LMPjr007 |
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While this question does tie into the previous question we asked, What D&D campaign setting would you like to see converted for Pathfinder? and a project we are currently working on, what we want your answer to be based on the simple question: Name the four best adventure writers for Pathfinder?
Loren Peterson |
1.Richard Pett (brutal and ingenuity driven adventures that make you think, rather than apply force)
2.Brandon Hodge (Rasputin Must Die, 'nuff said)
3.Neil Spicer (his modules have a true sense of adventure and conquering the unknown)
4.Greg A. Vaughn (great modules. Night of frozen shadows and wake of the watcher are excellent)
Runner up: Nicolas Logue (delightfully twisted and dark)
Lord Gadigan |
Interesting question, and one where my opinion has changed over time. My current thoughts:
1. F. Wesley Schneider: He wrote what I consider to be the best PF Adventure Path installment, Seven Days to the Grave. He also has written some of my favorite support / setting / supplemental material.
2. Greg A. Vaughn. He wrote my favorite dungeon-crawl adventure (Skeletons of Scarwall) and has some other generally-solid offerings (Witch Queen's Revenge, Spires of Xin Shalest, The Varnhold Vanishing).
3. James L. Sutter. He gets here more for his non-adventure writings (having written my top setting supplement, Distant Worlds, and my favorite books from the novel line), but his adventures (Asylum Stone) are very good too.
4. Brandon Hodge. For making Rasputin Must Die work and ending up with a fantastic adventure that dissuaded my earlier opinions of 'adventures set on Earth are a bad idea'; The Dead Heart of Xin was also good.
Edit: If we're doing runners up, Neil Spicer, though I also considered Richard Pett for spot 5.
Gerald |
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Interesting question, and one where my opinion has changed over time. My current thoughts:
1. F. Wesley Schneider: He wrote what I consider to be the best PF Adventure Path installment, Seven Days to the Grave. He also has written some of my favorite support / setting / supplemental material.
I told someone on these boards tonight that Seven Days to the Grave was the best AP adventure ever written, as well. Or, if not the best, at least my favorite adventure.
Wrath |
1 James Jacobs. He plans the APs. Paizos APs are second to none.
2. Richard Pett. Everything of his that I've read has been gold.
3. Neil spicer.
4. Greg A Vaughn.
I'd put Nic Logue in there but I haven't seen one of his in a long time. I believe he's slated to write for iron gods though, so I'm looking forwards to that.
Cheers.
Garrett Guillotte |
I can't name the four best because I haven't read nearly enough of them to judge. But I can name my favorites!
1. Neil Spicer. Consistently excellent adventures. Fires of Creation, Sword of Valor, Realm of the Fellnight Queen, and The Empty Throne put him here.
2. Tim Hitchcock. Like Neil, prolific and consistent. Stolen Land and Carnival of Tears are classics.
3. Crystal Frasier. The Harrowing is far and away my all-time favorite Pathfinder Module, Empty Graves was excellent, and if she kills it on The Divinity Drive she'll move up this list. The only thing holding her back is relatively short credits list on non-PFS modules (and most of her PFS modules are ahead of the ratings curve, too, so I should probably check them out).
4. Rob McCreary, for Rivers Run Red and The Godsmouth Heresy, but also for his excellent support work.
HM: Amber E. Scott, who hit The Worldwound Incursion out of the park. Mike McArtor, for Children of the Void. Mike Welham, for Doom Comes to Dustpawn. Brandon Hodge, for Rasputin Must Die!.
Chuck Wright Layout and Design, Frog God Games |
Joshua Goudreau |
Greg Vaughan
James Jacobs
Crystal Fraiser
Brandon Hodge
And dozens more....
Also, I recently started a thread about the best Dungeon Magazine adventures and there are a lot of familiar names cropping up here.
W E Ray |
Okay I'm not completely ready to join with my vote yet but,...
Following is a list with the major players involved and all their Pathfinder adventures.
(Note that their pre-Pathfinder adventures are not listed nor is their Pathfinder material that isn't an adventure. Please also note that I did not include the "Set Pieces.")
Apologies to the authors I've missed.
