AP summary


Pathfinder Adventure Path General Discussion

Scarab Sages

Wondering if anyone could take the time to help me wit a project. Im running a homebrew game with several players half of whom have played alot o the APs and the other half who have never played in golarion. I want to have had some of the adventure paths to have happened but i don't know which all ones to make cannon in my world state. What i was hoping someone could help me with is if anyone could summarize all the APs, and what happens in them, and the repercussions that adventure path would have on the world. Like i know if Path of fire is complete, either their is a new city in khatapesh or a great spawn of Rovagug is rampaging in that part of the world. im just wating to know a summary o the aps and their possible outcomes


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Alrighty, let's see if I can take a stab at this. What follows is if the PCs succeed at the AP as it's written out. Some of these I have more experience with than others, so this is in no way exhaustive.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!:

Rise of the Runelords

One of the ancient Runelords of Thassilon, Karzoug, has been slain. A number of expeditions representing several different factions including the Pathfinders, the Aspis Consortium, Riddleport and Magnimar vye for control of Xin-Shalast, which still contains its own populations of giants, lamia, and other horrors. Thassilonian knowledge in general increases throughout the inner sea, and Magnimar in particular gains an increased presence from the Pathfinder Society which is headed by Sheila Heidmarch.

Curse of the Crimson Throne

After suffering under the short reign of Queen Illeosa, Korvosa is likely leaderless (or at least lacks a monarch) though remains a substantial power in the region. The mantle of Blackjack is likely passed on to a newer generation, who remains a hero committed to the common folk of the city state.

Second Darkness

The existence of the drow is revealed to the world at large, and the political landscape of Kyonin faces some upheaval, in particular the possibility that the secretive Winter Council is dissolved as an entity.

Legacy of Fire

The once small town of Kelmarane thrives following the events of an invasion lead by a powerful Efreeti noble. A group of heroes successfully stop the Efreeti from awakening a spawn of Rovagug said to be buried within the confines of Pale Mountain, and reform the group known as the Templars of the Four Winds lead by the Djinn Nefeshti.

Council of Thieves

The shadow curse afflicting the Chelaxian city of Westcrown is put to an end, and the people of the city no longer need to fear the rampaging shadow beasts which once stalked their city at night. The eponymous council of thieves which ruled Westcrown from the shadows is put down. The city flourishes without the malign influences of the council, and due to House Thrune's general disinterest in the city, it regains some of its former splendour from before the Chelish civil war.

Kingmaker

A new nation known as Narland (this is the default name for the kingdom if you run the AP without having the PCs do the kingdom building) prospers in the previously untamed wilderness of the Greenbelt of the River Kingdoms. As it grows it faces many struggles and conflicts, including rampaging undead, canny fey and wildlife, and even a war launched by their southern neighbor of Pitax. Even after putting down their mortal foe's advances, a surge of fey activity pits the kingdom against a previously unseen threat of the nymph sorcerer Nyrissa. Attempting to join her realm within the first world with the Greenbelt, she is ultimately defeated by the kingdom's rulers, and finally Narland finds the peace and prosperity it sought.

(Kingmaker is a very long adventure path spanning years of in-game time, so it could very well be going on well beyond the scope of the current AP's. It's really up to you.)

Serpent's Skull

A group of intrepid heroes are caught up in the politics and tensions of Sargava after surviving a horrific shipwreck. As they explore ancient ruins of the Mwangi expanse they learn of a missing ex-pathfinder agent with information crucial to the survival of the world. Delving into the ruins of an ancient civilization they come up against creatures that would see all of humanity cast down and made slaves: the serpentfolk. Battling the serpents and their aberrant allies, the heroes eventually come face to face with the avatar of the serpentfolk's dead god, Ydersius, and ultimately defeat it and stave off the subjugation of all humanity.

Carrion Crown

After attending the funeral of their departed friend and colleague Professor Lorrimor, a group of heroes uncover a dastardly plot to resurrect the depraved Whispering Tyrant. Braving hordes of the living dead, ghosts, werewolves, vampires and horrors from beyond the stars, the heroes manage to disrupt the plot at the shattered castle of Gallowspire and save the world from a Whispering Tyrant born anew.

