I just leave the NPCs with the caravan, haven't leveled them up and never include them in fights, if anyone in my party was human i would have made them the last Amatatsu heir but they aren't , still an awesome adventure path NPCs or no NPCs. in fact the end half will probably be more entertaining and challenging without them there stealing thunder:)
Then you are selling at least Ameiko awfully short. Getting her on the throne is kind of the point of the campaign and if you just have the party lug her around like a sack of potatoes, then you should not wonder if they begin to lose any interest in the campaign goal. There should be some reason to care for her and letting her have an active part in the campaign helps immensely with that.
That being said, the other three NPC's could really have had a more distinct personality, although I've grown to like Shalelu quite a bit. Koya and Sandru never really grew that much on me.
My party consists of me, my wife, and daughter who is 9 (we also have a character for our 2 year old that is played on a rotating basis by one of us 3) i tried to get some of my brothers (with extensive rpg experience) but they are busy with their own games.
this is the first RPG experience for my wife and daughter and other then an aborted Serpent's Skull campaign with former coworkers and a couple tries at kingmaker and someones homebrew with a friends friends this is my first significant in 20 years (i am 37) so campaign motivation has not been a problem as for us its more about the journey then the end game, it helps that as long as my daughter gets cool magic items like a ring of regeneration she has her eyes on and my wife's witch gets her dancing hut hex at the end (i have plans to continue to 18th level) they are quite happy
as it is as a beginning GM i have enough going on sometimes running 2 PCs adding on 4 NPCs no one cares about just doesn't seem worth it.
now had i had RotRL before i ran it and had more info then the vague forward at the beginning and character descriptions i might have put more effort into Ameiko and Shalelu but i didn't so no sense crying over it
and for the record my daughter insisted on Jade Regent and i believe in picking my battles and as long as everyone is having fun, they are, lots in fact, it is all good.
Amieko will still sit on the Jade Throne (neither one wants to rule minkai, and i just love to journey:)
<shrug> It's your campaign, but I insist: You are selling the NPC's short, especially Ameiko.
as it is as a beginning GM i have enough going on sometimes running 2 PCs adding on 4 NPCs no one cares about just doesn't seem worth it.
I'd do the same in your position, I think. Running a pathfinder character is a lot of work. Running half a dozen would be more trouble than it's worth, in my view.
<shrug> It's your campaign, but I insist: You are selling the NPC's short, especially Ameiko.
point taken
and for the record when we get around to RotRL again (we have had a rather busy and crappy august, no gaming of any kind since a week before end of july!) i will give Amieko and Shalelu their due, and probably put more effort in them for jade regent a bit.
i like the NPCs, especially Shalelu (i prefer outdoorsy blondes myself:) but as i said it is kind of hard (especially leveling them up, as i help my wife and daughter with that then i have the bard and ranger of myself and son too, just not enough time for that.
Is there a general consensus on their quality, or are they all good/bad? thanks for the help in advance.
I would not say there is a real consensus. Some APs have more supporters than others but there are always people who have problems with the APs liked by others.
CC, for example, is one of the more loved APs but I found it terrible enough to leave the game and save myself from having to endure the rest. And that's not because I don't like gothic horrow but because I love gothic horror too much to see CC as such.
Kingmaker on the other hand was an AP I LOVED but there are others who hate it because it is too sandbox/too free.
Before we can really give good advice we have to know what kinds of games your party likes.
When I was a young man I ran several NPCs at once and didn't have much trouble. Now that I'm older and have suffered burnout in the past... two is my limit. ^^;; Though I do wonder if Anna gives me trouble because I was still trying to find the character... or because she was originally intended to be kidnapped in Night Below and then I switched to Reign of Winter, had a player in a relationship with her, and didn't have the heart to write her off. ^^;; (That and I allowed a player to dictate her creation; I'd envisioned her as an Oracle (who was deaf) and he suggested that would be too annoying. And that we needed more arcane magic. So she had a level of Sorcerer... and a backstory that said "I absolutely hate my sorcerous abilities!")
