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Pathfinder #1—Rise of the Runelords Chapter 1: "Burnt Offerings" (OGL) PDF

4.40/5 (based on 76 ratings)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #1: Burnt Offerings (Rise of the Runelords 1 of 6) (OGL)

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We Be Goblins—You Be Food!

The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path begins here, in the small coastal town of Sandpoint. Five years after a tragic fire and spate of brutal murders, the people of Sandpoint eagerly anticipate the Swallowtail Festival to commemorate the consecration of the town's new temple. At the height of the ceremony, disaster strikes!

In the days that follow, a sinister shadow settles over Sandpoint. Rumors of goblin armies and wrathful monsters in forgotten ruins have set the populace on edge. As Sandpoint's newest heroes, the PCs must deal with treachery, goblins, and the rising threat of a forgotten empire whose cruel and despotic rulers might not be as dead as history records.

This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path and includes:

  • "Burnt Offerings," and adventure for 1st-level characters by James Jacobs.
  • An exploration of your PCs' new hometown of Sandpoint, by James Jacobs.
  • A history of the ancient empire of Thassilon, by Wolfgang Baur.
  • The first installment of the Pathfinder's Journal, by Erik Mona.
  • Six new monsters by James Jacobs, Richard Pett, and F. Wesley Schneider.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-035-3

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

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4.40/5 (based on 76 ratings)

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5/5 —

5/5 —

One of the best campaigns ever starts here. Runelords has everything for the traditional fantasy adventure: a village base, some wilderness adventure and a couple dungeons to explore. I can't recommend it enough.

It All Begins Here!

5/5 —

NO SPOILERS

"Burnt Offerings" was the first issue in Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Path monthly series and the first part of the oft-praised and (deservedly so) Rise of the Runelords campaign. Each issue of the series is 96 full-colour pages and comes with 1 part of a 6-part adventure and several useful pieces of supplemental material. The back-matter fleshes out locations, monsters, NPCs, prestige classes, historical events, magic items, or almost anything else that could be in some way relevant to either the present adventure path or other adventures in the campaign world of Golarion. Some of the supplementary articles are perfectly suitable for players to read, but others may contain spoilers of varying degrees, and thus players should always consult the GM before reading any of the issue.

Before trying to track down each of the individual issues of the adventure path, which can be difficult to do since some issues are out of print apart from PDFs, keep in mind that the entire thing has been collected and updated in the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path hardcover. These early adventure paths were published before Paizo had actually released the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and thus they're based on D&D 3.5 rules--which are very similar, but different in a few spots. Realistically, you only need to buy the individual issues if you're a true completist or can't afford the hardcover; even most of the back-matter has been reprinted somewhere or another.

I'm going to start this review, counter-intuitively, by starting with the back-matter first. The method to my madness is that the first 2/3 of the book are the adventure, and that needs to be put underneath a spoiler warning. Before going into great detail, a word for readers who are in a hurry: the quality of the writing in this book (both the adventure and the supplementary material) is simply fantastic, and I can't imagine anyone regretting taking the time to read it or use it in their games.

The first part of the back-matter is a thirteen page gazetteer of the town of Sandpoint, the small town on the southwest coast of Varisia where the adventure path begins. Sandpoint is inspired by author James Jacobs' hometown, and the loving and detailed attention it receives makes it a great place for the PCs to spend their time. Sandpoint isn't a crazy, exotic starting location; in many ways, it resembles a traditional fantasy small town. The NPCs and locations within it, however, are fleshed-out so well that players will quickly start to care about what happens to it, and that's why it works. There's enough history and secrets to Sandpoint that, even apart from the adventure path, it could serve as the perfect homebase for PCs undertaking a wide variety of campaigns. This section contains a nice map of the town with all major locations noted. There are cartoony pictures of some NPCs, and frankly they're not very good; that art style has long since been abandoned by Paizo in favour of a more "realistic" style.

The second part of the back-matter is an eight-page history of the ancient, fallen empire of Thassilon. Due to the title of the adventure path and references in the Rise of the Runelords Players Guide, it's no secret that the campaign relates, in some way, shape, or form, to the legacy of Thassilon. This section talks about the domains and rulers of Thassilon, their strange relationship with magic, the gods they worshipped (some still recognized, others lost to time), and, finally, speculation on what caused the fall of the empire. Much of the information here is not directly relevant to the adventure path, but it's extremely well-written and could serve as the seed for many campaigns in the future; as indeed it has, given my understanding of later adventure paths. This section contains sidebar summaries of what happens in later chapters of the adventure path, so it shouldn't be read by players.

