Chapter XX: D&D 5e Conversion

Levels, hazards, influence, adversaries, and milestone progression.

Campaign Range

For characters continuing from the San Telmo Incident, begin at 3rd level and finish at 8th level. For standalone play, begin the Aurora Ventus prologue at 2nd level and advance to 3rd on arrival. The campaign is not balanced around defeating every named NPC. Several opponents are political, military, or environmental forces that should be evaded, divided, or outmaneuvered.

MILESTONE	LEVEL
Arrival / end of alternate prologue	3
Break the first negotiation deadlock	4
Expose or break the trafficking route	5
Survive the Wolf in the Clouds battle	6
Earn Clann access to the Source	7
Survive the Breathing Source	8

Arrival / end of alternate prologue

LEVEL: 3

Break the first negotiation deadlock

LEVEL: 4

Expose or break the trafficking route

LEVEL: 5

Survive the Wolf in the Clouds battle

LEVEL: 6

Earn Clann access to the Source

LEVEL: 7

Survive the Breathing Source

LEVEL: 8

Difficulty and Consequences

PRESSURE	DC	TYPICAL USE
Routine	10	Read a familiar flag, inspect a common seal, repair calm machinery.
Pressured	13	Act under observation, weather, pursuit, or social rank.
Dangerous	15	Failure creates harm, exposure, or faction movement.
Severe	18	Ship, Source, life, or legal status is at risk.
Catastrophic	21+	Rupture, war pretext, major scandal, or impossible extraction.

Routine

DC: 10
TYPICAL USE: Read a familiar flag, inspect a common seal, repair calm machinery.

Pressured

DC: 13
TYPICAL USE: Act under observation, weather, pursuit, or social rank.

Dangerous

DC: 15
TYPICAL USE: Failure creates harm, exposure, or faction movement.

Severe

DC: 18
TYPICAL USE: Ship, Source, life, or legal status is at risk.

Catastrophic

DC: 21+
TYPICAL USE: Rupture, war pretext, major scandal, or impossible extraction.

5E FAILURE On a failed check, choose one: advance a relevant clock, impose harm or a condition, reveal the character’s position, remove access, endanger a witness, or worsen a ship / Source state. Do not simply declare that nothing happens.

Negotiation Position in Fifth Edition

Use Position as a shared pool from 0 to 6. Characters earn Position through completed objectives and credible proof, not by repeating Charisma checks. During a negotiation scene, one character leads with Persuasion, Deception, Intimidation, Insight, History, Investigation, or a relevant tool proficiency. A successful check preserves or improves the impact of the proposed move. Failure adds a complication but does not erase earned Position.

Éterlumin Resonance Hazard

HAZARD STATE	TRIGGER	EFFECT
Listening (Source; gas or machinery may separately be singing)	A loud pulse, open flame, violent spell, or damaged valve.	Characters notice the pattern. A DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana/Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check identifies one safe response.
Answering	The pattern repeats or the group ignores a warning.	Creatures in the zone make a DC 15 save chosen by the fiction. On a failure, take 2d6 force or fire damage, become deafened or frightened until the end of the next turn, or have speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of the next turn.
Contradicting	Two incompatible commands or magical effects interact.	Start a 6-segment clock. Each violent action fills one segment; careful technical or social coordination may remove one.
Rupturing	The clock fills.	Deal 4d6 to 8d6 damage by tier, damage a subsystem or location, and create a persistent Source consequence.

Listening (Source; gas or machinery may separately be singing)

TRIGGER: A loud pulse, open flame, violent spell, or damaged valve.
EFFECT: Characters notice the pattern. A DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana/Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check identifies one safe response.

Answering

TRIGGER: The pattern repeats or the group ignores a warning.
EFFECT: Creatures in the zone make a DC 15 save chosen by the fiction. On a failure, take 2d6 force or fire damage, become deafened or frightened until the end of the next turn, or have speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of the next turn.

Contradicting

TRIGGER: Two incompatible commands or magical effects interact.
EFFECT: Start a 6-segment clock. Each violent action fills one segment; careful technical or social coordination may remove one.

Rupturing

TRIGGER: The clock fills.
EFFECT: Deal 4d6 to 8d6 damage by tier, damage a subsystem or location, and create a persistent Source consequence.

