Base of Operations Conversion

SJ Module Conversion:  Base of Operations

This free adventure can be found at:
http://wizards.com/dnd/article1.asp?x=dnd/oa/oa20001001a,3

Fix:
The humanoid forces in this scenario as well as Makkal, a possible
treacherous ally of the PCs, have no stats.  While the humanoids can be
assumed to be of standard fare they also lack an equipment list so DMs
will know what armor and personal weapons they have (in addition to the
javelins they've stocked the towers with).  The orc guards with 6 or 4
hps each have a battle axe.  The guards with 2 hps each have a
shortbow, quiver of 20 arrows, and a hand axe (aboard the ship all the
orcs have battle axe).  The sergeants all carry a great axe and a
wheellock pistol with powder and ammunition for 3 shots.  They have
spent feats to become proficient with each.  As noted in the module,
each orc sergeant also has a potion of cure light wounds.  All the orcs
wear studded leather armor and carry small wooden shields.  The trolls,
of course, are unarmed.  Kurjan has a holy symbol of his deity as well
as two vials of unholy water.  His uncut gemstones are for use with
animate dead spells.  Kurjan's concentration skill is only +11, not +12
(he has only a +2 con bonus).  Kurjan's stats erroneously attribute his
reduced movement to wearing plate mail but he actually wears +1 half
plate.  There are no hps listed for Kurjan's 4th zombie.  Assume it
also has 16 hp.
        Makkal, hm (see below):  Mnk3/Rog3 (3d6+3d8+6); hp 35; Init +4; Spd
40; AC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 17; Atk +6 melee (1d6+2,
quarterstaff), +8 melee (1d6+2, unarmed); SA sneak attack +2d6, unarmed
strike, flurry of blows, stunning attack; SD evasion, still mind; AL
LE; SV Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +7; Str 15, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 12, Wis
16, Cha 7; skills:  climb +8, hide +10, move silently +10, disable
device +7, use magic device +4, listen +9, open lock+10, search +7,
appraise +7, decipher script +7, balance +10, spot +9, escape artist
+10; feats:  ambidexterity, blind-fight, combat reflexes, dodge,
deflect arrows; possessions:  quarterstaff, 17 gp, 32 sp, 2 potions of
cure light wounds, small locked chest with shortsword and clothes

SJ Adaption:
This module adapts well to SJ, especially if the Second Unhuman War is
about to occur, is going on, or has occurred in the campaign.  A
simple, second conversion has been included here if this is not the
case.
        The most obvious thing to do in SJ is to set the module on an asteroid
(or, more correctly, in an asteroid field).  This works well in SJ,
simply set up the town of Marikest as the primary port in the local
asteroid field (or area of a large asteroid field) with Brightstone
Keep having been a nearby mining colony (possibly the town's only
satellite colony).  Marikest should not be replaced by a larger and
more powerful port such as Bral unless the DM provides a reason why the
forces of such a port cannot deal with the problem themselves or
contract mercenaries to do so for them.  Possible reasons include the
PCs are the mercenaries contracted or that the Second Unhuman War has
the city's forces all tied up currently.  Regardless, the DM should
arrange to have the townsfolk provide the PC's transportation to the
site.  This prevents the PCs from simply hovering nearby and using
their resources to overwhelm the enemy forces.  DMs must also assure
that the PCs' ship's crew does not join them in the assault.  They will
refuse if asked as they are sailors, not dungeon delvers, after all.
And leaving the PC's ship back in port means their crew could get in
all sorts of trouble, trouble the PCs might have to bail them out of
after dealing with Kurjan's forces.  Alternately, if the PCs don't have
their own ship, this is an ideal chance to provide them with one.
        The enemies' ship should be something small, perhaps a wasp.  If the
DM does not want the PCs to own the ship, it was formerly the
Craftsman's Plenty, a well known evangelical and mercy ship belonging
to the church of Ptah.  In this case Lorren claims it (and is backed by
the town as this is legal) but he will pay the PCs for recovering it in
either healing (and raising one or two of their dead if there is need)
or through donations to the church-an amount that will come to no more
than 2000 gp.  The ship is powered by a furnace helm.  A supply of
minor magical items is used for fuel and is stored in the helmroom.
