I am looking for a campaign that goes through 1-20 or something of that sort that is relatively fun and does not punish low level or new gamers. I just ran kingmaker and thought that the encounter tables in the beginning was to harsh and did not like the mechanics of the kingdom because they took so long to get something started especially with my group.
anybody?
Is the 1-20 mandatory? You still get the same amount of content out of any given AP regardless of the level range after all.
My personal experience is a tad limited here. I agree that Kingmaker starts off pretty brutal, with that campground encounter near the beginning standing out as something that could lead to some very early deaths.
For something with an easier start, personal experience tells me Legacy of Fire eases everyone in very nicely. The whole dungeon that kicks it off is filled almost exclusively with monsters that deal no physical damage. The rest of the first book encourages a stealthy approach, with plenty of places to retreat to, and some pretty straight-forward enemies.
|
Most of the Adventure Paths are good. Kingmaker however does come off hard, but it is intended that way simply due to the region being the untamed wilds. It is also one of the harder Paths for a relatively new DM to run due to it's nature.
If the majority of the players are new I would say go with the Beginner box at first, then go to one of the Paths. Otherwise would have to say go with Rise of the Runelords due to the amount of good reviews it has received.
The other option is to simply pick and choose stand alone modules, and then tailor them to your group and DMing style.
I would recommend the Serpent's Skull adventure path as something to consider. The first adventure, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, is very well written by James Jacobs, and I believe quite forgiving for new gamers. The theme of the module is exploration, so it's very easy to run a dangerous encounter and then rest for the day to regain hit points, spells, etc. My party has been in very few scrapes so far due to this feature.
The whole adventure path is also very customizable. This could be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective. I like it because it allows me to add my own material to the published material. If you really want the adventures to shine, it does involve more work on your part, especially for the parts after Smuggler's Shiv.
Kingmaker is the easiest AP I have seen. You normally only have one encounter a day. The random encounters can be an issue if you roll high on the chart, but as the GM you can just hand select them or ignore them.
Run the darkmoon vale stuff. Its not a whole adventure path but its awesome.
Some of the latter parts of Serpent's Skull are horribly unfinished. One, in particular has no encounter maps, at all! Just a load of encounters in a city - make sure the DM is prepared for a LOT of work.
If 1-20 isn't a must and you just want a well written adventure to play and enjoy I would recommend Red Hand of Doom. Although written in 3.5 someone nice has converted all the monsters to PF. It runs from level 5 [you could do some intro stuff before that] and runs to level 12ish.
Rise of the Runelords. With the Anniversary Edition, everything you need in one book, classic encounters, simple linear storyline, and it's really fun.
Run the darkmoon vale stuff. Its not a whole adventure path but its awesome.
+1.
If you get the Guide to Darkmoon Vale, you're gonna have enough fluff to go with the modules to play for months, if not years. Best area guide they've done.
Also, The Beggar's Pearl PFS scenario is set in the area. The Pallid Plague is also there, though I didn't care for that one.
And, if you wanna tweak a little, Necromancer Games' Glades of Death is third edition stuff that fits in nicely with the Vale.