Adversary Roles

ROLE	SUGGESTED CR	CORE TRAITS
Custodian’s Spy	1/2	AC 13-14, 18-27 hp, Stealth and Deception, light crossbow or pistol, Cunning Escape.
Albion Cut-Off Operative	2	AC 15, 36-45 hp, coordinated carbine fire, Second Wind, disciplined retreat.
Albion Sergeant	4	AC 16, 65-75 hp, Extra Attack, command dice or maneuvers, reaction to reposition an ally.
Shadowed Tide Infiltrator	3 ally or rival	High Stealth and Investigation, nonlethal poison or disabling shot, escape route feature.
Moon-Affected Raider	3	AC 14-15, 55-65 hp, keen senses, powerful melee. If resistance is used, Source-tuned, resonance-calibrated, or legacy-linked attacks bypass it. Ordinary silver has no special effect.
Lucian Vega	7	AC 16, 110-130 hp, multiattack, legendary resistance 1/day, command reaction, moon transformation, pistol and blade.
Source Echo	2	Incorporeal movement, memory strike, drops a creature unconscious or imposes a vision rather than killing.
Manifested Correction	5 / 8 / 11	Choose weak, standard, or major form. Use lair-like Source actions and objectives other than reducing hit points.
MOON-AFFECTED CANON		Do not use standard lycanthropy immunity, curse transmission, or silver vulnerability unless a specific table deliberately chooses that variant. Their condition is Source- and moon-linked, and its weaknesses come from resonance, loyalty, and discovered campaign facts.

Custodian’s Spy

SUGGESTED CR: 1/2
CORE TRAITS: AC 13-14, 18-27 hp, Stealth and Deception, light crossbow or pistol, Cunning Escape.

Albion Cut-Off Operative

SUGGESTED CR: 2
CORE TRAITS: AC 15, 36-45 hp, coordinated carbine fire, Second Wind, disciplined retreat.

Albion Sergeant

SUGGESTED CR: 4
CORE TRAITS: AC 16, 65-75 hp, Extra Attack, command dice or maneuvers, reaction to reposition an ally.

Shadowed Tide Infiltrator

SUGGESTED CR: 3 ally or rival
CORE TRAITS: High Stealth and Investigation, nonlethal poison or disabling shot, escape route feature.

Moon-Affected Raider

SUGGESTED CR: 3
CORE TRAITS: AC 14-15, 55-65 hp, keen senses, powerful melee. If resistance is used, Source-tuned, resonance-calibrated, or legacy-linked attacks bypass it. Ordinary silver has no special effect.

Lucian Vega

SUGGESTED CR: 7
CORE TRAITS: AC 16, 110-130 hp, multiattack, legendary resistance 1/day, command reaction, moon transformation, pistol and blade.

Source Echo

SUGGESTED CR: 2
CORE TRAITS: Incorporeal movement, memory strike, drops a creature unconscious or imposes a vision rather than killing.

Manifested Correction

SUGGESTED CR: 5 / 8 / 11
CORE TRAITS: Choose weak, standard, or major form. Use lair-like Source actions and objectives other than reducing hit points.

MOON-AFFECTED CANON

SUGGESTED CR
CORE TRAITS: Do not use standard lycanthropy immunity, curse transmission, or silver vulnerability unless a specific table deliberately chooses that variant. Their condition is Source- and moon-linked, and its weaknesses come from resonance, loyalty, and discovered campaign facts.

Lucian Vega: Campaign Features

Moonbound Shape: Vega changes under the active lunar condition. The transformation is robust and predatory but should not read as a standard wolf-man.

Loyalty Before Tactics: Once per round, Vega may move or strike in response to Melenko or the Legacy Anchor, or a crew member, being threatened.

Commanding Shot: A pistol hit may also move an allied crew member or suppress an enemy position.

Desperation Clock: At three or more segments, Vega gains damage and loses restraint. Clearing a segment requires a meaningful act of loyalty, not healing magic.

Running the Source

Use a complex skill challenge rather than a single spell solution. Require six successes before three failures across distinct approaches. Suitable skills include Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Performance, Religion, Survival, relevant tools, or a character-specific legacy. Repeating the same skill increases its DC by 2. Each failure advances Source Disequilibrium or creates harm, separation, lost memory, or a physical manifestation.

Magic

Detect Magic is overwhelmed but reveals direction and rhythm. Dispel Magic suppresses one local response and advances contradiction unless the group has identified what replaces it. Protection effects provide advantage against echoes but do not make the chamber inert.

Airship Battle

Track Frame, Lift, Sail, Command, Guns, and Crew at 3 condition each. A significant hit removes one condition from a targeted subsystem. At 0, that subsystem fails and changes the scene. Characters use actions to repair, command, signal, fire, board, or change position. Each round must alter one subsystem, spatial fact, or command fact.