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Hello everyone! I'm brand new here and have a question for you all. I'm positive you'll be able to help me out!

I began playing AD&D 2nd Edition, but that was way back when I was 12 years old. My group quickly moved onto 3.5th Edition once that was released and I can't remember a lot from 2nd Edition. So here's my question to you all, having moved onto Pathfinder (which I think is the greatest PNP RPG ever made!)

I just inherited a bunch of old school adventures for AD&D 2nd Edition, which I'm going to adapt for Pathfinder.

At the beginning of many of these old adventures it lists what levels characters should be for the game to be challenging but not unbeatable. Basically, it just says what it's recommended level is.

So, I'd like to know, in AD&D 2nd Edition, what is the maximum level characters can be. I'd also like to find out if a 2nd Edition says a game is best suited for characters of Level X, would the same level work for characters using Pathfinder? Or, should adjustments be made. For instance, it appears here that the maximum level is 10th, although I could be totally mistaken in that regard.

I feel that if the maximum level overall is 10th, then clearly a 5th level character in that game would be much more powerful than a 5th level character in Pathfinder. I feel this would be the case since level 5 is 50% of the maximum level in AD&D, but is only 25% of the maximum level in Pathfinder.

If anyone wants to shed some light on this, I would appreciate it.

If it makes any difference, I'm going to start using the adventures found in "Ravenloft Chilling Tales" to bring my players into their this new campaign setting.

Thanks a lot! I know some of you can help me out here!

Hi, and welcome!

Standard 2e characters went up to 20, just like standard 3e/PF characters. (Van Richten may have been Ravenloft's greatest hero, but he wasn't its highest level character). There was a book called "Dungeon Master's Option: High level Campaigns" that had optional rules to go above 20 (much like 3e's Epic Level Handbook), but that wasn't considered standard.

With that said, 3e/PF characters seem to be more powerful on the whole than the equivalent level counterparts in 2e. I would consider the level suggestions of the modules to be approximate at best. You're better off picking the level you want your party to be when you run it, and then adjusting the monsters to fit the appropriate CR. With templates and monster advancement, that's quite easy to do in PF.

Good luck with your game and let us know if you have other questions. We're here to help!

ETA: I used "Undying Justice" from Chilling Tales in my own 3e campaign and it worked really well. If you're interested in the details, see my campaign journal: http://themistway.com/Ravenloft-Session6.html

Awesome, I'll definitely check it out!

I decided to start off with "Surgeon's Blade" from Chilling Tales. It's close enough to the level of my group's current PCs, who are Level 10. The story is straightforward enough and with HeroLab, I can just make the theives, golems and Emil to fit their level. It looks like it's going to have a good mix of action and investigation.

I'll definitely let you know how it goes!

If I start an Obsidian Porta campaign, would others like to read about our recaps?

I'm really glad I found this place! Thanks a lot for making me feel so welcome

koesherbacon wrote:I decided to start off with "Surgeon's Blade" from Chilling Tales. It's close enough to the level of my group's current PCs, who are Level 10. The story is straightforward enough and with HeroLab, I can just make the theives, golems and Emil to fit their level. It looks like it's going to have a good mix of action and investigation.

Another good one from there. I ran that in 2e as a Guest DM for a campaign I was playing in. It was fun as a "weekend in hell" but could be even better in a longer campaign, especially if the PCs know Van Richten and/or Bollenbach. And if you make sure that Bollenbach gets away somehow at the end, you can follow up with his adventures in Children of the Night: Vampires and Children of the Night: The Created.

If I start an Obsidian Porta campaign, would others like to read about our recaps?

I for one would, and I'm sure others would too. I find that reading about other DMs' campaigns is one of the best ways to get ideas and learn techniques... And also, very entertaining.

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