
I personally think that Vendramini goes a bit too far... He's right that we do anthropomorphize the Neanderthal too much, and the recreationists tend to make them as human as possible for various reasons. But I find the full-on ape look a bit of a stretch.
Neanderthals on skull shape alone, would still look
very different from normal people. Giving them a blunt, human style nose, accurately making their eyes 20% larger than ours, perhaps a bit Hirsute with their body hair, with ratty dreadlocks, and you have a very fearsome looking almost 'beast-man'.
Here's a good height comparison with a cro-magnon thrown in for LOLZ:
(https://prehistoric-britain.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cro-magnon_edited-1.jpg)
Also, Cro-Magnon's would make good "giants".
Yes! That was the article. It may be "too far" but I think it makes excellent fodder for Lion & Dragon, honestly.
That said, wow, it's been 30 years since I took physical anthropology, but I had no memory of Cro Magnon being that tall! :o
Quote from: Brigman on December 18, 2023, 01:00:56 PM
Kobolds? Bugbears, Orcs? None of those are in L&D as it stands. So I may play them as chaos mutants, or a variant of goblin, or some as just corrupted humans.
...
As for the gnolls, I'd recently read about Cynocephaly in myth and thought they would fit that bill...
Kobolds are just goblins but German and Greek (Kobaloi).
Quote from: WERDNA on December 18, 2023, 05:45:38 PM
Quote from: Brigman on December 18, 2023, 01:00:56 PM
Kobolds? Bugbears, Orcs? None of those are in L&D as it stands. So I may play them as chaos mutants, or a variant of goblin, or some as just corrupted humans.
...
As for the gnolls, I'd recently read about Cynocephaly in myth and thought they would fit that bill...
Kobolds are just goblins but German and Greek (Kobaloi).
One of the things I never did like about D&D monsters. They could just have had varied names differing by the region in the campaign setting. But Noooo. Each different name has to be a distinct and different monster to pad out the book...
As a bit of an update, I wanted to present my edits to the Slave Lords themselves. I've edited them for two reasons: 1. To better fit the Dark Albion setting, 2. To better fit the BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia version of D&D and its clones. That being said, even if you run AD&D you can still use the names and details I've presented.
First and foremost, let me present the Dark Albion version of the Slave Lords. These have been modified from A3/A4 and I've used the conversion table in the back of the Rules Cyclopedia as well as used some common sense when converting them. Overall, they're fairly similar. Note that the original name is italicized.
The group is made up of Humans from France and Albion, a Frogman, and an Elf. All Clerics are devout followers of Chaos, and revel in it.
Florentin Thoreau Feetla
AC -1; HD 9+(81HP); AT 1; DMG 1d8+4; MV 90'; SV F10; ML 10; AL C; XP 1750
Magic Items: Sword +2, Chain +2, Shield +2
Special Abilities: Fighter Combat Options
Nathaniel Nerelas
AC 4; HD 9+(47HP); AT 2 (-2 to hit with the second attack); DMG 1d8+2, 1d4+2; MV 90'; SV T11; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 2,500
Magic Items: Sword +1, Dagger +1, Leather +1
Special Abilities: Thieving Abilities (as 11th Level Thief), Poisoned Dagger (1st Successful hit means target takes a Save vs. Poison or take 2d4 additional damage)
Montgomery Mordrammo
AC 1; HD 9+(41HP); AT 1; DMG 1d6+3; MV 90'; SV C11; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 4,000
Magic Items: Mace +2, Ring of Protection +2, Ring of Memory
Special Abilities: Control Undead, Spellcasting
Spells Memorized:
1st: Cure Light Wounds x3, Remove Fear
2nd: Bless x2, Silence 15' Radius
3rd: Striking x2, Cure Blindness
4th: Cure Serious Wounds, Neutralize Poison, Protection from Evil (Good) 10' Radius
5th: Cure Critical Wounds, Insect Plague
Jacques Ajakstu
AC 5; HD 9(32HP); AT 1; DMG 1d6+1; MV 90'; SV MU9; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 2,800
Magic Items: Dagger +1, Cloak of Protection +2, Staff of Power (2 Charges), Crystal Ball (with Clairaudience), Ring of Spell Storing (Contains: Dispel Magic, Magic Missile, Haste/Slow, Invisibility), Spellbook
Special Abilities: Spellcasting
Notes: Carries a Staff of Power. This is a bit powerful, especially in Dark Albion. Feel free to exchange it with an ordinary staff if desired
Spells Memorized:
1st: Magic Missile x2, Shield
2nd: Invisibility, Detect Invisibility, Mirror Image
3rd: Haste, Hold Person, Dispel Magic
4th: Wall of Fire, Confusion
5th: Teleport
Brother Maximilian Brother Milerjoi
AC 0; HD 9+(35HP); AT 3; DMG 2d8+1; MV 200'; SV M9; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 2,500
Magic Items: Nil
Special Abilities: Monk Abilities
Sebastian Klim Stalman Klim
AC 4; HD 9+(25/42HP); AT 1; DMG 1d6+3; MV 90'; SV C11; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 4,000
Magic Items: Mace +2, Bracers of AC 6
Special Abilities: Spellcasting
Spells Memorized:
1st: Resist Cold
2nd: Bless x2, Hold Person, Silence 15' Radius
3rd: Cure Blindness, x2, Striking
4th: Protection from Evil (Good) 10' Radius
5th: Nil
Röbirt Theg Narlot
AC 3; HD 9+(27/42HP); AT 1; DMG 1d8+2; MV 90'; SV F9; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 2,500
Magic Items: Nil
Special Abilities: Fighter Combat Options
Notes: Röbirt (once Theg) is now a frogman, and therefore he looks the part too: mottled, lumpy grey-green skin, a fleshy throat. He speaks common, but in a throaty and imperfect way.
