Hey everyone, I've recently moved back to my hometown and I'm planning on starting a game next month. I have tried to fire up a few friends with no PnP RPG experience whatsoever, and hope to get a few more from the local MtG/D&D community (or whatever form of it exists). I want to try running an AP with them, and I can find several threads of people's opinions about them, but I'd like to check with the players what kind of adventure they want to run. I'm not very confident in my abilities in running a freeform game (and the player's abilities to go with it, especially if all of them end up with little or no RP experience), so I would rather avoid Kingmaker. I'm looking the most at RotRL, Crimson Throne, Carrion Crown or Jade Regent, but depending on what theme they'd like may put some of the other ones in.
So, how would you describe each AP in a sentence or two (more in terms of theme and setting, no big spoilers, and what would you tell newbies about them?
Here are some ideas I have atm:
Rise of the Runelords: standard fantasy, with you being heroes who have to oppose epic mages from long ago.
Legacy of Fire: more of a 1001 Nights adventure with deserts, genies, and the like. Bring extra water.
Carrion Crown: a more horror-oriented adventure with ghosts, zombies, werewolves, vampires and all manner of undead baddies. Gotta Kill'em All!
Jade Regent: You travel across the world with a caravan to put the rightful heir on the throne of not-Japan. Lots of oriental elements later on.
Skulls and Shackles: Ya be pirates, arrgh! Get a ship, then go forth, adventure, and prove yourself the greatest pirates of the southern seas! Glory, gold, and wenches/(what'd be the male equivalent of a wench?) await!
P.S.: I like CoCT, but I'm totally bushed in finding a cool way to describe it in a few sentences without spoiling the stuffing from it.
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Rise of the Runelords: Classic fantasy involving heroes rising up to slay Giants and stop ancient evil.
For RotRL, I'd leave out mention of the "epic mages" and focus on the rumors of gathering Giants.
Curse of the Crimson Throne: An adventure of urban intrigue and a kingdom on a knife's edge. The legends of Zorro meets King Arthur.
Second Darkness: Doom once again descends upon the planet from the sky. Only by uncovering the secrets of those who remember the first cataclysm can the planet be saved.
I think you more or less hit Legacy of Fire spot on.
Council of Thieves: The City of Westcrown has too long been under oppressive rule. The people seek liberation but as sentiments of freedom stir so does something hidden in the shadows.
Like you said, you're skipping Kingmaker this time around.
Serpent's Skull: What's starts as a simple enough journey may quickly turn into a race toward the Heart of Darkness deep in the jungle. Indiana Jones meets Doc Savage. (or Uncharted for the video game savvy).
Carrion Crown: A tale of Gothic Horror interwoven with glimpses of Lovecraft. The horrors of death itself are rising to claim the land.
Jade Regent: An Epic journey across the world to the lands of the Far East to help a kingdom in need. Vikings, Ninjas, and the elements themselves all conspire to halt the legendary journey.
Skull and Shackles: Who needs vikings and ninjas when you have Pirates! Seriously, though, you summed this one up nicely (but yours was three sentences). ;)
Hope those help.
Thanks, and sorry for the late reply! I'm hoping to gather my prospective players later this week, although I may start with a few more than the norm - on the other hand, they are going to be quite green, and not in the eco-friendly way :) . By the way, what paths tend to have nasty fights early on? I have played Carrion crown and RotRL, and they seemed doable, but I am somewhat familiar with basic character optimization, and I doubt my players will be.
Since you have played through some of them, it might be useful to run one of those, due to increased familiarity with them.
Since you have played through some of them, it might be useful to run one of those, due to increased familiarity with them.
We never got to far - early chapter 3 in RotRL, chapter 1 in CC - and I'm a bit less than certain how well a group of new players can last there. I would not mind running one of the two, but I'd like to talk with the players what game they would expect and like, so I know what kind of adventure to throw on them.
I feel reasonably secure in my ability to build a character, but I'm still less than sure of my ability to gauge encounters for new players. If you have more experience with any of the paths, can you tell me of encounters or situations that could be problematic for newbies?
Rise of the Runelords: standard fantasy, with you being heroes who have to oppose epic mages from long ago.
I may be a little too late with this advise, but like another poster said, I'd emphasize giants over epic mages.
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Tough battles:
The end fight of chapter two of Rise of the Runelords is somewhat legendary for its difficulty. It was toned down a little in the revised edition.
Honestly all of the APs have some difficult encounters. If you have new players, I'd recommend some "easy mode" house rules until they get the hang of things, such as:
25 point buy - this will help them survive at low levels, and really doesn't make a big difference after about 5th-6th.
Some sort of hero point system - I wouldn't use the full APG system with newbies, but even just a token that they get every session that they can spend for a reroll or to auto-stabilize or something can help.
I'd also allow a character rebuild around level 3-4 - new players often make character creation decisions that they come to regret.
You might also try starting with something like Crypt of the Everflame - it's designed for new players and DMs so it's a good intro. You could then segue into whichever AP you decide on; the AP won't explode just because you have level 2 characters to start.
Hmmm, if you need more experience, consider running some modules before diving into an adventure path.