Kingmaker Adventure Path
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Maggan
Writer for CY_BORG, Forbidden Lands and Dragonbane
3 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
The premise of Kingmaker is powerful, but it falls short on overall plot and consistency. Several key elements that players will want to explore are left undeveloped, and several other plot points that never will come into play are overdeveloped. With modification this adventure path is highly enjoyable, but if played as written it will leave many players unsatisfied. Also, the organisation of the books prove to be a hindrance for the DM to reference information once play has reached the fourth scenario.
The premise of Kingmaker is powerful, but it falls short on overall plot and consistency. Several key elements that players will want to explore are left undeveloped, and several other plot points that never will come into play are overdeveloped. With modification this adventure path is highly enjoyable, but if played as written it will leave many players unsatisfied. Also, the organisation of the books prove to be a hindrance for the DM to reference information once play has reached the fourth scenario.
4 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
I enjoyed DMing the Kingmaker adventure path, but found a few things I needed to edit or trim. While the sandbox design was refreshing, the city-building, nation-developing, and army design process were clunky to say the least. I almost was looking at other variant, nation-building systems to replace the ones in the adventure path. In addition, some of the inside cover optional quests I found were a little 'video-gamey' and needed some trimming. However, the overall concept won me over and the path can truly be edited to fit almost any flavor of game. A solid path.
I enjoyed DMing the Kingmaker adventure path, but found a few things I needed to edit or trim. While the sandbox design was refreshing, the city-building, nation-developing, and army design process were clunky to say the least. I almost was looking at other variant, nation-building systems to replace the ones in the adventure path. In addition, some of the inside cover optional quests I found were a little 'video-gamey' and needed some trimming. However, the overall concept won me over and the path can truly be edited to fit almost any flavor of game. A solid path.
lyle.spade
Adventurer
5 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
When PF first came out I bought the first book in this AP and our group ran it up through book 5, lasting for over a year of weekly gaming sessions spread out over two years due to breaks. We loved books 1 and 2, given that they really established and maintained the sandbox that my players wanted. The kingdom-building rules were an interesting addition and we put those to good use, writing quite a story in the process. Book 3 was only okay, and in fact we hand-waved part of it, due to the fact that the party was just not that interested in exploring this place and that - they were leaders of a nation at this point, and wanted to operate at that level.Thus, Book 4 wasa return to that level, with them having an opportunity to adventure and fight as high-level PCs, while also waging a campaign of expansion into the Slough to their kingdom's west. Book 5, where the big war with Pitax took place, was pretty good, too, although the role of the PCs as individual actors was reduced once the war began. I created an ad hoc system that enabled them, as high-level PCs, to take part in battles alongside units that used the mass combat rules, and it worked okay...just okay enough to give them the feel of being the big butt-kickers on a battlefield of low-level mooks. We opted out of Book 6, since it took a strange turn into what was supposedly the great meta-story taking place in the background all along...but was never very well communicated throughout books 1-5. That said, I think weaving credible clues throughout over 400 pages of adventure material pointing to a shadowy, insane fey queen beastie would be really tough...and perhaps a bridge too far for Paizo. Personally I think Book 6 should have consisted of the PCs' kingdom getting involved in the civil war in Brevoy, the country from which the PCs originally came in Book 1. I think that would have provided a graceful, circular story arc that came to an end with the PCs becoming major players on one side in the civil war of their homeland, now a foreign power.As it is, Book 6 was of no interest to my group, and we ended up shelving the campaign for the time being (perhaps for good; I don't know at this point) with the PCs' kingdom working to establish itself further among its neighbors, as a kingdom would.I recommend it, but if your players really love building and running their kingdom, you might want to ignore Book 6 entirely and just let them continue in that direction.If you're interested you can see our entire campaign here, on the most excellent Obsidian Portal: https://kngmkr.obsidianportal.com/dashboard