Next, there's a six-page section "Opening Moves" that is an overview of the Pathfinder Society, an in-universe organization of lore-seekers and treasure-hunters. In later issues, this will be replaced by fiction, but I found it helpful to see some background on what the Society's leadership, lodges, and chronicles are like.

The last major section is a ten-page bestiary, introducing five new potential threats: the Sandpoint Devil, the Goblin Snake, the Sinspawn, the Attic Whisperer, and the Goblin Dog. Only two of the five appear in the adventure path (and only one in a significant way). Of the five, I think the most interesting and original are the Sandpoint Devil (a one-of-a-kind "cryptid" inspired by the Jersey Devil), the Attic Whisperer (a really creepy idea of an undead that forms around orphanages and schools), and the Sinspawn (aberrations from ancient Thassilon). These entries are all written in to 3.5 specification (as discussed above) and have been updated elsewhere to their "Pathfinder Roleplaying Game" format, but I still enjoyed seeing them here because I think, oddly enough, they're often given more description than they receive in more constricted format of a bestiary.

The back-matter concludes with a page of four pre-gens for players who just can't wait to have fun, and then a couple of pages of ads for the next issue.

I don't know about you, but I enjoy the back-matter so much I regret that I'm avoiding spoilers on other adventure paths, because otherwise I'd consume all of it!

*SPOILERS*****

I finished running players through Burnt Offerings several weeks ago, so my review is premised on that. I should note that I used the Anniversary Edition, but my understanding, based on the Paizo forums, is that this part is not significantly changed from the original except for the addition of one (admittedly quite useful) non-combat encounter. My plan for reviewing adventures like this is to cover them just as the book does, by dividing them into separate parts.

Burnt Offerings starts with about 2 1/2 pages of background to both the adventure path as a whole and to this particular chapter. At first blush, the meta-plot might not sound all that original: an ancient, incredibly powerful wizard, is planning his return and will dominate the land until heroes rise up to stop him. What sets this story apart, however, is the incredibly rich detail given this wizard (a Runelord of ancient Thassilon named Karzoug), his minions, and his plans. There's a lot to be written about Karzoug, but I'm going to wait until reviews of later chapters of the adventure path because he's not directly relevant to this chapter. Indeed, the events of this chapter are almost accidentally caused by his awakening. Instead, the primary villain for this chapter is an aasimar (a celestial/angel-like race) woman named Nualia, who grew up in Sandpoint but now seeks vengeance upon it for wrongs she perceives have been done to her. To this end, Nualia has started assembling an army of goblins to wreak havoc on the city, and this is the ultimate threat the PCs must stop in Burnt Offerings. This section offers background on Nualia and her evolution from the beautiful child of the town priest into a demon-worshipping evil cleric with a monster claw for a hand!

Before going further, a brief word on the artwork. It's a mixed bag. Some of it is quite well-done and of the type you would still see Paizo publishing today; other bits of it are quite ugly, and has been replaced in the Anniversary Edition collection.

Part One, "Festival and Fire", sees the PCs assembled (for their own individual reasons) at Sandpoint's Swallowtail Festival where the dedication of a new cathedral is about to take place. The event is marred by a surprise attack from goblins coming from multiple points in the town and, of course, the PCs have to help repel the attack. The one thing you and your players will take away from this chapter (if not the adventure path as a whole!) is that Pathfinder goblins are not generic "D&D" goblins. Instead, Pathfinder goblins are crazy, ridiculous, vicious, murderous sociopaths! Hilarious oafs one second and gruesome spree-killers the next, the way author James Jacobs has reoriented goblins really makes this chapter "pop." This first part of the chapter definitely gets the PCs into the stream of things quickly and forges that "bond of battle" that is important to keep groups going forward. GMs should pay careful attention that an NPC who is (presumably) saved from a goblin attack is extremely important in Chapter 2, and some advance thought should be given into how to role-play him. My only critique is that I wish the Swallowtail Festival had been fleshed out better (before the attack) to give some better role-playing opportunities; there are some extremely useful fan-made ideas on the forums that do this, which I really liked: content to the speeches given, rules for the festival games that are played, etc. This part is playable in a single evening and gets the adventure path off to a good start.

