Best modules for beginning group?


Advice


As the thread title says, I'm wondering which modules are best to start with. My group is made up entirely of people with roleplaying experience but none with Pathfinder/3.5, and none with actual GMing experience.

We're purposefully skipping the beginner box and heading straight into the full rules, as we want to get to APs once I've got a bit of GM time under my belt, the idea being that we'll use pregens for a few modules, then roll up fresh characters to go APing with.

So, all that said... best modules to start with? In particular, are any of the more recent modules (particularly Dragon's Demand or Emerald Spire) viable starting points, or would we be better served with something else?


I have a brand new DM who is running the Emerald Spire, and so far, from me checking his progress after finishing a dungeon, he has done alright. Emerald Spire is 13 levels deep with RP sections in the Hellknight citadel.

Honestly you want to start with dungeon scenarios if possible. The First Steps series is now, mostly, retired from PFS but it gave a wide berth of experience for what takes place in Pathfinder.

Run The First Steps: Part 1, 2, and 3. They'll hit level 2.
This should give everyone a fairly novice understanding of the game and the disparate parts of rpgs.
Now, use the Pregens in the back of The Crypt of Everflame, and delve that dungeon.

This should give you experience as a DM and the players experience as PCs.

If you want to dive into an AP at this point you can. Keep in mind that APs typically last anywhere between 1 - 3 years depending on how often you play, how long you play when you do, and how much you get done.

So far I've played through Second Darkness, began Curse of the Crimson Throne and Kingmaker, and currently playing Emerald Spire.

My recommendation is:
First Steps 1, 2, 3 => Crypt of Everflame => Second Darkness
or
First Steps 1, 2, 3 => Emerald Spire
or
First Steps 1, 2, 3 => Dragon's Demand

Silver Crusade

I'd start with We Be Goblins, using the pregen characters. It's freely available through this web site in PDF form, although you might want a paper copy anyway. It's an easy and fun adventure, both to run and to play. A new GM, but experienced RPG enthusiast, should need around five hours to thoroughly prepare this adventure, but could 'wing it' with just 3 hours of prep.

Perhaps the fledgling PCs fight a group of four particularly competent goblins and loot their bodies ... Give your players' new level 1 PCs some experience and loot at start, to reflect the player experience in We Be Goblins.

Start with something simple and Core Rule Book before venturing into more complicated situations.


Taku Ooka Nin wrote:

First Steps 1, 2, 3 => Crypt of Everflame => Second Darkness

Isn't that made somewhat more difficult by the 3.5ness of Second Darkness? Surely one of the other APs from Council on forward would be easier to deal with?

Magda Luckbender wrote:
Perhaps the fledgling PCs fight a group of four particularly competent goblins and loot their bodies ... Give your players' new level 1 PCs some experience and loot at start, to reflect the player experience in We Be Goblins.

My players would have my head on a platter if we killed Poog. He's done us far too much good in the card game. ;)

Besides, I'd rather save We Be Goblins for a prelude immediately before Jade Regent (which is on our shortlist of APs to run through).

Definitely going to go take a peek at those First Steps scenarios, though.


Frog God Game "Stoneheart Valley" begins with an introductory adventure with notes for first time gm's.


Four Dollar Dungeons Horn of Geryon is a great 1st level wilderness adventure with lots of GM guidance in the module. Read Endzeitgeists review of it.


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber

Dungeon Mag 114 - Mad God's Key

Put together by someone who seems to know how to construct an excellent introductory adventure, with engaging city and dungeon elements. And lots of hooks for ongoing adventures.

Yes, it's 3.5, but would only need minor work to adjust to PF and has worked very well for the several groups I've run through it, from novices to grognards.

Reggie.


I like the falcon's hollow line starting with the free hollow's last hope (D0), going over to crown of he cobold king, Revenge of the Kobold King...

I'm just gming that myself. But not everyone likes dungeoncrawl.


James Sinnett wrote:
Taku Ooka Nin wrote:

First Steps 1, 2, 3 => Crypt of Everflame => Second Darkness

Isn't that made somewhat more difficult by the 3.5ness of Second Darkness? Surely one of the other APs from Council on forward would be easier to deal with?

Actually, the 3.5 variants are weaker than their pathfinder equals making it an, overall, easier campaign.

The DM that I helped train more or less cut his teeth on Second Darkness. The only thing that is missing from SD is CMB and CMD, so just remember how to calculate these and it is easy. Remember the skill equivalencies (Spot, Listen, Search = Perception, .etc) and you're golden.


I'll second Hollow's Last Hope as a good mod for learning the game. I don't know that it hits the OP's criteria though, since its a 3.5 mod that has no pre-gens. Still it is easy to convert and making characters makes a great "adventure 0" session.

If you're willing to do those things HLH has a little of everything: roleplaying, wilderness exploration with interesting random encounters, site-based and dungeon crawl threats and a plot line that encourages the players to actually engage and care enough to be heroes.

You don't even have to go on into the Kobold modules afterwards if you don't want. The region around the town is ripe with hooks from the first adventure. You could write your own stuff or run the other mods. There's even a guide to the larger area of Darkmoon Vale available to purchase from Paizo if you want to expand the campaign.

Sovereign Court

I second The Crypt of Everflame. Easy to run. Fun to play.


I don't need pregens in-mod; I've got the NPC Codex so I've got the level-1 Iconics there. Pregens sorted!


James Sinnett wrote:
I don't need pregens in-mod; I've got the NPC Codex so I've got the level-1 Iconics there. Pregens sorted!

Just to point this out: pregens provided in a module tend to be build with the specific purpose of being able to defeat the module. You are not going to run into a situation where no one has a required skill if you use the pregens.


Thanael wrote:
Four Dollar Dungeons Horn of Geryon is a great 1st level wilderness adventure with lots of GM guidance in the module. Read Endzeitgeists review of it.

All of 4DD modules seem to be gathering awesome reviews emphasizing the user-friendliness for GMs and also the great value of the adventures.

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