Jade Regent

Following the tumultuous events of the Rise of the Runelords, the Tavernkeeper Ameiko Kaijitsu uncovers a scroll revealing secrets of her past. Journeying north with a group of friends and allies, she realizes her destiny as the true heir to the throne of the distant kingdom of Minkai. Travelling over the roof of the world while fighting off dark spirits and assassins, she eventually arrives at her long lost homeland. Rallying the common folk and throwing down their oni overlords, she leads her friends in defeating the Jade Regent of Minkai and taking her rightful place on the throne.

Skull & Shackles

Press ganged into service by virtue of poisoned ale, a cast of pirates unite together to take over the ship and take hold of their own destiny. Along the way to gaining recognition as true Free Captains of the Shackles, they uncover a plot that could spell the end of the Shackles as they know it. Defeating their old captain and gaining a base of operations, they rally their fellow free captains against an imminent invasion from the Chelish armada. After successfully defending their lands from the diabolical threat, they head for Port Peril and depose the reigning Hurricane King, crowning themselves the new rulers of the Shackles.

Shattered Star

A group of new Pathfinders set off on a journey to gather the lost shards of the Shattered Star, said to each represent a sin of lost Thassilon. Their journey leads them throughout the lands of Varisia, battling mites and boggards, succubi and death knights. Under the direction of venture captain Sheila Heidmarch, they manage to recover every piece of the shattered star and rejoin the artifact. Just as they are ready to revel in their victory, the ancient remains of Xin, once-ruler of all seven nations of Thassilon, arises to carry out a long awaited vengeance against the living world. The Pathfinders successfully defend the city of Magnimar from his wrath, and are able to forever record their names in the annals of Pathfinder history.

Reign of Winter

When it begins snowing during the height of Taldor's summer, a band of investigators are sent to find out what the cause of such a strange event could be. Uncovering a plot by the winter witches of Irrisen, the investigators are ultimately placed under a geas to aid the deposed Baba Yaga, who was betrayed by her very own daughter. They set off on a journey taking them across the lands of Golarion and the stars beyond, even finding their way to a place known as 'Earth'. There they slay one of the primary conspirators of the plot, a man known as 'Rasputin'. Successfully saving another of Baba Yaga's descendants, Anastasia, they descend into the depths of the cursed dolls the witch queen is trapped within. Defeating her treacherous daughter Elvanna, the heroes free Baba Yaga, who ends the coming eternal winter on Golarion, and place Anastasia on the throne of Irrisen.

Wrath of the Righteous

When the crusader city of Kenabres is sacked during one of it's greatest days of celebration, a group of heroes rises from the ashes and takes it back from the foul demons of the Worldwound. Imbued with a mythic power, they take the battle to the demons, successfully invading the worldwound and gaining ground in a new crusade. Stopping demon plots at every turn, they eventually gain a strange ally in a redeemed succubus who reveres Desna, and even ally with the demon queen Nocticula against her fellow demon lords Deskari and Baphomet. Utilizing a recovered artifact known as the Lexicon of Paradox, the heroes manage to slay the architect of the worldwound Areelu Vorlesh, and seal the abyssal rift once and for all.

Mummy's Mask

Victors of a lottery to delve into the tombs of the Osiriani city of Wati, a band of adventurers find themselves in the middle of a city gone mad when all of the dead rise at once. Putting down a mad necromancer is only the beginning of their worries when they recover a strange mask from his corpse. Suddenly on all sides they find themselves hunted by a mysterious cult, hellbent on recovering the mask. Studying history they find out that the mask belonged to the mad pharaoh Hakotep, and contains a piece of his soul. Battling the cult and the desolate sands themselves, the adventurers manage to pull the pharaoh's flying pyramid from the skies just as he launches an invasion of all of Osirian with a fleet of flying pyramids. In his own tomb they put down the mad pharaoh once and for all, reuniting the lost pieces of his soul so he might finally find the rest he was so long denied.

Iron Gods

Exploring a series of strange ruins beneath the town of Torch in Numeria, a group of adventurers are successful in not only saving their friend Khonnir Baine, but in stopping a plot to reactivate the ruins which could potentially destroy the town above. Tracking the perpetrators to the junkyard city of scrapwall, they ally with suffering factions as they depose the overlords there known as the Lords of Rust. Headed by a nefarious robot with sentience known as an 'A.I.', the adventurers manage to stop it's dark plans to ascend to godhood, but at the same time the heroes learn that other A.I.s exist with their own potential schemes. Allying with the memory core of one A.I. known as Casandalee, the heroes find their way to the capital of Numeria, where they depose the Black Sovereign and the Technic League. Discovering they too were under the thrall of an A.I. known as divinity from within the Silver Mount itself, the adventurers set out to halt Divinity's ascension to godhood while exploring the wondrous wreckage. Defeating Divinity once and for all, the adventurers instead gain the choice to boost Casandalee to godhood instead.

