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Content Conversion Guide (Pathfinder / 5E / P2E / OSR / DCC / d20 3.5)

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Executive Summary

If you've ever wanted to take adventure content from one system and use it in another, this book has been designed to be of invaluable help. 

For D/GM/judge/referees, for game designers, for indie RPG authors, or for someone looking to investigate the mechanics of other TTRPG rules systems, this book is designed to be a massive accelerant to the conversion process and a window into the "secret sauce" that has made Infinium Game Studios products unique in their ability to be used across a wide variety of PC levels and difficulties.

Introduction

The Content Conversion Guide (CCG) is a book that walks through a process of converting adventure content from Pathfinder First Edition into five other tabletop roleplaying game systems:

  • 5E/Fifth Edition, 
  • Pathfinder Second Edition,
  • OSR,
  • Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), and
  • d20 / v3.5

I've been pouring hundreds of hours into the most ambitious and largest fantasy bestiary project ever create: Aquilae: Bestiary of the Realm.

To make that possible, I've invented a thorough approach to converting monster and other content from Pathfinder First Edition into 5E, P2E, OSR, and DCC formats.  Many backers, friends, and community members have asked for this heuristic, some way of taking the approach I've been employing, so that others can use it to convert ANYTHING Pathfinder into the newer rules systems.

What's Included?

  • Part 1 is How to Quad: Rules for taking a monster, NPC, trap, etc. in a single statblock, and adapting it into three additional statblocks, so as to support a wide range of PC levels and difficulties.  (Check out the free PDF introducing the concept of Quadded Statblocks if you're not already familiar with it.)
  • Part 2 is How to Convert: Step-by-step rules to take each statistic from Pathfinder, and how to adapt it into the other formats so the resulting monster "makes sense" and is usable.
  • Part 3 is the Conversion Mapping InventoryComplete lists for Spells, Feats, Weapons, Skills, and Poisons, with converted analogues for each in 5E, P2E, OSR, and/or DCC formats as appropriate.  Some of these do not have a good analogue in the newer rules systems, but for the majority, there will be entires.  Note that a separate Excel-based product contains the complete Conversion Mapping Inventory for more than 4,800 monster special abilities and attacks; it would take more than 3,000 pages to lay all of that out in book form so it's not feasible!
  • Part 4 is Creating New Quadded MonstersGuidelines and rules for how to take an existing monster as a starting point, and to expand its abilities and to create Quadded Statblocks for it so it's usable for any PC group

History & Scope

The Content Conversion Guide is the product of many hundreds of hours of exhaustive conversion, producing more than 20,000 pages of converted and published adventure content with more than 35,000 complete monster statblocks converted. 

It's also the product of more than three decades of tabletop roleplaying and D/GMing.

If you've ever wanted to take adventure content from one system and use it in another, this book has been designed to be of invaluable help.

By the Numbers

The real value, of course, is in the heuristic, the approach described that has been developed over a many years and tons of labor.

That said, it's also useful to assess what's in the book from a numbers standpoint:

  • More than 4,800 monster Special Abilities and Special Attacks (corresponding Content Conversion Monster Mapping Inventory only).
  • 70 reference tables, each color-coded by rules system target for ease of reference.
  • Complete mapping for each of more than 200 Poisons.
  • Complete mapping for each of more than 160 Weapons.
  • Complete mapping for each of more than 530 Spells.
  • Sample monsters: complete, converted, and quadded statblocks for more than 40 Monsters, across 5 Rules Systems: more than 800 Complete Statblocks in all.
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Discussions (32)
Customer avatar
Ariel A May 03, 2023 4:40 pm UTC
PURCHASER
This is impressive. For OSR especially, it looks like the conversions are solid. For pf2e, it does seem to underestimate the creature stats if we assume CR is roughly equivalent to creature level in pf2e. I also noticed a typo or missing step in calculating HP, in the example provided 8d12 + 16 somehow calculates to 88, where the average of d12 should make this closer to 64 HP. Either this was rolled randomly (which it seems he is not suggesting), or there is something missing here
Customer avatar
Sean B March 27, 2023 3:59 am UTC
PURCHASER
So this would convert from PF1e to OSR fairly decently?
Going from OSR to C&C or S&W would be easy enough after that.
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Customer avatar
J. E March 27, 2023 10:58 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Yep, that’s one of the things it was designed to do. :)
Customer avatar
J. E August 22, 2022 3:44 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Talking About Games has a great overview video / review here. Thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKXxPumEd-8
Customer avatar
J. E August 19, 2022 8:11 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
This week, Wizards of the Coast announced the next iteration of the world's most popular roleplaying game, and I'm happy to report that just as soon as that is released in its final form, I will be publishing a version of the Content Conversion Guide explicitly designed to convert 5E content to... 5.5? 5.X? One D&D? Whatever it ends up being called, I'll be here to support the way and make things easier. :)
Customer avatar
Brian B April 06, 2022 2:30 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I just purchased, and I hate to say it, but I am disappointed. The description says that this product converts Pathfinder 1E to five different systems. It also states that more than 530 spells are converted.
Those spells are ONLY converted to 5E and Pathfinder 2E. Spells are NOT converted to OSR or DCC. In my case, I purchased this specifically with the intention of the DCC spell conversion. So my money was wasted.
Probably a fantastic product for others, but if you are looking for spell conversions to those systems, this is not it.
Reply
Customer avatar
J. E April 06, 2022 2:45 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Brian--Thanks for your comments, and I'm sorry that the CCG didn't meet your needs!

