The issue just came up in another thread and I guess this would be the right place to put a separate thread for it.
People were talking about the Adventure Paths being more popular than the stand-alone adventures, which possibly might lead to the APs being of a higher quality, which in turn leads to them being more popular, ...well, and so on.
However, leaving the question of how much effort the writers are putting into each type of product aside, I think one thing that makes the APs more interesting than single-issue adventures is the fact that the single adventures might actually be a bit too short.
In an AP, you usually have the first issue laying the groundwork, the second issue getting the main plot rolling, and then you are getting fully into the thick of things. On the other hand a single issue adventure has about 30 pages in which the situation needs to be established, the opposition introduced, and the opposition defeated, preferably with some additional things going on as seasoning. Because of this, the plots have to be relatively simple and straightforward and you can't really build up to anything great.
But still that doesn't mean that the Adventure Paths are the answer to everything. I am in university and when we're on a good roll, we have a game every two weeks, but usually more like one every three or four weeks. Since people graduate or switch universities and new people join frequently, the groups change often and I feel that running a full 6 issue Adventure Path seems rather risky to commit too.
To put it blunty, they are simply too long.
Three issues that would result in 8 to 12 games would be a lot more managable, but still having the big advantage of the neccessary space to give the whole campaign some amount of scope and complexity.
So this is my suggestion to the good writers and people in charge at Paizo: When it comes to planning the APs for the future, consider if it would seem worthwhile for you to try out one or two APs of three issue length and maybe see how people feel about them?
If they get positive feedback, it might be possibly to release future APs of different length in an alternating rythm of 6-3-6-3, or even just 6-6-3-6-6-3. Or perhaps keeping the main line running at 6 issues per AP and instead occasionally relase 2-part adventures in the regular Adventure Module line.
Either way, it would be a way to keep the quality that makes the APs great, while maybe making them more accessible to people.
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They actually took the opposite approach..... starting with the next module )I think its the next one) modules will be 64 pages long.
One of the most common complaints is that adventure paths do not go from level 1 to level 20.
Kicking off a new AP at Gencon is a VERY impotant marketeting tool for them.
Well, effectively doubling the length of the stand alone adventures would certainly adress exactly the issue I was pointing out. That's welcome news.
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Well, effectively doubling the length of the stand alone adventures would certainly adress exactly the issue I was pointing out. That's welcome news.
yup - The Dragon's Demand releasing in july is the first 64 page module
Funny thing is, there are some standalone adventures that lead into each other to effectively make 3- to 4-issue paths.
Creative Director
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The Adventure Path formula is one we've been refining for close to 9 years now, and the 2-per-year at 6 parts each version is actually working VERY well. Well enough that I am very wary about changing things up. At six parts, they ride the line quite well between too long and not long enough. Furthermore, we more or less have to launch an Adventure Path every August for Gen Con, so if we change up the length, it'd have to be in a way that doesn't mess that up.
The longer modules are, we hope, going to be able to present more substantial "one shot" mini campaigns.
We are waiting with anticipation!
(But not with held breath, that would be a bit too long.)
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Only problem that I have with 6 part APs... is there are TOO MUCH AWESOME!!!
Seriously... it takes us about a year and half to finish one... and by the time we do, they've released word on like THREE that we can't WAIT to play...
We finally finished Serpent skull... and now we're starting Kingmaker... but also loving the idea of Crimson Throne, Carrion Crown, Pirates, and possibly Reign of winter... There just isn't enough time in our LIVES left for the amount of awesome that we want to do...
Not even counting what ELSE they have in the pipeline waiting to spring one us.
Honestly, the idea of 3 part APs that get some good character development and growth... but we can wrap up in less then a year and move on to more exciting things... That does appeal to me :)
Still... Keep up the good work ^_^
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I'm for varying the length of APs so long as the total number per year ends up being 12 and one starts in August.
For example, they always talk about how hard it is going above level 14-17 in APs because high level content takes so much space. Going from 6 to 9 for one AP would allow them to have an extra-long climax and go all the way to 20 without cramming. And then they could follow it up with a shorter 3-part AP that's much more niche, such as the all-dwarf AP or the evil AP. Something that might be harder to sell people on for six months but might be possible as a shorter mini-campaign.
James Jacobs (I think) mentioned at one point that if they were going to tweak things in that way, it would be far more likely to do a 5-issue AP and a 7-issue AP (as opposed to 9/3 or 8/4). They have to factor in the fact that the 9/3 experiment might result in a large number of cancellations (from those who don't want a very long or very short AP). Keeping each one closer to 6 instalments would reduce that risk.
Of course, his next sentence was the ever-popular "we have no plans to do that". After all - why would they "fix" something that's working so well? (The APs still dominate the monthly "best sellers from paizo" lists, even after all this time).
Now that the new module format is out, I think the OP's request is pretty well covered. "Dragon's Demand" is basically a 3-adventure AP all in one book, taking characters from 1st to 7th.
-The Gneech
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Only problem that I have with 6 part APs... is there are TOO MUCH AWESOME!!!
Seriously... it takes us about a year and half to finish one... and by the time we do, they've released word on like THREE that we can't WAIT to play...
A year and a half to finish an AP? I wish my group advanced that quickly! We started playing "Rise of the Runelords" in June 2011, and we're only a little more than halfway through it!
A year and a half is pretty normal with the group I am playing with.
4 years on runelords. Only one we've finished.
But we are playing three at once, plus two homebrews.
Last game... we got ONE encounter done. ONE! Half of that though was that half the group quit in disgust and went back to the lodge rather than fight Izoze. In retrospect I shouldn't have forced the attack against her, but I was using it to allow the Grand Reveal of the goblin character who was riding inside human-sized mechanized armor.
(Well, technically I suppose it's two encounters. The interrogation of Rokhar was finished up, and the group returned her Ladyship back to town. Still, even if the game only lasted three hours I expected better of them! *sigh*)
In comparison, my Runelords group over Skype has been playing for less chronological time (but more sessions as they have less problems scheduling games) and just wrapped up Foxglove Manor.
I've realized that while I may love the idea of the Worldwound AP... neither group will get to it in the next year. *sigh* Ah well, I'll just integrate Mythic rules into the other games. ;)