Giantslayer

Surviving an orcish attack on the city of Trunau, the heroes learn of a plot by local hill giants to gain favor with a Cloud Giant overlord. Setting out to stop the hill giants, the heroes learn that the Cloud Giant Volstus, naming himself the Storm Tyrant, has come into the possession of not only a flying castle, but also an orb of Red Dragons. With plans to take back the world from the smaller races with an army of giants and dragons, the heroes set out to defeat him in his own lair and stop the invasion before it can begin. Fighting through armies of stone, fire, and frost giants, the heroes eventually meet Volstus in battle in his flying keep, hovering above a massive volcano. Successfully defeating the Storm Tyrant, the heroes end his threat to the world.

Hell's Rebels

A band of natives of the Chelish city of Kintargo grow weary of Thrune rule when the devious Barzillai Thrune takes control of the city. Given legal justification due to the invasion of the Glorious Reclamation, the city is placed under strict martial law, and many leaders of the people are quickly assassinated or imprisoned. Rising up from the common folk, the heroes recreate the fabled rebel group of old, the Silver Ravens, and take the fight to Barzillai. Nearly too late they learn that his actions hid more devious purpose, for his plans were to ultimately become one with the land of Cheliax itself through a complex ritual which would give him absolute power. Stopping him on the mortal plane, the heroes also track him into Hell itself and destroy him there so he might never again trouble Cheliax. The heroes also manage to legally secede from Cheliax through infernal contract, making Kintargo the capital of a now free country of Ravounel.

Hell's Vengeance

Due to the Glorious Reclamation's bold victories over Chelish forces, a band of devious villains join together to bring vengeance upon the holy usurpers. Under direction of first a duke, then Queen Abrogail herself, the villains managed to halt the Reclamation's efforts at every turn across Cheliax, eventually bringing the fight to their home base at the fallen Hell Knight citadel of the Godclaw. Creating a weapon from the head of a slain gold dragon and ally of the Reclamation, the villains invade the recently conquered city of Westcrown and bring an end to the leader of the Reclamation herself.

Whoo! That was a LOT, and those are only brief summaries, really. I hope they were something like what you were looking for. I noticed that I sort of veered away from the results of the AP to just summarizing the AP, but I still hope it helps. Your best bet to learn more would be to read through the APs themselves, or at the very least the 'after the AP' sections in the 6th book of each installment. Good luck!

Scarab Sages

Yeah thats awesome thank you, are their any interesting repercussions you know of that would be interesting o include. Like i know in Regn of winter you can become the three horsemen. Any interesting little choices the pcs can make that would have far reaching concequences.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

If you're successful in Reign of Winter, then yes, Baba Yaga does in fact offer you a boon, and there's little beyond her ability. If you want to become one of her new Riders, then that's definitely something she can offer you.

Paizo Employee

Kelban Alenark wrote:
Yeah thats awesome thank you, are their any interesting repercussions you know of that would be interesting o include. Like i know in Regn of winter you can become the three horsemen. Any interesting little choices the pcs can make that would have far reaching concequences.

Shattered Star has an interesting choice at the end of book 5.

Dead Heart of Xin Spoilers:
Whether to reforge the Sihedron and, thereby, raise Xin's palace from the ocean floor and hit Magnimar with a tsunami. In effect, you get to choose whether or not to play book 6.

Second Darkness arguably has an interesting choice towards the end as well.

Second Darkness pseudo-spoiler:
Whether to reveal the existence of drow and their origin to the surface world.

I'm sure there are others.

Cheers!
Landon


Also for Dead Heart of Xin (iirc)

Spoiler:
His reliquary has a key that can be used to command a literal army of clockworks just chilling in his basement.


Honestly, I think all of the APs have notes on "Continuing the Campaign" that talk about repercussions, both for success and for failure.

Wrath of the Righteous:
If you succeed, the effect is pertty big: closing the Worldwound and ending the massive invasion of demons

Rise of the Runelords:
A Runelord is awake and conquering Varisia if you fail.