Edralve
AC 4; HD 7+(21HP); AT 1; DMG 1d8+2; MV 90'; SV E7; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP x1,875
Magic Items: Sword +2, Ring of Fire Resistance
Special Abilities: Spellcasting, Darkness 1/Day, Dispel Magic 1/Day, Detect Magic 3/Day
Notes: Remember Edralve is an elf, and these are supposed to be rare and deadly otherworldly beings in Dark Albion. Her special abilities reflect some of her supernatural powers. These replace her Drow abilities, as she is now "just" an elf. She's also been changed to be a standard BECMI Elf, rather than an elven fighter/cleric, so remember she can cast spells in armor.
Spells Memorized:
1st: Magic Missile, Charm Person, Sleep
2nd: Mirror Image, Web
3rd: Hold Person, Dispel Magic
4th: Confusion
Leonard the Lazy Lamonsten
AC 7; HD 8(21HP); AT 1; DMG 1d4; MV 90'; SV MU8; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 1,650
Magic Items: Dagger +1, Displacer Cloak
Special Abilities: Spellcasting
Spells Memorized:
1st: Magic Missile x2, Shield
2nd: Levitate, Mirror Image, ESP
3rd: Haste, Protection from Normal Missiles
4th: Confusion, Polymorph Self
Clementine the Crafty Slippery Ketta
AC 2; HD 9+(30HP); AT 1; DMG 1d8; MV 90'; SV T10; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 1,750
Magic Items: Leather +2, Sword +0
Special Abilities: Thieving Abilities
Brother Lucas Brother Kerin
AC 2; HD 6+(21HP); AT 2; DMG 1d8+2; MV 170'; SV M6; ML 10; AL C; SA -; XP 950
Magic Items: Nil
Special Abilities: Monk Abilities
Quote from: Brigman on December 17, 2023, 03:12:24 PM
Quote from: 1stLevelWizard on December 16, 2023, 11:21:52 PM
Now that sounds interesting! Do you have a setting in mind?
Yeah, I've set my burgeoning campaign in the Northern Marches, and I planned to put "the Keep" (Thorne Keep in my game) near the Wall south of the Debatable Lands. I've only run one session so far, and the group has yet to reach the Keep; I'm planning to run them through Pundit's "The Child Eaters" before they get there.
Campaign log here: https://www.therpgsite.com/design-development-and-gameplay/lion-dragon-dark-albion-the-northern-marches/
Fantastic stuff!
QuoteHere's a good height comparison with a cro-magnon thrown in for LOLZ:
I'm not sure where such comparison came from but while Western Hunter Gatherer ancestry (which is not the same as Cro-Magnon, Cro-Magnon humans generally went extinct, only relic assimilated into Paleolithic folk) correspond to robust, tall, strongmen type - most definitely neither CM nor WHG humans were casually 7 ft tall. No human race in history was. It is freakish height generally and rare even nowadays, and people of ancient times were generally shorter, nowadays we often raise to maximum of our genetic height potential - in paleolithic period it was rare.
I think there was one population of CM Europeans that had males being 176 cm on average, which is freakishly tall for pre-modern humans, and still tall for many modern populations.
But no - never 7 ft on average.
It is an interesting way to slip in non-humans without breaking the historical authenticity of Dark Albion. Orcs as some ancient variant of human could work along the lines of the Chaos-worship of the frog men. Maybe they were ancient slaves brought in by elves trading with the frogmen or something like that.