The crate of items holds 4 potions of sweet water, a sunblade (this
sunblade has a NG alignment and causes 2-8 points of electrical damage
per round to any non-good wielder, it is not intelligent), and a ring
of the ram (command word unknown, 10 charges).
        Listening to rumors can still prove productive for the PCs before they
attack the humanoids, even though the town knows where the humanoids
are (or perhaps the PCs first have to engage the raiding ship and
interrogate its crew to locate the asteroid base).  The DM can provide
rumors relating to the situation that might include the races of the
enemies (or false clues such as giff and neogi) or, if the location of
the enemy base is known, some of the history of the colony and its
mining settlement.  Feel free to add additional rumors related to the
larger campaign also, particularly if the Second Unhuman War is going
on or about to begin (this helps make the entire world more alive as
well as allowing the players to put things in context-at some point).
Obviously Makkal will not be discussing raids as there will be none on
Marikest (nor does he have any contact with any raiders).
        If the DM chooses to use the On the Road ideas either let the PCs face
an ambush by the enemy ship as they travel aboard Marikest's tradesman
(a nasty surrise when they are expecting to be the ones doing the
raiding) or perhaps simply encounter it attacking another vessel and
arrive in time to run it off (a good excuse for the tradesman to drop
the PCs off and then head back to town, abandoning them for at least 24
hours).  Alternately, use a small group of scavvers if an unrelated
monster encounter is desired.
DMs should not aid their players with anything more than a hasty
liftoff by the town's forces.  Since the PCs can run back to town at
will to regain strength and the enemy base is, in all likelihood,
unable to be reinforced, they have the upper hand.  What the town might
do for the PCs is have their tradesman hover over the asteroid and
assure no enemies escape.  If the asteroid needs to be made easier
still, remove troops by having them operate the ship the humanoids are
using and have that ship be away raiding while the PCs mop things up
(the ship should return in 2-5 days at most, however).  Of course, the
DM could also allow Makkal of Psen to accompany the PCs (he will
definitely want to if he knows there's a mine on the asteroid), which
is, of course, a mixed blessing.  If things need to be made more
difficult, have the ship show up while the PCs are inside, add its crew
to the total monster roster, and have the crew attempt to trap the PCs
and take them from behind.  Remember, no matter what, the enemies the
PCs face will see their ship as the most important thing they have and
will fight to protect it.  If the PCs leave to rest and the enemy have
suffered heavy casualties they may choose to simply pack their loot and
spelljam away, all the better to fight another day (and become more
powerful; instead of making them a recurring for the PCs simply, allow
the PCs to constantly hear of their depridations elsewhere so the
players will understand what their failure brought about-a much less
frequently used and more unexpected DM device).  Note that they will
also take any PC and NPC bodies with them as the enemy leader is a
necromancer who will want to animate the bodies to help replenish his
forces.
        Regardless of which scenario is used, the Marikestans will not attack
the fort directly, but instead will land the PCs on the opposite side
of the asteroid (they fear the occupants have hidden siege weapon
defenses).  It is up to the PCs to decide they will approach the
asteroid from the long way around, using the other asteroids in the
area to hide their approach.  If they don't do this, the base occupants
automatically see their approach, if they do choose to do so the base
occupants automatically fail to notice the maneuver (the townsfolk use
more than enough distance and time to ensure the job is done right).
If the ship approached the far side of the asteroid unnoticed, the
humanoids make all their spot checks at -4 as they are watching for
approaching ships (this penalty is not cumulative with other penalties
from the text due to direction of approach as the humanoids are
watching every area of the asteroid equally poorly in this situation).
If the PC's ship was noticed the humanoids gain a +4 to spot checks due
to alertness.  If the PCs don't appear within 24 hours one of the
trolls will lead 5 orcs on a patrol of the rest of the asteroid to
locate the PCs.  They are not here to wipe the PCs out, however, just
to see if any were landed as suspected.  If they are ambushed they will
try to retreat to the keep.
        The asteroid is permanently locked in regards to the sphere's light
source ("the sun"), with the keep on the lit side.  As such the guards
are always at daytime stations.
The Town:  The town presented is according to 3e standards but SJ has a
much higher level of adventurer classed individuals (due to the
constant danger from raiders, pirates, slavers, and monsters) and a
much higher level of spellcasters (due to the need for helmsman) than a
standard campaign.  As such the town's numbers in these areas should
definitely be increased.  At a minimum add a couple acolytes for Lorren
and a few low level wizards.  One way to account for the low number of
adventurer classed individuals (as well as the lack of 1st and 2nd
level rogues, experts, and rangers and 1st level warriors that are also
noticeably lacking) is that the others have left due to the war (in
this case the Second Unhuman War must have occurred or be in progress).