Part Two, "Local Heroes", sees the PCs lauded in Sandpoint for their role in foiling the goblin attack. This is actually my favourite part of the first chapter of the adventure path because it includes several standalone encounters in Sandpoint (combat and non-combat) that can be run organically, and for the most part in different orders, so that the GM can drop them into the campaign as necessary while still allowing plenty of time for the PCs to get to know and love their new hometown. The mix of encounters is strong: a boar hunt (that may or may not involve combat but builds crucial narrative later), dealing with a goblin commando trapped behind "enemy" lines (quite gruesome, and just to my taste!), hearing about rising danger from the goblin tribes around Sandpoint (a bit of an "infodump", but done well and featuring the introduction of an important NPC ally), and, perhaps the most fondly remembered early encounter for most groups: "The Shopkeep's Daughter", wherein a male PC might find himself in deep trouble for "seducing" the lascivious daughter of a grim shopkeeper. It's laugh-out loud hilarious in concept and meaningful in execution: my group hasn't been able to shop at the Sandpoint General Store for something like twenty sessions running now! The session ends with the kidnapping of another well-realized NPC, Ameiko Kaijitsu (owner of The Rusty Dragon, a tavern many PCs will end up staying at during their time in Sandpoint). This event sets up the next part.

Part Three, "Glass and Wrath", sees the PCs on what's really their first organized mission as a team: rescuing Ameiko from goblins (led by her brother!) who have taken over the town's glassworks and slaughtered its employees. There's a lot more detail given to the Glassworks than is probably necessary since this was a cakewalk for my players and (from what I understand on the forums) most groups. However, a trail leads the PCs to catacombs far under Sandpoint dating to ancient Thassilon, and there they get a first hint that the dangers they face aren't just goblins. The Catacombs of Wrath are a good "mini-dungeon" to give the PCs a taste of dungeon-delving and a good chance for them to start to develop some of the tactics they'll need to survive later parts of the adventure path. I have to note that the "boss" of the Catacombs of Wrath, a quasit (tiny winged demon) named Erylium, is a really unusual monster: she's very tough to kill (high DR, invisibility at will, flying) but also does hardly any damage. The unusual combination means that fighting her can last a *long* time; my group had to give it three tries, each lasting the better part of a session, to finally kill her! Of course, your mileage may vary.

Part Four, "Thistletop", sees the PCs venture out of Sandpoint and to an island-based goblin fortress. Their goal is to hunt down Nualia and put a stop to her wicked ways before she can launch a mass invasion of Sandpoint and/or free a mysterious, incredibly powerful ally from the catacombs beneath the fortress. Taking on Thistletop will probably require some good forethought by the PCs or multiple "brute force" expeditions. There's a lot to deal with: a well-guarded approach on the mainland, a trapped bridge (that killed one of the PCs in my game) to the island, a main level infested by goblins, and two subterranean levels filled with other threats, including Nualia. Perhaps the coolest thing about Thistletop, which most players probably don't realize, is that the whole island is actually the head of an enormous statute from ancient Thassilon sitting on its side! Anyway, there's a good mix of encounters here, with the goblins fairly easy to mop up but some of the other NPCs much tougher. Assuming the PCs do capture or kill Nualia (mine didn't; she escaped after managing to kill half the party), the players will finish Burnt Offerings with a sense of achievement and satisfaction, and be well-primed to start the next chapter of the adventure path.

When I think of Rise of the Runelords, what sticks out to me the most is how pitch-perfect it is in tone. It is intelligent, edgy, clever, and dark, all while still allowing plenty of room for the PCs to make their mark on the world. I know I've had a blast running Burnt Offerings, and I'm confident you will too.

Changes between single issue & hardcover collection comparison!

5/5 —

Because enough reviews about this excellent product have been written, i´m gonna compare it with it´s upgrade to the Pathfinder rulesset in the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition hardcover and list the differences for people who are wondering what got lost on the cutting room floor.

