Thoughts on running an Pathfinder AP with Burning Wheel


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Has anyone attempted to do this yet? I am reading up on the Burning Wheel RPG currently but am curious if anyone has made an attempt at this.


My first inclination when I find another ruleset I like and start thinking about running PF APs with it is to try and isolate what it is I like about that ruleset, and work out if there's a way to replicate it in Pathfinder - mostly because it's a lot easier then to run the AP "as is" without having to convert everything.

For example, I found myself really liking the "story points" mechanic from Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space, so I just imported that in place of Pathfinder's "Hero Points".

The main difference between the two is that a player can make a GM-fiat-level suggestion ("can I have a guard burst in and help us out?", "can there be a sword hanging on the wall I can grab?", "can there just happen to be a ball of string in my pocket?") and if the GM agrees, they spend a Story Point (or a number of them for something *really* big) to make it happen.

What is it you like about Burning Wheel (which I have to admit I'm unfamiliar with, so this may well be a silly suggestion I'm making), and is there a viable way to change the Pathfinder rules to do something similar?


I've been running Kingmaker using BW for a little over a year now.

https://githyankidiaspora.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/traditions-of-the-swordl ords-book-1/

i've altered the module quite a bit.

If you have any questions, please let me know.


I advise against it, but I am curious to hear what those in favor think.

To me, the Burning Wheel system is antithetical to an AP. The GM has a mandate to craft their game around the character's beliefs. When playing an AP, it's often best to let the game's events shape your character.

It's certainly not impossible to take an AP as inspiration for a campaign, but trying to actually run the AP as intended in BW proves to be... difficult at best.

For example, there's often that person who makes a Brevoy-centered political intrigue PC in Kingmaker games. While it's relatively easy in Pathfinder to redirect that character's ambitions into the Stolen Lands, Burning Wheel characters are like cruise missiles that unswervingly target their backstories. It's not impossible! But it should be much, much harder, by design, to redirect characters into the AP's metaplot. Especially since the Kingmaker metaplot is a bit nebulous.

I also think that structurally, Torchbearer is a better fit amongst the BWHQ games. Although it would exhibit some of the same problems, the importance of character beliefs is quite diminished and there's a lot more of the normal fantasy RPG tropes to latch on to. Plus, its intense themes of survival and exploration are a natural synergy with Kingmaker.


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If you want to run the Adventure Path as written and hit all of the beats proposed in the module, Mythic Evil Lincoln is absolutely right.

However, if the players read the free player's guide on the AP and make their beliefs about the AP's situation, it can be fun to use Adventure Paths as a starting inspiration point.

But I'd be prepared for the game to go in surprising directions that might very well be off the path and off the map. I am running Kingmaker and I'm not spending any energy directing my players back into the AP. I'm challenging their beliefs and going wherever the dice might fall.

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