SJ Module Review & Conversion: Into the Darkness Part 3 of 3

SJ Conversion:
For SJ, forget the building and its quirky setup (and problems).  Also
you may want to forget the setup with Holg as a bandit (or might not).
Depending on DM desires Holg could easily be a messenger for the Tenth
Pit or a smuggler.  If you choose to leave him as a half-orc and his
minions as kobolds he might be a scout for the scro forces in the 2nd
Unhuman War (or a good lead into the war by having PCs encounter him
and wonder why there are humanoids in space).  Regardless of which is
used this could be a good encounter for getting PCs their own ship.
Perhaps they are part of another ship's crew that encounters Holg and
his ship or perhaps Holg tries slaving or raiding a community where the
PCs are currently present.  Overall the tactics provided are useful if
the DM wants to put them into effect.  Holg casts spells while the
undead attack and the kobolds hide behind crates stacked on the deck,
firing their crossbows.  If forced to melee the intelligent foes try
flanking PCs.  They may retreat below and barricade a hall, firing at
PCs as they try to come through the hatch.  Holg leaves his pet in his
room, which the lizard guards against any intrusion (or perhaps it
makes sure no prisoners/slaves can escape).  I provide two suggested
conversions below:
        Unhuman War:  Whether war is on, over, or yet to begin, Holg is (or
was) attached to the humanoid forces.  His domains are law and evil and
he worships Gruumsh (possibly putting him at odds with scro clerics of
Dukagsh in your campaign and giving a reason why he's out here in such
a little ship or even deserted).  In this case Holg's crew could be the
kobolds given or DMs might choose to replace them with goblins or even
orcs to increase the power.  One assumption of 3e is that an encounter
will consume a certain amount of PC resources in terms of spells and
hps.  With the long delays between encounters in SJ, it is reasonable
to increase the difficulty.  Holg's ship is a dragonfly or a wasp (at
most an eelship) with a single large weapon his crew mans.  One of his
crew is a 1st level adept or possibly a level 1 cleric which mans the
helm (or use a furnace helm if you don't want the PCs to gain a ship
with minor helm).  The undead are kept on the upper deck and used to
repel boarders (they aren't coordinated enough to operate rigging or
weapons without careful guidance, if they are put to this task then
drop MC/ROF by one due to their inefficiency).  Holg is carrying the
potion from room 1 on his person but the chest that stores his loot in
the hold is still trapped (make it a more effective poison, however,
since the crew will likely be all dead before PCs ever see the chest).
If a larger ship is used, be sure to increase the crew size.  All crew
should have missile weapons available in case of attempted boarding
(they fire on boarders as the enemy ship closes then go to melee once
boarded).  Be careful about balancing the encounter.  Though the PCs
are probably at full strength, so are the defenders.  And this time all
the defenders will be working together so more powerful defenders (such
as an eelship full of orcs) will probably overwhelm the PCs.  On the
other hand, if the PCs have their own crew to aid them they will be
able to fend off a large force more easily.  In all cases be sure to
carefully manage balance.
        Pirate/Slaver:  In this case Holg is not affiliated with the humanoid
forces of the scro.  Instead he's simply an independent pirate,
smuggler, or slaver, or perhaps he works for a larger organization such
as the Chainmen, Xenos (see below), or Tenth Pit as a courier,
smuggler, messenger, or the like.  He might have a mosquito ship or a
dragonfly (or a wasp or eel as noted above).  In this case he should
probably be made a human due to the rarity of humanoids in space.  The
added skill points and extra feat could easily be used on any SJ feats
and skills the DM uses in the campaign, thus making conversion easier.
Holg would have the evil and law domains again and he'd worship an
appropriate deity (perhaps Set if there's a PC cleric of Ptah or be
part of an evil branch of the Path and the Way).  Holg's crew is now
also human, perfect for being a Xeno crew if the DM so desires.  If the
DM doesn't want to make Holg a Xeno, a member of an SJ race such as a
giff or hadozee could be added to the crew for flavor.  The notes on
balance and crew size (including a possible level 1 cleric to operate
the helm) are otherwise as given in the Unhuman War conversion, above.

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