Inside covers: The sihedron symbol with the seven runes is not reprinted.
The rather crude old goblin artwork throughout the book is completely replaced by new art.
"Nualia´s story get´s an illustration in the HC.
The "Swallowtail Festival" get´s a map: Flip-Mat: Town Square - i wish Paizo would produce one for every AP book.
"The desecrated vault" scenario is added. Aldern Foxeglove´s head art is replaced by a fullbody image (fbi).
"Trouble at the Rusty Dragon" scenario is added. Shalelu Andosana´s head illu is exchanged for a fbi. Tips for additional encounters are given.
The battle maps in AP#1 are not cut off at the edges like the ones in the HC and show more as a result. Also the room numbers are all inside the rooms and not at the end of some added lines, which makes the maps look much better in AP#1. Tsuto Kaijitsu´s fbi is replaced with a new one. Handout 1-2 is added.
Erylium get´s a new fbi. The half-page illustration of Seoni vs. a vargouille from page 28 is not reprinted. Koruvus fbi is exchanged for a new one. There is a new half-page illu on page 39 of the HC of Merisiel vs. a Sinspawn. Foreshadowing the sinkhole is added.
The half-page illu of Valeros and Seoni vs goblins atop Thistletop is not reprinted.
Bruthazmus´ old fbi is replaced with a new one.
Orik Vancaskerkin´s old fbi is replaced with a new one.
Lyrie Akenja´s old fbi is replaced with a new one.
Nualia´s old fbi is replaced with a new one.
The half-page illu of valeros vs Malfeshnekor is replaced with a new one.
The half-page illu of Sandpoint on page 58 is replaced by a new one on page 371.
A half-page illu of Junker´s Edge is not reprinted.
Das Korvut´s, Niska Mvashti´s and Ameiko Kaijitsu´s (very different looking) upper body illu is not reprinted.
Jubrayl Vishki´s headshot is replaced with a new one.
Kendra Deverin, Abstalar Zantus, Aliver Podiker, Ven Vinder, Shayliss Vinder, Norah the Hagfish, Titus Scarnetti and Lonjiku Kaijitsu get an upper body illustration, Brodert Quink a fbi.
The Thassilon article and it´s two half-page illus are not reprinted in the HC.
The Pathfinder´s Journal article is not reprinted in the HC.
The Giant Gecko third-page illu on page 89 is not reprinted elsewhere, the rest of the Bestiary creatures are reprinted in Bestiary, Bestiary 2, Bestiary 3 and the Inner Sea World Guide.

While the HC collects, expands and updates everything needed for the campaign, a lot of things (mostly illustrations) are not reprinted.
If you wonder what the now iconic characters looked in the past or if you want to play this in 3.5, this pdf is certainly worth it.

List of miniatures needed for battles:

10 Goblins (54 in all)
4 Goblin Dogs (13 in all)
2 Skeletons
1 Boar
1 Half-Elf
2 Sinspawn (3 in all)
1 Vargouille
1 large Goblin Mutant
11 zombies
1 Quasit
1 Firepelt Cougar
1 Horse
1 Giant Gecko
1 Bunyip
1 Bugbear
1 human male fighter
1 human female wizard
1 human female fighter
1 Tentamort (as no mini exists use a Darkmantle)
2 Yeth Hounds (3 in all)
3 Shadows
1 Giant Crab
1 Greater Barghest

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Verdant Wheel

Uh, thank you very much. i didn´t seen that.
Scarab Sages

Just got through reading my first Pathfinder AP purchase - just as thrilled, maybe more, than as with Shackled City. A sheer extraordinary amount of detail on the town and NPC motivations, ranging the gamut of personalities.

My only complaint, and this is minor, is the font used on the map numbers is sometimes very hard to read. Having not read later issues (yet!) I don't know: was improved later?

Plissken wrote:

If I get Rise of the Runelords AP, does it describe enough of the setting (both descriptive and visual) to show my players? Or will I have to eventually purchase the campaign setting book?

Has anyone played this in a different campaign setting like Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms?

I am preparing to run the adventure in FR. I am setting Sandpoint about 100 miles NW of Waterdeep (along the coast and tucked next to the Sword Mountains) - it fits surprisingly well, with Luskan as the "lawless city to the north", and Waterdeep as the cosmopolitan metropolis nearby.

I wanted Netheril to fill in for the Thessalonians, so I had to stretch the expanse of their empire and ruins, but it is not unbelievable to think they had outposts essentially in Illefarn.

It was tricky converting some deities, as not everyone meshes up nicely, but FR has more choices than Greyhawk, so I feel the end results capture the spirit, if not exact nature, of the Golarion Pantheon. And luckily, Lamashtu is a demon lord for FR anyway!

My only crutch so far is that I feel Xin Halast should be part of Thay, but I am concerned this might create some problems with later modules...any thoughts?
Dark Archive

Looks like it's no longer available.. bummer.. now where am I gonna find it..
Paizo Employee CEO
Jason Beardsley wrote:
Looks like it's no longer available.. bummer.. now where am I gonna find it..

Hey Jason:

Yep, we are really low on almost all of the Rise of the Runelords AP. I know that I do have some copies of #1 that have some dings and scrapes on them, but nothing more than using them would do anyways. We inventoried them on Friday and I will get them up on the website on Monday for your consumption. But we are only talking about maybe 30 copies at the most there, so you are going to want to buy early.

Also, we still have a few of the Alternate cover version available, so you can get the 1st volume that way!

