I'm trying to run the newly released Against the Slave Lords compilation using the D&D Next rules and I've run into a problem with converting Saving Throws. How do I go about converting something like "Save vs. Breath Weapon" into a DC? I can make a reasonable guess about which ability modifier will be used for the roll, but how do I decide what the DC is? Should it still be class-dependant like it was in AD&D, or is there a static DC for each type of Save from the original set (Breath Weapon, Petrification, etc)? I haven't been able to find anything official from Wizards on this and to avoid exhaustively crunching the numbers on the old "Save matrix", I was hoping someone knew something I didn't (or has a house-rule I could use).
[RPG] Converting Saving Throws from AD&D to D&D Next
adnd-1econversiondnd-5e
Best Answer
It's important when tackling this to notice that D&D Next saves' math are tied to the effect, while AD&D saves math—despite the names being that of effects—are actually tied to class and level. That means that there's no way to crunch the AD&D math to find a conversion formula—the numbers are representing different things.
As is often the case when converting between editions with different fundamentals, this can only be approached as a "re-imagining" of the source material. Use the D&D Next guidance on setting save DCs as if you were creating this adventure from scratch yourself. (After all, for adventure elements that are non-translatable, that is actually what you're doing.) Imagine the danger and the degree of challenge it poses, and use your judgement to choose a challenge level that matches that, from the range of Trivial to Nearly Impossible, to get an appropriate saving throw DC.