I understand how the monsters will convert. But do you have to have the ability and starting gear from the 1st edition for characters? I see that the kit comes with their cards, but that is all I see.

The kit convert only monster, not anything else.

Cards have to side, one for master/minion monster, the other side with capacities.

Weird cause all the pics showing what the kit comes with, and even it's description, shows 2nd Edition "Character" cards for all the 1st Edition characters. I don't see any ability cards or the starting gear for them shown...thus what my question was in the OP of do you need their ability and starting gear cards from the 1st Edition sets they came out of?

The Conversion Kit contains 2E cards for all the 1E monsters and heroes. The 1E heroes are all assigned a 2E archtype (along with all the other 2E stats.) You can pick any 2E class that matches the assigned archetype, just like you would with 2E heroes.

There is no such thing as 1E starting gear or ability cards. 1E didn't use that system. The Conversion Kit provides you everything you need to play with the old monsters/heroes, except for the figures themselves. If you don't own the 1E box sets, you can find stand-in figures and you're otherwise ready to go.

The only "starting gear", in D2, are the class cards (which usually are a weapon and one or two other cards).

All the CK heroes have an archetype that allows one to attribute a class to them.

One doesn't need anything more.

Ok I think I got it. A 1 ED character who falls under the "warrior" class can be given any of the 2 ED "warrior" classes cards.

Example I could give a 1 ED "warrior" that falls under the "knight" class the 2 ED "knight" cards to use. Is this correct?

You're pretty close.

Anyone with the red emblem on the top-center of their card from the 1 ED Conversion Kit (Krutzbeck, Steelhorns, Varikas the Dead, etc) can use the Knight, Berserker or other red-backed cards from the expansions like Champion and Beast Master, regardless of their appearance on the card.

Sweet thank you for the info. Now to decide if it's really worth it to start slowly buying all the 1 ED character and monster models and a conversion kit.

If you don't have the figures, you can use proxies.

I made standups and they work fine.

I've heard the 1 ED figurines aren't as nice as the 2 ED ones, and people selling their kits of figures online are asking for serious coin, given that FGG doesn't make them anymore...

Our group uses the existing figurines as proxies, based on gender or race or whatever. It also helps that we're good little adventurers and have both expansions thus far and eagerly awaiting the next one.

Yeah I have all the 2 ED stuff out so far and Trollfens pre-ordered as well. I have notice that the 2 ED characters and monsters seem alittle more balanced. Just the OCD in me keeps bringing the 1 ED stuff to my attention lol.

I've got all the figures, and I must admit that some are really ugly, more comparing to the new ones, but some monsters are fun also. It's a choice do to.

and i'm not using the D1 minis really often for that, but maybe I should

I've heard the 1 ED figurines aren't as nice as the 2 ED ones, and people selling their kits of figures online are asking for serious coin, given that FGG doesn't make them anymore...

You can still get some of the hero figs in Runewars. The "core 12" in the base game and another 6 (or 8?) in the Banners of War expansion. The 6 from DunegonQuest are still available in DQ, of course.

The monsters are all Descent-only though. And now that Runebound if OOP, that's also gone as a source of 1E heroes.

I agree that proxies are a much smarter way to go about it, though. If I didn't already own D1E, I would definitely be using proxies for 1E figs. Either print-out stand-ups or just suitable 2E figs as stand-ins, probably.

Paper stand-ups might not sound very awesome, but if you put some work into it, they can end up looking pretty impressive. Print a figure image to scale, on nice thick card stock. Maybe cut out the figure's shape. It don't look half bad.

To add a 2nd clarification the conversion kit comes with the 1st ed monsters, heroes and item cards for the few 1st ed heroes who have Familiars.

And the CK also has cards for heroes from Dungeon Quest (Krutzbeck, Linden, etc.) - and for promo 1sr ed. heroes.

Yeah, the DQ heroes and the promos are generally considered among the "1E heroes" since there were 1E hero sheets made for them, even though they were never sold with an official D1E box set.

Compare and contrast to the heroes from Mists of Zanaga (a Runebound expansion) who were never officially given D1E hero sheets, and do not appear in the 2E Conversion Kit either.

Compare and contrast to the heroes from Mists of Zanaga (a Runebound expansion) who were never officially given D1E hero sheets, and do not appear in the 2E Conversion Kit either.

And that's a pity