Summary

With around fifty years under its belt,Dungeons & Dragonsis a pop culture powerhouse. And while plenty of the game’s greatest hits have made it to Fifth Edition, others have been left in the dust. It’s more than enough to make any long-time player weep, and plenty of players have taken matters into their own hands.

Entire communities have sprung up around the idea ofconverting older D&D contentinto Fifth Edition, and it’s more than easy to get started. Whether it’s a spell, a monster, a magic item, or a whole adventure, there are just a few suggestions to keep in mind before you get started.

A serpentine dragon flying out from a blazing sun.

1Consider A Reskin

Spare Yourself The Effort

Before you begin your conversion, you should first ask yourself whether or not you really need to make the effort. Converting content to Fifth Edition is an arduous process that takes a lot of trial and error, so cutting corners wherever you can get away with it is never a terrible idea.

Often, you can get away with finding an existing piece of content that occupies the same gameplay niche and adjusting the lore and flavor. You can make minor adjustments as needed, such as making that one spell do radiant damage instead of acid damage or increasing a monster’s AC.

Dungeons & dragons warlock making a pact with a bone devil as its imp takes notes

2Make Sure It Hasn’t Been Done Before

A Lot Of Older Content Is New Again

While you’re researching your materials, be on the lookout for any official rules or adventures that look like they might have been converted from older versions of the game. You might want to create a sprawling adventure in the Ravenloft campaign setting where your players fight Strahd von Zarovich, and luckily for you, there’s alreadyan official Fifth Edition modulefor that.

Also be aware that several creatures from previous editions are present in Fifth Edition under different names. A good example of this is the lurker above, an AD&D monster that existed to hang out on dungeon ceilings before dropping onto unsuspecting PCs. It’s alive and well as the darkmantle in Fifth Edition.

Four Leprechauns from Dungeons & Dragons.

3Understand The Assignment

Get A Feel For What’s Important

Everything in D&D brings something to the table for your players, even if that “something” is different from session to session. If you’re unsure of where to start in your conversion process, take a look at the rules and statistics surrounding the content you want to convert and draw up a bullet point list of everything that stands out.

Flavor is important, but it’s not the only reason to consider converting content to Fifth Edition. Perhaps a spell, monster or item occupies a unique niche by presenting new opportunities or challenges for your players. Finding a way for these features to work in Fifth Edition would go a long way towards making your players feel special.

Dungeons & Dragons dice coming out of a bag and rolling onto a notebook and pen

4Math Is A Suggestion

And No One Wants THAC0 To Return

You’re going to give yourself a headache if you try to work out a formula for converting AD&D stats. Working with 3.5 or Fourth Edition is somewhat easier, but the math is still considerably different from what you might be used to if you primarily play Fifth Edition.

Believe it or not, you can vibe your way through statting up a monster or calculating damage dice. To do this, take a look at similar spells, items, or monsters that would be appropriate for the intended level your PCs are meant to encounter them. That should give you a starting range for what numbers to work with.

Dungeons & Dragons: Volo, Guide to Monsters holding up a finger with a tankard of ale and a book on his leg by Zoltan Boros.

5Play To 5e’s Strengths

The DMG Is Your Friend

Fifth Edition is a simple system compared to editions prior, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s easily customized and kitbashed to accommodate optional rules, and while this might be chalked up to laziness on the part of the developers, it gives you a lot of flexibility when converting older settings or adventures.

One example of advice the DMG gives is the extensive writing it contains on weapons. There are already firearm rules in place that can be adjusted for settings such as Spelljammer and Eberron. Additionally, older adventuresin wuxia settingscan benefit from the DMG’s section on Asian weapon reskins.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons players handbook 1st edition david a trampier

6Take Lore Changes Into Account For Modules

A lot of changes have been made to D&D’s lore in the fifty years it’s been around. That’s to be expected given how many different writers have been on board, but you need to be mindful of what these changes are. Most of them have to do with the origins and alignments of different creatures, especially when it comes to planar shenanigans.

For example, let’s say you’re converting an old adventure that has your players traversing planes to meet upwith a group of eladrin. Older editions may have these elves take on a more celestial appearance, but Fifth Edition makes them more fae-like with a seasonal theme. You may wish to incorporate this into the adventure, and you should at least consider it.

The original AD&D First Edition Oriental Adventures cover, featuring art of a cool samurai

7Have Some Sensitivity

Some Things Just Haven’t Aged Well

Despite his contributions to gaming, Gary Gygax was not a particularly socially aware man. Older editions were full of such questionable takes as “female characters have inherently lower Strength scores than men” and “Oriental Adventures was a good idea.” Despite what anyone might think, most players don’t want to play in games with this type of content.

Certain tropes have aged like milk, and these blunders can be avoided by having someone else look at your work before releasing it to the public. Consider having someone playtest or beta read your conversion of anything you’re not confident about. You can’t stop making mistakes entirely, but you can certainly approach things with a bit of self-awareness.

Cover Art for D&D: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything showing a witch casting from a spellbook

8Keep The Flavor Intact

Your Players Need To Savor The Flavor

Often, a distinctive flavor is the main thing older content brings to the table. Sure, the succubus queen Malcanthet is edgy and spicy in a way that’s not marketable to Fifth Edition sensibilities, but that’s what makes her memorable. If you’re not ready for her aura, you’re better off homebrewingyour own demon lord.

Once again, while it’s possible to vibe your way through a conversion, you need to ensure your vibes are immaculate. Any changes you make in the process of conversion should be in the interest of preserving (or improving) the flavor of a piece of content, lest you end up with something bland and unappetizing.