 There should still be a few more low-level spellcasters, especially
clerics and wizards, at any rate.  The town is assumed to have a navy
consisting of an old but well maintained tradesman with hull plating
and a minor helm and two wreckboats powered by nonmagical engines that
are more frequently used as tugs to help maneuver vessels into port
softly than as warships.  The tradesman's helmsman is a 1st level
wizard that is a member of the watch (add him to the town roster).
        When converting the people assume the rangers all have neogi or
scavver for their chosen enemies (unless the Second Unhuman War has
been going on for some time or there's another significant local
threat).  Lorren is now a worshipper of Ptah, a perfect fit for the
primary cleric of an agricultural town that also has a satellite mining
colony.  His domains are water and air (elemental domains are extremely
appropriate for a deity reputed to have created the universe).  Makkal
of Psen is a spy for the Yakuza that is sizing the town up to see if
it's worth the yakuza moving in or not.  He's also out for himself,
however, and may act independently to make his own fortune at the DM's
option.  If he does so, however, he knows he'll have to escape as the
yakuza will eventually come after him, so his wealth will have to be
mobile.  Makkal is either a human or a korobokuru (those lacking
korobokuru 3e stats can use dwarf stats, just remember he's an oriental
dwarf and a yakuza).  Note that Makkal is not a spy for the Brightstone
Keep forces in this scenario because he lacks a means to report to them
(he'd need a ship of his own, which would be very obvious).  In the
stats provided above, Makkal is presented as a human.  DMs with access
to the 3e Oriental Adventures book should make Makkal a single-classed
6th level yakuza.
        DM's looking for future adventures using Marikest may choose to have
the current rogues in the town already be organized or they may be
highly independent.  In either case, there will be a lot of trouble if
the yakuza do decide to establish a presence in Marikest in the future
(which they undoubtedly will if the mine is reopened).

The Scenarios:
        Second Unhuman War:  The scro have sent either a scouting or a raiding
party to the former mining colony (they are merely scouts if the
campaign is pre-UWII).  Or perhaps they are defectors from the war if
the elves have been doing better than the scro promised (or have even
won).  They have been raiding local commerce (if this is pre-UWII
perhaps they became too greedy, ambitious, or impatient or they merely
attack weak appearing targets of opportunity but misjudged at least
one) and making a nuissance of themselves.  If the Second Unhuman War
has begun (and possibly ended) they did even more:  they wiped out the
castle occupants and miners and took over the keep themselves.  The
locals have tracked the raiders to the old mine with its fortifications
(if they were taken over, this was not an issue, otherwise the mine was
lost to neogi generations ago and never reclaimed due to a continuing
presence of umber hulks-what the townsfolk didn't know was the umber
hulks starved to death long ago).  Regardless the races of the
inhabitants do not change.  If it is before the war, they were chosen
as the scro still do not wish to reveal themselves.  Humanoids in space
are certainly rare, but they are not impossible (and since their ship
is a captured vessel there is little mystery as to where/how they got
it).
        The Ship:  The ship is definitely not large enough to hold all the
humanoids without a very tight squeeze but since it is a captured
vessel this can be easily explained away in a pre-UWII campaign (when
additional ships actually landed the additional forces).  If the
humanoids are deserters, the ship was the only one they could get away
with.  The ship's old name has been roughly scratched out (so roughly
that it can still be read, even at some distance) and renamed Gruumsh's
Harvest (even though the group's leader is not a Gruumsh worshipper).
The ship's current crew is a full complement of orcs (17 orcs + 1 orc
sergeant in charge).  One of the orcs acts as the helmsman.
        Areas 1-3:  Each tower always has an archer and another orc atop it.
        Areas 4 & 5:  The trolls both live in building 4 with the slaves all
in building 5.
The slaves in are unchanged, though the goblins are kept separate from
the other slaves.  If the 2nd Unhuman War is still going on or has not
yet occurred the goblins are instead a group of tinker gnome colonists
(including children) the humanoids captured, otherwise the goblins are
former allies of the orcs and trolls.  The goblins will be pressed into
service if the orcs are losing badly (possibly between PC assaults).
