Insane KillMaster |
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On topic (and probably repeating myselves):
* Lycanthropes AP.
* ClockPunk/Steampunk/AlkenStar/Mana-Waste/Airships AP < Maybe we can beg Crystal.
* AP that happen entirely outside the Inner Sea region.
* AP on a different planet.
* AP in a different Solar System.
* AP in a different Galaxy.
* Extra-Planar AP.
* Vampires AP, to remove the Twilight effect.
* SciFi and/or Horror AP were the PCs are the SciFi/Horror.
* ?
Cole Deschain |
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If the Arcadian AP is done right, you could cover the Aztec/Mayan/Incan genre and the Jungle Exploration genre in one fell swoop!
If an Arcadian AP is done right, it will acknowledge inspirations from the real-world cultures that arose north of that muddy irrigation ditch we now call the Rio Grande.
Nutcase Entertainment |
The Beardinator wrote:If the Arcadian AP is done right, you could cover the Aztec/Mayan/Incan genre and the Jungle Exploration genre in one fell swoop!If an Arcadian AP is done right, it will acknowledge inspirations from the real-world cultures that arose north of that muddy irrigation ditch we now call the Rio Grande.
Yeah, "AmerIndians" weren't limited to Aztec, Mayan and Incan or South America.
P.S. I'm not using "amerindians" in any derogative term here.
UnArcaneElection |
captain yesterday wrote:Crystal is more complex then just Moar lasers!! She has varied interests.
She's already done adventures with roots in Alice in wonderland, and a undead invasion adventure.
Gorbacs made me think Crystal was an SF junkie, seeing him so happy must only mean one thing.
I hope the Alice in Wonderland theme is used instead of more SF because its SF.
So . . . Alice in Alienland?
Insane KillMaster |
Nightterror wrote:captain yesterday wrote:Crystal is more complex then just Moar lasers!! She has varied interests.
She's already done adventures with roots in Alice in wonderland, and a undead invasion adventure.
Gorbacs made me think Crystal was an SF junkie, seeing him so happy must only mean one thing.
I hope the Alice in Wonderland theme is used instead of more SF because its SF.
So . . . Alice in Alienland?
Isn't Alice in Wonderland already Alice in Alienland, or Alice in LoveCraftLand anyway.
Odraude |
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The Beardinator wrote:If the Arcadian AP is done right, you could cover the Aztec/Mayan/Incan genre and the Jungle Exploration genre in one fell swoop!If an Arcadian AP is done right, it will acknowledge inspirations from the real-world cultures that arose north of that muddy irrigation ditch we now call the Rio Grande.
Let's not forget the island chain between the Americas that is more than just pirates and colonials ;)
Yakman |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The Beardinator wrote:If the Arcadian AP is done right, you could cover the Aztec/Mayan/Incan genre and the Jungle Exploration genre in one fell swoop!If an Arcadian AP is done right, it will acknowledge inspirations from the real-world cultures that arose north of that muddy irrigation ditch we now call the Rio Grande.
Yup.
AND IT WILL HAVE FATHER SKINSAW!!!
http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/blog/the-southern-death-cult-the-maya-and -georgia/
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2011/03/americas_ancient_cave _art.single.html
I want my Arcadian Southern Death Cult.
Graeme Lewis |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My top 4, now that we've seen Iron Gods, would be the following (barring an Arcadia AP, since we'd need a Dragon Empires-style guide for that, probably, and JJ said that that's not likely to happen soon):
1. The Living God No More! Razmir has ruled his kingdom with an iron fist for a long time, but now he's made a significant stride toward true Godhead. Bring down the False God, and free Razmiran!
2. The Revolution Ends Here! In Galt, a small group has decided to take justice into their own hands, freeing the country from the mad bloodlust of its leadership. But will the blood-soaked Final Blades allow peace?
3. A Whole New World! A bedraggled traveler comes from a passageway to the Underdark with horrifying news: the drow have constructed an Elf-Gate, and intend to take over all of Castrovel. Kyonin seeks heroes willing to protect their ancient home!
4. War Is Coming! Chu Ye and Kaoling have allied for the purpose of subjugating all of Tian Xia. Under their combined might, even Lingshen is likely to fall. Traders from Goka seek adventurers looking to end the alliance and stop the vile army once and for all!
Wszebor Uriev |
lol. after the last couple of years, I've given up trying to guess what the devs are doing and thinking that my input has any influence on their decision-making process.
Having said that, I hope the next AP is entertaining. If it is, I'll get it, regardless of the setting. Funds permitting, I may even re-up my AP subscription if they can entice me enough.
Andre Roy |
Not sure if it was covered or not already, but an Underwater AP could be an interesting one.
