Level Advancement in Rise of the Runelords

[Professor]

This Adventure Path was written during the 3.5 OGL. Now that the Core Rulebook is out, I'm curious what the writers or others feel should be the speed of level progression throughout the this series. Obviously there is a Slow, Moderate, and Fast level progression outlined in the Core Rulebook. My first instinct was to use the moderate progression but I remember characters getting to second level under old 3.5 rules with only 1000 experience points.

Curious what the general thought process is out there

[XperimentalDM]

Professor wrote:

This Adventure Path was written during the 3.5 OGL. Now that the Core Rulebook is out, I'm curious what the writers or others feel should be the speed of level progression throughout the this series. Obviously there is a Slow, Moderate, and Fast level progression outlined in the Core Rulebook. My first instinct was to use the moderate progression but I remember characters getting to second level under old 3.5 rules with only 1000 experience points.

Curious what the general thought process is out there

Well I am currently playing in a converted game that was started during the Beta. We have been using medium progression. My GM has padded the game ever so slightly.

Spoilers A-plenty:

He included an encounter on the beach with some animated objected created by the restless spirit of chopper a week(i think) after the festival, but before Tsuto does his thing. It was well done and introduced and we didn't realized is was not part until after. On the way back there was a planned encounter with a Giant Mantis that was abandoned for pacing. And once back in two before Skinsaw Murder's there was a mostly social encounter with some traveling Varisian's who get targeted by an alchemist who is trying to win the favor of the Scarnetti family (bastard son part varisian). He used his powers to breed conflict between the family and the town. Two combats. One when he and his goons tried to kidnap/kill some of the Varisian family. The other was at his cabin outside town. Nice use of traps, elixirs and alchemical goods.
After Foxglove manor he ran Automatic hound en route to Magnimar. He also ran a little lead in piece before the Sevens sawmill that set up War of the Wielded taking place before the Tower. He let us use the NPC from that in the Fight against Xaneshe, but stated him up as a cavalier. I don't think there is going to be anything after that in Magnimar. His next thing is going to be a Dungeon adventure at a stop before or at Turtleback ferry. I don't recall what else there was to be. At least two other things including Seven swords of Sin. After Fortress of the Stone Giants I think he decide the XP requirements to advance a level would switch to Fast since it just didn't seem possible to add enough to the path without slowing things down and reducing the tension of the primary story since after fortress of the stone giants the party finally should know what is going on. All the things he added he set up by introducing NPCs ahead of time so even though they're weren't part of the overall AP they seemed appropriate.

[Savage_ScreenMonkey]

My guess is that the fast xp progression would be the expected progression for the AP's prior to the publication of the PFRPG.

But thats is a good question.

[Gorbacz]

3.5 APs should use the fast progression.

[Are]

Paizo employees have said that the fast XP track is the best approximation for the 3.5 APs.

[Professor]

Thank you very much all of you for your imput. I'm glad I asked as I would have gone with moderate. Looks like fast-track XP it is

[Screenmonkey2099]

Professor wrote:

Thank you very much all of you for your imput. I'm glad I asked as I would have gone with moderate. Looks like fast-track XP it is

good to know! I wasn't using fast. I tend to just estimate on the 3.5 AP's. I know when they should be X level kind of thing.

[Blue_Hill]

I found this topic very useful when I thought about level progression: RotRL level up points