If pressed into service by the orcs they will be given broken pieces of
wood (treat as clubs) and have the following statistics:
Goblin males (23):  HD 1d8; hp 4 each; Init +1; Spd 20; AC 12; Atk +1
melee (1d6-1, club);  AL LE; SV Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +0; Str 8, Dex
13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8; skills:  hide +6, move silently +4,
listen +3, spot +3; feats:  alertness; possessions:  none
        The goblins will turn and fight the orcs and trolls if the PCs are
handily winning and no elves, half-elves, dwarves, or gnomes are among
the party (if Makkal is a korobokuru his unusual appearance will throw
them off so this will not matter).  If the PCs attack the goblins and
don't contain any of the above races the goblins will flee.  If the
party contains the above races the goblins will attack the party but
will not coordinate with the orcs and trolls and in fact will makes
attacks of opportunities on the orcs and trolls if they come too close
to a goblin otherwise unable to attack a PC.
        The elf slave is a 2nd level wizard (he has no memorized spells and
his spellbook is not to be found).  He is willing to work for the PCs
or the town in return for food, shelter, and a complete spellbook
(including all cantrips as well as at least 4 1st level spells).
Though CG, he will keep his promise unless betrayed or abused or the
PCs are particularly evil in front of him.  The humans and halflings
are 1st level commoners and the dwarves are 1st level experts (they are
spelljamming shipwrights).  If gnomes replaced the goblins there are 13
adult females and 8 adult males, all 1st level experts.  There are 5
gnome children too young to fight or have a class.
        The troll's chain shirt is sized for ogres, trolls, giff, and other
larger races.
        Area 6:  This area was a shelter for a couple mules that were used in
the mines as well as for workers to get out of the sun (remember the
sun always shines on this side of the asteroid).
        Area 7:  The winter wolf is a personal pet of Kurjan's.  Of course, it
is a heavily abused, unwilling pet.  The trolls oversee it as they can
heal any damage done to them.  The winter wolf can speak common, giant,
and draconic.  It will attempt to parley with PCs for its freedom
(including being returned to someplace it can survive on its own).  If
the PCs are unwilling to deal with it then it will use its breath
weapon and fight to the death (it assumes PCs unwilling to deal will
kill it anyway).  It may get the chance to aid PCs against their
enemies before it is approached and will do so, then use this to help
convince the PCs of its good will.  Only once it is free of the chain
will the winter wolf actually tell the PCs about Kurjan, the ship, and
anything else they want to know (the winter wolf is quite intelligent
and knows a great deal about the number of enemies, their equipment,
the presence of slaves, the ship and its schedule, why the orcs are
here-though it may not know the word "scro", and so on).  It will even
help the PCs finish off the complex and arrange an ambush for the
returning ship if freed.  As long as the PCs deal honestly and fairly
with it, the wolf will do the same for them.  Under no circumstances
will it agree to be a companion, hireling, follower, or anything else
for a PC (even under charm as this is against its basic desire after
such long captivity).
        Area 8:  Kurjan is not willing to allow his forces die without him.
