[D20 to GURPS] Burnt Offerings Conversions

[Landwalker]

Howdy, folks!

Of late, I've been taken by the inclination to run a new game, most likely in the low-end (200-point to start with, I'm thinking) Dungeon Fantasy spirit, using the Rise of the Runelords adventure path from Paizo's Pathfinder d20 variant, beginning with the first adventure, Burnt Offerings. Of course, this means a considerable amount of taking the d20 versions of many challenges and encounters and turning them into something GURPSy.

Since I've never really developed a great deal of confidence in the trait/ability-modeling arm of GURPS character creation, I'd like to use this thread to present the d20 original and my GURPS recreation side-by-side, getting feedback on how best to appropriately and faithfully present the module's many challenges and adversaries.

Seems reasonable to start at the beginning, with what anyone familiar with Burnt Offerings knows is the first- and most-often-encountered opponent in the module: The Goblin!

Spoiler:  

D20 Information

Goblin Warrior 1

Size: Small
Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 30 feet/round (1 round = 6 seconds)
Senses: Darkvision, 60 ft; Perception -1

HP 5 (½d8+1)
AC 16 (Touch 13, Flat-Footed 14)
(+2 Armor, Leather; +2 Dex; +1 Shield; +1 size)
Fortitude +3 (+2 Class, +1 Con)
Reflex +2 (+0 Class, +2 Dex)
Willpower -1 (+0 Class, -1 Wis)

Strength 11
Dexterity 15
Constitution 12
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 9
Charisma 6

Base Attack +1
Melee Dogslicer* +2; 1d4+1/19-20 (+1 Base Attack, +1 Size)
Ranged Short bow +4; 1d4/x3 (+1 Base, +1 Size, +2 Dex)

Feats Improved Initiative (+4 Initiative Check)
Skills Ride +10, Stealth +10, Swim +4 (Racial Modifiers: +4 Ride, +4 Stealth)

Other Notes
— Goblins have the following physical build traits, most notably a mouthful of daggers and an oversized head like Arnold from Hey Arnold!.
— Goblins are hate dogs (but not wolves) and horses.
— Goblins are scavengers and generally make their equipment out of junkyard findings.
— Goblins sing. Badly. And creepily.
— Goblins will, given enough supplies, eat about 12 meals a day. Goblins generally do not have enough supplies.
— Goblins love fire and burning things.
— Goblins think that writing steals your soul. If you write something down, it steals the words out of your head and you can't get them back.

* A Dogslicer is a breakage-prone, small-sized shortsword-type of weapon principally used for hacking things to little bits.

So, throw that sucker into the GURPS machine, and here's what I have coming out:

Spoiler:  

Goblin Warrior [33 Points]

SM -1

ST 10
DX 12
IQ 9
HT 10

Will 9
Per 9

Basic Speed 6.00
Basic Move 5

Advantages: Darkvision, Silence 2, Teeth, Sharp

Disadvantages: Gluttony (12), Impulsiveness (12), Intolerance (-5, Domestic Dogs and Horses), Phobia (Domestic Dogs and Horses) (12), Pyromania (12), Social Stigma (Monster), Short Lifespan 1

Quirks: Prone to singing disturbing songs; Oversized Head (+1 to hit Face and Skull).

Skills: Acrobatics 10, Bow 12, Brawling 12, Climbing 11, Jumping 12, Shortsword 12, Shield (Shield) 11, Stealth 15, Riding (Canines)* 12

Equipment
— Dogslicer [SM-1 Cheap Falchion] — Skill 12, 1d+1 Cut / 1d-3 Imp; Reach 1
— Light Small Shield (DB +1)
— Medium Leather Vest (covers Chest).

May have a Medium Leather Bascinet or Coif, Medium Leather Bracers (cover Forearms), and/or Medium Leather Pants (covers Abdomen, Legs). May have a SM-1 Shortbow and 10 arrows.

