Converting Hero Wars Creatures



Send comments and/or criticism to Simon E. Phipp
Created On 7th March 2004
Last Updated On 7th March 2004
Copyright (c) Simon E. Phipp 2004

Issaries Inc. are producing more and more supplements for Glorantha and some of those are usable with RuneQuest. Here are some guidelines for converting creatures from HeroWars to RuneQuest. There will be a companion page with actual conversions of the new creatures.

Most of the examples will be taken from Anaxial's Roster, which I thoroughly recommend anyone buying as it is very good indeed, with a lot of ideas that can be used in any Gloranthan setting. Some are taken from other sources, but they will be credited separately.

The first thing to do when considering converting from HW to RQ is to examine what is similar between the stats, then to see what is different and provide a method of reconciling the two.

HW creature stats are normally in the following format:

RQ creatures are normally in the following format:


At first glance, these look completely different. However, looking at it deeper, they are fairly similar. The RQ Description would contain the HW Ages, Distribution and Habitat; Innate and Significant Abilities are lumped together under RQ skills; Innate Magical Abilities are normally in the RQ Special Features; Typical Talents are included in RQ Magic; Innate Chaos Features are in RQ Special Features; Random Chaos Features are in RQ Chaos Features.

Abilities can be converted as skills, Magical Abilities and Talents as spells, Chaos Features as Chaos Features or Special Abilities, Armour as armour and so on, so it is not very difficult to convert a HW creature.

Once you have looked at the similarities and differences, you must look at how to write the stats in RQ format. The best way to do this is to start at the top and work down.
 
 
Name Take direct from HW
Description Take direct from HW Ages, Distribution and Habitat
Characteristics See the Characteristics Section
Attributes See the Attributes Section
Hit Location Decide what the creature looks like, see if there is a similar type and use that, otherwise take something that is almost the same and change the locations slightly. RQ3 has a number of hit locations for different creature types and most of the creatures in Anaxial's Roster will match one of them.
Weapons Use the HW Weapons, but use a skill conversion as contained in the Skills Section. The HW stats give a guide as to the damage of the weapon, but I generally ignore them and compare like to like.
Chaos Features Take these straight from HW and use the nearest RQ Chaos Feature
Magic See the Magic Section
Skills See the Skills Section
Languages HW will have some language skill, just convert those as normal skills
Armour See the Armour Section
Notes Here goes everything that is odd or unusual about the creature, take from the HW Notes

Characteristics

RQ has standard characteristics of STR, CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX and APP.

HW has Strong, Large, Small and Tough.

These are not very helpful for converting characteristics. So, we need to look at the characteristics one by one.
 
 
STR Hero Wars has Strong with an ability rating. Match the Ability Rating to the STR using the Strength Table.
CON Most things have CON 3D6 unless they have the Tough Ability in HW in which case use the Tough Table to determine CON. It is a bit ropey, so compare like with like as well, just to be on the safe side
SIZ Hero Wars has Large and Small ability ratings. Match the Ability Rating to SIZ using the Size Table.
INT Most intelligent creatures are 2D6+6 or 3D6. Very intelligent creature may have more or less. Unintelligent creatures have Fixed INT - compare like with like or divide Cunning by 2 to give Fixed INT.
POW Most creatures have POW 3D6. For extremely magical creatures, compare like with like.
DEX Most creatures have DEX 3D6 unless they are extremely agile or slow. If there is an ABility Rating of Quick, Agile, Clumsy or whatever, amend the standard 3D6 accordingly.
APP Most creatures have APP 3D6 unless they are extremely ugly or handsome. Such creatures will have specific abilities in HW stating how ugly or handsome they are.

For example, Golden Lions have Strong 2W2, Large 8W, Tough 18, Cunning 18, normal pride members are unintelligent but pride leaders are intelligent.

Looking at Strong 2W2, we don't have anything else in Anaxial's Roster with an equivalent Strength, but elementals have the equivalent rating which gives them 17D6. That gives to large a range, with puny Golden Lions as well as strong ones, so I am going to change the range but keep the number of dice the same by using 12D6 + 30.

Large 8W is the equivalent of 2D6+12,3D6+24,10D6 and elementals have 11D6, so I would choose SIZ 6D6 + 24, giving a high minimum but the same maximum.

