Adventure Path suggestions

[chrysop]

Having just stumbled on Pathfinder i must admit that the quality of the Adventure Paths seems very high! But, being on a tight budget, I can't afford more than one, so would any kind soul out there offer suggestions about them? RP heavy APs are always considered superior to combat heavy ones in my point of view, so please bear this in mind!

Any suggestions for standalone modules would also be appreciated!

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

[wolff96]

I'm not familiar at all with their standalone modules. However, I really enjoy the PF Adventure Paths.

The best ones (IMO, obviously) are Rise of the Runelords and Kingmaker. Rise of the Runelords is a *classic* adventure path, taking the PCs through a lot of different types of adventures -- goblin attacks, a haunted house, the hills-have-eyes style backwoods ogres -- before turning more firmly towards saving the world and fighting through some interesting dungeons and passages. That said, there aren't a ton of RP opportunities that the players/DM don't make.

Kingmaker is a kind of sandbox campaign, where the players are exploring and building their own kingdom... carving it out of the wilderness and then defending it. It's pretty amazing.

Of the rest, I love the setting of Legacy of Fire, though I haven't had a chance to play or run it.

Those are the ones I have direct experience with, so I'll leave the rest to others.

NOTE: Legacy of Fire and the modules before it are D&D 3.5. Everything after that is Pathfinder rules. And Paizo modules don't tend to have at least a few *tough* boss fights throughout their course...

 

[Stormrazor2000]

First, I am fairly new to the APs. I have Legacy of Fire, Kingmaker and Serpent's Skull. What I have seen consistently in all of them is lots of opportunity for RP and interesting NPCs. Some APs are more combat heavy perhaps (with more dungeon/wilderness exploring and the like) but I've been really happy with the balance I've seen so far.

I think a better question in determining what AP/module to get is what sort of setting do you and your players like? Do you like tightly focused story driven games (I hate the term railroad)? Do you like more open ended play (Sandbox)?

I picked up Legacy of Fire because I love the Arabian nights feel to it. Serpent Skull similarly because the Indiana Jones jungle exploration is something I have wanted to do and it isn't the typical fantasy setting. Kingmaker I picked up mainly for kingdom building rules and hex exploration. I'll probably never run it though as I like my campaigns to have a stronger story/plot.

 

[chrysop]

Hmmm...i think that i'd prefer adventures with a strong story background. I wouldn't mind having the party move around as they please, I believe that it is my role as a DM to point them towards the correct destination if they seem "lost".

Kingmaker sounds interesting, the concept is rather intriguing! My only concern would be that it may require lots of preparation from my part and at this point of my life i have even less available time than money!

I've seen some interesting reviews on Amazon concerning Council of Thieves, does anyone have personal experience?

Thanks a lot for the replies!

 

[Stormrazor2000]

Hmmm...i think that i'd prefer adventures with a strong story background. I wouldn't mind having the party move around as they please, I believe that it is my role as a DM to point them towards the correct destination if they seem "lost".

Kingmaker sounds interesting, the concept is rather intriguing! My only concern would be that it may require lots of preparation from my part and at this point of my life i have even less available time than money!

Personally I think the APs still require some preparation time. I am currently running Serpent's Skull and spend maybe 2 hours prep for an 8 hour session. Prep includes modifying the encounters as my group has 7 players, putting monsters into Hero Lab, pre-printing battle maps, etc. I also tailor the story more to fit my group's likes/dislikes so it isn't straight out of the book 100%

My main beef with Kingmaker is that it seems to require the players to drive the direction of the game. Which is not bad, just something that my group doesn't do well. It is really more of a setting with some set piece places and events. So if you want to have a stronger DM driven story, much of that prep work would be yours.

 

[MortonStromgal]

I've seen some interesting reviews on Amazon concerning Council of Thieves, does anyone have personal experience?

It starts out really good but becomes more tradition book 4 or 5 IIRC. We had alot of fun with it.

 

[triqui]

It starts out really good but becomes more tradition book 4 or 5 IIRC. We had alot of fun with it.

That's also true for Korvosa-based AP, The Crimsom Throne. The first half of it is just awesome-sauce. Then it becomes a much more traditional hack and slash dungeon crawl

 

[chrysop]

My main beef with Kingmaker is that it seems to require the players to drive the direction of the game. Which is not bad, just something that my group doesn't do well. It is really more of a setting with some set piece places and events. So if you want to have a stronger DM driven story, much of that prep work would be yours.

That's exactly what i had in mind as well... i'll have Kingmaker in mind for future purchases but right now i just don't have the time to deal with it (at least if i am to run it as it seems to be supposed to be run)

Originally Posted by MortonStromgal
It starts out really good but becomes more tradition book 4 or 5 IIRC. We had alot of fun with it.
That's also true for Korvosa-based AP, The Crimsom Throne. The first half of it is just awesome-sauce. Then it becomes a much more traditional hack and slash dungeon crawl

Thanks a lot for the above, both APs sound really interesting!

 

[Mojo_Rat]

for stand-alone modules I am currently gming d1 it is very goodvso far for lvl 2. Thera a follow up module d1.5 that isn't rated so highly. and another d5 I think I'n the same area there is a source book for dark moon vale to gobs long with it.

I've also looked through cult of the ebon destroyer which looks great but I haven't run it. ( my people are only lvl 2 and it's on the side of the works for lvl 7)