One of the best things about owning a lot of tabletop material (adventures, supplements, and otherwise) is that all of it can be resources for whatever you happen to be playing at the moment. While often this involves simply cribbing ideas from different sources, it can also come in the form of porting things from one game to another. This entry is designed to help with that second part, providing some guidelines for converting things from other tabletop RPGs to BREAK!!
As a preface, it's worth saying that the neatest way to do this is to use the original material as inspiration to create brand new things for BREAK!! with the help of the GM's section of the core rulebook. However, there are instances when you are converting things to help save time and effort you would have spent making something entirely new, so meticulously creating stuff wholesale might detract from that purpose.
With that in mind, the guidelines in this entry are meant to help with speedy conversions rather than meticulous ones. There will still be work involved and there could be a lot more said on this, but hopefully these can still help your efforts be smoother than they would have been before.
Monsters, Enemies, Etc
The first step in converting monsters, adversaries, and various entities from other material into BREAK!! is figuring out what the subject's Rank and Menace level would be so you can get its basic stats from the Adversary Table.
Entities from classic fantasy tabletop games have some easy benchmarks. If the system has something like Hit Dice or levels, this can usually be converted into a Rank by comparing the value range for them and adjusting accordingly. For example, if you are working from a game where enemies are leveled somewhere between 1-30, you could probably get away with dividing the level by 2 to figure out what their Rank in BREAK!! would be. A level 10 giant in this example would be Rank 5 and likely Massive to boot!
If there isn't a clear parallel to Rank in the source, or if the math doesn't quite work out, instead look at how strong the entity is relative to the characters in that particular game. For example, if it's a monster that's meant to go up against very powerful characters, it will probably be something that's Rank 11-15.
When choosing which aptitudes are primary and secondary, think about what the entity uses the most. A tough, brawny monster with good senses should likely have Might, Insight and Grit as primary aptitudes, leaving Deftness and Aura as the secondary ones.
If you are going for speed, when assigning something Traits give a +2 to what its most likely used aptitude, and -1 to its weak point. The aforementioned brawny monster might get a +2 Might and -1 Deftness, for example.
Figuring out Menace Level is a little trickier, but ultimately a matter of pinning down the scope of the entity in question.
- If it's something that really shouldn't be a threat to the player characters on its own, it's likely a Mook.
- If the entity is intended to be on the same level as a character in some form, or at least, mechanically comparable, it's a Boss.
- If the entity is intended to tangle with a bunch of characters on its own, it's probably a Mega Boss or Colossus if its large enough.
Of course, there probably isn't going to be a perfect match here - just go with the best fit for your own purposes.
When it comes to monstrous powers and attacks, the fastest way to adapt is to think of existing abilities in BREAK!! and converting said powers to those when possible. Tough creatures with extra Hit Points might gain an Ability like the Gruun's As tough as they look. A monster with a claw attack might make unarmed strikes as if it were wielding a master weapon. A dragon's breath weapon might be similar to the effect of the Heretic's Umbral Draconis ability, and so forth.
Powers and attacks that don't have an equivalent can be altered into ones that fit with BREAK!! - for example, spells that put targets to sleep might instead incur the Fatigued or Dispirited Ailment. Try to consider what the effect is meant for in the source material and run with it.
Attacks or effects that kill instantly or shave away a characters ranks aren't well suited for BREAK!!, so you might consider using things like the Putrefied Status Ailment or Burning/Caustic injuries to keep their danger intact but within the game's scope by giving the characters more a chance to try and counter or deal with it.
Items, traps and other magic effects
Converting these is much like converting Abilities. The quick way is to go with something existing in the game already that's a close match - a ring that allows you to fly might grant you the Sage's Practical Flight ability, a magical trap that shrinks its victims might cause the chibbed status ailment, and so forth.
When possible BREAK!! items should offer some new power or tools to players, rather than increasing bonuses. Simple items items to this effect (your +1 Swords and shields, etc) could simply be made of magical materials and have a custom weapon/shield/armor ability for a similar feel. Items with higher bonuses could grant access to appropriate Calling Abilities instead, a powerful holy sword might mimic the Battle Princess's Luminous Blade, as an example.
Most traps and hazards can be modeled as something to avoid via careful planning or dodge with Checks, with consequences coming from the Impact or Burning Injury table. Certain other traps might be re-worked as causing troublesome or dangerous ailments.
Effects that are more narrative than mechanical, like a mirror that shows one their heart's desire, can usually just be kept as is. This is probably obvious, but it still warrants mentioning.
Maps
Most maps are easy enough to convert into use for BREAK!! - for example, in a traditional dungeon layout the rooms would be Locations in an Adventure Site while the doors and hallways would be access points (though certain ones might also be considered locations if there is something to interact with there). More open places (like a large forest or abandoned town) would be even easier to use.
You might want to cut down particularly large maps into a series of connected Adventure Sites to better suit BREAK!!'s style. Each level of a classic mega-dungeon could be its own site for example. Players can tackle each distinct part in different sessions/adventures that way.
If the map comes with a Random Encounter table already prepared, you might want to alter it to be more inline with how BREAK!! uses them (including "no encounter" results, at least a few non-hostile or potentially non-hostile encounters, etc).
If the map doesn't use Random Encounters already, consider making a new table, or even taking some of the encounters on the map and making them into random rather than guardian style encounters. You could even use some of the encounters from any discarded spots on a map to make a new table if you're reducing the size of a larger site.
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