Other Notes
* Although Goblins are afraid of and hate domestic dogs, they have no problem with, and in fact breed and ride, a rat-faced species known as "goblin-dogs". Nevertheless, few Goblin Warriors have such a mount.

So, what do people think?


P.S. I realize that this isn't exactly an earth-shattering conversion challenge. That's not what I'm shooting for. I'm just shooting for a reasonably faithful GURPS representation of the D20 module's various elements. And considering that this is an adventure for four First- through Fourth-Level PCs in Pathfinder, and the Goblin Warrior is the first enemy encountered, it isn't supposed to be earth-shattering.

P.P.S. My apologies for the suboptimal formatting of the write-ups. The forums delete multiple spaces and all tabs unless they're [CODE]-tagged, at least as far as I can tell, so I couldn't lay everything out as neatly or compactly as I would have liked.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Landwalker

Oversized Head (+1 to hit Face and Skull)

Based on the art alone, I'd consider just giving them Born Biter 1 (or maybe even 2).

[Landwalker]

Where exactly is the Born Biter you're thinking of? The only one I know about is in DF3, which doesn't have levels and also seems more like something appropriate to an alligator than a gluttonous "intelligent" humanoid.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Landwalker

Where exactly is the Born Biter you're thinking of? The only one I know about is in DF3, which doesn't have levels and also seems more like something appropriate to an alligator than a gluttonous "intelligent" humanoid.

Martial Arts. Page 50-ish, maybe 53? In a box about biting. It is leveled (1-3), and while appropriate for alligators, it doesn't have anything to do with intelligence and everything to do with large mouth size relative to body size, which Pathfinder Goblins certainly seem to have.

[Landwalker]

Ah-hah, there it is (MA.115—"Teeth").

My only concern about giving them Born Biter is that, while they do have oversized heads and mouths, their jaws aren't really elongated (that was the source of my comment about alligators and humanoids, not their relative intelligence), and their noses in particular aren't any more prominent (relative to their head) than those on a more familiarly-proportioned humanoid head.

What I could do is give them a variant of Born Biter to reflect their plus-sized pie-holes with the usual SM-related benefits, but trade the "Easier to hit their huge heads" for "easier to hit their jaws and noses."

[Pragmatic]

Why are you giving them points? Are you going to allow them as a PC race?

[Landwalker]

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Why are you giving them points? Are you going to allow them as a PC race?

I'm not giving them points, at least if you mean what I think you mean (that is, I didn't say, "Okay, a Goblin Warrior has 38 points. Let's build it.") The "point total" next to their "intro line" was just for reference in case anyone was curious.

I'm starting in on the next item now—Goblin Warchanter! The main challenge is figuring out how to model the d20 Bard's "Inspire Courage" ability in GURPS.

[Landwalker]

The next conversion representative is the Goblin Warchanter, the "support" of the goblin raiding parties. Although a weak (but agile) combatant individually, the Warchanter is able to command minor magics in order to boost the morale and performance of his fellow goblins and attempt to disrupt the raid's enemies.

D20 Information

Spoiler:  

Goblin Warchanter (Bard 1)

Size: Small
Initiative: +3 (+3 Dex)
Speed: 30 feet/round (1 round = 6 seconds)
Senses: Darkvision, 60 ft; Listen +4, Spot +1

HP 7 (1d6+1)
AC 17 (Touch 14, Flat-Footed 14)
(+3 Armor, Leather; +3 Dex; +1 size)
Fortitude +1 (+0 Class, +1 Con)
Reflex +5 (+2 Class, +3 Dex)
Willpower +3 (+2 Class, +1 Wis)

Strength 8
Dexterity 16
Constitution 13
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 12
Charisma 13

Base Attack +0
Melee Dogslicer +1; 1d4/19-20 (+0 Base Attack, +1 Size)
Whip +1; 1d2 nonlethal
Ranged Shortbow +5 (1d4+1/x3)