I could see something around the Ironbound Islands involving Aboleth/sckum and gillmen. It could even be an opportunity to expand on the low Azlanti/Gillman and maybe introduce some new underwater races (or make use of 3rd party underwater races.
Andre Roy |
Gark the Goblin wrote:I think "underwater AP" is one of the all-time favorites of this thread.Would require some extra rules, and might need to be a "non standard" AP.
True, that would definitely need some extra rule (maybe something similar used by Alluria Publishing in their Celurean Seas line for 3D underwater combat) as wel as maybe some new "underwater race" to complete the gillman and aquatic elf.
Maybe triton, merfolk, maenad, malenti, koalinth (Aquatic hobgoblin) and maybe skum or sahuagin could be some new underwater PC races to look at.
zimmerwald1915 |
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Arcadia! A return to exploration and hex grinding only this time in a strange and challenging environment would be great.
You make it sound so appealing.
Hexploration by its nature caters to the 15-minute adventuring day. Not that you only spend 15 minutes exploring the hex, but rather, you're likely to only have one encounter per hex you explore. So in order to make it really challenging the party needs to cover multiple hexes per day or the encounters themselves need to be consistently APL+3 or higher.
I'm not even sure that's a bad thing. Such a format would cater to the demands for a "hard mode" AP that goes to level 20 that I've seen floating about.
Cole Deschain |
Hex-grinding was the worst thing (arguably, the only thing I really considered bad, as opposed to just "not my cuppa") about Kingmaker.
I would hope any future exploration AP would employ a less-clunky mechanic, because I do not play Pathfinder to relive the daily struggles and tedium of the time I spent surveying.
Hayato Ken |
J-Bone wrote:Arcadia! A return to exploration and hex grinding only this time in a strange and challenging environment would be great.You make it sound so appealing.
Hexploration by its nature caters to the 15-minute adventuring day. Not that you only spend 15 minutes exploring the hex, but rather, you're likely to only have one encounter per hex you explore. So in order to make it really challenging the party needs to cover multiple hexes per day or the encounters themselves need to be consistently APL+3 or higher.
I'm not even sure that's a bad thing. Such a format would cater to the demands for a "hard mode" AP that goes to level 20 that I've seen floating about.
That´s per se not true. Most people play it like that yeah, but as far as i remember there should have been random encounters everywhere.
And exploring one hex can easily hold 3 or more encounters, what makes a lot more sense if you ask me. That´s a lot of content of course, but doable i think. And instead of single big monsters there could just be more of them.Firstbourne |
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Hex-grinding was the worst thing (arguably, the only thing I really considered bad, as opposed to just "not my cuppa") about Kingmaker.
I would hope any future exploration AP would employ a less-clunky mechanic, because I do not play Pathfinder to relive the daily struggles and tedium of the time I spent surveying.
It wasn't the AP - it was the GM.
Cole Deschain |
It wasn't the AP - it was the GM.
Having read the thing after playing it, and then run it myself?
No, it was definitely the mechanical approach presented in the AP that I disliked.
Kalindlara Contributor |
S'mon |
3: Distant Worlds sci-fi. Explorations of the Dark Tapestry, battles against the Dominion of the Black and space monsters. Yum!
I'm definitely jonesing for a Space Opera AP - I'd run it in 5e D&D, but conversion doesn't seem to be a problem (my 5e Shattered Star conversion campaign is going great). I'd like a bit of a Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers feel in amongst the Eldritch Horror, so plenty of friendly-ish NPC factions, lots of "GORDON'S ALIVE?!!" - "VALEROS IS ALIVE?!!" I guess. :D
S'mon |
From my experiences with Kingmaker, the only way to do random encounters is to not grant xp for them. Otherwise, the party goes wildly over the expected level.
Giving 10% of listed XP would fit with 1e AD&D type norms. Players would still avoid random encounters. You could give the bulk of XP for goal-based achievements equivalent to 1e's XP-for-GP.
Hayato Ken |
From my experiences with Kingmaker, the only way to do random encounters is to not grant xp for them. Otherwise, the party goes wildly over the expected level.
I think most people just grant a level when it´s about time instead of counting xp.
It also seems to me that many people want APs to learn from the mistakes of past APs (what doesn´t mean any AP was bad per se or something).
To me stand out:
-new mechanic systems which are more or less still in betatesting phase. New mechanics can be very exciting, but should really be improved and tested more before.
-"Grand tours", be it like in Carrion Crown or Jade Regent. Things are just too disconnected often or crammed and like in Jade Regent do other things (Tian Xia) a real disfavor.
-Improve overall consistency and avoid obvious "fillers". In many APs there´s this one book which many feel doesn´t really fit in somehow.