Greg Vaughan
Spires of Xin-Shalast .... Rise of the Runelords
Skeletons of Scarwall .... Curse of the Crimson Throne
Shadow in the Sky .... Second Darkness
The Impossible Eye .... Legacy of Fire
Mother of Flies .... Council of Thieves
The Varnhold Vanishing .... Kingmaker
Vaults of Madness .... Serpent’s Skull
Wake of the Watcher .... Carrion Crown
Night of Frozen Shadows .... Jade Regent
Shards of Sin .... Shattered Star
Raiders of the Fever Sea .... Skull & Shackles
The Witch Queen’s Revenge .... Reign of Winter
The Midnight Isles .... Wrath of the Righteous (w/ James Jacobs)
Into the Haunted Forest
River into Darkness
The Witchwar Legacy
The Watcher of Ages . PFS
Where Dark Things Sleep . PFS
King Xeros of Old Azlant . PFS
Murder on the Silken Caravan . PFS
James Jacobs
Burnt Offerings .... Rise of the Runelords
City of Seven Spears .... Serpent’s Skull
The Infernal Syndrome .... Council of Thieves
The Midnight Isles .... Wrath of the Righteous (w/ Greg Vaughan)
Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv .... Serpent’s Skull
The Twice-Damned Prince .... Council of Thieves (w/ Brian Cortijo)
The Emerald Root .... Emerald Spire
Erik Mona
Howl of the Carrion King .... Legacy of Fire
The Throne of Azlant .... Emerald Spire
Requiem for the Red Raven . PFS
Stephen S. Greer
Sins of the Saviors .... Rise of the Runelords
The Demon Within .... (w/ Tim Hitchcock)
Gallery of Evil
Tower of the Last Baron
No Response from Deepmar
Neil Spicer
Ashes at Dawn .... Carrion Crown
Blood for Blood .... Kingmaker
The Empty Throne .... Jade Regent
Sanctum of the Serpent God .... Serpent’s Skull
The Snows of Summer .... Reign of Winter
Sword of Valor .... Wrath of the Righteous
Island of Empty Eyes .... Skull & Shackles
Fires of Creation .... Iron Gods
Realm of the Fellnight Queen
The Faithless Dead . PFS
Michael Kortes
The Haunting of Harrowstone .... Carrion Crown
A History of Ashes .... Curse of the Crimson Throne
What Lies in the Dust .... Council of Thieves
Entombed with the Pharaohs
The Pact Stone Pyramid
Silent Tide . PFS
The Mantis Prey . PFS
Nicolas Logue
The Hook Mountain Massacre .... Rise of the Runelords
Edge of Anarchy .... Curse of the Crimson Throne
Hangman’s Noose
Crown of the Kobold King
Revenge of the Kobold King
Carnival of Tears .... (w/ Tim Hitchcock)
Mists of Mwangi . PFS
The Pleasure Gardens .... Emerald Spire
Richard Pett
Escape from Old Korvosa .... Curse of the Crimson Throne
City of Locusts .... Wrath of the Righteous
Forest of Spirits .... Jade Regent
Into the Nightmare Rift .... Shattered Star
The Sixfold Trial .... Council of Thieves
The Skinsaw Murders .... Rise of the Runelords
Sound of a Thousand Screams .... Kingmaker
Trial of the Beast .... Carrion Crown
The Wormwood Mutiny .... Skull & Shackles
Carrion Hill
Tim Hitchcock
Broken Moon .... Carrion Crown
House of the Beast .... Legacy of Fire
Maiden, Mother, Crone .... Reign of Winter
The Price of Infamy .... Skull & Shackles
Racing to Ruin .... Serpent’s Skull
Stolen Land .... Kingmaker
Carnival of Tears .... (w/ Nic Logue)
Broken Chains
The Demon Within .... (w/ Steve Greer)
Hungry are the Dead
The Spire Axis .... Emerald Spire
The Walking Rune . PFS
To Scale the Dragon . PFS
The Chasm of Screams . PFS
The Darkest Vengeance . PFS
Decline of Glory . PFS
Encounter at the Drowning Stones . PFS
The Hydra’s Fang Incident . PFS
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained . PFS
Race for the Runecarved Key . PFS
Monte Cook
Curse of the Riven Sky
Wolfgang Baur
Fortress of the Stone Giants .... Rise of the Runelords
Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth .... Wrath of the Righteous
Crucible of Chaos
The Tomb of Yarrix .... Emerald Spire
Brian Cortijo
Descent into Midnight .... Second Darkness
The Twice-Damned Prince .... Council of Thieves (w/ James Jacobs)
Academy of Secrets
Sean K. Reynolds
The Drowned Level .... Emerald Spire
Drow of the Darklands Pyramid . PFS
Tito Leati
Crown of Fangs .... Curse of the Crimson Throne
Beyond the Doomsday Door .... Shattered Star
Tide of Honor .... Jade Regent
Brandon Hodge
Shadows of Gallowspire .... Carrion Crown
The Dead Heart of Xin .... Shattered Star
Rasputin Must Die .... Reign of Winter
Feast of Ravenmoor
From Shore to Sea
F. Wesley Schneider
Endless Night .... Second Darkness
Seven Days to the Grave .... Curse of the Crimson Throne
Hollow's Last Hope
Rob McCreary
The Final Wish .... Legacy of Fire
Rivers Run Read .... Kingmaker
City of Seven Spears .... Serpent's Skull
Voice in the Void . PFS
Jason Nelson
