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New DM needs help picking between three APs ...

Thanks Mandor! I was fairly sure what you meant, but I had to double-check. I don't think I'll need the excel sheet - handing out XP as suggested by the AP and following the 3.5 xp chart seems easy to me. And I'll have my Advanced temple ready to go.

Hopefully it will run smoothly because the adventure looks like a huge heap of fun.
New DM needs help picking between three APs ...
Gorbacz wrote:


Actually it's far easier, just use fast XP progression for 3.5 material. There, done.

Isn't one of the problems that Pathfinder PCs tend to be more powerful than 3.5? So wouldn't slower progression be preferred in order to keep player power in check? Or is the power difference not THAT big of a deal?

New DM needs help picking between three APs ...

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far.

Mandor wrote:


2. Award xp and level up characters using 3.5 rules.

Great advice, Mandor. Just to double-check, what precisely do you mean by "level up characters using 3.5 rules?" I feel a bit dense asking, but for some reason, I'm entirely sure what you mean.

New DM needs help picking between three APs ...

Hello everyone! I know these questions are asked frequently, but I'll really appreciate any advice you can offer.

I will be DMing a campaign for the first time ever. We will be using Pathfinder ... also for the first time. We're all busy people so I thought I'd run an Adventure Path to help soften the landing of DMing. Plus, I played the first part of Age of Worms a while back and it REALLY got me hooked on the concept of an AP.

Before getting my Pathfinder books in the mail, I'd been looking over the website and the reviews here and I had settled on Legacy of Fire. After getting the first adventure, I was even more impressed. It seemed perfect.

Except, upon reading the Core Rulebook, I realized that I don't really have the crunchy knowledge or time to appropriately convert everything to the Pathfinder rules and I'm afraid that if I run it "as written," I'll not only be burdening myself with keeping two rule sets in mind (and I don't know 3.5 all that well, since I only played 3.0), but potentially walking into some pitfalls with either overpowered players, overpowered monsters, inappropriate random encounters, poor treasure, etc. I noticed that in the LoF forum, someone is running a conversion thread, but it's only halfway (or less) through the first adventure and even combing over this nice person's thread will take some work.

Reluctantly, I've turned my attention elsewhere. My good friend is already planning to run Kingmakers - and that's fine, since I'm leery of such a giant sandbox on my first time out of the gate as DM. That leaves me with Council of Thieves or Serpent's Skull.

I don't have either of the first adventures for CT or SS, but my impressions from what I've gleaned online are...

Council of Thieves-
Pro: Our group tends to enjoy socializing, planning, diplomacy, etc. along with the good ol' hack n' slash. An urban setting is perfect for this.
Con: Most of the reviews have not been very favorable, especially of the first adventure. I'll admit that what I've read about it so far hasn't hooked me either.

Serpent's Skull-
Pro: The theme and setting seem interesting enough. Pirates and jungles sound entertaining to me.
Con: I'm worried that there won't be enough NPCs and social flavor for my group. Yes, there are the npc castaways, but I'm concerned that this won't be enough. I have one player who is going full on skill-monkey-diplomacy and while I'm sure he'd alter his character concept, he's really jazzed about the current concept.

Does anyone have any advice? Does Souls for Smuggler's Shiv have enough to keep a party that enjoys more than just struggling against jungle disease and voodoo zombies entertained? Is CT as bad as everyone says? Would it be a disaster to run LoF WITHOUT any conversions other than coming up with CMB and CMDs for the npcs? Keep in mind that this is my first time DMing!

Thanks in advance!
Full Name

Oloch
Race

Half orc
Classes/Levels

Warpriest 1
Gender

Male
Size

medium
Age

24
Alignment

CG
Deity

Gorum
Strength 18
Dexterity 12
Constitution 13
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 14
Charisma 10

About Etienne de Guerlin

[OLOCH
Male half-orc warpriest of Gorum 1
CN Medium humanoid (half-orc, human, orc)
Init +3; Senses darkvision; Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 13 (1d8+5)
Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +4
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee greatsword +5 (2d6+6/19–20) +1 to hit against foes he has
damaged in the last 24 hours
Ranged sling +1 (1d4+4)
Blessing Supernatural Abilities (3/day) glorious presence (DC 12),
war mind
Warpriest Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3)
1st—bless, shield of faith
0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, guidance
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats Toughness, Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Skills Intimidate +6, Perception +4, Survival +6; Armor Check Penalty –5
Traits reactionary, finish the fightBoG
Languages Common, Orc
SQ aura (faint chaos), bestialAPG, blessings (glory and war, minor), orc
blood, sacred weapon, spontaneous casting (positive)
Combat Gear acid, scroll of cure light wounds; Other Gear four-mirror
armorUC, greatsword, sling with 10 bullets, backpack, iron holy
symbol of Gorum, spell component pouch, waterskin, 6 gp 9 sp
--------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Aura Oloch’s chaotic aura is faint when using detect chaos.
Blessings Oloch can use any combination of his two blessing abilities
(glorious presence and war mind) 3 times per day.
Glorious Presence Oloch can touch an ally as a standard action. For one
minute, that ally is protected by a special sanctuary effect that doesn’t break for a particular enemy unless the ally attacks that enemy.
Orc Blood Oloch counts as both an orc and a human for any effect
related to race.
Sacred Weapon Oloch can do 1d6 damage with his greatsword.
Spontaneous Casting (Positive) Oloch can swap any of his 1st-level
spells for cure light wounds on the fly.
War Mind Oloch can touch an ally as a standard action. For one
minute, that ally can choose at the start of its turn to gain +10
feet to base land speed, +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 insight bonus to
attack rolls, or +1 luck bonus to saving throws. The choice lasts for
1 round.
Bless Oloch can give all allies in a 50-foot-radius burst a +1 morale
bonus to attack rolls and saves against fear for 1 minute.
Create Water Oloch creates 2 gallons of water within 25 feet. It lasts a
day if no one drinks it.
Cure Light Wounds Oloch’s scroll heals a touched target for 1d8+1
damage.
Detect Magic Oloch can notice magic in a 60-foot cone. If he
concentrates, he can find how many magic auras there are on the
next round and then attempt to find out more on the round after that.
Guidance Oloch can give a touched target a +1 competence bonus that
the target can use on any attack roll, saving throw, or skill check in
the next minute.
Shield of Faith Oloch can give a touched target a +2 deflection
bonus to AC for 1 minute, which increases touch, flat-footed, and
CMD as well.
------------------------------------------------------
Oloch has no memory of a time before pain—pain suffered, and
pain inf licted. A half-orc of the Haskodar tribe in Blisterwell,
Oloch was constantly forced to fight for survival against his larger,
stronger tribemates. Those who thought to casually bully the child
soon learned the error of their ways, for in Oloch’s mind, every fight
is a fight to the death, and anyone who pretends otherwise leaves
themselves vulnerable.
For a time he wandered the wilds, yet no ordinary beasts could
provide a proper challenge. Eventually he wound up in Urgir, where
he quickly found work as a government enforcer and champion.
Though on the surface he claims that his position ensures him a
steady supply of worthy opponents, in secret Oloch hopes to puzzle
out how to balance the orc and human inside himself and discover
the man he was born to be.
Oloch lives in the moment, relishing the red rush of battle and
the communion it brings him with his god. He’s not opposed to
working with—or even for—those he considers his equals, but those
individuals must take pains to show him proper respect. Perhaps
the only activity other than combat that truly brings him pleasure is
making music on his drum—and then only if it’s sufficiently riotous
as to echo the clamor of battle.