Adventure Path for Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved (updated 6/24) Art by Ryan Barger

[Qwillion]

I am creating an adventure path for Monte Cook’s Arcana Evolved, currently I have a first draft of adventures 1-6; the first two adventures have been play-tested, and the third is being play-tested. I will probably start updating here on a regular basis as to my progress, thoughts, and struggles.

Here is the back cover blurb of the first adventure


Volume 1 Part 1: "A Witch’s Choice"

The Rituals of Choice Adventure Path begins in the town of Far-rough and continues into the surrounding Edgelands bordering the Central Plains, Floating Forest, and the Bitter Peaks. In a time of looming war between the Dragons and the Giants, a few select people in Far-Rough are having strange shared dreams of a golden jackal. Taking them for a sign a father now seeks escorts for a journey to Tesham’s Landing, a mystical witching site that will help cure his afflicted daughter.

In the days that follow, a quest must be pledged too or renounced, a woman saved or damned, an autistic accepted or abandoned, a ritual may be preformed that saves a single soul or damns the world. The PCs are faced with these choices, responsibilities, and consequences.

"A Witch’s Choice” is a Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved adventure designed for four 1st-level characters. Characters will advance to 2nd level by the end of the adventure. This is the first installment in the Rituals of Choice Adventure Path, a complete campaign saga consisting of 25 adventures.

The campaign will take characters from a simple escort mission at 1st level to an apocalyptic battle for the universe at 25th level. The campaign is episodic with individual adventures able to stand alone despite a “plot arc” that runs through the entire series. This full arc will become clearer with each episode, along with a “The Path Chosen”, a web enhancement which you can find at our website, ritepublishing.com.

 

[SolitonMan]

This full arc will become clearer with each episode, along with a “The Path Chosen”, a web enhancement which you can find at our website, ritepublishing.com.

Hey, just thought I'd let you know I found a typo in your URL, which I corrected in the above. You're missing the second "i" in your URL.

This looks like a great idea, I've recently picked up AE and am looking forward to getting to know it. I'm bookmarking your site FFR.

I'll be looking forward to future updates...any chance you'll write up a story hour?

 

[skelso]

It sounds like a pretty cool campaign. Are you planning to sell this or post it here?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

It sounds like a pretty cool campaign. Are you planning to sell this or post it here?

I would definitely be interested. (Off course, I will probably have to adapt it for 4E, but I like the Diamond Throne setting)

 

[Qwillion]

First thank you all for your intreast I will update you once a week.

I found a typo in your URL

Gah! fixed. Thank you!

any chance you'll write up a story hour?

Alas, At this time I am way to busy writing, to be able to run this myself, You might see one from the playtest group if the GM is so inclined, I would not stop him. When I am done writing all the adventures I hope to run them. (my own gaming group is still in the middle of thier current campaign).

Are you planning to sell this or post it here?

Sell, Rite Publishing is already selling its first monster book (not the adventure yet) via Lulu.com, yourgamesnow.com, rpgnow.com, drivethrurpg.com (hopefully e23.com soon)

I will probably have to adapt it for 4E,

Yes due to the nature of the OGL, the GSL we cannot do an offical adapation.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Yes due to the nature of the OGL, the GSL we cannot do an offical adapation.

Unfortunate, but let's be honest - there would be a lot more work to be done to adapt it to 4E - you might want new classes, new races and so on. You can't really do this in an adventure path.
In short, you'd need a Diamond Throne setting book before you can make a good adventure path. I would totally buy that, but I am not expecting this any time soon.

But hey, if the path is _really_ good, it might be worth dusting of the Arcana Evolved rulebook, even with 4E...

 

[Qwillion]

Encounters of Choice

Encounters:
There are 11-12 encounters in A Witch's Choice, 5 of those are event encounters. Due to this being an adventure path I really wanted to take advantage of foreshadowing, In the first adventure there are 4 of the event encounters are foreshadows.

1. The Golden Jackal foreshadows the beginning of every adventure until Death Of A Dream (#12), this also serves as a tool for starting each adventure “In Media Res” by having a dream encounter, which ties in well with the cultural significance dreams have in the Lands of the Diamond Throne.
   