When PF first came out I bought the first book in this AP and our group ran it up through book 5, lasting for over a year of weekly gaming sessions spread out over two years due to breaks. We loved books 1 and 2, given that they really established and maintained the sandbox that my players wanted. The kingdom-building rules were an interesting addition and we put those to good use, writing quite a story in the process. Book 3 was only okay, and in fact we hand-waved part of it, due to the fact that the party was just not that interested in exploring this place and that - they were leaders of a nation at this point, and wanted to operate at that level.Thus, Book 4 wasa return to that level, with them having an opportunity to adventure and fight as high-level PCs, while also waging a campaign of expansion into the Slough to their kingdom's west. Book 5, where the big war with Pitax took place, was pretty good, too, although the role of the PCs as individual actors was reduced once the war began. I created an ad hoc system that enabled them, as high-level PCs, to take part in battles alongside units that used the mass combat rules, and it worked okay...just okay enough to give them the feel of being the big butt-kickers on a battlefield of low-level mooks. We opted out of Book 6, since it took a strange turn into what was supposedly the great meta-story taking place in the background all along...but was never very well communicated throughout books 1-5. That said, I think weaving credible clues throughout over 400 pages of adventure material pointing to a shadowy, insane fey queen beastie would be really tough...and perhaps a bridge too far for Paizo. Personally I think Book 6 should have consisted of the PCs' kingdom getting involved in the civil war in Brevoy, the country from which the PCs originally came in Book 1. I think that would have provided a graceful, circular story arc that came to an end with the PCs becoming major players on one side in the civil war of their homeland, now a foreign power.As it is, Book 6 was of no interest to my group, and we ended up shelving the campaign for the time being (perhaps for good; I don't know at this point) with the PCs' kingdom working to establish itself further among its neighbors, as a kingdom would.I recommend it, but if your players really love building and running their kingdom, you might want to ignore Book 6 entirely and just let them continue in that direction.If you're interested you can see our entire campaign here, on the most excellent Obsidian Portal: https://kngmkr.obsidianportal.com/dashboard
Infernal Teddy
Explorer
5 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
So far, my favorite Adventure Path - the sandbox format leaves enough space for the GM to insert his own adventures and little adventures without having to rewrite the whole thing. The kingdom rules are good, but should be replaced with the rulkes from Ultimate Campaign. Only letdown is the final episode.
So far, my favorite Adventure Path - the sandbox format leaves enough space for the GM to insert his own adventures and little adventures without having to rewrite the whole thing. The kingdom rules are good, but should be replaced with the rulkes from Ultimate Campaign. Only letdown is the final episode.
Alphastream
Adventurer
2 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
There are some great concepts in play here, and we had a great DM, but the source material tries to embrace the sandbox concept and suffers for it. The concept is that the players will carve out their own kingdom, exploring lands as they choose and developing it as they choose. In practice, the party meanders all over the place and too often there is little of note, too few connections, and too little that feels like it matters. There is a subsystem for running the kingdom, but it is lacking and felt like a bad secondary game with many missed opportunities.
There are some great concepts in play here, and we had a great DM, but the source material tries to embrace the sandbox concept and suffers for it. The concept is that the players will carve out their own kingdom, exploring lands as they choose and developing it as they choose. In practice, the party meanders all over the place and too often there is little of note, too few connections, and too little that feels like it matters. There is a subsystem for running the kingdom, but it is lacking and felt like a bad secondary game with many missed opportunities.