For DCC, it's a miss, for sure, and I do apologize that the description wasn't more up-front about what was and (more importantly) what was not converted explicitly.

I can't action a refund because DTRPG doesn't provide that tool to publishers, but I'd be happy to send you a complimentary copy of something else from our catalogue of equivalent value if you'd like. Email me directly at infiniumGameStudios [at] gmail [dot] com, and include your order number for the CCG.
Customer avatar
Joe P March 30, 2022 4:37 am UTC
PURCHASER
I'm torn...I'd really like to buy this...but I'm looking for something that will help me convert a ton of 5E content that I've picked up into PF 1E, which is the system that all 3 groups I run are in love with.

Can this be used for that, or is there another product you have that can? I'd love to support.
Reply
Customer avatar
J. E March 30, 2022 2:13 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Joe--Full transparency: this book was designed to take Pathfinder 1E content and adapt it to other systems. That said, I know of many DMs who use P1E who have found a lot of success using this book to take other systems, say 5E, and to convert the other way back to P1E.

You might wanna take a quick look at the previews for the CCG, or the screenshot of the Mapping Inventory XLS, to get a feel for what's in this book and whether it's what you're looking for exactly.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/338297/Content-Conversion-Mapping-Inventory-Pathfinder---5E---P2E---OSR---DCC---d20-35
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Customer avatar
Joe P March 30, 2022 7:34 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I did give it a bit of a skim. This isn't exactly what I'm looking for, but it may be able to give me a springboard to being able to do what I'm wanting to do if I do a bit of reverse-engineering. At the very least, it'll help me streamline my thoughts. So in the cart it goes.

Thanks for the response!
Reply
Customer avatar
J. E March 30, 2022 7:36 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Huzzah, thanks so much for the support! Hope it fits the bill, or at least serves as inspiration or assistance to your purposes.
Customer avatar
Bryan M April 26, 2021 1:13 am UTC
PURCHASER
This would be really convenient if the conversions went in the opposite direction.
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Customer avatar
J. E March 30, 2022 2:14 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Bryan--Sorry I missed this a few weeks ago; take a look at my comments to Joe above. Simply put, there's no reason you can't use this to go the other way around, but it's not written explicitly for that direction so you might need to tweak things a bit.

Ultimately, it's always going to be much, MUCH more difficult to convert from a simpler rules system (e.g., 5E) into a much more complex ruleset (P1E), which is a major reason why the book was written with P1E in mind foremost.
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Customer avatar
Bryan M April 06, 2022 1:13 am UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks for the response, J.E. I can totally see why that’s the case. And like Joe, although it’s not exactly what I was looking for - it’s a useful enough tool to help with my conversions that it’s going in my cart! :)
Reply
Customer avatar
Paul L May 21, 2022 5:20 pm UTC
I'm curious whether you in fact found the book helped convert from 5E to PF1, as that's also what I want to do.
Customer avatar
Debbie B March 30, 2021 10:04 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I was wondering, is there any way to create quadded stat blocks for creatures in other systems, or do you just work backwards to translate a creature to P1E and then adapt back to its base system?
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Customer avatar
J. E March 31, 2021 1:37 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
That's a really good question... at this time, the only discussion that's included on "quadding" is how to take a P1E critter and create three other quads. That process is somewhat straightforward, given how that rules system has structure and formality around adding and removing hit dice, and templates and feats allow a pretty easy-to-use framework for scaling difficulty.

I haven't done quadding "natively" in other rules systems due to inherent limitations in those kinds of structures... not to say that it's not possible, I just haven't dedicated a great deal of effort to formalizing the approach given that, as you describe, I simply quad things in P1E and then convert the quadded statblocks.

