Suggest an Adventure Path and why you like it.

[olshanski]

I only have $120 to purchase one adventure path, so i'd like to make my purchase count.

I would like to hear what adventure path you think is best, and why you like it. Just saying "this is awesome" is useless, because your idea of awesome is probably not the same as my idea, so I cannot use "awesome" as any meaningful criteria. If you say "Its awesome because it has freaky monsters" or "its awesome because it is loaded with deathtraps" or "its awesome because it has really fleshed-out NPCs"... then those are bits of information I can use.

That being said, I am interested in your own opinions, but here is where I am coming from:
1) I am adapting the game to a homebrew system, not d20 based at all. So rules minutia mean nothing to me
2) I have enjoyed city campaigns, wilderness campaigns, and underdark campaigns, so nothing about those is a show-stopper or a reason to buy an adventure path.
3) I really want interesting NPCs, intrigues, set-pieces, and a plot you can sink your teeth into.
4) I prefer sandbox-style, with a great deal of meaningful player choice... I don't mind if I have to hustle a bit to keep up with the players--I fully understand that an adventure path is by necessity somewhat of a predetermined campaign, but I would rather have the players figure out what comes next on their own, rather than being railroaded. If I need to come up with a mini-adventure to get them back on track, that's fine.
5) My local game store has all kinds of little softcover pamphlets, There appeared to be at least 4 full and complete sets. I am not interested in an adventure path that requires me to purchase OOP magazines. I am only interested in the adventure paths things available in my game store.
Please let me know what you think. I look forward to your replies (and I'm sure my FLGS is eagerly awaiting my $120).

 

[Sunderstone]

Rise of the Runelords.

Its an iconic AP that has a little of everything for everyone imho. A fully fleshed out starting town with an excellent cast of memorable NPCs. Some of which have potential for long term development.

A great mix of Wilderness exploration, dungeon crawling, investigative roleplaying, and Urban bits. Something for everyone and this is my favorite feature of the AP by far. Forests, Snowy mountains, an occasional swamp, a jaunt to the seedy part of a big city, exploration of a dead city, solving a murder mystery, etc.

Iconic enemies like Evil Cultists, Undead, Goblins, Giants, Dragons, Evil Wizard BBEG etc. Very well crafted lower level BBEG characters too. Im so tempted to keep a certain obsessed-noble gone bad guy alive to possibly harass PCs from time to time.

Ive also enjoyed weaving parts of my players backgrounds into parts of the AP, examples...

Spoiler

the Rogue is an ex-gf and former seedy business associate of Orik Vancaskerskin, a minor bad guy NPC. The Ranger is going to find out he is a relative of one of the Rangers at Fort Rannick (possibly the traitor). The Sorceress (white dragon bloodline) Ive tied to the White Dragon Arkrhyst, etc.

This is the only AP that seems to cover all the traditional module elements with the exception of an underdark crawl. Most of the other APs have a more focused flavor like being exclusively Urban, desert themed, etc.

 

[freyar]

Surprised no one else has chimed in. Here are short summaries for the two urban APs, which are the only other ones I've read besides RotRL, which Sunderstone summarized nicely. Note: these are from reading only, not playing.

Curse of the Crimsone Throne:

If you like to destroy some portion of your world as a GM, this is probably a good one. The first three adventures have riots, plagues, anarchy, and martial law. In particular, the 2nd adventure (the plague) has what looks like good intrigue to me. As usual for Paizo, there are a number of very interesting NPCs with lots of room for development (including some moral ambiguity among both good and bad guys). I should also mention that the 4th and 5th adventures are a bit of a change of pace: wilderness exploration and undead-infested dungeon crawl looking for the McGuffin. Lots of cultists, some undead, and IIRC a number of dragons including the BBEG (sort of).

Council of Thieves:

This one is exclusively urban, with only short sidetreks into the surrounding areas. It's in a decaying city ruled by diabolists. The primary enemy organization is a large thieves' guild, so opponents include lots of thieves, devils, and also a relatively large number of undead (especially vampires). Lots of potential for long-term NPC relationships and many interesting NPCs. Of particular note is a very unusual set-piece in the 2nd adventure: the PCs are the heros of a play (script provided!) from the "murder-play" genre, so they have to survive while delivering their lines on cue.