If you are looking for old school dungeon crawls with plot hooks, I would recommend the book on Kaer Maga. Plenty of plot hooks, basic descriptions of known locations in the dungeon underneath the town, and lots of room for your own creations. And that is just the dungeon. The city up above gets the same treatment.
I would have to echo Clark's recommendation for the OP. Necromancer's 3E rules with a 1E feel seems to be exactly what he is looking for.
On another note, I get really confused by people's assertions that dungeon crawls are some how heroic. The reason you are there killing things and taking their loot matters far more if your actions are heroic... that classic dungeon delve always felt very mercenary to me... definitely NOT heroic.
Sean Mahoney
I would have to echo Clark's recommendation for the OP. Necromancer's 3E rules with a 1E feel seems to be exactly what he is looking for.
I'm not familiar with all of Necromancer's catalog; have they published an adventure path? I've only heard of megadungeons that don't have much plot beyond "here's a bunch of dungeons full of bad guys, clear them out". Not that there's anything wrong with that! I just wouldn't call it an adventure path.
I would have to echo Clark's recommendation for the OP. Necromancer's 3E rules with a 1E feel seems to be exactly what he is looking for.I'm not familiar with all of Necromancer's catalog; have they published an adventure path? I've only heard of megadungeons that don't have much plot beyond "here's a bunch of dungeons full of bad guys, clear them out".
Clark mentioned a few from the old 3.0 or 3.5 days. Those are fairly easy to get as pdfs from DriveThru.
But if you don't want to spend the time converting to Pathfinder rules you should do what D_M said and get Slumbering Tsar. Not only is it written by Greg Vaughan but he is also including many of the monsters from the soon to be released Tome of Horrors, Complete, also updated to PFRPG rules.
While many of the people playing Pathfinder want something more varied than the straightforward heroism you crave, there's also a reason that vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor in the world.
Vanilla..
Used in Rootbeer floats
Used in Beer floats
Often is covered in sprinkles, chocolet chips and other goodies.
Often is mixed with chocolate syrup and other such things (Like making a ton of different shakes)
At buffets it is 1 of 2 choices you have when you do want ice cream. Personally, I tend to always get swirl.
I betcha there is even more uses of it.
As far as it goes:
Rise of the Runelords has everything you want, more or less. It's certainly the most classic adventure paizo has ever published, from fighting goblins at the start, to Giants at higher levels, with lots of massive dungeon crawls. Curse of the Crimson Throne has a bit of emphasis on political intrigue, but the classic elements are also quite present, with the the 5th part being an absolutely classic dungeon crawl through a haunted castle. Legacy of Fire is also very classic in all the senses you suggest, particularly in its first half and final act.
While no AP has featured a dragon as the BBEG, or even the final boss of a given module, they have featured as boss-encounters with no small degree of frequency; Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne both had no less than two major dragon encounters as part of the plot, and curse features draconic influence heavily in backstory. Kingmaker's final volume is packed with boss encounters, which include a Wyrm dragon, a linnorm, and the dragon-like Jabberwock.
If you are looking for old school dungeon crawls with plot hooks, I would recommend the book on Kaer Maga. Plenty of plot hooks, basic descriptions of known locations in the dungeon underneath the town, and lots of room for your own creations. And that is just the dungeon. The city up above gets the same treatment.
That is a great example, and to take it one step further, to demonstrate what I am suggesting, you could take the adventure "The Godsmouth Heresy", and make it part of a series, like the old against the giants, or deserts of desolation series.
I'm disappointed at the tone of some of this thread's responses.To be fair, the tone of the responses was due to the tone of the OP. He basically said (and I'm paraphrasing) "I don't like all this plot nonsense, I just want to kill stuff and loot it".
Where did he call it all nonsense?
I think you're projecting a lot of extra meaning onto the OP.
That said this thread is going exactly as I'd expect.
I'm disappointed at the tone of some of this thread's responses.To be fair, the tone of the responses was due to the tone of the OP. He basically said (and I'm paraphrasing) "I don't like all this plot nonsense, I just want to kill stuff and loot it".Where did he call it all nonsense?
I think you're projecting a lot of extra meaning onto the OP.
That said this thread is going exactly as I'd expect.
That would be the paraphrasing part.
Yay elitism!!!
Now just hold on a minute thar, Kthulu!
I just plain don't want an AP or even a module that works as the OP described. I'm entitled to my opinion, and so are other posters who feel that way. That doesn't make it intrinsically elitist, although I'm sure that some upthread maybe could have phrased it better.