The End of Eternity .... Legacy of Fire
From Hell's Heart .... Skull & Shackles
The Hungry Storm .... Jade Regent
War of the River Kings .... Kingmaker
Jim Groves
Demon's Heresy .... Wrath of the Righteous
The Half-Dead City .... Mummy's Mask
The Shackled Hut .... Reign of Winter
Murder's Mark
The Frostfur Captives . PFS
The Golden Serpent . PFS
The Green Market . PFS
The Haunting of Hinojai . PFS
Matt Goodall
The Frozen Stars .... Reign of Winter
Tempest Rising .... Skull & Shackles
Cult of the Ebon Destroyers
Plunder and Peril
Wrath of the Accursed . PFS
Rise of the Goblin Guild . PFS
Amber E. Scott
The Worldwound Incursion .... Wrath of the Righteous
Crystal Frasier
The Harrowing
Below the Silver Tarn . PFS
The Bloodcove Disguise . PFS
Delirium's Tangle . PFS
The Midnight Mauler . PFS
Mike Shel
Curse of the Lady's Light .... Shattered Star
Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh .... Mummy's Mask
Tomb of the Iron Medusa
The Dragon's Demand
The Ghenett Manor Gauntlet . PFS
In Wrath's Shadow . PFS
The Glass River Rescue . PFS
Rich Baker
The Clockwork Maze .... Emerald Spire
Chris Pramas
Shrine of the Awakener .... Emerald Spire
James L. Sutter
The Asylum Stone .... Shattered Star
Seven Swords of Sin .... (*I* disqualify him as the author; he is the Editor.)
W E Ray |
Okay this was harder than I thought it'd be. I pretty much knew beforehand that Greg Vaughan was going to be my choice for the best, easily confirmed when I started looking at the list and comparing. What I didn't expect was to have such problems with who comes just after Vaughan or how surprised I would be at my conclusions! I was also quite surprised at how many of these there are that I haven't read or played yet.
Note that my choices are ONLY based on Pathfinder adventures. Nothing outside of Pathfinder influenced my choices.
1) Greg A. Vaughan (Most prolific, always strong, sometimes Brilliant, Simply the BEST.)
2) Neil Spicer (I was shockingly surprised by this one but his work is GREAT. Consider me a new fan!)
3) Richard Pett (Probably the best adventure writer of the last 15 years when you count his pre-Pathfinder material.)
4) Nic Logue (I wish we had more current stuff for Paizo -- who doesn't!?)
dmchucky69 |
What a simply horrible question.
Pretty much all of them. I'd like to see more of Steve Greer, I miss the hell out of that guy. I'm partial to Greg Vaughan, since he wrote Kings of the Rift and is from Oklahoma like me. Nick Logue is up there, cause he is a sick guy (like me). Wolfgang Baur is up there too, cause he loves ghouls.
But I like Neil Spicer, cause he writes well and is just a really nice guy (I talked to him for a bit in the Paizo line at Gen Con). I like Tim Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge and James Sutter and Wes Schneider. Erik Mona and metal (yeah, I started that monster); plus Whispering Cairn. Nuff said on that. James Jacobs, loves horror flicks and wrote Into the Wormcrawl Fissure. Sean K Reynolds, knows the gods like nobody's business and can eviscerate a forum troll with a spoon. How about Tito Leoti or Michael Kortes? Amber Scott? Crystal Fraiser? Oh yeah. That Richard Pett guy (forever trying to emulate Logue's acumen...lol).
I can't pick just 4; too hard.
Oceanshieldwolf |
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Best 3PP Adventure writers -
Looking at Midgard Tales (MT) and Journeys to the West (JttW), as well as others from Kobold Press:
Ted EJ Reed - On the Fourth Day we kill them all (vikings!) in MT and The Ship that never was in JttW (pirates and moar!)
Ben McFarland - To Resurrect the Steigenadler [also the PF conversion of Wolfgang Baur's Courts of the Shadowfey and the seminal Breaking of Forstor Nagar module for Rite Publishing]
Tim Connors - Atop the Warring Blasphemies in MT a seriously adventurous romp on living behemoths engaged in slow-motion battle replete with a skincrawler dragon, hanging shanty towns, corpse ladders and tentacle bridges, oh and internecine tribal war between vying goblin factions including a goblin witch-doctor/shaman wielding a vril lightning baton.
Brian Suskind Murder, Fathoms Below (underwater/submersible mystery!) in JttW and Five Trials of Pharos in MT
Crystal Frasier The Stacks Between in MT a fantastic library demiplanar adventure filled with interesting denizens and oozing with dark and demented atmosphere.
Sadly I don't have Tales of the Old Margreve or I'm sure I would add more adventures and authors, Tim Connors for one, and perhaps Ben McFarland again?