I'll think about how easy it would be to provide quadding guidance for other systems. Thanks for the thought!
Customer avatar
David L March 30, 2021 4:46 am UTC
PURCHASER
HI. I'm probably just missing something obvious, but the monster examples do not seem to be using the rules to convert AC from P1e to OSR. For example the Gargantuan Hydra has a P1e AC of 31. According to the conversion guide for OSR that should be - 7 (26)...which is basically unhittable in OSR, however, in the example this ends up a reasonable 4 (15)? Is there a step missing on pg. 40 to make correct OSR AC values (and maybe sense of how he examples came up with their AC's)?
Customer avatar
Frank T January 09, 2021 9:26 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi, does the book cover converting from OSR or DCC to 5e? I don't have Pathfinder but I still have 3.5 material. Any plans to do such a product?
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Customer avatar
J. E January 11, 2021 12:32 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Please see earlier comments/threads for more details, but the short answer is, "kinda".

Given the wealth of feedback requesting it, I have in mind system-specific versions of the Conversion Guide that are written with specific source systems in mind, so it would be easier to convert between any of the supported systems and any other.

That said, the heuristics described should provide enough information to "walk through" from any system to any other; it just might be more of a hassle than you'd prefer.

Hope that helps! Thanks for the feedback!
Customer avatar
J. E January 06, 2021 2:43 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
FYI the hardcopy files have been approved, and proofs have been ordered. I'd estimate sometime in February, you'll be able to order either a hardcover or a softcover dead-tree version of the Content Conversion Guide.

Please note that anyone who already has the PDF version of the book at that time will receive a discount code for the hardcopies if they wish.

Thanks to everyone for making this an Electrum bestseller!

Onward!
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Customer avatar
Luis R February 20, 2021 8:37 am UTC
PURCHASER
How can I get that code since I already own the PDF?
Reply
Customer avatar
J. E February 20, 2021 2:05 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
It was sent to everyone who owns it already as of publication. If you've chosen not to receive notifications from DTRPG, shoot me an email at infiniumGameStudios [at] gmail.com
Customer avatar
J. E January 04, 2021 4:26 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
This Electrum-bestselling Content Conversion Guide just got even better: version 1.1 is now available.

This updated edition is FREE for those who had the original, and includes:
--Expanded rules and mappings for Skill Checks for 5E, P2E, and DCC.
--New House Rule mechanics and mapping tables for Skill Checks in OSR games.
--Expanded rules and mapping tables for converting Trap DCs.
--Edits, tweaks, and corrections.

The corresponding Conversion Mapping Inventory XLS has also been updated to include skill mappings for 5E and P2E games (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/338297/Content-Conversion-Mapping-Inventory-Pathfinder---5E---P2E---OSR---DCC---d20-35).

Enjoy! And thanks to those who have commented below for the suggestions on how to improve the Guide; these free updates are because of your interest and feedback :)
Customer avatar
Cedric A December 30, 2020 10:39 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I grabbed this on a whim to check out how it handles PF-OSR conversions, and it seems pretty straightforward for the most part, but I've got a couple questions/notes. First, I notice that when discussing OSR AC, it's making the assumption that the OSR uses BD&D style AC rather than AD&D, which is slightly different (but only slightly, I think just adding 1 to the descending OSR table fixes it?), something that might catch up the unwary.

As for an actual question, I'm not quite sure how converting from HD from PF to OSR works, nor how it relates to tables 32 and 33. I'm trying to convert the Lesser Ooze Demon from the Tome of Horrors Complete, which has an HD of 3d10+9 (25hp). Following the instructions, I get a tentative OSR HD value of 3. Following that, because it's an outsider, I'm apparently supposed to give it a numeric bonus equal to it's tentative OSR HD value. So now I have a tentative OSR HD value and a numeric bonus, but I'm not quite sure how to actually use them. Looking at the...See more
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Customer avatar
J. E December 31, 2020 5:08 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
I think your specific question regarding the Lesser Ooze Demon is a good example of the need to sanity-check the results, even the ones driven by rigor. Realistically, a PF HD of 3d10+9 should probably result in 1 or 1+X in OSR, but it's also a function of your purpose in using the monster and the "quad" of difficulty you're going for. Unhelpful I'm sure if you're seeking an explicit answer here :)

In terms of ability scores in OSR, yeah, flavors of old-school use and track different things. Long-term, I'm likely to develop a conversion guide specifically addressing the various flavors, but generally speaking, 5E's ability score ranges are roughly in line with what you'd expect to find in OSR so it should be a good tool.