Tough 18 is the equivalent of 1D4+14,2D6+6,3D6+12, so I choose CON 3D6+12 giving it quite a large constitution.

Cunning 18 gives Fixed INT of 9 for pride members and INT 3D6 for Pride Leaders.

They don't have anything for any other characteristics, but normal lions have POW 2D6+6 and DEX 3D6+6 and these are better than normal lions, so i use POW 3D6+6 and DEX 3D6+6.
 

Attributes

Typical Attributes are: Of these, all are based on average characteristics except Move, so once the characteristics are worked out they should all fall into place.

Move is based on a combination of things:


Typical Move for creatures are contained in Move Table. Looking at the table, there is no obvious simple way to convert Hero Wars Run Fast to a single Move, for example Run Fast 18 corresponds to Move 6,7,8,8,9, an average of just over 7. The best thing is to compare similar creatures. Is it as fast as a horse or an impala? Check the Run Fast attribute and see if it ties in, but use comparison as the main guide.

Magic

Magical abilities are converted differently depending on whether the creature is intelligent or not.

Unintelligent creatures receive all their Innate Magical Abilities as equivalent special abilities. Some of these are obvious, some require some work.

Intelligent creatures receive Innate Magical Abilities as either Divine Magic or Special Abilities and Significant Abilities or Talents as Spirit Magic, Divine Magic or Special Abilities. Chaos Features are transferred straight across. Where an individual does not have any feats specified but does have Initiate of or Devotee of, then you must determine how much Magic they have by working out the Equivalent Skill of the Initiate/Devotee of, that is the number of points of Divine Magic, Spirit Magic or Sorcery known. If the creature has a rating in an Affinity, then do the same to work out how many spells are known from that Affinity.

For instance, Golden Lions have Innate Magical Abilities of Radiate Light, Restore Own Vitality, See In Dark and Terrifying Roar. See In Dark becomes a skill at (5W2) 225%, Radiate Light becomes a Special Ability - Light without MP cost, Restore Own Vitality becomes Regenerate 6 hit points per melee round per location (pulling 6 at random from the air) and Terrifying Roar becomes a Special Ability to Demoralise all foes with a POW vs POW roll.

For instance, Certami are Angels from the Sky World. They have Devotee of Polaris 5W3, Flaming Sword Feat 12W2, Resist Temptation 2W2. The Flaming Sword is converted as Heroic Casting of Fireblade, Resist Temptation as a skill at 210% and Devotee of Polaris gives 65 points of reusable Polaris Divine Magic or Spirit Magic.
 

Skills


Converting skills is fairly straightforward. Take the HW skills, convert them into the Equivalent Skill (Number of Masteries x 20 + target number) and multiply by 5 to give the RQ skill percentage. Use the nearest RQ skill, if there is no equivalent then make up a skill. Weapon skills are converted in the same way.

For instance, Golden Lions have Ambush 18W, Claw and Bite 2W2, 18 + 20 = 38, 38x5 = 190, 2 + 2x20 = 42, 42x5 = 210, so this means Ambush 190%, Bite Attack 210%, Claw Attack 210%. Since lions have the Rake attack as well, Golden Lions should have Rake at the same attack chance.

If your campaign is very high level with very high skills, then change the multiplication factor to 7 or 10, to give the skills a boost. The important thing is to have creatures that fit in well with the campaign.
 

Armour

Hero Wars has a simple ranking system for armour, which is of precious little use when comparing armour. The best way is to compare like with like. There is no easy method of converting HW-RQ for armour, since the HW armour is so broad and inconsistent. For instance, Thick Skin ^2 gives AP 4,4,4,4,5,6,6 and Thick Skin ^1 gives 2,4. Ignoring the description and simply concentrating on the Rank gives the results in the table. So, something like a Golden Lion has Thick Skin ^2, which corresponds to AP 3-6 from the Bestiaries, a lion has AP 2 but these are magical lions, so should have AP 4 with 6 on the head. Such an approach is "suck it and see" but it's the best we have at the moment.
 