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yeah, tangent, while not burned out myself (that 16 year break between RPGs helped there ;) between running 1 sometimes 2 PCs myself plus helping my wife and daughter with their combat decisions sometimes it feel like i'm running several NPCs at once and found that Ameiko and co just bogged it down even further for me, so leaving them with the caravan has prevented me from getting burned out (tho sometimes i still do a little bit) i wanted to go with pirates myself however that AP was delayed so when we started their was Jade Regent or Kingmaker both felt Jade Regent sounded more fun so here we are. i tried to subtly switch it to RoW when i got the first couple books from that but they were... resistant :)
it is fun tho and i regret nothing and they are having a great time.
and for the record my wife's witch is 10th level, still the chef (with Reta Bigbad as her Sous Chef, they brought Chief Gutwad and the surviving goblins with them on the journey) and still has not taken any ranks of profession plus if she hasn't used burning gaze that day she uses that for cooking:)
I am reminded of Dave from the webcomic College Roomies from Hell using his laser-vision to pop an entire bowl of popcorn. :D
And I think it rocks that your family is involved in your RPGs. :)
Still, when I eventually run Wrath of the Righteous for my group, I'm not going to run a GMPC. (I'll see if I can merge the Skype and Tabletop groups for it, however.) I suspect three NPCs will more than fulfill my attention! Well, unless I run a mute/deaf Oracle.... ;)
yeah, tangent, while not burned out myself (that 16 year break between RPGs helped there ;) between running 1 sometimes 2 PCs myself plus helping my wife and daughter with their combat decisions sometimes it feel like i'm running several NPCs at once and found that Ameiko and co just bogged it down even further for me, so leaving them with the caravan has prevented me from getting burned out (tho sometimes i still do a little bit) i wanted to go with pirates myself however that AP was delayed so when we started their was Jade Regent or Kingmaker both felt Jade Regent sounded more fun so here we are. i tried to subtly switch it to RoW when i got the first couple books from that but they were... resistant :)
it is fun tho and i regret nothing and they are having a great time.
and for the record my wife's witch is 10th level, still the chef (with Reta Bigbad as her Sous Chef, they brought Chief Gutwad and the surviving goblins with them on the journey) and still has not taken any ranks of profession plus if she hasn't used burning gaze that day she uses that for cooking:)
You will have to take at least Ameiko with you in module six, anyway, so prepare yourself mentally for that occurence.
nope just the seal:) it doesn't matter what the adventure says:)
thats a long way off anyway (especially if it takes awhile to murder all the fleas the dog infested our house with:( its been a two week battle so far....
i'll probably never use another insect swarm in pathfinder ever again:)
Oh, well. You might just kill all the NPC's off then and put the seal on the throne. :-/
Captain, get several night lights. Put bowls of soapy water directly under them. The fleas jump to the light (probably drawn by the heat so don't use LED lights) and then drown in the water. It works wonders.
Ah, Runeforge... or as my players know it, "The Plane of Elemental Dungeon".
Carrion Crown is, IMO, pretty good and even better for Captain Yesteryears playstile. No recurring NPC's to worry about, it's all the party, all the time.
Captain, get several night lights. Put bowls of soapy water directly under them. The fleas jump to the light (probably drawn by the heat so don't use LED lights) and then drown in the water. It works wonders.
We did the lights with water no LED didn't have much luck, the good news is after weeks of futility and more flea baths then i care to count, not to mention putting so much salt and dioctomous (sp?) earth on the carpets plus getting rid of all furniture except bookshelves and mattresses (which have been sealed in plastic sitting in a hot tent in full sun for the last week) i think i won! no bites on the kids and the dog's mood has improved considerably:)
still no insect swarms tho, too soonand magnuskn, i'm fine with the amatatsu seal being emperor, its still better then the Jade Regent!
