Converting Iron Heroes to 2e

Every couple of months I get it into my head that I want to play Dark Sun. I look over all the books and systems, and decide that I absolutely can't stand playing it in 2nd edition anymore because of the dependence of the system on characters acquiring magic items.
  So I always end up reaching for my Iron Heroes books, which, tbh, have always looked good on paper, but then I was never really reading anything very closely, and somehow completely missed all the proto-4e stuff in the skill section.
  I finally managed to somehow get through all the class conversions(Even have a workable Complete Psionics Handbook Conversion of the Psionicist to Iron Heroes which is something I've not managed to do, and have been trying to figure out since 2007 when I actually got the idea the first time), but ended up getting stuck in the skills section.
  I ended up talking to a friend about how much I wish there was a way to just drop the whole bloody skill system in d20(which is a big reason as to why I left playing d20 in the first place), when  my friend says, "Why not convert Dark Sun to 2e" which made me laugh for obvious reasons, but then it got me thinking . . . . why not convert the stuff I like in Iron Heroes to 2nd edition?
   Get ready folks . . . AD&D 2nd edition's Iron Heroes is coming! Over the next few days, I'll start posting classes and stuff as I get them sorted out.

Cantrip effect ideas

 I recently sent the party a list of things that the Cantrip spell could do off the top of my head. Thus, it's a continuation of this article. I'm reprinting the list here so A) it doesn't get lost, and B) because I'm trying to get back into updating this blog regularly.

Possible Cantrip Effects:

• +/-1 to a single check for the following types of rolls: Ability, Open Door, Encounter Reaction, Saving Throw, Initiative, or Secret/Hidden Object/Door.
• +/- 5% to a single check for the following types of rolls: Thieving Skills, Hear Noise, Climbing, Bend Bars/Lift Gates, System Shock, Resurrection Survival, or Avoiding Getting Lost.
• +/- 1 to the damage of another caster's spell.
• +/- 5 Feet to the range or Area of Effect of another caster's spell or a single ranged attack.
• +1 bonus to a Slashing or Piercing weapon's damage(by sharpening in) on their next attack attempt(effect fades whether the attack hits or misses).
• Causes a Slashing or Piercing weapon to do -1 damage until it is sharpened w/ magic or whetstone(Can be used cumulatively to a max of -3, but no weapon may do less than 1 point of damage)
• -1 AC bonus vs. Ranged Attacks from a range of 30' or greater.
• +1 AC penalty vs. Ranged Attacks from a range of 30' or less.
• +/-1  to AC vs. a single Melee attack(may not make an AC better than 7 or worse than 10).
• Heal 1 hp of damage within 1 round of sustaining the injury or Stabilize one character below 0 hp(In my campaign this is the same as applying a bandage, and thus I feel this doesn't really step on the cleric's toes).
• Increase/decrease a character's movement rate by 3. Can't make a character move slower than 0.
• Increase/decrease  the movement rate of an animal of Tiny size by half.
• Cook Food/Boil Water/Chill Drink/Season Food for 1 meal.
• Light a Fire.
• Preserve 1 pound of inanimate matter per level of caster to a maximum of 10 pounds(herbs, food, spell components, etc).
• Age 1 pound of inanimate matter per level of caster to a maximum of 10 pounds by 1 week.
• Instantly clean/dirty or dry/dampen 1 character/object.(may provide a bonus/penalty on saves!)
• Repel normal, non-magical insects.
• Summon a single stinging/biting insect or other small creature. The creature may cause disease, be poisonous, or interrupt spellcasting w/ an attack(DM determines)
• Automatically know the # of a certain object in a pile.
• Will Dye or color one object or creature any color you'd like(lasts until the creature next takes a bath)
• Style hair, and even cause it to grow. This is how all those dungeon-punk wizards manage to keep a perfect mohawk in a world without Hairspray or Glue.(lasts until the creature next takes a bath)
• Create a seemingly magical aura around yourself or another character/object.
• Cause an NPC to make a morale check.
• Creates a single object of 1 pound per level of caster to a maximum of 10 pounds. The object is fragile and is obvious magical nature.
• Manipulate 1 object of 1 pound per level of caster to a maximum of 10 pounds within 10'
• Create a 5' radius light.
• Extend/Decrease the radius of a light source by 5'.
• Animate the remains of a single tiny creature(such as a songbird or mouse). The caster has to concentrate to keep  the creature animated. It's movements are jerky(it can't attack or fly) and slow(half the speed it had in life).

Of course, there are a ton of other options, and I may post more of them later.

FINALLY!

It's about bloody time Google started working again! I will have a new gaming post up asap.

Starting at Suck: Ideas for 1st level adventures

For "Good" parties:

- Ripped right from Diablo: A local humanoid warband has stolen the Innkeeper's sign and think it's some sort of magical totem. The players are offered a small reward(or their bar tab is expunged) for returning it.
- Where's Waldo: The local sage has gone missing. It's known that he's gone into a certain mountain pass to look for herbs, but that was 2 weeks ago. The heroes are tasked with finding him. The area is relatively safe except for the occasional rock slide and the somewhat carnivorous wildlife.
- Poisoning Pigeons in the Park: A serial killer is loose in the PCs home turf, and his preferred method of killing his victims is by lacing their drinks with slow acting debilitating poison before dismembering them as they attempt to go home for the night. The local brewing festival is only a few weeks away, and the party has reason to believe that he's going to turn the entire festival into a giant bloodbath.
- Heart of Stone: A local sculptor has mistakenly fallen in love with a medusa via her handiwork, thinking she's an incredibly talented artist in her own right. The PCs are tasked with either revealing the truth or helping the couple find true love. (Note: The true love option can provide an interesting twist for the Medusa encounter if you're playing Return to the Keep on the Borderlands!)


For "Evil" Parties:

- Kick a man when he's down: a rival of the group has recently been hauled off to prison. Now's your chance to loot his stuff! You'll have to dodge the city guard though, who consider all the cool toys to be "evidence" in their criminal case. Alternately, now that he's virtually defenseless in prison, killing him once and for all might not be a bad idea.
- Ripped from the Warriors:  You've been framed! You've been accused of killing a major underworld power in the region, and now there's a bounty on your head being paid for by people you normally associate with. If a group is smart, they will not hack and slash their way through this, but turn this into an opportunity to gain even more power and infamy in the criminal underground.

- Ripped from The Darkness: You've pissed off people you shouldn't have and now you need leverage to barter for your miserable lives. Lucky for you, your enemy's right hand man has been gathering just the kind of dirt you're after, and a little birdy told you where to look for it. Now you just have to fight a few hired mooks, and get past a few locked doors to get at that lovely chest of information and evidence.
- Free to Good Home: Every villain needs to protect his lair from do-gooders and fellow villains alike. The price for such protection is never cheap, but your sources may have finally come through for you, having managed to find out about a ghoul trapped in a slick sided stone pit. If the party can figure out how to transport the creature, get it home undetected, and perhaps even train the thing a bit, they'll have a valuable "watch dog" for their lair.