Lycanthropos
Explorer
4 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
Now that enworld.org has offered us a new system for rating and evaluating Paizo's Adventure Path, I am going to write my first review. I must start with one of the AP that has kept playing to my gaming group for several months: Kingmaker. Through the whole AP you can find a lot of new rules (that have been built up into the Ultimate Campaign). Exploration, creating and managing kingdoms, building armies and mass combat, interaction with the feywilds... that are so great additions to Pathfinder that they are now official rules. That's good. And interesting. You can realize that some of these new rules were still in development (the final edition is in Ultimate Campaign), but they served well to create the mood of starting a kingdom by their own for my party. BUT... the AP requires a lot of work from the GM in order to work. Why? Starting with the hook and plot. You are presented a country, Brevoy, close to civil war. And one of the power houses send you to start a new kingdom because it is supposed that it would be very helpful in the incoming struggle. But after this hook, no more is known about the events in Brevoy up to the 6th module. Time is supposed to pass between that first and last module. What happened in your homeland? The AP didn't say it. So you, the GM, has to work it. I love sandbox adventures, and I asume that this kind of playing needs a very specific kind of GM: creative, improvisation-capable, and resourceful. In this AP, you, as the GM, get enough knowledge of the enviroment in order to develop the world around the PCs. Kingmaker indeed does it. But again, it requires you a lot of work. I would have appreciated some hints abou how the centaurs could interact with the expanding kingdom or how to integrate the kobold's lair into your kingdom if you reached a peaceful agreement. Nevertheless, some NPC are simply great: the huge owlbear, the fey queen and his entourage, etc. And several encounters are great for roleplaying (like the sprite and his friend in Stolen Land). If you like sandbox campaign style and you are not afraid of a lot of work as a GM, this is for you. If you lack enough time to prepare your games or you were looking for a more linear campaign, that's not your AP.
Now that enworld.org has offered us a new system for rating and evaluating Paizo's Adventure Path, I am going to write my first review. I must start with one of the AP that has kept playing to my gaming group for several months: Kingmaker. Through the whole AP you can find a lot of new rules (that have been built up into the Ultimate Campaign). Exploration, creating and managing kingdoms, building armies and mass combat, interaction with the feywilds... that are so great additions to Pathfinder that they are now official rules. That's good. And interesting. You can realize that some of these new rules were still in development (the final edition is in Ultimate Campaign), but they served well to create the mood of starting a kingdom by their own for my party. BUT... the AP requires a lot of work from the GM in order to work. Why? Starting with the hook and plot. You are presented a country, Brevoy, close to civil war. And one of the power houses send you to start a new kingdom because it is supposed that it would be very helpful in the incoming struggle. But after this hook, no more is known about the events in Brevoy up to the 6th module. Time is supposed to pass between that first and last module. What happened in your homeland? The AP didn't say it. So you, the GM, has to work it. I love sandbox adventures, and I asume that this kind of playing needs a very specific kind of GM: creative, improvisation-capable, and resourceful. In this AP, you, as the GM, get enough knowledge of the enviroment in order to develop the world around the PCs. Kingmaker indeed does it. But again, it requires you a lot of work. I would have appreciated some hints abou how the centaurs could interact with the expanding kingdom or how to integrate the kobold's lair into your kingdom if you reached a peaceful agreement. Nevertheless, some NPC are simply great: the huge owlbear, the fey queen and his entourage, etc. And several encounters are great for roleplaying (like the sprite and his friend in Stolen Land). If you like sandbox campaign style and you are not afraid of a lot of work as a GM, this is for you. If you lack enough time to prepare your games or you were looking for a more linear campaign, that's not your AP.
5 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
I GM'ed Kingmaker for about two years before my players finished the series. Tons of fun. The sandbox nature of the story means PCs can do anything they want, from adventuring to building cities and nations. It is a lot of work for the GM, because you have to anticipate and deal with occasional player curveballs, but rewarding none-the-less.
I GM'ed Kingmaker for about two years before my players finished the series. Tons of fun. The sandbox nature of the story means PCs can do anything they want, from adventuring to building cities and nations. It is a lot of work for the GM, because you have to anticipate and deal with occasional player curveballs, but rewarding none-the-less.
4 out of 5 rating for Kingmaker Adventure Path
Excellent idea and execution for a sandbox campaign in Pathfinder. The kingdom rules subsystem leads to a lot of fun, strategic play but also roleplaying opportunities. The storyline of the six chapters however is not very well tied together in my opinion. There is not really a unifying plot unless the GM makes it happen with some work on the different adventures. But definitely recommended, with some work a 5-star AP.
Excellent idea and execution for a sandbox campaign in Pathfinder. The kingdom rules subsystem leads to a lot of fun, strategic play but also roleplaying opportunities. The storyline of the six chapters however is not very well tied together in my opinion. There is not really a unifying plot unless the GM makes it happen with some work on the different adventures. But definitely recommended, with some work a 5-star AP.
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