and i'm sure, considering i paid full price for all the AP books plus the dragon empires gazetteer and primer at my FLGS nobody at Paizo is going to cry over not properly utilizing Ameiko and Shalelu (well James Jacobs might, but if i see him at GenCon next summer i'll buy him a round of hard root beer and all will be forgiven, i'll even buy you a round if that helps;)
Gotta send it to Germany. ;) Seriously, though, maybe Jade Regent was the wrong AP to run if additional NPC's stress you out so much. Bit late for that insight, I know and canceling a running AP sucks gravel through a curly straw. I had to do it for Kingmaker, because I hated the material so much and it still kinda makes me frown with disappointment.
i wouldn't call it stress, no sleep has been lost, i love the adventure path, i don't dislike the NPCs, if i had more players i would've put more effort into them and it was too late to change the moment my wife and daughter made their characters, now i'm not derailing the thread anymore then i have (sorry people!) if you want you're more then welcome to send me PM to continue the discussion, and my wife took many years of german in both high school and college and made a few trips to germany before we got married so don't think i won't buy you a drink sometime:)
(well James Jacobs might...)Nah.
Run the game the way you want to run it. It's your game, after all, not mine.
well i'll still buy you a round if you want if i see you at paizocon or gencon next summer which one is TBD, we're closer to gencon but lived in seattle (our daughter was born at swedish hospital and i'm more familiar with it, never been too indianapolis but thats never stopped me before:)
if you want you're more then welcome to send me PM to continue the discussion, and my wife took many years of german in both high school and college and made a few trips to germany before we got married so don't think i won't buy you a drink sometime:)
Well, looking forward to that one day. :) I think we've exhausted this avenue of discussion pretty much, anyway. :p
agreed! i can't wait to see germany some day soon, and i respect and appreciate your position. if things were different and i had an experienced group or even one or two more people Ameiko would get her time to shine... not to worry RotRL she will!
Well, one last thing as for that: In RotRL, she is pretty much just luggage as written by the adventure. As such, Jade Regent is her chance to shine on her own, so that is why I put that in so high regard. Anyway, that's it. :p
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I find it curious that so mean people seem to really, really like the Reign of Winter AP. No offense to the people who worked hard on this...I won the first one at a con earlier this year. I was completely turned off by the world hopping...and even more when I read about killing Rasputin...tanks etc.
It's also one of the main reason why the Numeria Iron Gods has no interest for me. I'm an old purist at heart...I don't like things intruding on my Fantasy elements. Giant robots, spaceships and world hopping etc just don't seem to fit for me and I think it pulls you out of the Pathfinder Fantasy element.
From people who have played in it...am I being too harsh? Or is it simply that it is most likely not my cup of tea and I should stick those APs that are more standard fantasy world fare? I'm new to Pathfinder as a whole, and Reign of Winter seemed to get some of the best reviews since Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne...yet my Fantasy is for Fantasy only brain seems to be having an incredibly difficult time merging the concept.
I should point out I have only read the first book of the AP. Again...no offense to anyone...is this most likely a case of "these APs are obviously no for you"...or am I missing a broader stroke to this and the future Iron Gods AP and should give them more of a chance?
My favourite AP is a bit tricky...but I'd probably vote for either Rise of the Runelords or Crimson Throne
(Disclaimer.: my collection does mot include Jade regent or later)
Why?
I felt the character interaction and non-combat sections were the strongest in these campaigns. There was a genuine sense of being able to get players to care about the NPCs which I felt has been absent in the later APs.
Admittedly I'm not a fan of "sins of the savoirs"... but generally I thought they were overall better than the APs that followed Crimson Throne.
Some specifics :
Second darkness had some great ideas but had too many sections I felt were weak (although the dramatic turning of a certain imprtant character was really excellent).
Legacy of fire: not too much wrong with it but not outstanding either.
Council of thieves tried to be experimental ; I dont mind that per se, but those experiments failed too often for my liking. The whole Opera part just failed to work *at all* for me (no significant player choice for a long section of the game) and the rest of the series I could take or leave. ..the villains felt uninteresting to me as a GM.
