Pathfinder Adventure Path #201: Pactbreaker (Wardens of Wildwood 1 of 3)

I know the Uhlam halflings live in the Verduran Forest, I hope they get a mention.

what is a good adventure to get pcs to 5th level?

As it's very subjective and might change from groups to groups, and because there's not any one that are perfect for an adventure starting in Taldor, here all adventures (or combination of) that end at or around lvl 5 (very) roughly in order of publication:

-Fall of Plaguestone (Can be "relocated" pretty much anywhere. Considered by many as "too deadly"... Written bu Jason Bulmahn, and it was 100% his goal. It was basically a "cold shower" to teach people that playing with the PF1 tactics woldn't work in PF2)
-Beginner Box -> Troubles in Otari (A bit far from Taldor, but a good intro to the game.)
-Malevolence (starts at lvl 3 and end at lvl 6, so really not perfect, but it's a nice horror mystery. By default it's in Ravounel, but it could be possible to relocate.)
-March of the Dead -> Malevolence (Not a perfect fit, but the adventure in Book of the Dead is lvl 1 to 3ish, so could slot before Malevolence. This still shoot above lvl 5 though.)
-Rusthenge (The location might be important to the story though. It ends at lvl 4, but you could skip a level "in downtime" quite easily. OR...)
-Rusthenge -> The Enmity Cycle (would end at lvl 6... again shooting it a bit over the mark, but it could be possible to make it work.)

Another solution could be stitching up a bunch of Pathfinder Society scenarios together. I do this often.

For those that offshoot a bit by ending at lvl 6: That's not that big of a problem TBH... Yeah, it will be a bit easier for a while, BUT if you play with XP, the lower XP gains will force it to rebalance in a couple of levels. And if you play by Milestones, well, they might play a little bit longuer at lvl 6, and you might have to find a good place to level them up to 7 halfway through the "lvl 6" section, but it's again not that much of a problem. Heck, I once did Beginner Box -> Trouble in Otari -> Abomination Vault, so my players started the AP at lvl 5 instead of lvl 1. I did do some rebalancing, and did level the to lvl 6 before they got to the actual lvl 6 section, but even then I kept many encounter at a lower level of danger than they should have been, and it still went quite well, with my players having fun.

Looks like there's several APs where the second book picks up at level 5, so there's more options than I thought. Ruins of Guantlight could easily be moved to this area, but my brain keeps locking into "The Show Must Go On" (book 1 of extinction curse). The idea of going from a circus act to guards amuses me more than it probably should.

Agents of Edgewatch 1, if moved to Oparra, might also make a lot of sense.

Starting at 5th level (or 4th for Seven Dooms for Sandpoint) can "make sense" for many players. That way, their initial characters can actually be the competent/experienced "better than your average nobody" hero in their minds (and backstories); rather than a "snot-nosed newbie" fresh out of apprenticeship, initial training, etc. that hasn't done anything worth noting yet.

It also opens up some concepts that may take a few levels to achieve because there are some feats that can't be taken (or can't all be taken) at 1st level.

Besides, the "average nobody" ("with potential") to "big damned hero" arc has been way overplayed, IMO. The APs starting at 11th have helped, but 11th is already pretty much in the "big damned hero" range; of regional importance, if not yet necessarily among the movers and shakers of the nation, continent, and/or world.

Not to mention being able to avoid the "killing rats in the basement" encounters before the "real" plot...

...we either had to go backwards and name them a nonsense word we made up out of the blue or find some sort of workable tree-flavored word that didn't actually build off of the word "tree.

I'm glad you decided knot to bough to traditional fantasy naming conventions here.

You all went out on a limb, and it paid off. The deciduous nature of this remaster required a lot of little creative bits like this to avoid simply branching off the old ancestral roots.

Tree evocation. Without using either of those two words.

Brilliant.

Starts at 5th-level? What's with the odd numbering with this and the last campaign (levels 1-12).

what is a good adventure to get pcs to 5th level?

Doesn't the Kobold King get characters to 5th?

Starts at 5th-level? What's with the odd numbering with this and the last campaign (levels 1-12).

Paizo is getting more experimental with how many modules their AP's get and at which level they start.

I hope we'll soon get another more traditional 6 module, lvl 1 - 20 AP again, since (as quite a few people have pointed out already in other threads) there is no "introductory" AP for the Remaster.

Isn't War of Immortals set to be a 1-20? I thought I recalled that as part of the announcement, but it could be my assumptions running away with me.