-Lisa
Dark Archive
Lisa Stevens wrote:
Jason Beardsley wrote:
Looks like it's no longer available.. bummer.. now where am I gonna find it..

Hey Jason:

Yep, we are really low on almost all of the Rise of the Runelords AP. I know that I do have some copies of #1 that have some dings and scrapes on them, but nothing more than using them would do anyways. We inventoried them on Friday and I will get them up on the website on Monday for your consumption. But we are only talking about maybe 30 copies at the most there, so you are going to want to buy early.

Also, we still have a few of the Alternate cover version available, so you can get the 1st volume that way!

-Lisa

Looks like I failed my spot check! I completely forgot about the Alt cover! Thanks!!

Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Anybody record the goblin's song on MP3 yet? Thought that would be nice to play in the background as I slaught- *ahem* start the adventure with my players...
mattdroz wrote:
Anybody record the goblin's song on MP3 yet? Thought that would be nice to play in the background as I slaught- *ahem* start the adventure with my players...

Have you tried to search these awesome messageboards...? Well here is one goblin song :)

Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Cormac wrote:
mattdroz wrote:
Anybody record the goblin's song on MP3 yet? Thought that would be nice to play in the background as I slaught- *ahem* start the adventure with my players...
Have you tried to search these awesome messageboards...? Well here is one goblin song :)

Thank you very much. That's exactly what I was looking for. ;)

Aaaaaaaargh! Are there not anymore of these?!?!?! I checked on sunday and there were still 10....... any one.... Please?

EDIT: Darn...that was on the 7th... Anyway, the quetion stands.
Hugo Solis wrote:

Aaaaaaaargh! Are there not anymore of these?!?!?! I checked on sunday and there were still 10....... any one.... Please?

EDIT: Darn...that was on the 7th... Anyway, the quetion stands.

If it helps, Amazon.com still has PF1 listed on two separate pages, actually, the first of which has only 1 left, so I'd order it now if I were you, because the other page says that it ships in 1-3 months, and in my experience that basically means that you're not going to get it from them. Amazon also has 10 or so used copies, some of which look like they're being sold by stores and are in pretty good condition (of course, that's what the description says. It could be misleading). Ebay has one auction, which also includes PF4 (only 1 day left, though!) Link to the auction. Barnes & Noble has a single copy of it, but its used and is selling for close to $70.

Completely off topic so to speak, but I saw there is a movie called Burnt Offerings and it is about an evil possesed mansion... kind of like in the sequal to this adventure.... Any relation or shout out there? :P
Iziak wrote:
Hugo Solis wrote:

Aaaaaaaargh! Are there not anymore of these?!?!?! I checked on sunday and there were still 10....... any one.... Please?

EDIT: Darn...that was on the 7th... Anyway, the quetion stands.

If it helps, Amazon.com still has PF1 listed on two separate pages

Thanks Izank. Got my copy from them, brand new and included a Players Guide...so, not a big loss. I would have prefered to get it from paizo...but lost my chance.

Thanks again!

Just wondering how long this takes to play through? I know it differs for everyone, but could someone who has played it share how long it took them? (Then I can double it to accomodate us novice players looking through the Player's Handbook for every second roll we have to do!:P )
Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

My group usually meets once a month for a long 12 to 14 hour day and we have been playing for a bit over a year and are just ready to move into the sixth installment. The early adventures (first 3 chapters) took us about 30 hours of play each and then in the fourth it was more like 40-50 hours. The fifth (not quite done) was probably about the same as the fourth.

Hope that helps.

I am running this one right now and I am having a blast taking my pc's through Thistletop.

In response to Abe's question, we play biweekly for about 6 hours. It will take approximately a month and a half to finish one module, eight months to finish one whole adventure path.

I am trying to talk my Sunday group, which has the same players as my Wednesday group, into going over to pathfinder. That way it would allow us to finish these adventure paths at a much faster rate.

Thanks eirip and Shem.

Any word on when these will be available again? By the looks of things, they've been out for a while now.
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Abecedarian wrote:

Thanks eirip and Shem.

Any word on when these will be available again? By the looks of things, they've been out for a while now.

If you mean the print edition, we have no plans to reprint it anytime soon.

Hello

I am looking to GM something for my Players this winter and I have been looking around alot on the old web and stumbled over this AP (rise of the runelords)A lot of good things has been said about it and I have the first path of the campaign on PDF now and I've been skimming it. Now for some questions for you who already have played it.

I'm not a big fan of those cartoonish goblins, seems a bit childish even though the are evil. Does it work to exchange them for some more evil looking goblins, Moria style maybe, or does that ruin this setting/style/adventure in any way?