John Benbo RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8 |
Orthos |
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Creighton is pretty awesome, starting with THIS - which also stars Marc Radle. Great guy to work with all-around, really.
Also, whoever did The Horn of Geryon. I can't find a name, but it is made of awesome.
Marc Radle |
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Creighton is pretty awesome, starting with THIS - which also stars Marc Radle.
Thanks so much for the nice words! I really put my heart into writing the Sunken Pyramid, so it's wonderful to hear folks like it :)
CaelibDarkstone |
Top four, in no particular order:
Erik Mona: The Whispering Cairn (the start of the Dungeon Age of Worms campaign), became a go-to example of what a level 1 AP scenario should be like. Howls of the Carrion King follows the same standard.
Neil Spicer: Incredibly articulate even in forum posts, his debut Pathfinder Module is full of quirky NPCs. His take on fey is always interesting.
James Jacobs: There is No Honor (the start of the Dungeon Savage Tide campaign), was a blast. When he shares a title credit with another author, though, I usually take it as a sign that time was short.
Crystal Frasier: I've only read her adventure in Mummy's Mask (Empty Graves, also missing in the list above), and it's the main reason I want to run that AP. That adventure seems to stick pretty close to the guidelines for wealth per encounter, etc. in ways that are a bit conspicuous, but that just means she has more room to improve on an already solid style.
Honorable Mention:
Tim Hitchcock: The first adventure writer (besides the editors-in-chief of Dungeon) whose name I looked for.
Louis Agresta Contributor |
Athansor |
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My two favorites are Greg Vaughn and Nicolas Logue. I really wish there was more current Nicolas Logue stuff, I always get excited when I see something coming out that's written by him.
So many others are way up there... Crystal Frasier, James Jacobs, Richard Pett, Neil Spicer, Tim Hitchcock, Lou Agresta, Liz Courtz, etc. I'd be hardpressed to order favorites after Vaughn and Logue.
P.S. Just to plug some of my favorite writers I thought I'd mention the Road to Revolution and the Great City. 3rd party content that I feel needs way more publicity since any time I mention it in conversation people don't know what I'm talking about. How many of you didn't know this existed?
The thing I like most is that if you search for The Great City on paizo you'll find more maps, side quests and supporting information for that campaign (and the Great City) than any other AP I've ever seen and it's all by writers that have been mentioned multiple times in this thread.
justmebd |
Vaughan -- Skeletons of Scarwall is, perhaps, one of the best constructed scenarios of the last 10 years. Plus, I think he's a Sith Lord.
Pett -- No one does detail like this guy.
Spicer -- His construction of events and setpieces leave me giggling in mad glee
Hitchcock -- This guy is creepy in every way you want
Logue -- Pure evil
Groves -- Old School fun every time
Shel -- You are going to die, just accept it. He does make sure you have a hell of time while you are being killed, maimed, and or tortured by nightmarish traps, though.
Hodge -- Brilliant and just plain fun to read.
Schneider -- If I don't include him, he might put a Varisian curse on me. That's just how good he is.
Leati -- I don't think I ever recovered from Crown of Fangs. My therapist said I should try again, so I went through the Doomsday Door. Send cash, not flowers. Doctors aren't cheap.
Vaughan is No. 1, the rest are tied for second. I refuse to rank further.
Charlie Bell RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16 |
1. Richard Pett
2. Brandon Hodge
3. Neil Spicer
4. tie between Greg Vaughan and Wes Schneider
I wouldn't put James Jacobs in the running because he doesn't write a lot of AP chapters, but Burnt Offerings is classic in the same vein as Keep on the Borderlands.
Honorable mention to Michael Kortes--Haunting of Harrowstone was, IMO, the best first AP chapter since Burnt Offerings.
roysier |
My list would be:
1st-Richard Pett – I loved; Escape from Old Korvosa, The Skinsaw Murders, Trial of the Beast, The Wormwood Mutiny, and Carrion Hill
Tied for 2nd: Brandon Hodge/Matt Goodall/Tim Hitchcock/Neil Spicer/Greg Vaughan
I also really loved The Harrowing, but Crystal Frazier to me doesn’t have a big enough body of work that I have run or played yet to put on the list.
But all in all almost everything put out in the AP line and Module line is excellent, there are a few stinkers but that's pretty rare.
GeraintElberion |
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GeraintElberion wrote:I would put Logue at the top for Razor Coast alone.To be fair, while RC is Logue's brainchild/heartchild/creative c-section, and he wrote about a third of the core book, Hitchcock wrote the other third.
I love when those two collaborate. Carnival anyone?
- Lou
In my perfect world, those two are housemates in a sprawling gothic plantation-owners house.
Without outside influence they would shred most of their work in drunken arguments but the need to compete with Pett's creative output is just too strong.
Also, given my Razor Coast love, I should definitely add Agresta to the list!