Isn't War of Immortals set to be a 1-20? I thought I recalled that as part of the announcement, but it could be my assumptions running away with me.

War of Immortals is a sourcebook, not an adventure

Why not both?

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Isn't War of Immortals set to be a 1-20? I thought I recalled that as part of the announcement, but it could be my assumptions running away with me.

War of Immortals is a sourcebook, not an adventure

Okay, sure. I'll restate my question.

During the WoI announcement, when they were mentioning how all product lines will tie into the event, wasn't it mentioned that the AP portion would be 1-20? I thought I recalled hearing that, but it's been a while.

I guess we'll find out more details at Paizocon.

Aaron Shanks wrote:

As I understand it, the exciting thing about the Wardens of Wildwood AP is that it will utilize aspects of the Rage of Elements, Monster Core, and Howl of the Wild rulebooks. At least, I expect players to use RoE and HotW to make new character concepts. The Marketing Team is still learning about it ourselves. We will showcase what the Editorial Team is making. It will make more sense to promote it now that Howl of the Wild has been revealed.

Makes sense for it to connect to Howl of the Wild. Season of Ghosts is connected to the Tien Xia books, Bloodlords was connected to Book of the Dead and Impossible Lands, so on and so forth. Most adventure paths seem to connect to books that come out around the same time

I've yet to look closely, but I understand it is connected to Rage of Elements even more than Howl of the Wild. But I would want both, myself. :)

Yakman wrote:

what is a good adventure to get pcs to 5th level?

Doesn't the Kobold King get characters to 5th?

It gets them to level 6, but indeed, I forgot to look at it for my previous post, even though I included other sources that get players to lvl 6. Oops. :P

Thanks Elfteiroh!

I'd encourage folks to consider a mix of Bounties, Quests, Scenarios, and Adventures to get to 5th level, if that is important to your table.

Personally, I think a Session Zero where the players trade notes about synergy (buffs/debuffs) between characters will enhance survival. Or that discovery process might be something you play out.

KaiBlob1 wrote:

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Isn't War of Immortals set to be a 1-20? I thought I recalled that as part of the announcement, but it could be my assumptions running away with me.

War of Immortals is a sourcebook, not an adventure

During the WoI announcement, when they were mentioning how all product lines will tie into the event, wasn't it mentioned that the AP portion would be 1-20? I thought I recalled hearing that, but it's been a while.

So I was incorrect.

I’m actually less than thrilled about that. I have no objections to adventure paths becoming whatever length they’re required to be as an actual policy going forward, and 6 parters being a very rare exception, but the combination of both the remaster and WoI “event” I thought would be a reason to make that exception.

Perhaps they still are, with the AP after the opera. And pushing it out to that point would give everyone a little more time to fully set and then become familiar with the remaster. But either way I clearly either misheard or misremembered what I heard.

I think if anything NEEDS to be a 6-part AP, it’s the tie-in with War of the Immortals. I’m mostly happy with the shorter length ones we’ve been getting lately, but I’ll be disappointed if there isn’t an epic level 1-20 story for us to take part in that ties in to the world-changing event.

Oooh! Greenwood Gala? A convention for primal-tradition powerbrokers and a festival associated with the Green Faith? Politics, power struggles, and unexpected betrayals? Remaster? RoE? How the Wild?

This sounds like the recent Hellfire Galas and I'm here for it! Woot!

Oooh! Greenwood Gala? A convention for primal-tradition powerbrokers and a festival associated with the Green Faith? Politics, power struggles, and unexpected betrayals? Remaster? RoE? How the Wild?

This sounds like the recent Hellfire Galas and I'm here for it! Woot!

It's not a Gala without The Looks. We need The Looks.

(And hopefully a happier ending than the most recent Gala)

"Walking like a man
Hitting like a hammer
She's a juvenile scam
Never was a quitter
Tasty like a raindrop
She's got the look"

You could probably match most of the lines in that song with an iconic: Valeros, Droven (or Crowe for PF1), Merisiel (or Ija or Yoon), Amiri, Lini (better than Damiel [PF1] or Fumbus...), Seoni, etc.

I am so unbelievably psyched for this. I've been DYING for a 5-15 AP. That's the sweet spot of levels to me.

I'm hyped for more content in general that doesn't start at level 1.

I am so unbelievably psyched for this. I've been DYING for a 5-15 AP. That's the sweet spot of levels to me.

