|
The goal of this thread is to establish a consensus rating of the Paizo PFRPG Adventure Paths that may be ultimately compiled into a chart for reference by GM’s trying to figure out what adventure path to play.
Did you GM or play Shattered Star in its entirety? If so, please post your ratings here so they may be tallied for in a final posting that will show the results for all the adventure paths.
Please rank Shattered Star on a scale of 1-10 for each of the following categories (half points allowed):
1) GM Ease of Play: This category relates to how ready to play “out of the box” an adventure path is. Are there enough maps? Are the encounters properly detailed? Is a great deal of work required to play the modules? Readily scale-able? (1-10)
2) Synthesis of the Story: Does the story-line flow through all the modules in a way that leads the players along the path while not being so obvious as to knock them over the head rail-road style? (1-10)
3) Role-play Friendly: Are there enough opportunities for role-players to delve into the soft side of the game? Are there opportunities for well executed role-play to have a positive impact on the story line? (1-10)
4) Combat Design: Is the adventure appropriately powered for four well designed 15 point buy characters? Are there TPK-prone encounters that will probably disrupt the campaign? Will the players cruise through to the point of boredom? (1-10)
5) Fun factor: Did you have fun GMing the campaign? Did your party have fun playing the campaign? (1-10)
Links to other rankings:
I actually might finish Shattered Star tomorrow, so I will contribute to this thread when it's done.
Aaaand we're done!
1) GM Ease of Play: No major problems here, Shattered Star can mostly be played right out of the box. GMs might want to consult some supplements, though (Kaer Maga coming to mind). 8/10.
2) Synthesis of the Story: Well, it doesn't get any more railroad-y than "put together the seven pieces of an artifact". On the other hand, the party always has clear goals to accomplish. 6/10.
3) Role-play Friendly: The achilles heel. While there are friendly or neutral NPCs in most areas, some of these encounters come off as forced and some just plain don't work. 4/10.
4) Combat Design: Shattered Star is pretty well balanced in that regard. Notable exception is an encounter which occurs early in chapter three and is extremely dangerous. Other than that, it's not too easy and not too tough. 9/10.
5) Fun factor: It sometimes is a bit of a slog, even if you're aware that it's "the" dungeon-crawling AP. Not terrible, but one of the weaker ones. 6/10.