As written, are the PCs intended to keep the mantle of the Black Rider throughout the entire adventure path, or will they be giving it up at some point? Will the AP place them in a situation where serving Baba Yaga (which is the implied mandate of the mantle) won't work for the story any longer.
I'm considering starting this game up, and will likely only have 3 PCs, so I was thinking about giving the Black Rider some way to make the PCs into the new incarnation of the three riders, unlocking new abilities related to which mantle they accept (white, red, or black) as they level up. My questions to the devs is: will this work?
From the summary of the story in the back of the book, it looks like they'll be keeping the mantle at least until the last part, though I don't know if there's something that happens in that part.
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The mantle was an idea I cooked up. I wanted to create a compelling reason for the PCs to voluntarily leave their homes in Taldor and get involved in what's going on in Irrisen. And, I wanted something driving them and connecting them to Baba Yaga. Rob thought the idea sounded cool. So, we rolled with it. I don't know how it gets used by the other authors in the chapters which follow, but I know I talked with Jim Groves about it while sharing ideas between our adventures. And, we all trust Rob to weave the AP together in whatever way seems best. Regardless, it's your game. You get to decide what you do with it and how much you play it up or play it down.
I'm being particularly careful about spoilers. I'll venture this, I thought the mantle is a great idea. I certainly didn't discount it. I used it where I thought it was appropriate.
And beyond saying that, I echo what Neil said. I trust Rob—AND, if you want to expand its role, its well within your ability as the GM to go for it, without a lot of work...
And that's the great thing about Adventure Paths. They're complete meals, but you can still season to taste without spending hours in the kitchen.