Kingsmaker had good points, but lacked the kind of narrative cohesion I'd have liked to have seen, it felt far too "bitty" and disconnected.
Serpents skull : had alot of promise in sections, and liked the ideas of factions..but found the factions themselves a bit dull and some of the adventures felt a bit flat. A decent AP but felt it could have done so much *more* with the extremely promising core concept.
Carrion Crown : some individual adventures were good, but others less so. The one with vampires was particularly uninspired (Not bad, just..meh; the plot was far too familiar) but it was not the only offender.
Dont get me wrong, I think that as a rule the APs are creditable productions....
....for me All of the APs have been around 3.5 stars (I'm talking when viewed as APs, not how good some individual adventures are) ...but I wouldnt award beyond that, except maybe the first two APs (sins aside) which I'd probably rate at 4 to 4.5 stars.
(As a comparison, I'd rarely rate any adventure from 2e or 3e D&D above a 3 stars. I dont think I can think of any Pf/D20 product I'd rate at 5 stars, but from other systems "Masks of Nyarlathotep" , "Eternal Lies" and "Beyond the Mountains of Madness" fall into that category.)
And seeing someone (james? i think ) mentioned feedback: overall I'd rate the paizo pathfinder line as 4 stars out of 5. A line of consistently good ( not totally outstanding but certainly well above average) quality products , worth buying, correctly priced. Sometimes I feel they work too far within a "proven product" zone, particularly with adventures, but this makes sound financial sense for them, so cant really fault them for that.
I'd rate Paizos involvement with thier fans/customers at 5, usually excellent, and a model for other companies.
I find it curious that so mean people seem to really, really like the Reign of Winter AP. No offense to the people who worked hard on this...I won the first one at a con earlier this year. I was completely turned off by the world hopping...and even more when I read about killing Rasputin...tanks etc.
It's also one of the main reason why the Numeria Iron Gods has no interest for me. I'm an old purist at heart...I don't like things intruding on my Fantasy elements. Giant robots, spaceships and world hopping etc just don't seem to fit for me and I think it pulls you out of the Pathfinder Fantasy element.
From people who have played in it...am I being too harsh? Or is it simply that it is most likely not my cup of tea and I should stick those APs that are more standard fantasy world fare? I'm new to Pathfinder as a whole, and Reign of Winter seemed to get some of the best reviews since Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne...yet my Fantasy is for Fantasy only brain seems to be having an incredibly difficult time merging the concept.
I should point out I have only read the first book of the AP. Again...no offense to anyone...is this most likely a case of "these APs are obviously no for you"...or am I missing a broader stroke to this and the future Iron Gods AP and should give them more of a chance?
I think it's probably just a matter of taste. There are many who enjoy the crossover aspect (and have been lobbying for such for some years) so they're pretty excited to be finally getting that more 'out of the box' genre.
.FWIW, my experience has been that it's often been the APs I'm expecting to not enjoy that have really caught my imagination. I think Paizo are really good at distilling the essence of an idea/mood/theme and then ensuring they bring out the best elements throughout the six books. I have never had any interest in 'exploring deepest, darkest Africa' adventures - yet Serpent's Skull was one of the most enjoyable APs to read (and to run halfway through). Similarly with Legacy of Fire - I had no connection nor interest in an 'Arabian' style adventure. But as it was coming out, I couldnt wait for the next month's release.
I'm generally like you in that I prefer my fantasy to be traditional fantasy. Nonetheless, I have no intention of dropping my sub when Iron Gods rolls around - I'm half expecting to be blown away by it, precisely because I'm not looking forward to it.... :/
That makes sense if you screw your brain up a little, I promise.
I would like to see an effort orchestrated that brought together APs, modules, and a PFS season to not just tell but determine major future event or events in Golarion. This might be best suited when opening up a new part of the world to exploration or discovery. I'm not sure how that could be pulled off however. Will Taldan or Cheliax reign supreme in the new world or will those born of that land throw them back in the sea? The risk associated with that does not escape me by the way. This would be a major investment by Paizo and it would have to be nailed.