 
Rank Type RQ AP RQ AP Skin
0 Clothes 0  
1 Leather/cloth/fur or shield 1-2 2,2,4
2 Leather/cloth/fur and shield 1-2 3,4,4,4,4,5,5,6,6
3 Composite armour (metal/leather, metal/cloth, horn/leather) and shield 3-4 5
4   5-6 8
5 All metal armour (chain, plate, scale) and shield 7-8 7

Sample Conversions

Golden Lions

See Anaxial's Roster p 194
 
Characteristics Average
STR 12D6 + 30 72 Move 6
CON 3D6 + 12 23-24 Hit Points 34
SIZ 6D6 + 24 45 Fatigue 95
INT 3D6 (9) 10-11 (9)
POW 3D6+6 16-17
DEX 3D6+6 16-17
 
Hit Location Melee Missile AP/HP
RH Leg 01-02 01-02 4/9
LH Leg 03-04 03-04 4/9
Hind Q 05-07 05-09 4/13
Fore Q 08-10 10-14 4/13
RF Leg 11-13 15-16 4/9
LF Leg 14-16 17-18 4/9
Head 17-20 19-20 6/11
Weapon Damage SR Attack %
Claw 1D10+6D6 5 210%
Bite 2D6+6D6 8 210%
Rake 2D10+6D6 5 210%
Skills: Ambush 190%, See In Dark 225%
Special Abilities: Regenerate 6/loc/round
Radiance - skin glows with a Light effect for no MP cost at will
Terrifying Roar - MP vs MP to demoralise foes

Certamus (Angel)


See Anaxial's Roster p 192
 
 
Characteristics Average
STR 3D6+6 16-17 Move 3/10
CON 3D6+6 16-17 Hit Points 16-17
SIZ 3D6+6 16-17 Fatigue 32-34
INT 3D6+12 22-23
POW 4D6+12 26
DEX 3D6+12 22-23
APP 4D6+18 32
 
Hit Location Melee Missile AP/HP
R Leg 01-03 01-02 10/9
L Leg 04-06 03-04 10/9
Abdomen 07-09 05-08 10/13
Chest 10 09-13 10/13
R Wing 11-12 14-15 0/9
L Wing 13-14 16-17 0/9
R Arm 15-16 18 10/
L Arm 17-18 19 10/
Head 19-20 19-20 0/11
Weapon Damage SR Attack % Parry%
1H Sword 2D8+1D6 3 350%
1H Spear 2D8+1D6 2 350%
Javelin 2D8+1D3 1 350%
Shield 350%
Divine Magic: 65 points of Polaris Magic
Skills: Dara Happan Etiquette 175%, Sky Lore 125%, Tactics 260%, Resist Temptation 210%
Special Abilities: Fireblade at Will (no MP cost)
Counts as a Star Lord of Polaris

 
 

Goldeneye

See Anaxial's Roster p 52
 
 
Characteristics Average
STR 5D6+24 41-42 Move 15
CON 2D6+6 13 Hit Points 23
SIZ 4D6+18 32 Fatigue 74
INT 6 6
POW 2D6+6 13
DEX 3D6+6 16-17
 
Hit Location Melee Missile AP/HP
RH Leg 01-02 01-02 4/6
LH Leg 03-04 03-04 4/6
Hind Q 05-07 05-09 4/9
Fore Q 08-10 10-14 4/9
RF Leg 11-13 15-16 4/6
LF Leg 14-16 17-18 4/6
Head 17-20 19-20 6/8
Weapon Damage SR Attack %
Bite 1D8 4 75%
Kick 1D6+3D6 4 75%
Rear and Plunge 2D6+3D6 4 75%
Trample 6D6 4 100%
Skills: Jump 190%, Run 140%, Spirit Combat 110%, Understand Orders 70%
Special Abilities: Mindspeech With Rider
Great Leap (1/day leap STR in metres horizontally or STR in feet vertically)
Run Extremely Fast (1/day double Move, lose double fatigue, lasts until drops)
Run Up Cliffs (Horse can run up cliffs as if they were flat land)
Spirit Sight (permanent Second Sight)
Unseen In Sunlight (subtract POWx5 from anyone's Scan roll to see it in sunlight)
Spirit World Travel (Can Discorporate at will and travel as a shaman)
Never Lose Rider (Rider does not fall off, no matter what happens)

 
 
 
 
 

