Our group's GM is trying to encourage more of us to get into GMig (the group does contain a D/GM with at least 10 yrs experience that I know of but he's a tad on the psychotic side) so I, with some trepidation, said that I'd have a go at GMing of a small side game. So as indicated in the title, what path or module should I pick?
I want something 1st level for 4 players that gives a good impression of the Golarion setting since the GM in question looks down his nose at pre-established settings and thinks everything should be created from scratch*.
*using bits culled from various sources with name changes set in a world** of his own making.
**A world, for reasons unfathomable to me, of which you could fit the entire surface area of the planet into Geb, with a population a fraction of the size and where your average Joe on the street is level 10***
***Level 10 is considered weak 'cause I can show you loads of things in the bestiary that could wipe the floor with you'.
(He's actually a really good GM btw)
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Look for some PFS sceanarios they are pretty cheap and give you a chance to explore the setting a bit. Also, I believe there is a free module or two laying around the site but may be more limited in showing off Golarion. Here you go.
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There is always Rise of the Runelords as long as your group hasn't done it already. (Such things still exist!)
Journeys to the West have some very fantastic adventures set in Midgard, including some low level stuff.
Stoneheart Valley can get you some nice old school adventuring in The Lost Lands of Necromancer- I mean, Frog God Games. :)
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For fun and cost I am a big fan of we be goblins which is free.
You have well spelled out crazy goblin charters.
Another adventure that was fun to run do to it role play was
Murder on the throaty Mermaid.
Jester fraud has a really creepy bad guy.
Green river rescue has role playing and strategy
The traitor lodge has a wonderful can you deliver 3 spells in one round? to play a an unusual charterer
The halls of dwarven lore has a mixture of combat roll play and puzzle solving and dwarves
The quest for perfection series is good the
The defenders of nesting swallow is the best where play decision have a direct impact on the fight please run all tree it has a good boon for animal companion and monk
The paled plague is good for player actions and choice win or lose the scenario.
Rise of the goblin guild has an interesting urban setting.
Library of the lion is a skill monkey adventure with choices and planning.
I would also recommend Runelords. The hardcover is a complete campaign that (at least for me) required no futzing, homework or expansion on my part other than reading it. The only other AP I've run is Serpent's Skull, which I would avoid (as it takes a lot of extra work to GM).
Thanks for the suggestions.
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Runelords is a good one if you're looking to do a long term campaign.
Since you mentioned this is just a side game, you might want to consider Pathfinder Society. Not just using the adventures as others suggested, but actually making a PFS home game, playing entirely by PFS rules. This way, you just play with whatever players happen to show up that day, and don't worry about who's missing. And if you ever want to play at a public game day or convention somewhere, you can bring the same character along. There are a ton of good PFS adventures available.
I started off with We be Goblins to introduce my players to Pathfinder and converted all of them into regular players. In my opinion it teaches the basics well and is neither too short or too long. With the second book We be Goblins too! you've probably got about 20 hours of gaming.
We be Goblins. I didn't enjoy the second installment as much, but the first one is awesome. They will be talking about it for years to come.
As A new GM, I would avoid starting off with an adventure path. That is a major commitment in time and effort. You want to get your feat wet a bit first. I would run one of the 1st level modules others have mentioned, and then segway into runelords if you find you have a taste for gming and want an extended campaign. There isnt alot of harm in starting runelords at level 2 or 3, (just use the level guidelines instead of xp, and beef up the first few encounters a bit).
I do think rise of the runelords is going to show the most polished parts of golarion, though I like jade regeant for that too, showing the variation available in the setting since you travel such a great distance over the course of the adventure.
The Godsmouth Heresy is decent.
The Crypt of the Everflame is also quite nice, and it has two sequels by Masks of the Living God and City of Golden Death that you can string together.
The First Steps: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 can be nice, and best of all is they are free.
The thing to learn about Paizo scenarios and modules is that they have a specific way of writing things. Sometimes important details are embedded in paragraphs detailing something, which you might overlook if you're in a rush. For this reason you should likely make an entry in some location (notepad is nice) that details what the PCs are supposed to find and by which checks they are going to come into said findings.
This was endemic of Dragon'd Demand when a friend tried to run it without reading the paragraphs fully, and essentially running it as he went.
Point is: if you want to run printed material then you'll want to sit down and read the entire module ahead of time and take notes (mental of written) to translate the module's wordiness into simple and concise statements for what happens in said rooms.
B.4
Perception (x) = Find Mithil notched daggers.
Sense motive (y) = He is holding something back.
Disable Device (z) = Pick door's lock.
Perception (h) = detect trap.
etc.
The biggest thing to keep in mind when it comes to Paizo modules is that they are not intended to challenge an optimized group. Look at the NPCs created as pre-mades in the module. More often than not these characters contain every skill required, and the combat is more or less designed with them in mind.
It is rare to run into a group of enemies that is likely to wipe the party, and Paizo absolutely loves having single bosses as end-bosses that may or may not have support. Sometimes this means they can kill one of the PCs before being cut down, but still, there is little threat of TPK.
I throw my vote in for "We be Goblins".
It's short, sweet, teaches the basics well, and the pre-generated characters means that you won't have to deal with any crazy builds while you run it.
Also, the PC's get to be psychotic goblins, which is always fun for a short term game.