He will appear as soon as the fighting starts and order his undead to
wherever there is a melee occurring.  He will position himself in a
location where he can cast his spells most effectively.  He will begin
with summon monster III to immediately aid his troops.  He casts
deathwatch as soon as possible in order to direct his troops to
concentrate their attacks on weaker enemies (note that he can recast it
if it runs out or is dispelled).  He will cast desecrate to support his
undead when he sends them into battle.  He will use bane, command,
cause fear, and hold person as soon as possible, seeking to quickly
weaken and eliminate enemies.  He targets elves first, then
spellcasters and missile troops.  If he runs out of spells or notices
an enemy within 4 hps of death he'll use his wand of magic missiles
unless he's close enough to kill them with a melee attack.  He'll mix
spell attacks with weapon attacks in melee and will use his speak with
dead on any PCs left behind after an unsuccessful attack.  Kurjan is
not scared of his foes but will try to put his troops between him and
them.  If 2/3s of his troops are down and the PCs are clearly winning
he'll retreat to area 8 and hide, ordering his troops to follow.  He
then heals his followers and waits for his ship to return.  Note that
Kurjan will not heal his minions (but will heal himself), except the
undead, during battle.  Minions (and PCs and slaves) that die will be
frozen by the winter wolf until he's ready to animate them (he is
currently unable to animate more undead).  Note that Kurjan does not
worship Wee Jas.  Instead he worships Shargaas as the orcish god of
undeath.  DMs with access to darkness domains from any source are
encouraged to switch Kurjan's magic domain for the darkness domain to
be in keeping with the portfolio of his deity (alternately the evil
domain may be useful as it includes the desecrate spell).  In this case
also switch Kurjan's wand with 15 +1 darts as he cannot use a wand of
magic missiles any longer.  If Kurjan has to prepare for additional
forays by the PCs (i.e., the PCs were run off the first time) he will
alter his spell list based on their apparent powers in order to be a
more formidable foe.  If he lost a large number of troops he will
animate all those he can as well as memorizing a number of summon
monster spells.  He will not memorize read magic, speak with dead, or
any inflict spells (as he can trade memorized spells for inflict
spells).  He will also take spells that aid his troops (like chant and
bless), weaken foes (like bane), and are ranged spells in favor of
touch spells (though he'll keep some healing spells).  He is likely to
memorize a sanctuary spell if the PCs have a number of spellcasters or
archers or proved particularly effective at disrupting or negating his
spells.

        Pirates:  In this conversion, pirates have made the abandoned keep
their base just as above, only this time they are mainly humans.  The
locals have tracked the raiders to the old mine with its fortifications
(the mine was lost to neogi generations ago and never reclaimed due to
a continuing presence of umber hulks-what the townsfolk didn't know was
the umber hulks starved to death long ago).
        The Ship:  The ship is definitely not large enough to hold all the
pirates at once without a severe overcrowding so it is possible the
pirates were run out of another area and ended up here.  The ship's old
name has been roughly scratched out (so roughly that it can still be
read, even at some distance) and renamed Orcus's Harvest.  The ship's
current crew is a full complement of humans (17 1st level warriors + 1
3rd level human fighter in charge), equipped as the orcs were (the 3rd
level fighter is equipped the same as an orc sergeant).  One of the
warriors acts as the helmsman.
        Areas 1, 2, & 3:  Replace the orcs with 1st level human warriors
(equipped as the orcs were) and the orc sergeants with 3rd level human
fighters (equipped as the orc sergeants were).
        Areas 4 & 5:  Replace the two trolls with 4 giff.  Each is a standard
4 HD giff armed with an arquebus, smokepowder and shot for 6 shots, a
battle axe, and giff armor.  One giff wears the ring noted while each
of the others has a potion of cure light wounds.  Replace the goblin
slaves with tinker gnomes as given above.  Otherwise the slaves are as
listed above.
        Area 7:  The winter wolf is replaced by a normal wolf that has not
been abused and is not chained up.  It is loyal to Kurjan and will be
with him in area 8 when things begin.  If it hears something and Kurjan
does not then it will bark before running to the gate.  This will
attract his attention.  Note that while the wolf has excellent smell
the asteroid has no notable wind so it's unlikely the wolf will smell
anything it doesn't hear.  The wolf stays next to Kurjan through any
battle, intercepting anyone that tries to attack its master in melee.
It will also follow any orders it's given but Kurjan will not order it
to attack anyone that is not alone (he will particularly target
spellcasters and those close to death).  Kurjan will heal the wolf
during battle.
        Area 8:  Kurjan's tactics are as listed above.  In this case he will
be unable to freeze any bodies, however.  Kurjan is a half-elf and
worships Orcus.  His alignment is CE.  It would be appropriate to
switch the magic domain for the evil domain in this case with the
adjustments noted above.  As a human Kurjan has knowledge(religion) +9
and the blind-fighting feat.

Continuing the Adventure:
The townsfolk all recall the history of the mine so it is unlikely the
PCs will be able to claim it, at least without a significant legal
battle (if there is any higher authority around to go to).  They may be
able to get a higher reward, however, for its successful reclamation.
If a war is going on or about to start the PCs may have valuable
information for the elves.  And if the humanoids escaped they
undoubtedly mentioned the PCs to their scro commanders.  The PCs are
now on the radar screen of a powerful bunch of enemies, though they
aren't worth sending ships and troops after-yet.  Instead a simple
bounty may suddenly appear on their heads, a mysterious bounty without
any apparent source or reason.  Only wanted dead.

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