Not sure if this has been covered anywhere. But are the AP's canon?
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I think the idea is that all of the places and characters are canon.
The results of each AP are left to the individual DMs and players.
In my Golarion for instance, the Rusty Dragon is now owned by a powerful wizard, Thistletop contains a rather large temple/outpost dedicated to Erastil and the route to Xin Shalast has been opened. But though the drow exist below the surface, they have not been discovered yet.
Creative Director
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All of the events in the APs are canon, as are the descriptions of locations and characters within them.
That said... we take pains to avoid, when possible, nailing down events and start dates for an AP. We don't want to set the precedent or idea that in order to play the Adventure Paths you have to play them in order.
THAT said... as a general rule, we assume for world canon sake that the events of each AP takes about 6 months to resolve. More accurately, the start date for an AP is six months apart—that way, the events of the AP itself can play out on its own schedule. The implied start date is the real world month in which the volume of Pathifnder comes out, and the year is that volume's year of publication +2700. Thus, Rise of the Runelords was published in August 2007, therefore the first adventure in that AP starts in August (AKA Arodus) 4707. We assume that the events of the APs have all "taken place" in world, but that each time a different party of heroes successfully met the challenges of that AP and saved the day. Thus, while the repercussions of failing an AP can be quite major and devastating, succeeding more or less leaves the world as-is, and thus preserves canon.
We've taken care to not have much crossover between APs as well. Even though the first three all took place in Varisia, none of the locations were repeated between an AP. During "Curse of the Crimson Throne," for example, you never have to go to Sandpoint or Riddleport. Thus we avoid having to take into account changes that may or may not have happened to a site across multiple APs.
It's a sort of complex issue, as you can see. For your home game, the APs themselves are all canon, but the order in which their events become canon are set by the order in which you play them.
Sets up in a corner of the thread...waiting for his moment.
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...THAT said... as a general rule, we assume for world canon sake that the events of each AP takes about 6 months to resolve. More accurately, the start date for an AP is six months apart—that way, the events of the AP itself can play out on its own schedule. The implied start date is the real world month in which the volume of Pathifnder comes out, and the year is that volume's year of publication +2700. Thus, Rise of the Runelords was published in August 2007, therefore the first adventure in that AP starts in August (AKA Arodus) 4707...
I always assumed that they were happening more or less simultaneously. I don't know why, I just sort of assumed. "There's a thousand APs in the naked Golarion; this is one of them..." sort of thing.
The Second Darkness AP presumably takes place after the events in Rise of the Runelords, due to the appearance of an NPC from that AP that has recently returned from the north.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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The Second Darkness AP presumably takes place after the events in Rise of the Runelords, due to the appearance of an NPC from that AP that has recently returned from the north.
Nothing in RotR states that she leaves for the north at the end of it though. So she could come back from the north, participate in the events in SD and then those in RotR, for example. I think we will see a direct continuity issue when Ameiko Kaijitsu plays a major role in Jade Regent.
Thus, Rise of the Runelords was published in August 2007, therefore the first adventure in that AP starts in August (AKA Arodus) 4707.
Um, doesn't the first Runelords adventure begin in October (Rova, was it?) on the day of the Swallowtail Festival? (Which apparently is either Rova 1 or Rova 23, depending on whether you believe "Burnt Offerings" or the Campaign Setting book.
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Creative Director
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Thus, Rise of the Runelords was published in August 2007, therefore the first adventure in that AP starts in August (AKA Arodus) 4707.Um, doesn't the first Runelords adventure begin in October (Rova, was it?) on the day of the Swallowtail Festival? (Which apparently is either Rova 1 or Rova 23, depending on whether you believe "Burnt Offerings" or the Campaign Setting book.
Probably. There's a LOT in Pathfinder #1 that was shaky and doesn't totally fit in with where we ended up today.