Hope that helps!
Reply
Customer avatar
Cedric A January 01, 2021 3:29 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hm, I'm not quite sure. I'm just trying to convert them straight over so I've done a couple others as well. I went for the Greater Ooze Demon (10d10+80, 135hp) next, and based on your response I assumed I was supposed to use table 33, which /should/ come to 5+5? Then I tried the Jack-in-Irons Giant because of its high HD (26d8+204, 321hp), and I did the calculation (that'd be (HD/3)+2), which gave me an HD of 10. But checking the tables (table 32's OSR section seems to be the d8 section of table 33, but expanded), it said that a PF1e HD of 26 should be 13HD instead. I checked the example conversions in the back, but I wasn't able to find anything that cleared things up.

I guess I feel like the rules for converting HD to OSR are a little vague? The section gives you a calculation but doesn't really tell you what to do with it or how it relates to the tables. The samples also don't feel super useful, I think I'd rather have less fully done sample conversions, and instead have a few varied examples with...See more
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Customer avatar
Tom V February 03, 2021 10:04 pm UTC
PURCHASER
@Cedric A
Why aren't you just using the Swords & Wizardry version of the Tome of Horrors Complete? Lesser Ooze Demon from the Tome of Horrors Complete Swords & Wizardry version is listed as 4 hit dice. If that doesn't sound right to you can divide the average Pathfinder hit point total by 4.5 to give OSR hit dice. 25/4.5=5.56 which would result in a calculated 5+4 OSR hit dice.
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Customer avatar
Cedric A February 06, 2021 5:13 am UTC
PURCHASER
Because I don't own it? 3e's my D&D love, so I bought it to use with that before I thought to go for something a bit more "down to earth" and started going for 1e/2e stuff, and then wanting to convert all sorts of 3e/PF1e stuff to work with that. Getting into the nitty-gritty, would you divide by 4.5, or since PF1e changes Outsider HD to d10s would you divide by 5.5 instead? Dividing by that gives me 4.54~ so... 4+4? 4+5? Further, calculations of that sort fall apart when you reach the higher levels of the 3e scale. I doubt a Jack-in-Irons Giant is 71.3~HD, and I'm sure my players wouldn't appreciate me trying to throw that at them; even the 3e hook horror comes out to 14.44~HD (10HD, 65hp, divided by 4.5, and they're using d8s like the original, compared to the original's 5HD).

I mean, I suppose I could go ahead and re-buy the Tome of Horrors, but that won't help me when I decide to convert something from, say, the 3e MM2 or FF.
Customer avatar
Mark Y December 30, 2020 10:22 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Really awesome conversion guide! For the first time, I feel like my enormous Pathfinder 1e investment is protected. I plan on continuing to play Pathfinder 1e for the foreseeable future -- but it's a great relief to know I can continue to use that material in other game systems, if needed.

I will very likely buy the printed edition when available! Thank you very much for this resource! Really great work!!!
Customer avatar
JEAN-MARC G December 13, 2020 8:49 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hi Jason, thanks for this guide which is very useful !. Two questions : 1) concerning Traps : i don't understand the rule to convert DCs (page 68). It says to use the rules earlier given in page 65 (using an ability score modifier and proficiency bonus), but for traps i only have for ie a given DC Perception and a DC disable device. How do we convert these DC in 5E ? ; 2) almost same question : when you have something like "a DC 25 Climbing check must be passed to climb along the facade of the tower.", any rule to convert that in 5E ?
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Customer avatar
J. E December 31, 2020 5:05 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Great question! I'm updating the file now actually with a few additional pieces of content. One of them is an expanded discussion on Skills, mapping them to P2E, and describing how to adapt the DCs involved. Stay tuned for an automatic FREE update :)
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Customer avatar
J. E January 04, 2021 4:27 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
All righty, please check out the latest version, which has been updated to make this piece of things even clearer. :) Hope you like it and thanks for the feedback!
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Customer avatar
JEAN-MARC G January 08, 2021 3:07 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Great ! I just downloaded the update and checked. Thanks for this useful update !
Customer avatar
Claudio G December 09, 2020 3:20 pm UTC
Does this include a way to convert from PF2e to D&D 5e?
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Customer avatar
J. E December 09, 2020 3:30 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Claudio--"Mostly" is the accurate answer. The book was written from the standpoint of converting Pathfinder content to other systems; that said, most of what's covered should be easy enough to follow in terms of converting other ways around.

There have been suggestions in the comments below to have versions of the Guide that are written specifically around "how to convert from X", "how to convert from Y", and that may be something I explore.

Take a look at the preview to get a feel for how the topic is approached.
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Product Information
Platinum seller
Author(s)
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Pages
430
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IGS-FTEG-CCG
File Size:
44.41 MB
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This title was added to our catalog on December 03, 2020.