An AP is a major investment for gamers too, both in time and money. specially when it takes two years to complete one as with our group. Is it interesting enough to warrant that committment? I will never be able to play them all.
I'm going to cancel my AP subscription after the Worldwound. Not interested in either of the two after that. No offense meant to anyone who is excited for them, they just both seem better suited for savage worlds than Pathfinder, but I have a Pulp impression of both those subject matters.
I have read the first two books of Wrath of the Righteous, great story so far, but I won't say more. Hope I get to play it someday.
I can't say I feel bad that its impossible to please everyone's expectations. The world was constructed to encompass a wide variety of tastes and in so doing added to that problem.
Keep plugging.
I wanted to thank the posters in this thread! It's been very insightful. As I've yet to play past the first module in an AP*, I'm still on the fence as to which one to pick up and run or seek out and play. As in many things, it probably depends a lot on the group.
So, thanks.
*KM: Player disppeared into jobland. JR: I disappeared into jobland. CC: TPK by a not-even-midboss when the GM rolled three confirmed criticals in plain sight, doing enough damage to one-shot three of our four-member party.
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I would like to see an effort orchestrated that brought together APs, modules, and a PFS season to not just tell but determine major future event or events in Golarion. This might be best suited when opening up a new part of the world to exploration or discovery. I'm not sure how that could be pulled off however. Will Taldan or Cheliax reign supreme in the new world or will those born of that land throw them back in the sea? The risk associated with that does not escape me by the way. This would be a major investment by Paizo and it would have to be nailed.
I have a very different opinion.
I greatly respect Paizo's handling of the metaplot in Golarion, that is, they'd tried to leave as much content playable and unspoiled as possible.
In my opinion, big org-play events steering the course of the meta-plot fiction doesn't really add much to the thousands of campaigns that individual groups are running. Advancing the timeline in their setting products only serves to create obstacles and confusion for GMs.
The earlier products where they assumed previous content had been played irritated me somewhat. Golarion stands apart as the setting with reams of adventure content that can play out in pretty much any order, without having to worry about the publisher's self-indulgent plot arcs.
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That said we are playing Serpents Skull into its Second book right now and even though the first was a bit shaky, the AP looks promising with the amount of player decisions you can make without having your GM have to rewrite the story from scratch.
I'm in the middle of DMing the 4th book in Serpents Skull and based on this comment my recomendation is that you start trying to re-work/replace Book 3 right now. The entire module is supposed to be some sort of sandbox but requires extensive GM rewrites with no maps to use. That said, Book 4 has been quite enjoyable so far.
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I'm a sucker for CotCT, and I think Part 5 (Skeletons of Scarwall) is one of the best adventures I've ever read in my 30 years of gaming.
Playing SoS felt like the original Ravenloft in many ways, and that's just one part of the Adventure Path.
I recommend CotCT to everyone who ever asks me as a good entry point.
Hopefully, Paizo will have the time/resources to collecting and updating it at some point.
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I find it curious that so mean people seem to really, really like the Reign of Winter AP. No offense to the people who worked hard on this...I won the first one at a con earlier this year. I was completely turned off by the world hopping...and even more when I read about killing Rasputin...tanks etc.
It's also one of the main reason why the Numeria Iron Gods has no interest for me. I'm an old purist at heart...I don't like things intruding on my Fantasy elements. Giant robots, spaceships and world hopping etc just don't seem to fit for me and I think it pulls you out of the Pathfinder Fantasy element.
From people who have played in it...am I being too harsh? Or is it simply that it is most likely not my cup of tea and I should stick those APs that are more standard fantasy world fare? I'm new to Pathfinder as a whole, and Reign of Winter seemed to get some of the best reviews since Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne...yet my Fantasy is for Fantasy only brain seems to be having an incredibly difficult time merging the concept.
