What would you look for in an adventure path?

[eris404]

Hello all!

One thing I plan to do is run the Shackled City adventure path. I loved the first few adventures, but then I noticed that some of the later adventures took a turn that I didn't really like - they're not terrible, just not to my taste. I know that Dungeon plans on another adventure path series in the near future and I am really curious to see what they do with that one. One thing I'm concerned about is that an adventure path might be too limiting for players, so I've been collecting little "side quests," cool NPC ideas and minor plot hooks, and I also plan on getting lots of character goals from the players when we actually start.

So, just out of curiosity, if you were going to run an adventure path series, what elements would want? Would you look for certain challenges (like particular monsters), settings (generic or published setting, planar, confined to one city, lots of travel, or whatever), one epic story or a bunch of related smaller stories, or something else?

 

[GlassJaw]

I know that Dungeon plans on another adventure path series in the near future and I am really curious to see what they do with that one.

It's call Age of Worms (yes, not wyrms). It supposed to start in the summer sometime. It will take place in the same "world" as Cauldron but Cauldron won't play a very big part.

if you were going to run an adventure path series, what elements would want?

Well the main problem with the first AP is that they didn't know how it would end when they started it. The first AP isn't the easiest to run out of the box. You really need to do a lot of reading ahead. I know they are planning to provide an outline for the new AP up front.

As far the AP itself, I like variety: a variety of places, NPC's, monsters, etc. It gets boring if you are in the same place or fighting the same creatures all the time (like drow). I also like the overall story to be uncovered slowly. I don't like epic quests in which everything single little thing the players encounter has to do with the grand scheme. So yeah, some side quests are nice.

 

[Crimson_Manticore]

It's all about the plot

I personally like a cohesive and slowly advancing plot line with little twists here and there. The type of thing where events in the story make the player’s go “Oh yeah, remember when so-and-so happened 6 sessions ago? So that’s what was going on!” Without a strong story/plot, all you have is a bunch of loosely linked adventures, and we already have lots of those.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'd like more portability. A lot of people didn't find that a city built in the caldera of a volcano fit easily into their world. I'd prefer an adventure path that travels (it sounds like "Age of Worms" will) and features adventures in more standard locations, albeit with neat points of interest provided in the adventures themselves.

Cauldron was interesting, but it really should have been designed very differently, and I suspect they would have done so, given a chance. If they decide to release "The Shackled City" as a single volume, I hope they'll make a nice gazeteer the first half of the work, and have a more organized adventure path in the back, with a timeline and all the other necessary materials for the DM in one place.

 

[scourger]

I'm running The Shackled City now. I'm in the second adventure, despite 6 months of gaming. That's the problem with dungeon crawls--it just takes too long. I added some classes to bring different elements from different games: Star Wars jedi, Judge Dredd judges, and Omega World mutants; as well as aasimar paladins to try to make the game a little more interesting. But, it's dragging. I just don't know if I can do 2-3 more years on this campaign.

 

[howandwhy99]

So, just out of curiosity, if you were going to run an adventure path series, what elements would want? Would you look for certain challenges (like particular monsters), settings (generic or published setting, planar, confined to one city, lots of travel, or whatever), one epic story or a bunch of related smaller stories, or something else?

Well, to start off I would not require the characters to follow the adventure path. I would prefer one that didn't have too much in the way of setting specific requirements, but did offer some unique aspects (say, a new monster invading from another dimension). Being able to run the modules out of order would be necessary too. Being able to miss or drop an adventure or two without ruining the overal storyarc would be nice. Perhaps advice on connecting the adventures non-linearly?

I prefer a geographical and time-oriented approach. Necromancer Games has been doing this fairly well with their hardback books, and older modules tended to do it very well. To give examples, geographically each of the G1-3 adventures were nearby each other. Each could be found without the clues from one to the next. Plotwise, though, each had clues leading the party from one to the next.

In terms of a timeline, advancing 1st-20th level is going to take some years. I would suggest working backwards from a desired end, but let the game progress forward due to consequences of the PC's actions. Events they do not influence keep your plot on track. Changes caused by the PC's means reordering the timeline of events based on the intelligence of the foes involved.

In terms of not following a required path, I would suggest laying out adventures like the root system of a tree. Have several introductory adventures that "might" be played. Then a handful of intermediary adventures that tie into the originals. And finally end with all the clues leading to your final campaign ending adventure. Most of the paths I remember use stepped villians. Meaning behind each foe was another more insidious plot/foe. I prefer this method to the traditional "lord of the rings" one. 1st - 20th walking a ring to Mordor is a trial of patience both in and out of game.

And I guess as a DM I would intersperse a variety of other adventures that didn't relate to the overall plot. That way the characters could always change direction out of adventure path, if they so desire. Not to mention having every challenge the PCs face leading to one single conspiracy is a bit disingenuous.

Just my .02 cents this Monday morning. I might change my mind later.