Curse of the Crimson Throne:
Interestingly, if you fail both Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne, you could wind up with *TWO* new powers fighting over Varisia.

Second Darkness:
This one has degrees of failure noted. If you fail this one completely, Kyonin and a big part of the land area around it can be wiped out... and there is terrible ecological devastation world-wide, though not as much as the original Age of Darkness. No pressure :) Partial success reduces the damages somewhat.

Kingmaker, as a sandbox, doesn't have much effect outside the River Kingdoms. Because the "Kingdom Turns" take months to play out, in a continuity with the other APs, it is most likely still early going even as we reach Strange Aeons.

It is also worth noting that most APs do not presume that others have occurred, but some exceptions exist. Jade Regent assumes at least Rise of the Runelords has occurred, for example, and Shattered Star presumes that the first 3 APs (Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, and Second Darkness) have all occurred. I believe that Wrath of the Righteous is another that assumes at least one other AP has occurred, though I can't recall which at the moment.

Shadow Lodge

Urath DM wrote:
It is also worth noting that most APs do not presume that others have occurred, but some exceptions exist. Jade Regent assumes at least Rise of the Runelords has occurred, for example, and Shattered Star presumes that the first 3 APs (Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, and Second Darkness) have all occurred. I believe that Wrath of the Righteous is another that assumes at least one other AP has occurred, though I can't recall which at the moment.

I could swear Hell's Vengeance assumes a successful Council of Thieves, which I guess means Hell's Rebels does too, even though it doesn't matter for that AP.

Paizo Employee

zimmerwald1915 wrote:
I could swear Hell's Vengeance assumes a successful Council of Thieves, which I guess means Hell's Rebels does too, even though it doesn't matter for that AP.

Yeah, Hell Comes to Westcrown assumes post-Council Westcrown, which kind of surprised me.

Cheers!
Landon


Nargemn wrote:

Alrighty, let's see if I can take a stab at this. What follows is if the PCs succeed at the AP as it's written out. Some of these I have more experience with than others, so this is in no way exhaustive.

** spoiler omitted **...

Pretty good. For a more detailed overview, check out the www.pathfinderwiki.Com entries for Adventures -- scroll down to Adventure Path and click on AP chapter titles.


Landon Winkler wrote:
zimmerwald1915 wrote:
I could swear Hell's Vengeance assumes a successful Council of Thieves, which I guess means Hell's Rebels does too, even though it doesn't matter for that AP.

Yeah, Hell Comes to Westcrown assumes post-Council Westcrown, which kind of surprised me.

Cheers!
Landon

Right.. and the entry on Xin-Shalast in Lost Cities of Golarion presumes that Rise of the Runelords ended successfully.

Interestingly, I believe James Jacobs has said that he has planned out how the APs affect the future of Golarion for the eventual "jump" in time to a new period for the world... which ones ended well, and which ones ended badly for the official canon.

Shadow Lodge

Urath DM wrote:
Interestingly, I believe James Jacobs has said that he has planned out how the APs affect the future of Golarion for the eventual "jump" in time to a new period for the world... which ones ended well, and which ones ended badly for the official canon.

There's advancement planned for the setting's timeline? Aww.

That being said, guesses!:
Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Legacy of Fire, Serpent's Skull, Carrion Crown, Reign of Winter, Wrath of the Righteous, Iron Gods, Giantslayer, and Hell's Vengeance must end in PC victory, because any degree of failure implies catastrophic consequences for the world (read: human dominance of the world). Second Darkness and Council of Thieves can end in something less than PC victory, because they come with degrees of failure built in. Kingmaker, Jade Regent, Skull and Shackles, Mummy's Mask, and Hell's Rebels can end in PC failure without catastrophic consequences for the world. Kingmaker's and Hell's Rebels's catastrophes are limited in scope. The Shattered Star PCs' failure actually heads off a catastrophe.

My proper guesses for failed APs include Second Darkness (partial - Kyonin is devestated but not wiped off the map, ecological devastation is averted, and the drow go public), Council of Thieves (partial - the Council is destroyed and the shadow beasts are purged, but the city is not revitalized and is further devastated by the end of Hell's Vengeance), Kingmaker (the Stolen Lands become a barren scar cutting through the River Kingdoms), Skull and Shackles (the Free Captains are smashed and Sargava is subjugated by Cheliax), Mummy's Mask (ancient undead pharaoh replaces existing dynasty), and Hell's Rebels (Ravounel is not independent, and Barzillai is contained).