I've never liked race-heavy RPG settings so I wanna ditch gnomes, halflings, half-orcs/elves. Just keeping dwarfs, humans and elves, do you see that workable in this setting?

Happy for any answer
Liberty's Edge

I've played through the first book; I think the clownishness of the goblins helps magnify their wickedness, but I think playing them straight wouldn't take anything away from the experience necessarily.
Liberty's Edge

I don't know if all that ditching would be a bad thing necessarily either. However, I'm usually against it from a standpoint of letting players play what the hell they want to play within reason, nothing to do with setting per se.

Thanks for the quick answers

It's a rare day when my players decide to roll anything except a human so I'm not worried about their likings ;) I wanna ditch those races entirely from the setting, just not as playable characters. I guess I have to re-race some of the NPCs. But if this path later on turns out to evolve about the gnomes and their history or something I've messed up if I thrown them out from the setting so I just wanna be sure that it works.

Still I am in for some heavy tinkering anyway as I wanna use most of the rules from True 20 mixed with the Beta... Maybe I just should play a computer game instead ;)
Sovereign Court

I would say that eliminating elves from the Golarion setting would be hard (although it wouldn't hurt RotRL that much, so far as I can see). Of course, it wouldn't be hard to forbid them as player races (most PC elves in Golarion aren't typical elves, in any case, having grown up in human society).
Scarab Sages

I think he was talking about ditching half-elfes - not elves - not so hard as far as I see. Ditching gnomes is no problem for this AP as well, but I'd advice to read about pathfinder gnomes first - the gnomes of golarion are more or less a fey race with a lot of "otherworldly" potential, so even or especially in a world with fewer races they might be appealing (as kind of spooky fey npc).
I see no problems in changing what you want to change in the first (or second) AP - third (second darkness) might be a different story as it seems to resolve around elves and drow - might be a bit harder to adjust.
Sovereign Court

Oh yeah, you're right.
Liberty's Edge

The last time some dm decided to ditch gnomes on me....
my mom got me 4 garden gnomes for a Christmas gag, so the was set up around the game table for atmosphere.

I'm a newb here, and I was flipping through the first pathfinder book and this was my question. The Fighter in the back has quite a few feats for a 1st lvl fighter. Is this new or variant rules?
Sovereign Court
Devastation Bob wrote:
I'm a newb here, and I was flipping through the first pathfinder book and this was my question. The Fighter in the back has quite a few feats for a 1st lvl fighter. Is this new or variant rules?

He's a human so an extra feat for that and one for 1st level fighter and one for 1st level character and I think that in the volume there's some Varisian feats from which you can take one as a freebie.

I remember being a bit confused at some of the sorceror's skill bonuses, but that might have been an error on my part.

I am considering starting a campaing that uses the pathfinder D&D3.5 rules and maybe also use these adventure paths.
With this book being labeled #1 it would appear the natural choice to start out with.
But is has been published a way back.. Is it still worthwhile using to start fresh or would I better get a subscription and go with the stuff that's put out right now?
Sovereign Court
thom_raindog wrote:

I am considering starting a campaing that uses the pathfinder D&D3.5 rules and maybe also use these adventure paths.

With this book being labeled #1 it would appear the natural choice to start out with.
But is has been published a way back.. Is it still worthwhile using to start fresh or would I better get a subscription and go with the stuff that's put out right now?

The adventure paths are not dependent upon other adventure paths. So you can start with any of them and it would be just as valid. As for Rise of the Runelords specifically, it's just as worthwhile, fresh, and vital as it was when it was published last year. So the bottom line is... start with any one of the adventure paths that you want to start with. And have fun! :)

Thanks for the answer.
What I find to be a problem is that the #1 is not available as a printed version from paizo any more, and amazon and ebay have proven rather expensive for my taste..too bad..
Grand Lodge
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber
thom_raindog wrote:

Thanks for the answer.

What I find to be a problem is that the #1 is not available as a printed version from paizo any more, and amazon and ebay have proven rather expensive for my taste..too bad..

Try #7 instead ... that's the 1st issue of the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP.

-Skeld
Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

Each adventure path is 6 issues - so Curse of the Crimson Throne starts at 7, and Second Darkness starts at 13, and Legacy of Fire will begin at 19 in February. I think that you will love them and once you start you will want everything you can get. I agree with the above - start with #7 because experience says that they will go out of print in the next six months to a year and you will want them. You have more time with the others.

Once you get into these you will want to find issues on ebay or buy the PDFs. Personally, I keep mine in pristine shape and print out the PDF's to do my gaming from. I have a large binder for each adventure path. The supplemental material may go into the same binder (with tabs) or may go into another binder for a certain subject like the dieties. I have them all together in a binder.