Tables

Table 1 - Strong --> STR
Ability Rating Equivalent Skill 5=2D6 6=1D6+6 Dice Dice Range
10 10 4D6 2D6+6    
12 12 4D6 2D6+12 3-4 2D6+6,4D6
14 14 5D6 3D6+12 4 3D6+6
15 15 6D6 3D6+12 3-6 2D6+8,2D6+12,3D6+6,5D6,3D6x1.5
18 18 7D6 3D6+18 4-6 2D6+12,3D6+12,6D6
20 20 8D6 3D6+18    
1W 21 9D6 4D6+18    
2W 22 9D6 4D6+18 4-7 2D6+12,2D6+18,2D6+24,3D6+6,3D6+12,4D6+12,4D6+18,(2D6+6)x2,6D6
5W 25 10D6 4D6+24 6-10 2D6+24,4D6+12,4D6+24,10D6
8W 28 11D6 5D6+24 4-12 2D6+12,3D6+15,3D6+18,3D6+24,12D6
10W 30 12D6 5D6+30 5-10 3D6+12,3D6+24,4D6+12,8D6+12
12W 32 13D6 6D6+30 5 3D6+12
15W 35 14D6 7D6+30 5-9 50,2D6+30,3D6+24
18W 38 15D6 7D6+36 10-12 6D6+24,9D6+18
2W2 42 17D6 7D6+42    
5W2 45 18D6 8D6+42 20 20D6
15W2 55 22D6 9D6+54 32 24D6+48

 

Key

Ability Rating HW Ability Rating
Equivalent Skill Convert Rating into a fixed number, e.g. 3W2 = 43 (3 + 20 x 2)
5=2D6 Using the elemental stats of 5 being 2D6, this gives a method of extrapolating the figures
6=1D6+6 Using the elemental stats of 6 being 1D6 + 6, this gives a method of extrapolating the figures
Dice Range The stats of the creatures with the equivalent Ability Rating
Dice The number of dice in the Dice Range. This is to provide a rough equivalency guide.


 


 
 

Table 2 - Large --> SIZ
Ability Rating Equivalent Skill 5=2D6 6=1D6+6 Dice Dice Range
10 10 4D6 2D6+6 4 4D6
12 12 4D6 2D6+12 4 3D6+6
14 14 5D6 3D6+12 4 3D6+12
15 15 6D6 3D6+12 3-6 2D6+3,2D6+12,3D6+6,3D6+8,4D6+12
18 18 7D6 3D6+18 4-5 2D6+12,3D6+12
20 20 8D6 3D6+18    
1W 21 9D6 4D6+18 6 4D6+12
2W 22 9D6 4D6+18 4-6 2D6+12,2D6+18,3D6+12,4D6+12,6D6
5W 25 10D6 4D6+24 4-10 2D6+12,2D6+18,3D6+12,3D6+15,3D6+24,30,4D6+12,4D6+18,4D6+24,10D6
8W 28 11D6 5D6+24 4-10 2D6+12,3D6+24,10D6
10W 30 12D6 5D6+30 7-12 2D6+30,3D6+24,8D6+12,12D6
12W 32 13D6 6D6+30 8 3D6+30
18W 38 15D6 7D6+36 11-12 6D6+32,9D6+18
2W2 42 17D6 7D6+42    
5W2 45 18D6 8D6+42 20 20D6
15W2 55 22D6 9D6+54 32 24D6+48

 

Key

Ability Rating HW Ability Rating
Equivalent Skill Convert Rating into a fixed number, e.g. 3W2 = 43 (3 + 20 x 2)
5=2D6 Using the elemental stats of 5 being 2D6, this gives a method of extrapolating the figures
6=1D6+6 Using the elemental stats of 6 being 1D6 + 6, this gives a method of extrapolating the figures
Dice Range The stats of the creatures with the equivalent Ability Rating
Dice The number of dice in the Dice Range. This is to provide a rough equivalency guide.