^Wait, so what DOES go wrong if the PCs fail in Hell's Vengeance?


UnArcaneElection wrote:

^Wait, so what DOES go wrong if the PCs fail in Hell's Vengeance?

The world becomes a better place? Darn it! And puppy-kicking is outlawed! Chelaxian "Retirement Villas for Villains" goes bankrupt and many retired villains become homeless, fleeing the persecution of righteous do-gooders who want to ... gasp... hold them accountable for their actions!

Hell's Vengeance spoiler:
Cheliax descends into civil war again with House Thrune fighting hard just to survive against the forces of the Glorious Reclamation.

Shadow Lodge

Urath DM wrote:
UnArcaneElection wrote:

^Wait, so what DOES go wrong if the PCs fail in Hell's Vengeance?

The world becomes a better place? Darn it! And puppy-kicking is outlawed! Chelaxian "Retirement Villas for Villains" goes bankrupt and many retired villains become homeless, fleeing the persecution of righteous do-gooders who want to ... gasp... hold them accountable for their actions!

** spoiler omitted **

Hell's Vengeance:
I thought Abby just burned the whole country.

If Carrion Crown takes place and Wake of the Watcher is not completed successfully, the Outer God Shub-Niggurath can fully manifest in Golarion's reality, spawning an endless tide of monsters and beasts into the waters of Lake Encarthan which would quickly navigate the rivers to infest most of upper Avistan.

Between the sheer numbers and unorganized (and thus unpredictable) nature of the spawn, the lockdown of river trade, and the likely inevitable response by Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters, it would quickly become a very very bad place.


Urath DM wrote:
UnArcaneElection wrote:

^Wait, so what DOES go wrong if the PCs fail in Hell's Vengeance?

The world becomes a better place? Darn it! And puppy-kicking is outlawed! Chelaxian "Retirement Villas for Villains" goes bankrupt and many retired villains become homeless, fleeing the persecution of righteous do-gooders who want to ... gasp... hold them accountable for their actions!

Hell's Vengeance spoiler:
Cheliax descends into civil war again with House Thrune fighting hard just to survive against the forces of the Glorious Reclamation.

Considering how bad Cheliax is now, it is going to take more than that to make me think of this as a bad thing.


UnArcaneElection wrote:
Urath DM wrote:
UnArcaneElection wrote:

^Wait, so what DOES go wrong if the PCs fail in Hell's Vengeance?

The world becomes a better place? Darn it! And puppy-kicking is outlawed! Chelaxian "Retirement Villas for Villains" goes bankrupt and many retired villains become homeless, fleeing the persecution of righteous do-gooders who want to ... gasp... hold them accountable for their actions!

** spoiler omitted **

Considering how bad Cheliax is now, it is going to take more than that to make me think of this as a bad thing.

It is all a matter of perspective. From the viewpoint of House Thrune and its supporters, that's a horrible thing indeed. From the perspective of others? Perhaps not so much.

Hell's Vengeance:
Also, the PCs lose their souls to Asmodeus for failing to deliver on their Infernal Contracts.


Hell's Vengeance:
Aren't the souls of the P?Cs eventually going to Asmodeusu or one of his subcontractors even if they succeed?

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
UnArcaneElection wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Spoiler:
Only in the "They are evil so they are going to go to bad place when they die" way, once contract is fulfilled PCs get their souls back.
Shadow Lodge

UnArcaneElection wrote:
Considering how bad Cheliax is now, it is going to take more than that to make me think of this as a bad thing.

More to the point . . . :
. . . GR-administered areas were a pretty big improvement over Thrune-administered ones as long as they weren't the front lines. I don't have the final book (or the fourth book, for that matter), so I'm mainly thinking of Kantaria here rather than Westcrown. But if Kantaria's representative than you have abolition of corporeal punishment, abolition of torture, local autonomy, freedom of thought, emancipation of labor, and a fairly functional economy that can provide for people's needs. Kantaria was captured by coup de main and so would be better off than anywhere whose capture was contested. I don't mean to downplay that. But the point is, civil strife contains the possibility a new world even as it also contains the possibility of a common blasted hellscape.
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