I even printed out the BETA rules and use them in a binder with tabs to find things easier. I am very happy getting the PDFs. Life is good.

Drope me a line when you become a true believer (supersubscriber)...

Came across both a solution and a new problem..
Luckily I found an online store that still sold AP #1 and following. Since they ship to germany I am a happy camper.
I would however love to have the pdfs, but since I don't have a credit card nor am I a US resident there seems no (legal) way to get those...
thom_raindog wrote:
I don't have a credit card

You can get quite decent offers for a card, and they're quite useful.

It'll carry you over until Paizo gets around to offering PayPal.
Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

You will need that card because once you get your Pathfinders you will want to subscribe. Subscribers get the hardcopy for the cover price and the PDFs for free (which would start when you subscribe). Also, there are many subscribers from outside the US.

Thanks. I will be looking into the credit card issue in due time. Until then:
According to an employee of one of the many shops I contacted in search for them, AP#1 and #3 would be going to reprint sometime soon. Anything official from Paizo on that?
Dark Archive
thom_raindog wrote:

Thanks. I will be looking into the credit card issue in due time. Until then:

According to an employee of one of the many shops I contacted in search for them, AP#1 and #3 would be going to reprint sometime soon. Anything official from Paizo on that?

Paizo's official stance, for the present, is no plans for reprints for the past Pathfinder volumes. They did reprint Pathfinder 2 but I do not think they will be doing any more at least through the end of 2009.

But one can always hope ! And if you manage to do order from Paizo directly, make sure you take advantage of the Pathfinder discount, it will save you up to 30 % off there current issues and an additional 15 % past volumes. There is an additional 10 % holiday discount through the end of January, that saves quite a little bit on top of the other discounts if you get an entire adventure path.

Best of luck !
thom_raindog wrote:
...but since I don't have a credit card nor am I a US resident there seems no (legal) way to get those...

Thom, I don't have a credit card either. However, if you have a Visa cashpoint card, or suchlike, that can be used to subscribe, or make any other internet purchases that you wish. Ask at your bank if you're unsure whether it can be used.

Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber
thom_raindog wrote:

Thanks. I will be looking into the credit card issue in due time. Until then:

According to an employee of one of the many shops I contacted in search for them, AP#1 and #3 would be going to reprint sometime soon. Anything official from Paizo on that?

The currently do not plan to reprint them.

This is why up above we suggested starting with #7 which starts a new adventure path - Curse of the Crimson Throne. You can always buy the PDFs from the Paizo site for those early issues, but they do not plan to reprint. I would say buy what you can of issues 1-6 and when you have the money buy the back issues on ebay or amazon but for now start with #7 and join us. Also, Second Darkness started with number 13 and the last issue of that path comes out this month. And next month the 4th adventure path begins - Legacy of Fire. They are all good and fairly self contained.
Paizo Employee CEO

Shem is correct, we don't have any plans to reprint any of the out of print volumes. It just doesn't make financial sense because you need a large portion of the reprint to go out the door within the first 30 days, or you suffer a big cash flow drain. Reprints tend to trickle out the door slowly, thus causing that much hated cash flow drain. On top of it, reprinting sold out volumes of Pathfinder causes competition for current APs, which we DO have stock of. One thing I learned from my tenure at WotC when we bought TSR is that giving too many options divides the consumer base and leads to the collapse of a business. I would really only like to have about 3 APs available in full at any given time. Hopefully by this summer, Curse of the Crimson Throne will start to sell out just as Council of Thieves starts.

I hope this clarifies our position on reprints and WHY we are doing what we are. Thanks for your interest!

-Lisa
Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

I just checked ebay and they have issues 2-6 at reasonable buy now prices and you can use paypal. I am sure if you keep checking back you will find one eventually.
Liberty's Edge

Hopefully you will forgive a bit of shameless self promotion but ...

I happen to have a few of these on Ebay right now, including the first volume, Burnt Offerings:

Pathfinder RISE OF THE RUNELORDS AP set of 3 books
(Burnt Offerings, Fortress of the Stone Giants, Spires of Xin-Shalast)
Item number: 200297522500

direct link

... end shameless self promotion :)
Liberty's Edge

Hi all,

Just wanted to let everyone who might be interested that this auction ends tomorrow (Sat, Jan 17th) so, if you need any of these volumes, please feel free to check the auction out!

Thanks!
Scarab Sages

I had posted this over on the GM Discussion thread, but, perhaps it'sore appropriate here?