I'm not sure a AP that is purely as described by the OP would even work. The need for plot would be too big. Something akin to a series of modules that fed off Godsmouth Heresy and book on Kaer Maga would be the most likely bet to pull something like that off. Basically, present half a dozen locations throughout the same mega dungeon, and let the DM tie them together.
Clark mentioned a few from the old 3.0 or 3.5 days.
Like I said, I don't consider something like Rappan Athuk or Castle Whiterock to be an adventure path. There's not really a sequence of events to them, like there is to Shackled City or Rise of the Runelords or even the GDQ modules.
I'm not sure a AP that is purely as described by the OP would even work. The need for plot would be too big. Something akin to a series of modules that fed off Godsmouth Heresy and book on Kaer Maga would be the most likely bet to pull something like that off. Basically, present half a dozen locations throughout the same mega dungeon, and let the DM tie them together.
Okay, when you put it that way! ;)
Sign me up for a multi-module campaign arc off of Godsmouth.
I'm not familiar with all of Necromancer's catalog; have they published an adventure path? I've only heard of megadungeons that don't have much plot beyond "here's a bunch of dungeons full of bad guys, clear them out". Not that there's anything wrong with that! I just wouldn't call it an adventure path.
You are certainly correct that they are not adventure paths, just mega adventures (like the Shackled City became when it was released as a single volume instead of being serialized), but I think they fit what the OP stated he desired.
we want hack and slash, dungeons to crawl and dragon to kill.
I do not want to investigate thing, I am not a detective, I am a sword wielding hero, I want to kill monsters. I do not want to play games with kings, I slay gods, not pander to rich men. I do not want to play games with actors in a play. I am a hero, I go out into the untamed wilderness of the world and kill giant bad things so that these actors can live with out fear to put on there plays.
Sounds like a mega-dungeon crawl classic would be exactly what he is looking for.
Sure, they aren't my personal cup of tea, but I think products like Necromancer's fit a very real niche and need out there. THIS is a situation where I would recommend them heavily.
Sean Mahoney
I think it was more the
I do not want to investigate thing, I am not a detective, I am a sword wielding hero, I want to kill monsters. I do not want to play games with kings, I slay gods, not pander to rich men.
and
I am a hero, I go out into the untamed wilderness of the world and kill giant bad things
OP states explicitly that he wants to go out into the untamed wilderness and kill stuff.
I like how people are turning "I don't want to act in a play, spend a lot of time in a courtroom, or get bogged down in politics" into "Me no want bother with plot or role-play...me want just kill random monster!"
Yeah, as far as I can tell Shackled City, Age of Worms, Savage Tide, Rise of the Runelords and maybe Curse of the Crimson Throne and Kingmaker should fit his criteria (little or no detective work, no oddball digressions like acting in a play or running a casino, have dragons to fight). The only part I don't really understand is "I do not want to play games with kings"; I'm not sure what that means.
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I like how people are turning "I don't want to act in a play, spend a lot of time in a courtroom, or get bogged down in politics" into "Me no want bother with plot or role-play...me want just kill random monster!"Yeah, as far as I can tell Shackled City, Age of Worms, Savage Tide, Rise of the Runelords and maybe Curse of the Crimson Throne and Kingmaker should fit his criteria (little or no detective work, no oddball digressions like acting in a play or running a casino, have dragons to fight). The only part I don't really understand is "I do not want to play games with kings"; I'm not sure what that means.
I think that's about Kingmaker there.
My only issue with the APs with regard to new players is that the APs can be really, really challenging. If you're an experienced player, you may appreciate that challenge, but for new players, I think they're too hard as written, and thus could actually be a turn off to new players. (Yes, a good GM can adjust on the fly, but for an average GM, it may not work so well.)
Maybe there's an easy fix - such as "lower all DCs by 2 for inexperienced players" or somesuch.
My guess is that the upcoming PF Beginner's Box might have something closer to the old school dungeon crawl, given that one part of the flipmat features a dungeony area.
The PF Crypt of the Everflame module might be another fine dungeon crawl as the storyline involves
If you're willing to go with 3rd party publishers for the PF ruleset, the choices for those old school dungeon crawl adventure increases.
I wouldn't make the emphasis on dungeon crawls, but just a minimal design focus to include basic backstories and more creatures, NPCs, traps, etc. This tends to favor a series of modules.