Spells Known Level 0 (2/day) — Daze (DC 11), Ghost Sound (DC 11), Mage Hand, Message

Feats Combat Reflexes (Can make extra Attacks of Opportunity), Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Whip)
Skills Concentration +5, Jump +3, Listen +4, Move Silently +7, Perform (Song) +5, Ride +7, Tumble +7

Special Abilities
** Inspire Courage (Gives self and allies within 30 feet a +1 Morale bonus vs. fear and charm effects, +1 on attack and damage rolls)
** Fascinate (Target that fails save sits and watches the performance as long as it is ongoing, and is at -4 on opposed skill checks. Obvious threats break the effect)

Equipment Studded Leather, Whip, Dogslicer, Potion of Cure Light Wounds, shortbow with 20 arrows, 20 gp.

Other Notes
— Is a Goblin — Details as for Goblin Warrior, above.

GURPS Information

Spoiler:  

Goblin Warchanter (154 Points)

SM -1

ST 9
DX 13
IQ 9
HT 10

Will 11
Per 11

Basic Speed 6.00
Basic Move 5

Advantages: Darkvision, Silence 2, Teeth (Sharp), Charisma 2, Magery 0 (All Colleges), Magery +2 (Mind Control and Communication/Empathy only, Song)
Inspire Courage (Affliction 1) — Advantage (DX +1, Fearlessness 2, Striking ST 1), Area Effect (8 Yards), Aura, Bard-Song Power, Costs FP (2 FP to initiate, 1 FP to maintain each minute), Fixed Duration, Malediction (Melee), Melee Attack (Reach C), Nuissance Effect (3 consecutive failures ends the effect), Reduced Duration 1/60 (Effect persists 3 seconds after termination), Requires Skill (Singing), Selective Area, Takes Extra Time (1 second to activate)

Perks: Off-Hand Weapon Training (Whip)

Disadvantages: Gluttony (12), Impulsiveness (12), Intolerance (-5, Domestic Dogs and Horses), Phobia (Domestic Dogs and Horses) (12), Pyromania (12), Social Stigma (Monster), Short Lifespan 1

Quirks: Prone to singing disturbing songs.

Features: Oversized Head (+1 SM for purposes of biting; +1 to hit Face and Skull).

Skills: Acrobatics 13, Bow 12, Brawling 13, Climbing 12, Jumping 13, Leadership 13, Shortsword 13, Stealth 16, Riding (Canines) 12, Whip 14

Techniques: Entangle (Whip) 14; Off-Hand Weapon Training (Whip) 14†

Spells: Daze 11; Foolishness 11; Mental Stun 11; Sense Foes 11

Equipment
— Dogslicer [SM-1 Cheap Falchion] — Skill 13, 1d Cut / 1d-4 Imp; Reach 1
— Whip, 2 yards [SM-1] — Skill 14, 1d-3(0.5) cr; Reach 1-2*
— Bezainted Medium Leather Tunic (covers Chest and Abdomen)
— Potion: Healing

May have a SM-1 Shortbow and 10 arrows.

Other Notes
* The Warchanter knows, but cannot cast, this spell, due to the IQ 12 requirement.

† I do not use the OHWT Perk from Martial Arts. I still use the technique from Basic.

[Dragondog]

You say that goblins hate and are afraid of dogs and horses, but I only see Phobia. What does their hate lead them to do? Is it Intolerance? Do dogs and horses have Enemy (goblins)? Is it only a Quirk?

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Landwalker

I'm not giving them points, at least if you mean what I think you mean (that is, I didn't say, "Okay, a Goblin Warrior has 38 points. Let's build it.") The "point total" next to their "intro line" was just for reference in case anyone was curious.

I'm starting in on the next item now—Goblin Warchanter! The main challenge is figuring out how to model the d20 Bard's "Inspire Courage" ability in GURPS.

For the Inspire Courage, either take a look at the DF11 Bardsong songs (p. 20), or at the Auras of Power article on Pyramid #3/13