Hey, guys. This might be long winded. The main question of this post is at the bottom.
I've been playing Pathfinder for a couple of years. It's my first RPG. I was taken in by a GM that made handouts, improvised APs for the players characters, played appropriate background music....the list goes on.
That group is no more. I miss playing Pathfinder.
Last night, I ran four of my friends through the sample adventure for the Dragon Age RPG. None of them had ever played an RPG. It was my first time running something. I think it was a success. Well, a relatively important NPC was murdered by one of the PCs, someone nearly fell into a chasm to their death, and I nearly slayed a ten year old boy. but, everyone involved said that they wanted to do more things like it.
I want to start running a Pathfinder AP with my completely inexperienced friends as PCs. Keeping in mind that I'm just as inexperienced at GMing, which AP would you recommend and why?
Thanks for your time!
I would run carrion crown.
1) It is well written, and if you read ahead, the preparation time is much less than the other APs if have played in or run.
2) The AP is a little off center, focusing on a wide range of tasks and activities, which gives everyone in the group their own spotlight from time to time.
3) Dark brooding music and candle light make the AP even better, and you mentioned you liked that in your OP.
4) The game revolves around several gothic horror style motifs, a rare bird in fantasy RPG APs
5) The AP is a little more forgiving than most, and when that fails, there are several locations, encounters, etc. that make for easy insertion of replacement party members.
6) The world is a wonderful mix of open and closed. Unlike Kingmaker (as an example) you will not be making up dozens of potential random encounters and it is not full blown open sandbox. Unlike Skulls and Shackles, the PCs can still wander far afield and still be, at least tangentially, on task.
We Be Goblins was my introduction to the game (followed by Jade Regent). The guys I'm playing with seem like they will be hesitant to role play in a silly manner.
I think that starting with the beginner box is a good idea (I also would like to start there to get the tokens and grid map).
I'll see how they like that and then continue.
You guys have good reasons for the APs you chose.
Rise of the Runelords...
3. It is generally considered the best AP.
QFT, but Kingmaker was better in almost every way IF you like some sandboxy elements - which may be a bit hard on beginner PC or beginner GMs.
have them start at low levels
i learned how to RPG playing a fighter, slowly i moved onto the martial hybrid classes and eventually into full casters
run some easy adventures that they can succeed in without the full array of team members that one would expect them to have
help them make their characters and explain why they have the feats and choices that they have
encourage them to read on their own and to learn the basic mechanics of the game before you get nit picky (if thats your style)
keep the mood light and expect people to screw up a lot, dont throw a tarresque at them
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If I might make a suggestion:
Stick with Core Rules only. While there is a great deal of material for Pathfinder, the more you add, the more complicated things get. For people new to the system, sticking with the Core Rules will allow for an enjoyable experience without putting too much pressure to you as GM.
Then, once you guys have a game under your belt, you can start to explore the expanded rules more.
have them start at low levels
i learned how to RPG playing a fighter, slowly i moved onto the martial hybrid classes and eventually into full castersrun some easy adventures that they can succeed in without the full array of team members that one would expect them to have
help them make their characters and explain why they have the feats and choices that they have
encourage them to read on their own and to learn the basic mechanics of the game before you get nit picky (if thats your style)
keep the mood light and expect people to screw up a lot, dont throw a tarresque at them
Haha. The first AP that I ever played was Jade Regent. I figured a fighter was going to be a good thing for a new player to be. It probably was. Ulghan was a half-orc fighter. I wrote up a back story and everything.
Ulghan died on the third session after I role played that he lost his patience while the group was deciding tactics and I charged headlong at what turned out to be a formidable enemy. I charged, swung my mace, and missed. The enemy rolled a crit.....max damage. I was decapitated.I'm going to have them start with the beginner box. It has resources that will help them along and help me along. I will help them make characters if they choose to not use the pregens.
If they want to continue, I'll help anyone that used a pregen turn that into a more fleshed out and custom character.
From there, I like the idea of using the supplies in the beginner box to write my own adventure.
As Elamdri suggested, we're going to ignore all books except the core rule book.....for now.