I should point out I have only read the first book of the AP. Again...no offense to anyone...is this most likely a case of "these APs are obviously no for you"...or am I missing a broader stroke to this and the future Iron Gods AP and should give them more of a chance?
I would recommend reading the Rasputin volume. It reads wonderfully and the gameplay drips off the page.
It might change your mind.
RotR: 5/5
CotCT: 4/5
SD: 5/5
LoF: 3/5
CoT: 2/5
KM: 4/5
SS: 2/5
CC: 3/5
JR: 5/5
S&S: 4/5
ShS: 3/5
RoW: 4/5
WotR: undetermined
I'll post reasons why later, at work on break
RotR: 5/5
CotCT: 4/5
SD: 5/5
LoF: 3/5
CoT: 2/5
KM: 4/5
SS: 2/5
CC: 3/5
JR: 5/5
S&S: 4/5
ShS: 3/5
RoW: 4/5
WotR: undeterminedI'll post reasons why later, at work on break
You give Second Darkness 5 of 5?
Yeah, that's weird, even the people who really like SD tend to acknowledge the rough spots.
Legacy of Fire is probably my favorite, but I wouldn't say it's the best.
"Best" is a really hard thing to quantify, since it depends on what you're looking for. For many people, Rise of the Runelords will be "best" because the aim of that AP, creatively speaking, was to create the most traditional possible AP to anchor the setting. And it succeeded admirably.
But what if you value originality or outright weirdness? I do. That's why LoF is near the top of my list. I haven't read Reign of Winter, but I suspect I would like it, too.
But LoF has everything I look for in an AP — a setting that would be work for me to research on my own, insanely colorful locales and artwork, and a plot that I can customize with liberal editing (all but required for the AP).
Yeah, that's weird, even the people who really like SD tend to acknowledge the rough spots.
Legacy of Fire is probably my favorite, but I wouldn't say it's the best.
"Best" is a really hard thing to quantify, since it depends on what you're looking for. For many people, Rise of the Runelords will be "best" because the aim of that AP, creatively speaking, was to create the most traditional possible AP to anchor the setting. And it succeeded admirably.
But what if you value originality or outright weirdness? I do. That's why LoF is near the top of my list. I haven't read Reign of Winter, but I suspect I would like it, too.
But LoF has everything I look for in an AP — a setting that would be work for me to research on my own, insanely colorful locales and artwork, and a plot that I can customize with liberal editing (all but required for the AP).
While its not my favorite, I agree that LoF doesn't get the mention it deserves. Great AP. Just wish they'd update it. (hint, hint)
The best AP's we've actually played have been Rise of the Runelords and Skull n Shackles... but Wrath of the Righteous is looking pretty damned strong right now.
I ran Kingmaker for my group. They really liked it. Though the group tends to get bored easily. So we didn't end up finishing it. It's a great sandbox AP though.
I'm getting ready start running WotR in the next few weeks. It looks very good. I'm really looking forward to it. I also really like the Mystic rules.
I always liked the three old Dungeon APs, Sunken City, Age of Worms, and Savage Tides. They were long and weren't prefect, but they were epic! That's one thing I miss about a lot of the "newer" APs. Don't get me wrong, they're very good. But at the same time I really miss the pure epicness of the original 3. I mean at the end of AoW you fight a God! Granted he's severely weekend and more of a demigod at the time, but still!. Another reason I'm looking forward to WotR.
-Kcinlive
If I would guess, I would say that the length is part of it, but I feel like there is a more "grandiose" feeling to the Dungeon APs on the whole. Now of the three I've only been able to play through Savage Tide, but by the end of it you were cutting deals with Grazzt and Malcanthet, and then taking on Demogorgon head on! I also was a huge fan of the Vanderborens and their relationship to the PCs and each other, and how that developed through the AP.
In general, the Pathfinder APs seem to have a smaller scale feel in general, it isn't so much "save the universe" as it is "save the Country" or the city.
Now that said, I'm speaking with nostalgia goggles on, Savage Tide was what got me into APs, so it's easy for me to remember what I loved,and forget about what I disliked.