 


 
 

Table 3 - Tough --> CON
Ability Rating Equivalent Skill 5=2D6 6=1D6+6 Dice Dice Range
10 10 4D6 2D6+6    
12 12 4D6 2D6+12 3-4 2D6+6,2D6+12,4D6
14 14 5D6 3D6+12 3 1D6+12
15 15 6D6 3D6+12 3-5 1D6+12,2D6+6,2D6+9,2D6+12,3D6+6,3D6+12
18 18 7D6 3D6+18 3-5 1D4+14,2D6+6,3D6+12
20 20 8D6 3D6+18    
1W 21 9D6 4D6+18    
2W 22 9D6 4D6+18 3 1D6+12
5W 25 10D6 4D6+24 4-6 2D6+12,4D6+12
8W 28 11D6 5D6+24    
10W 30 12D6 5D6+30 5-9 3D6+12,4D6+12,6D6+18
12W 32 13D6 6D6+30    
18W 38 15D6 7D6+36    
2W2 42 17D6 7D6+42    
3W2 43 17D6 7D6+42 4 3D6+6
5W2 45 18D6 8D6+42 10 10D6
15W2 55 22D6 9D6+54 22 16D6+48
2W3 62 25D6 11D6+60 4 3D6+6

 

Key

Ability Rating HW Ability Rating
Equivalent Skill Convert Rating into a fixed number, e.g. 3W2 = 43 (3 + 20 x 2)
5=2D6 Using the elemental stats of 5 being 2D6, this gives a method of extrapolating the figures
6=1D6+6 Using the elemental stats of 6 being 1D6 + 6, this gives a method of extrapolating the figures
Dice Range The stats of the creatures with the equivalent Ability Rating
Dice The number of dice in the Dice Range. This is to provide a rough equivalency guide.


 
 

Table 4 - Creature Movements
Creature Move HW Move Other Move HW Other Move AP HW Armour
Human, Troll 3          
Baboon 5 Run Fast 12        
Horse, Centaur 10 Run Fast 2W     2 Thick Skin ^1
High Llama 10 Run Fast 2W     4 Thick Skin ^2
Bison 8 Run Fast 18     6 Thick Skin ^2
Elf 4          
Gargoyle 2   4 (Fly) Fly Fast 12 6 Stone Skin ^10
Gremlin, Jolanti, Nilmerg, Trollkin, Duck 2          
Impala 13 Run Fast 2W        
Morocanth 4       4 Thick skin ^2
Small Magisaur 3   3 (Swim)      
Medium Magisaur 4   3 (Swim)      
Large Magisaur 5   3 (Swim)      
Newtling 2   4 (Swim) Swim Fast 12    
Rubble Runner 3          
Runner 2   3 (Trees)      
Sabretooth Cat 4          
Sable Antelope 9 Run Fast 15        
Shadow Cat 8 Sprint 15        
Sky Bull 9   11 (Fly)   5 Thick Skin ^2
Slarge 4          
Sea Troll 3   5 (Swim)      
Tusker 8 Run Fast 18     4 Thick Skin ^2
Wind Child 3   10 (Fly) Fly Fast 5W    
Cockatrice 3   5 (Fly)      
Blue Elf 5 (Swim)          
Gnydron Mermen 5 (Swim)          
Ludoch Mermen 4 (Swim) Swim Fast 1W        
Malasp Mermen 3 (Swim)          
Ouori Mermen 3 (Swim) Swim Fast 17        
Ysabbau Mermen 3 (Swim)          
Zabdamar Mermen 2 (Swim)          
Basilisk 2   3 (Fly)      
Bear 7 Move Quickly 15     3 Fur and Thick Skin ^2
Giant Beetle 6 Run Fast 18       Chitin ^3
Broo 4          
Cattle 9 Run Fast 18     4 Thick Skin ^1
Crocodile 3   4 (Swim) Swim Fast 15 5 Armoured Hide ^3
Deer 11          
Dog 7 Run Fast 15        
Elephant 6 Run Fast 2W     8 Thick Skin ^4
Griffin 5   12 (Fly) Fly Fast 15 6 Thick Skin ^2
Harpy 1   8 (Fly) Fly Fast 18    
Manticore 6 Run Fast 15     4 Thick Skin ^2
Minotaur 5       5 Tough Skin and leather ^2
Panther 8          
Satyr 5          
Wolf 7 Run Fast 18     2 Fur ^1
Wyvern 2   8 (Fly)   7 Armoured Hide ^5
Unicorn 11 Run Fast 5W        
             


 
 

[End]