-Change some encounters. There´s too many BBEG which are difficult to adapt for many GMs. Instead, give options for (better) minions or just make encounters with more foes more often. Encounter diversity is also a thing sometimes.
-Bookfilling or too large dungeons. Everybody knows dungeons are a staple of the genre and have their fans. Just including a large dungeon in an AP to have a dungeon isn´t a favor for anyone though, especially when they are not as connected to the story ot take away spotlight from the main theme (aka Jade Regent).
Without having them played or run yet, it seems to me HR and HV make some of those things better.
ALso visit some new regions! Tian Xia, Casmaron, Arcadia, even the underwater thing! Iron Gods was one of the best APs so far and really did a great job.
J-Bone |
Some of the problems I'm hearing here about hex grinding seems to come from a deep adherence to run-as-written style of running an AP. The beauty of hex grinding is that it opens so many opportunities to go off script, add parts or the whole of a module, or more personalized stories for the characters. To the point that it sets up the 15 minute work day, my answer is why? The GM can combine encounters or string them together to create a bigger challenge. If you bump into that odd encounter with a Grizzly, whose to say a hunger pack of hodaks won't mind coming by and poaching a snack? If you roll 2d8 Boggard why not run that as a hit and run engagement instead of a straight here are 4 boggards, roll initiative.
So yes please. More hex grinding.
J-Bone |
Kalindlara wrote:From my experiences with Kingmaker, the only way to do random encounters is to not grant xp for them. Otherwise, the party goes wildly over the expected level.I think most people just grant a level when it´s about time instead of counting xp.
It also seems to me that many people want APs to learn from the mistakes of past APs (what doesn´t mean any AP was bad per se or something).
To me stand out:
-new mechanic systems which are more or less still in betatesting phase. New mechanics can be very exciting, but should really be improved and tested more before.
-"Grand tours", be it like in Carrion Crown or Jade Regent. Things are just too disconnected often or crammed and like in Jade Regent do other things (Tian Xia) a real disfavor.
-Improve overall consistency and avoid obvious "fillers". In many APs there´s this one book which many feel doesn´t really fit in somehow.
-Change some encounters. There´s too many BBEG which are difficult to adapt for many GMs. Instead, give options for (better) minions or just make encounters with more foes more often. Encounter diversity is also a thing sometimes.
-Bookfilling or too large dungeons. Everybody knows dungeons are a staple of the genre and have their fans. Just including a large dungeon in an AP to have a dungeon isn´t a favor for anyone though, especially when they are not as connected to the story ot take away spotlight from the main theme (aka Jade Regent).Without having them played or run yet, it seems to me HR and HV make some of those things better.
ALso visit some new regions! Tian Xia, Casmaron, Arcadia, even the underwater thing! Iron Gods was one of the best APs so far and really did a great job.
Hayato Ken is so right about the silly encounters to just fill space and keep the game on some experience point track. Thankfully my groups have gone to growing number of groups who just level at the pace of plot. Please get rid of the filler fights and use that space for more role playing encounters.
Cole Deschain |
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The beauty of hex grinding is that it opens so many opportunities to go off script, add parts or the whole of a module, or more personalized stories for the characters.
All things I can do on my own without making it a requirement for advancing the overall plot.
It's just another dreadful, godawful, terrible form of random encounter table, something I have long since lost any use for. It's exactly the sort of "filler fight" people claim to hate.
So no thank you. No more hex grinding, if you please. Give me more fully fleshed-out NPCs and detailed plots better than what I can whip up on my own with a bestiary, a map, and ten minutes.
Benchak the Nightstalker Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8 |
I think hex stuff is most fun when there's a reason to explore hexes.
Kingmaker tried to do this with its kingdom building stuff to a degree--certain hexes had valuable resources, or you wanted to build roads through a region, or you needed to expand your farmland, which necessitated pushing your borders.
That made it feel less like grinding through hexes for xp, and more like "I want that hex, and I will kill as many giant spiders as I need to to have it!"
J-Bone |
J-Bone wrote:The beauty of hex grinding is that it opens so many opportunities to go off script, add parts or the whole of a module, or more personalized stories for the characters.All things I can do on my own without making it a requirement for advancing the overall plot.
You could rewrite all of these campaigns on your own if you wanted, I don't know many GMs who don't rewrite significant portions of the APs. Hex grinding is no different.
Cole Deschain |
You could rewrite all of these campaigns on your own if you wanted, I don't know many GMs who don't rewrite significant portions of the APs. Hex grinding is no different.
Yes it is.
I can "do" hex grinding with a bestiary, a map, and ten minutes."And in this little river valley you find..."
Rewriting an entire campaign and populating it with NPCs? Not so much.