Also, I love the Pathfinder APs, and don't think I actually agree with the statement that the Dungeon era ones were stronger products. So I may be completely offbase here.
That's an interesting observation... because doing encounters and events like the ones you mention were not really possible in Pathfinder until we got Mythic Adventures out there. Now that it IS out there, things like Wrath of the Righteous (which will please fans of Savage Tide, I suspect) can exist.
Furthermore, after Savage Tide and Age of Worms, us shifting from "Save the world" to "Save the country" was a specific reaction to reader feedback. With "Wrath of the Righteous" we are indeed doing a save the world AP... we've done a few others before as well, such as Second Darkness.
Great feedback though; thanks!
I also agree With this. Age of Worms is my favourite AP that I've played through. We're also in the middle of Savage Tide at the moment, and I'm loving it.
It's a big bummer that you don't reach level 20 in regular Pathfinder AP's so Wrath of the Righteous is going to be great.
RotR: 5/5
CotCT: 4/5
SD: 5/5
LoF: 3/5
CoT: 2/5
KM: 4/5
SS: 2/5
CC: 3/5
JR: 5/5
S&S: 4/5
ShS: 3/5
RoW: 4/5
WotR: undeterminedI'll post reasons why later, at work on break
RotR: Started it all, and the edits with the special anniversary edition did made it all the better.
CotCT: Very enjoyable, would probably have been 5/5 if organized a bit better (feels disjointed in a few places)SD: I love Drow, and what Paizo did with them makes this one of the most memorable AP's.
LoF: Would have been better, but I felt no real connection to the setting...
CoT: Like CotCT, but even more disjointed, and I felt almost no fear from the evil baddies...
KM: Love it, but it could use some more connection between the quests and exploration, and with more rules for the kingdom making.
SS: Did not like the PCs, felt little to no connection to any enemies, and the battles and adventures felt... janky...
CC: Could have been better if it didn't feel so gothic. Thrown in some Cthulhu-esque horror on top of it and then it would have been better.
JR: Easily my most favorite (save book 3, for obvious reasons). And propping up Ameiko whilst getting with Shalelu? YES!
S&S: Pirates. Nuff said.
ShS: Too many "go here and get this" quests.
RoW: You fight Rasputin, evil magic tanks and eventually get to decide (mostly) the fate of Irrisen.
WotR: Haven't played...
Another vote for Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition from me.
Every player (whether GM or PC)needs to experience Runeforge.
Really? would you mind to explain why in further detail? I'm asking because I consider parts 4 and 5 of RotR to be the weakest in the campaign... with 1,2 and 3 being excellent low level adventures and part 6 being an excellent high level adventure, but parts 4 and 5 being kind of standard and uninteresting.
I agree... partially. Book 4 and book 5 are both fun to play the runeforge is after all great fun and so was the dungeon in book 4. The problem was IMHO.
Books 1,2,3 were soooo great that book 4 and 5 pale in comparison.The problem with book 4 & 5 is that they both are a lotta dungeon crawl. We had almost finished AP 5 but ... we couldn't stand it anymore. This is also when you reach levels where fights become tedious and much much too long.
But nevertheless AP 4 and 5 are great. It's just the overall scheme of 2 long dungeons in a row is well .... too much.
I'll second WAY OF THE WICKED.... It is so much fun to play/read/run.... and such a fresh air (and it goes to lvl 20). I fear though that AP 4 will be a bit too long.
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I just advertised the classic dungeon parts of Runelords to my players in advance. I made it a selling point, so they didn't mind so much when they found themselves trapped on the plane of elemental dungeon.
Set expectations openly with any adventure path. It helps. A lot.
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Late to the party here, I am just finishing up running Part V, Sins of the Savior from the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition. The Runeforge is a challenging buzz saw of death for 13th or 14th level characters. Coupled with the first four parts of Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition, this Adventure has been nothing short of Epic, rivaling Gygax's Giants and Drow series.