We are just now wrapping up Kingmaker - we loved the sandboxy nature of it and the flexibility I had as a GM in changing events around and adding my own stuff. Great fun.
So which AP have been your favorite? I have to rule out Rise of the Rune Lords, Kingmaker obviously, Carrion Crown (playing it) and Council of Thieves (played it).
That leaves:
Curse of Crimson Throne
Second Darkness
Legacy of Fire
Serpent's Skull
Jade Regent (player has expressed interest in this one)
Skull and Shackles
Shattered Star
Reign of War
Wrath of the Righteous
Skull and shackles is probably the most sandboxy of the remaining aps, plus who doesnt want to be a pirate?
I'll second Skull and Shackles, once they get past the 1st book.
My group and I really enjoyed Second Darkness, if that helps. I haven't played any of the other APs yet, but I really like the look of Jade Regent personally (I'm a sucker for geography, though), and Shattered Star seems like a lot of fun.
As a GM, I've learned that it can be a good idea to present YOUR players with the options, maybe even take a session "off" to discuss where to go from here. I'm a "nice-guy" GM, though, so if you prefer to keep secrets from the players, that's up to you.
We are just now wrapping up Kingmaker - we loved the sandboxy nature of it and the flexibility I had as a GM in changing events around and adding my own stuff. Great fun.
So which AP have been your favorite? I have to rule out Rise of the Rune Lords, Kingmaker obviously, Carrion Crown (playing it) and Council of Thieves (played it).
That leaves:
Curse of Crimson Throne
Second Darkness
Legacy of Fire
Serpent's Skull
Jade Regent (player has expressed interest in this one)
Skull and Shackles
Shattered Star
Reign of War
Wrath of the Righteous
Skull and Shackles, absolutely. So much you can do with it outside the AP if so inclined. Wish we had used a slower progression so we could have enjoyed it even longer.
Personally I really liked Legacy of Fire. Good balance of exotic locations and challenging dungeons. Only problem is the need to convert to PF from 3.5. The end fight for it is properly epic and the power level of it all is quite cool.
noblejohn, have you considered running a homebrew campaign set in the kingdom your player's built in Kingmaker? Set it a few years after they finished Kingmaker, with the kingdom funding their own new expedition and expansion project(s), possibly into Iobaria. :D
While I did add a ton of my own content to Kingmaker, running totally homebrew scares me a bit. Kingmaker has been my first official AP I have ever run and I have a much better idea of what works and what doesn't, but it was really nice to have the world built up so I could add what I wanted when I have time.
I also learned though that it is a lot of investment to learn a written AP. I really feel like I need to read all 6 modules before running so I know what leeway I have to make changes or add on the fly. If you are running homebrew, I feel like there is more flexibility and less up front planning required.
I think I need one more AP before I am ready for homebrew, but thanks for the suggestion, I like the idea.
noblejohn, have you considered running a homebrew campaign set in the kingdom your player's built in Kingmaker? Set it a few years after they finished Kingmaker, with the kingdom funding their own new expedition and expansion project(s), possibly into Iobaria. :D
While I did add a ton of my own content to Kingmaker, running totally homebrew scares me a bit. Kingmaker has been my first official AP I have ever run and I have a much better idea of what works and what doesn't, but it was really nice to have the world built up so I could add what I wanted when I have time.
I also learned though that it is a lot of investment to learn a written AP. I really feel like I need to read all 6 modules before running so I know what leeway I have to make changes or add on the fly. If you are running homebrew, I feel like there is more flexibility and less up front planning required.
I think I need one more AP before I am ready for homebrew, but thanks for the suggestion, I like the idea.
If you decide to run Skull & Shackles, drop me a line - I'd love to discuss some of the things we did differently, and some of the things we wish we'd done.