May seem minor, even real trivial to some, but, its pretty important for a project deadline I'd like to meet.

Spoiler:

In the Adventurer's Journal, reference is made to the robbery of the Galton Lodge at Woodsedge. Specifically, 'Vesper's Rapier' is stated to have been among the most notable missing possessions. An aside states it was "......rescued from a little-known fey enclave in the heart of the Verduran Forest."

Is this aside referring to the original acquisition by the Pathfinder's or its recovery subsequent to the robbery of the lodge

Late night random thoughts about reprints and the Adv. Path books.

Well I suscribe to the adv. paths, but I did miss the first 8 issues. I'm getting them slowly, but my copy of issue 1 has some shelf were. So I was thinking of getting another issue and saw that there was no plans for a reprint. I see the logic sort of, and the PDF option is nice to have but it does bring up some issues I've been wondering about.

1. Say Paizo decides to reprint like they did with issue 2,(got a first editon up in canada so its not a issue for me, now) but do their 2nd printings say ehhh 2nd Printing? Just wondering for collecting reasons.

2. As I understand it Paizo has no intention of collecting the adv. paths into a single volume due to the fact it would hurt subscription sales. Not sure if I agree with that but fair enough, at lest Paizo comes right out an says their positon and why. My only major disagreement with that is that the paths are 3.5 up until the 5th(?) adv. path starts. A collective set could be updated to Pathfinder RPG new norm.

3. In any case wouldn't a Print on demand option be a viable solution, when an Adv. Path goes out of print (not just the individual issues but a series as a whole like say Rise of the Rune Lords?).

4. Also in a related issues (and please don't give be greif for lack of knoweldge in these matters since I'm not in the publishing game myself and just discovering PDF books which don't impress me but I suppose they are the brave new world) but I've heard posters say stuff like, "I got it printed at kinkos" or "I got it professionally printed" I guess I didn't know you could print a pdf file at such places but is that a. legal, and b. if so what is the quality like compaired to say a Pizo printed work?

P.S. hope I'm making anyone angery at paizo if you guys look down on question #4.

PPS Anyone I offended for killing a lot a trees with all my book purchaes I say "hey the Tree was Asking for it. Shouldn't have been there."

TTFN DRE
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Andre Caceres wrote:
1. Say Paizo decides to reprint like they did with issue 2,(got a first editon up in canada so its not a issue for me, now) but do their 2nd printings say ehhh 2nd Printing? Just wondering for collecting reasons.

Our goal was to make them indistinguishable. If our printer did anything to distinguish them, we didn't notice.

Andre Caceres wrote:
2. As I understand it Paizo has no intention of collecting the adv. paths into a single volume due to the fact it would hurt subscription sales. Not sure if I agree with that but fair enough, at lest Paizo comes right out an says their positon and why. My only major disagreement with that is that the paths are 3.5 up until the 5th(?) adv. path starts. A collective set could be updated to Pathfinder RPG new norm.

While you're not wrong about that, another issue is that we have limited resources, and it makes more sense to spend them on new products that we can sell to all of our customers instead of revisiting a product that many of our customers already have and aren't interested in repurchasing.

Andre Caceres wrote:
In any case wouldn't a Print on demand option be a viable solution, when an Adv. Path goes out of print (not just the individual issues but a series as a whole like say Rise of the Rune Lords?).

Though print-on-demand quality has improved quite a bit in the last few years, I have yet to see a POD book that's of sufficiently high quality to be comfortable selling.

Andre Caceres wrote:
Also in a related issues (and please don't give be greif for lack of knoweldge in these matters since I'm not in the publishing game myself and just discovering PDF books which don't impress me but I suppose they are the brave new world) but I've heard posters say stuff like, "I got it printed at kinkos" or "I got it professionally printed" I guess I didn't know you could print a pdf file at such places but is that a. legal, and b. if so what is the quality like compaired to say a Pizo printed work?

We don't mind you printing a single copy of a Paizo PDF for your personal use. I'll let others tell you about the quality—you already know what I think!

Vic Wertz wrote:


Hey thanks for the quick feedback and info Vic.

Anyones thoughts on POD would be welcomed, as for myself I've only gotten one thing this way KoK setting from Lulu, I thought it was very good quality, but thats lulu not kinkos so I still up in the air on that.

Again thanks, Dre.
Liberty's Edge

Any plans on reprinting it, because PDFs kind of suck.
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Suzaku wrote:
Any plans on reprinting it, because PDFs kind of suck.

Scroll up and read Lisa Stevens' most recent post.

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