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Hello everyone! I've newly discovered Pathfinder, and I can't wait to try it. I've been playing D&D since 1st edition, and although I really like 3.5, it looks like Pathfinder has made some much-needed improvements.
My fiancee has never roleplayed before, so I'm going to start her out with Pathfinder. I don't have a lot of time to write adventures right now, so I'm thinking about running one of the Adventure Paths. I've been looking them over, and I really like Second Darkness and Kingmaker, but they all look good.
What's your favorite Adventure Path and why?
Are any of them more doable for a small group (1-2 players) than the others?
Thanks for any advice you can give!
Actually, I would start with the Darkmoon Vale series. You will have to update it from 3.0, however 1/2 of it is free. The adventures are a little shorter than AP adventures. They don't have weird new templates and don't require a ton of DM prep. I recently reviewed "The Haunting at Harrowstone" and found it to be very prep heavy. Darkmoon Vale is in a big forest, so it's easy to add encounters. Likewise, from what I remember, many of the encounters are easily scaleable, especially in "Hungry Are the Dead".
Technically, Darkmoon Vale is its own place in Golarion, but I would add "Realm of the Fellnight Queen" and "Feast at Ravenmoor" to the forest without feeling bad.
As the OP asked about Adventure Paths I will relay my experience in this field only:
Kingmaker is my favority because it is a sandbox with nice kingdom building rules.
But if I had to start a new group with a "classic" Adventure campaign I would choose Rise of the Runelords as it has the best "drop in new" feeling and is fairly straightforward. Only caveat: some of the scenes there are a bit gross and not everyone likes that.
Rise of the runelords and curse of the crimson throne. Nothing else has quite made me so eager to read the next book as those two.
But old CotCT is still 3.5 rules while RotRL has been updated to Pathfinder (has CotCT been updated too?).
I have been debating the same thing and all the feedback I got pointed towards Rise of the Runelords. I am waiting for the anniversary edition to come out in July and playing the module Crypt of the Everflame until then. You can start Rise of the Rune Lords now of course, but you'll save a lot of dough if you wait.
The other AP I was recommended a lot was Carrion Crown. It's first chapter is supposedly pretty awesome.
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Curse of the Crimson Throne is my favorite. RotRL, KM, Carrion Crown squabble for the second place. Legacy of Fire and Jade Regent are solid offerings worth considering. Council of Thieves and Serpent's Skull are both "meh" with some hidden gems worth discovering, and Second Darkness is a ball dropped.
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Rise of the Runelords is pretty awesome. It's probably the most standard fantasy AP of them all and I have a weak spot for the 7 deadly sins. Carrion Crown is really good too, its a horror-themed AP that focuses heavily on ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and frankenstien-like monsters. Kingmaker is my personal favorite and is what I would recommend....if you think your group will like the heavy exploration & kingdom building mechanics of it. Some groups eat it like candy; others heavily disdain it. There's alot of extra stuff for that AP here on the boards that enhances it. Curse of the Crimson Throne is my second favorite. Half urban campaign, half dungeon crawl, with one book that has the PCs trying to curry the favor of local tribesmen. The villian in that AP is one of the most wicked villians in all the APs I think. Legacy of Fire is probably my third most favorite, it's got an Arabian feel to it, with a lot of genie mythology intertwined. I haven't played Jade Regent, but it starts out with Viking-themes in the first half and is oriental-themed in the second half. Caravan and NPC relationship rules are the new mechanics in that one. I haven't played either of these but Council of Thieves, which is entirely an urban campaign, supposedly starts off really strong but ends with a whimper; the Opera scene is one of the best encounters I've seen. And Serpent's Skull I have little to no knowledge of other than the first book is awesome and it meanders after that. I've heard really good and really, really, really, really bad things about Second Darkness. Supposedly the final fight in the first book is one of the most memorable fights of any AP so far. But I guess you start off owning a casino and end up having to save the elves from dark elves and armeggedon.
Rise of the runelords for me.
Kingmaker is good but it's a very easy one and the DM might have to dial it up a little.
My favorites are Rise of the Runelords, Legacy of Fire, and Kingmaker. Each AP has a very distinct feel, so I'd suggest picking one with a story you think you'd enjoy running.
I haven't yet read or played the ones after Kingmaker, so I can't say if one of those would breach my top 3 :)
Carrion Crown - 1st, I just love horror gaming, 1st, 2nd and 4th of the series were particularly awesome.