2. Foreshadows The Last Adventure (#25) I really believe when have a great Idea you don’t save it till later because chances are you won’t get to use it because your other ideas sucked. So your 1st level PCs get to encounter Kallethan/The Kallethan
3. Foreshadows. To Kill or Not To Kill (#2) and Godson’s Offering (#5), Here the PCs get a choice they can assist one of two groups, one will become an ally and they get immediate rewards as well as an ally in future adventures. However they also gain an enemy in the future. In Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved one of the major themes is choices and I wanted to make sure that players truly had a choice that would affect the outcome of their Saga.
4. Foreshadows When The Hammer Falls (#7), this encounter introduces two npcs, one will be the last encounter of the adventure with a very complex motivation, (he believes stopping the PCs from curing the injured soul, will protect the world from a greater threat. ) The other is there to remind the party that while they are out adventuring the world is not sitting still, as in each adventure they will discover references to the second Npcs, and what he is doing, until When The Hammer Falls.

I designed these adventure not to level up at the end of each adventure (rather than during), this makes it easy for you as a GM to know what you’re dealing with and that each encounter is scaled to a particular PC but if you like more freedom or you run a more character driven style, each encounter allows you to scale it up to be a greater challenge.

Not every encounter requires combat, but it still provides rewards. There are enough encounters for you level up, yet you could also skip or avoid an encounter. (In one of the playtest an encounter with a swarm was skipped because just the week before in a different game, the players had been massacred by swarms).

With the Rituals of Choice Adventure Path you can award experience per encounter or simple level the party at the end of each adventure, you as the DM are empowered to make your own choice.

 

[SSquirrel]

But hey, if the path is _really_ good, it might be worth dusting of the Arcana Evolved rulebook, even with 4E...

AE or AE+Ptolus is about the only way I see myself playing any 3.x anytime soon

 

[Qwillion]

Adventure Background

One of the interesting things about Monte Cook’s Arcana Evolved is that no matter how secret you make something, even if only you know it, an Akashic can Delve Into Collective Memory and learn any back story, I design. So rather than trying to protect these secrets, The Rituals of Choice Adventure Path use them, making the adventures more compelling. Eventually Rituals of Choice even requires its use, one of the core tenets of high-level design.

The name of the first adventure is “A Witch’s Choice”, during the play test we quickly discovered there is a huge difference between offering PCs a choice and offering them an INFORMED CHOICE. Therefore, Rite Publishing included a magical item (Delving Rod) that allows non-akashics to Delve Into the Collective Memory and grants a bonus to akashics who use it. In this fashion, a GM is not limited in forcing a party to have at least one akashic (Rituals of Choice encourages use of the Akashic Class rather requiring it). In addition, this provides a mechanic for DMs to provide information about previous adventures. When an akashic gains a level, he rolls again on the previous adventures background. Nothing is likely to remain a mystery forever, and since you gain a level at the end of each adventure, it is a perfect time to learn more and discuss the back-story of the adventure, a perfect epilog for every adventure.

While Rituals of Choice uses The Lands of the Diamond Throne setting and its history and background, Rituals of Choice deliberately keeps with only recent happenings that are directly relevant to the plot. This way a DM only has to read what is required to run the story, and has a way to relay it to his players without disrupting the twists of the adventure, a more in-depth look along with Collective Memory DCs will be in the Regional Sourcebook for the adventure and the web enhancements “The Path Chosen.”

 

[Qwillion]

Talking Points

• Adventure Background and Delve Into Collective Memory/skill check DCs There is only one DC above 25 (A DC 25 is something a 1st level CAN make). The remaining is a DC 40, a first level character had better not make this DC, or something is seriously wrong. This secret is to be a grand reveal, something the player character learns later in the Path (See the DM giggling behind his screen because he is lousy at poker).
  
  
• The adventure begins “In Media Res”
  
  
• The first encounter transports you to the next encounter, so you can keep the game moving.
  
  
• We take the “Choice” theme of Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved a bit further than normal. The players choose as a group the adventure hook for their PCs. (We will post the suggested hooks next time).
  
  
• All of the encounters advance the story. There are no “Random” encounters. We did this for efficiency, players now know they are advancing the story every encounter, it also means there is no frivolous information for DMs and PCs to keep track of.
  
  
• Role-playing encounters in the rituals of choice are always capable of transforming into another type of encounter, encounters in disguise.
  
  
• Every piece of treasure in the adventure is unique.
  
  
• We have taken a site based linear road adventure and added non-linear event encounters. This creates choices for PCs and versatility for DMs.
  
  
• The Big Finale is a Triggered Encounter, which gained from an amazing idea that came out of the play-test, and the concept that you use your best ideas first.
  
  
• The environment of the Diamond Throne comes alive; we have gassar trees from the floating forest, storms, and high winds on the central plains, and at the end a mystical witching site!