Adventure paths in a glance

[Giltonio_Santos]

Hi, everybody.

I'm currently running Kingmaker, and a friend of mine is interested in running one of the other adventure paths. Since I intend to play in his game, I can't help him on choosing which one with further investigation on the adventures themselves, and that's why I'd like to help by providing short descriptions that capture the feeling of each campaign.

For instance, if I was asked to do the same with Kingmaker, I'd say: it's a sandbox-style campaign in a wilderness region where players are faced with the challenges related to creating and running their own kingdom. Using my description as a parameter, what would you say about the other Pathfinder campaigns?

Cheers,

 

[gdmcbride]

Giltonio_Santos,

Here are the adventure paths, in brief.

Rise of the Rune Lords: A classic D&D save-the-world scenario featuring an ancient evil returned. The first adventure path published by Paizo and regarded by many as amongst the best. This is getting a reissue/hardcover update in a few months.

Curse of the Crimson: Half-urban adventure path set in the city of Korvosa. Again an ancient evil rises, but its wicked plot is set against the background of a very interesting fantasy city.

Second Darkness: The drow adventure path. Again an ancient evil rises and the drow are involved.

Legacy of Fire: The arabian nights adventure path. You venture out to the desert wastes to stop an ancient evil and end up treading through the planes (even visiting the City of Brass!) before you finally manage to face your ultimate foe. Djinnies, efreet and magical beasts galore.

Council of Thieves: An entirely urban adventure path. You must stop an evil criminal conspiracy that threatens the city.

Serpent Skull: The lost city adventure path. You must journey through the jungle to a mysterious lost city and discover within the ancient evil that may rise and destroy the world.

Carrion Crown: The gothic horror adventure path. You journey through psuedo-Transylvanian to confront ghosts, Frankenstein, werewolves, zombies, Cthulhoid horrors, vampires and a deadly cult of vile bad guys. This may come as a surprise but they are trying to summon forth an ancient evil.

Jade Regent: The asian adventure path. You start in the west and make an epic journey over the top of the world to restore a lost heir to her rightful throne in fantasy Japan.

Skulls and Shackles: The pirate adventure path. Only one book published so far but, you get to be pirates!

And if you don't mind a 3rd party adventure path (and a shameless plug):

Way of the Wicked: The evil adventure path by Fire Mountain Games. Talingarde is the most virtuous peace noble kingdom in all the land. And you will burn this insipid paradise to the ground for what they did to you. Be the bad guy in this adventure path featuring twenty levels of irredeemable villainy.

Anyways, hope that helps,
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

 

[Wycen]

this may come as a surprise but they are trying to summon forth an ancient evil.


fire mountain games

Hah!

 

[ahayford]

Rise of the Rune Lords: A classic D&D save-the-world scenario featuring an ancient evil returned. The first adventure path published by Paizo and regarded by many as amongst the best. This is getting a reissue/hardcover update in a few months.

Fire Mountain Games

Technically,

The Shackled City
Age of Worms
Savage Tide

Are the first Paizo APs....but they were written for Dungeon Magazine during their tenure and were written for DnD3.5. Although, Rise of the Runelords is certainly the first Pathfinder AP.

 

[Papa-DRB]

Technically,

The Shackled City
Age of Worms
Savage Tide

Are the first Paizo APs....but they were written for Dungeon Magazine during their tenure and were written for DnD3.5. Although, Rise of the Runelords is certainly the first Pathfinder AP.

Actually, Council of Thieves is the first Adventure Path written using the Pathfinder rules. All before that are for DnD 3.5 rules. The updated Rise of the Runelords coming out in June(?) is also for Pathfinder rules.

-- david
Papa.DRB

 

[ahayford]

True, though Rise of the Runelords was the first AP to take place in Golarian, Pathfinders campaign setting.

 

[Papa-DRB]

The Shackled City
Age of Worms
Savage Tide

Are the first Paizo APs....but they were written for Dungeon Magazine during their tenure and were written for DnD3.5. Although, Rise of the Runelords is certainly the first Pathfinder AP.

True, though Rise of the Runelords was the first AP to take place in Golarian, Pathfinders campaign setting.

Agreed. I was responding to the "were written for DnD3.5" portion of your post. Did not want the original poster to misunderstand which adventure paths were DnD3.5 and which were Pathfinder rules.

-- david
Papa.DRB

Besides, it pleases the engineer in me to be technically correct! (heh)

 

[RangerWickett]

E.N. Publishing's ZEITGEIST: The Gears of Revolution places the PCs as CIA/FBI/MI-6 style spies in a fantasy steampunk world where a conspiracy of enlightened thinkers is trying to reshape the nature of reality so they can rule the world.

 

[ahayford]

Besides, it pleases the engineer in me to be technically correct! (heh)

Also an engineer

 

[PatCap]

I ran Age of Worms, am currently running Shackled City, am playing in Council of Theives and have played in Rise of the Runelords...all good in their own right.

Age of Worms is very, very Greyhawk-centric, which was AWESOME. SCAP, is really fun, but takes alot of work from your players. RotRL was cool...and I own Carrion Crown, which will be the next one I run. When we are done CoT, I will be playing Kingmaker, which I am looking forward to. (playing a cavalier, first time as a martial character) Savage Tide was an awesome read, but a meat grinder for 3.5 characters. I had 2 TPK's on the same encounter.

I like all of them, I just think the idea of an AP is railroady, although I hear Kingmaker is not at all...In my Shackled City game, the PC's keep wanting to diverge, but if they do, they will out-power the game. They already are close to it, with a Paladin, Fighter, Archer Ranger, Rogue and Mystic Theurge. The Paladin is the star, with Dragons and Demans all over the place, and his ability to grant his smite to the Archer. Rogue and Fighter is brutal...