I need help converting from 1E to 2E

By Lynchpin667, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Hello, I'll spare everyone a protracted post and just give you the important details. I hope someone here can help me!

I own the 1E basic game, Road to Legend, and Tomb of Ice. I was hoping to run a campaign in the RtL style, but I have been doing internet research and I wanted to give 2E a try.

I purchased the 2E rulebook, a 1E->2E conversion kit, and some 2E dice, but I found out shortly afterward this would not be sufficient to run the RtL campaign.

How can I used the 2E rules to run a multi-session campaign in the RtL style? What materials will I need? Are campaign rules simply included in the 2E rulebook (I haven't gotten it in the mail yet)?

It was $5 and came with a quest booklet as well.

From what I gather, I'll get my money back 30 fold when I sell off my 1E stuff...

Edited by Lynchpin667

Check out Board Game Geek. A lot of people tend to post their custom stuff there. If someone hasn't already done what you're trying to do, you may find some inspiration.

I've been flipping through the 2E rulebook (thanks Lilikin) and I see on pg19 campaign play is described. That's what I was looking for.

But it looks like I will still need a copy of the 2E game since I won't have any of the appropriate materials (tokens, map pieces, etc), correct?

Edited by Lynchpin667

I've been flipping through the 2E rulebook (thanks Lilikin) and I see on pg19 campaign play is described. That's what I was looking for.

But it looks like I will still need a copy of the 2E game since I won't have any of the appropriate materials (tokens, map pieces, etc), correct?

Have you tried the Quest Vault? There you can "play" with all the map tiles to see what you can do to make it more like RtL. I don't know myself. I have never played D1, so I can't say for sure. If you come up with something, I would love to look/play through it as I am very interested in that story and game before D2.

As for tokens and everything, you would need to buy the base set OR proxy.

I was orginally just looking for a way to play a campaign as my limited understanding of Descent 2E was that it is was still single scenario based. I wasn't looking to adapt RtL specifically.

I was orginally just looking for a way to play a campaign as my limited understanding of Descent 2E was that it is was still single scenario based. I wasn't looking to adapt RtL specifically.

D2 can be played as single shots. Basic and Epic play let the players choose a quest (that isn't the Interlude or Final) and play it out under a limitations you may or may not have in a campaign. Campaign is another way to play where the game takes weeks, if not months, to finish.

Hope that helps.

I've posted some quick and dirty conversion rules to play 1E quests using 2E rules over on BGG. You're still going to need 2E dice, tokens, class cards and so on, though.

Really, 2E is an entirely different game. You can't play 2E rules with 1E components alone.

I was orginally just looking for a way to play a campaign as my limited understanding of Descent 2E was that it is was still single scenario based. I wasn't looking to adapt RtL specifically.

Descent 2E was actually designed with campaign play in mind. It's not the same as in RtL (it's a bit more streamlined with some more freedom of progress), but the base game actually assumes a campaign progression across a number of quests, and has a small section of rules for one-off play. (This is the opposite of the base D1e game.)

The Shadow Rune campaign contains 20 different quests, most with 2 encounters, and for a given play-through of a campaign, you'll play 9 of those quests (the first is always the same, 3 of 5 Act I, 1 of 2 Interludes, 3 of 10 Act II, and 1 of 2 Finales). To play through all of the quests in campaign form, you have to run the campaign at least 4 times.

If you're on a budget and don't want to pick up the full game, since you already have the rule and quest books, conversion kit, and dice, you'll at the minimum need to pick up the small cards (classes, items, and conditions), and the big cards (travel, monster, and overlord).

What this doesn't include:

D2 Heroes (sheets and figures): You've got Conversion Kit heroes from 1e, so you could play with just those.

D2 Monster Figures: You'll need to use proxies for these.

Map Tiles: You could theoretically just print your own or draw the maps on a standard gridded playmat since you have the quest guide.

Tokens: You can easily print or use proxies (coins?) for these as well.

That said, if you're not on a tight budget, I would just go ahead and pick up a full copy of the base game. Of all the things that it's good to have spares of, dice are always a good idea, and rule / quest books are also pretty handy so that you can have one for the hero players and one for the overlord player. (FYI: All quests are considered public knowledge in D2, with only a few details being listed as exceptions.)

Cheers and best of luck!