As you may already know, around this time last year I released “He Sees You When You’re Sleeping“, a dark fantasy adventure centered around Krampus within the Shadow of the Demon Lord universe, published by Schwalb Entertainment. This year, in the spirit of giving, I’d like to hope to expand my audience for this twisted little holiday romp by converting it for use with D&D.
So below I’ll go over every header from the adventure covering all text or elements that need changed in order to run the adventure in 5e. Additionally, at the bottom of the post I have 3 stat blocks for the custom monsters from the adventures, recreated for use in 5e.
I hope you enjoy running the module, it should work well for 3-4th level characters. If you’ve not picked it up, it’s just $2 and you can do so right over at DriveThruRPG. Anyway, on with the conversion!
Re-flavoring Demon Lord
Replace all instances of Rul with your campaign world / setting your D&D game takes place in. Replace all mentions of Urth with your own campaign world, whatever it may be.
In Shadow of the Demon Lord, demons exist within the void and they corrupt and destroy, where devils tempt and deal in bargains. This is similar in D&D, but not quite the same, so take mentions of “the void” and try replacing them with “the Abyss” as you see fit.
All mention of “yards” should be converted into increments of 5 feet. Essentially 1 yard = 1 square = 1 5′ Area. Additionally, currency converts as follows:
gc (gold crown) = gp
ss (silver shilling) = sp
cp (copper penny) = cp
The Curse of the Krampus
Resisting the Krampus curse requires a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw with disadvantage.
The Monograph of Guilt
Replace Dark Speech with Abyssal
Since D&D offers no true sanity mechanic, replace the mechanic for reading the monograph of guilt with the following:
“Anyone not afflicted with the curse who attempts to read the Monograph must succeed a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw with disadvantage or gain an Indefinite Madness effect by rolling a d100 on the Indefinite Madness effects table (p.260 DMG) or selecting one they feel they would enjoy roleplaying the most, as long as it’s okay with the DM.
The Dark Forest
Day 1 Forest Wandering Enemies (1d3 Table)
- 1d6 Swarm of (Insects, Rats, Ravens, Bats)
- 1d4 Worgs
- 2 Specters
Day 2 Forest Wandering Enemies (1d6 Table)
- 1d6 Swarm of (Insects, Rats, Ravens, Bats)
- 1d4 Worgs
- 1d4 cultists + cult fanatic
- 1d6 Barovian Witches
- Wraith
- 1dx Tiny Servant
Setting the Scene
A mention of cult of the new god, feel free to replace with Ioun or Melora or any other god that feels a bit more pagan than the others in the D&D cosmology.
The Village of Hund
DAY 1
Happenings – Use the Barovian Witch stat block for the apprentice witches, if the need arises.
Missing Children – Navigating the forest requires succeeding a DC 12 investigation/perception check, if the characters wait until nightfall to go searching this check is made with disadvantage.
Rescue and Clues – Searching the area for clues requires succeeding a DC 14 investigation/perception check.
Happenings – Use the Barovian Witch stat block for the apprentice witches, if the need arises.
Missing Children – Navigating the forest requires succeeding a DC 12 investigation/perception check, if the characters wait until nightfall to go searching this check is made with disadvantage.
Rescue and Clues – Searching the area for clues requires succeeding a DC 14 investigation/perception check.
DAY 2
A Meeting with Max – Any character with a passive perception of 14 or better notices peculiar things about Max, and those observing him might notice spot these clues with a successful DC 15 perception check.
Exploring Max’s Home – Door bash DC is 14
Asylum
Wandering Enemies (1d6 Table)
- 1d6 Tiny Servant
- 1d6 Barovian Witch
- A Gibbering Mouther
- 1d3 Satchelkin
- A Yeti (reskin as generic / horrific monster)
- A Wraith
A. Lobby – Replace poltergeists with Specters
C. Administration Office – “Size 1” should read as “medium sized creature” and can squeeze past the debris with a successful DC 10 DEX check. The girl who reveals herself as a demon if disturbed should use the Bulezau stat block, with a heavy dose of imagination.
D. Central Hallway – Use Barovian Witches, and Zombies.
F. Lab and Study – Omit the Ghastly Chorus
G. Common Area – The footprints can be detected via a successful DC 12 perception check.
K. Infirmary Picking – The lock requires lockpicks and a successful DC 15 DEX check. Door AC: 10, HP: 18. Hole beneath the trap goes 15′ down. Constitution saving throw with disadvantage or become diseased. The magical force field has an AC of 12 and has 30 HP.
The Sacrificial Circle
Bonfire is huge sized.
Adventure Bestiary
D&D Beyond Links for each:
Shoot An Arrow At It