Kingmaker - 2nd, but you have to have players who really want to build kingdoms otherwise the building rules get in the way
I love Carrion Crown after reading through the first part of the adventure path. If I wasn't dedicating myself to running Skull and Shackles, I'd probably be running that one.
my favorite is kingmaker, my second favorite is Jade Regent, with Carrion Crown a very close third. Serpent's Skull gets honorable mention as it was my first to run and a riot (also i got to unleash dinosaurs). however i recommend LOTS of prep time before you run it (you'll see when you bust out book 3).
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Never could resist a "Favourite AP" thread :).
In order of enjoyment as I have played/run them:
1) Legacy of Fire
2) Curse of the Crimson Throne
3) Carrion Crown
4) Rise of the Runelords
5) Second Darkness
6) Kingmaker
7) Council of Thieves
8) Serpent's Skull
A few provisos here. Second Darkness has been quite fun because we were aware of its glaring weaknesses and compensated accordingly. Kingmaker is low because it has poorly developed NPC's, a dull uninteresting story and lots of aimless wandering around to no real effect. I am well aware I am in a minority here.
I reckon based on previous threads of this nature in general the overall most liked AP's would be as follows:
1) Kingmaker
2) Rise of the Runelords
3) Curse of the Crimson Throne
4) Carrion Crown
5) Legacy of Fire
6) Jade Regent
7) Council of Thieves
8) Serpent's Skull
9) Second Darkness
Mileage varies and a couple might be switched around but that is a rough guide to the general consensus on these boards.
I don't think enough people have done the old Dungeon AP's but I believe that they are remembered fondly enough. None of them receive the vitriol that Serpent's Skull and Second Darkness get.
Legacy of Fire with Curse of the Crimson Throne a very close second.
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Thanks for all the responses! You've really helped me out. I decided to try Carrion Crown first. I'm going to get the re-release of Rise of the Runelords when it comes out this summer. Although I really like the story ideas behind Second Darkness, I really don't feel like rewriting the whole thing, not to mention doing/finding conversions. :) Kingmaker looks really intriguing, but I don't think my current group would be into it.
CoCT by far. Totally awesome, specially the urban half.
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Rise of The Runelords is probably best if you're new to Golarion. Elements of it come through to a lot of other adventure paths too. After that though? If you're new to the system and can't do the conversions of monsters and such by yourself (and aren't willing to wait for the hardcover to come out) then I'd recommend Carrion Crown.
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Darkmoon Vale modules are great, great fun. Because they are individual modules with a common thread/location, you can get a sense of 'completing the story' anytime you want. An adventure path requires a longer commitment to get a sense of 'completeness'. The Darkmoon Vale modules are a blast to play.
For actual adventure paths:
Rise of the Runelords is very fun.
Carrion Crown has been a blast.
I just received my copy of the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. Needless to say, I am delighted.
But it does prompt me to ask:
Which other Adventure Paths are 3.5 instead of Pathfinder?
Has Paizo staff announced any intention to update those to Pathfinder?
Has Paizo staff announced any intention to publish more hardcover "summary editions", whether anniversary or just because?
I would much rather own hardcover compilations than paperbacks, but for reasons of durability and because I do not care much about the non-adventure "extras" in the Adventure Paths.
My group found the original Rise of Runelords a great intro to paizo's world. It was a great transfer from dungeon magazine. It is kind of the classic AP.
I just received my copy of the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. Needless to say, I am delighted.
But it does prompt me to ask:
Which other Adventure Paths are 3.5 instead of Pathfinder?
Has Paizo staff announced any intention to update those to Pathfinder?
Has Paizo staff announced any intention to publish more hardcover "summary editions", whether anniversary or just because?
I would much rather own hardcover compilations than paperbacks, but for reasons of durability and because I do not care much about the non-adventure "extras" in the Adventure Paths.
The 3.5 AP's are
Rise of Runelords (now pathfinder in AE)Curse of the Crimson Throne
Second Darkness
Legacy of Fire
Previously Paizo said The Rise of Runelords Anniversary Book was unique. It was a celebration of the company/world more than a new line. They didn't want people to wait for summary editions and not buy paths. Second Darkness and Legacy of Fire also seemed to be less popular and sold less. So maybe we will see Curse redone, but I think it is unlikely.
Despite owning them I haven't run Crimson or Legacy yet, and would happily buy an updated pathfinder version.
Savage Tide