I'm hyped for more content in general that doesn't start at level 1.

In a recent stream, they said it ended around lvl 13, if I remember correctly (in the last Paizo Live).

I guess I’m a little disappointed that the first AP that is ORC and truly PF2R…isn’t an introductory adventure.

I assume that is because Beginner Box is the first ORC adventure and, (coincidently?), has all the rules for leveling up to 5 ...

I am really looking forward to this!

Willl there be a foundry module for Wardens of Wildwood？

Willl there be a foundry module for Wardens of Wildwood？

The last word was "We will continue doing them for future APs, until we say otherwise." And nothing have been said otherwise. so yes, expect one.

I wonder when the Players Guide will be released

They are often released AT LEAST 2 weeks before, so I would assume between the 8th and 12th, this week could still be possible though.
BUT, also, we got a very special release just before. It's the first time we are getting two player guides in two months, back to back, and the last one was especially big... so the week between the 15th and 19th is also possible, as they would have less time to write it up.

Season of Ghosts is connected to the Tien Xia books ...

Hi, Swiftpaws. May I ask what Tien Xia books you refer to in this post, please? I am considering Wardens as our next campaign. As a GM, it's nice to know as much as you can!

Best,
Don (Greyson)

Swiftpaws the Maned Wolf wrote:

Season of Ghosts is connected to the Tien Xia books ...

Hi, Swiftpaws. May I ask what Tien Xia books you refer to in this post, please? I am considering Wardens as our next campaign. As a GM, it's nice to know as much as you can!

Best,
Don (Greyson)

The TIan XIa World Guide releasing April 2024 and the Tian Xia Character Guide coming in August 2024.

[ilTian XIa World Guide[/i] releasing April 2024[/url] and the Tian Xia Character Guide coming in August 2024.

This is great, thank you! I thought I missed something, but I just need to be patient and they'll show up as part of my subscription. Can't wait.

Thanks again,
Don (Greyson)

Just a note that Wardens is *not* in Tian Xia, Seasons of Ghosts is.

Just a note that Wardens is *not* in Tian Xia, Seasons of Ghosts is.

Yeah, thanks Cori. :) I had Wardens of Wildwood on the brain. I meant Season of Ghosts when I mentioned our next campaign. Total typo because of all this adventure path excitement!

Best,
Don (Greyson)

When is the players guide for this out?

When is the players guide for this out?

Usually a couple weeks before the first book of the AP.

I would assume next week, but it could be released later than usual because of the proximity to the big "two book" special we had last month.
So if it's released around the "normal" time before release, it should be between the 8th and 12th. If it's released later than usual, then it should be between the 15th and 19th.

This might be a first when the subscriber PDFs come out before the Players Guide, either way I can’t for both

Did I miss the players guide? I searched and did not find it.

Player's guide has not come out yet. Likely this week.

From the Office of Expectation Management: It's not going to happen this week, but next week is looking favorable.

The subscriber PDFs have started filtering out as of about an hour ago.

From the Office of Expectation Management: It's not going to happen this week, but next week is looking favorable.

... I had an inkling it would happen! I'm glad that I mentionned the possiblity before. :O

There is an awful adventure trailer for Wardens of the Wildwood on Reddit. At first I thought it was a (bad) joke. But it appears to be legitimate.

For any interested parties, go HERE.

Super excited for this one!

Loved the trailer too! Dunno why people on reddit are complaining about it. I think Rue did an amazing job ^^

Did I miss the players guide? I searched and did not find it.

Are they waiting for Howl of the Wild to come out?

Adam Christman wrote:

Did I miss the players guide? I searched and did not find it.

Are they waiting for Howl of the Wild to come out?

I’m sure awakened animal will be a suggested Ancestry in the players guide.

I would hope not, considering book 1 comes out a month before Howl does xD

An earlier dev post said this week was looking favorable for players guide to drop, so I'm crossing my fingers it might still drop today

Not gonna lie, I've been checking multiple times a day for the Players Guide here just in case, no sign as of yet though

Don Hastily wrote:

Adam Christman wrote:

Did I miss the players guide? I searched and did not find it.

Are they waiting for Howl of the Wild to come out?

I’m sure awakened animal will be a suggested Ancestry in the players guide.

I would hope not, considering book 1 comes out a month before Howl does xD

I imagine a lot of people might wait to start playing until the new ancestries etc are out though.

^ This.

I have a centaur druid (Storm order) concept that I'm waiting until next month to complete...