A couple friends and I are trying to get back into Playing Pathfinder. We had to take a break after graduating, going our separate geographical ways taking time to find steady employment. We don't want to jump right into homebrewing a setting/story and are trying to find an adventure path to run.
We're looking for an AP that:
- Has solid social interaction/roleplaying opportunities
- Has puzzle solving, Mysteries, or some system where creativity is rewarded
- Will be simple/easy to run.
In general, something that will be easy to run for a bunch of people getting back into it, that will have more depth to it that just kicking down doors and charging into a room.
Any suggestions?
My knee-jerk suggestion is Curse of the Crimson Throne, with the caveat that it's 3.5 so some things might need tweaking to bring it up to Pathfinder standard, but it shouldn't take too much work. The plot is solid, there's lots of good NPC interaction and plenty of prompts for PC activity, riddles and rumors and theories and stuff for them to figure out, an entire chapter devoted to solving a huge mystery (which also happens to have one of the BEST AP chapter names in the history of Paizo, and be a darned solid chapter and plot and challenge to boot), another chapter devoted to diplomacy at different levels (sometimes involving talking, sometimes involving tests of skill, and some involving combat), and one of the most iconic dungeon crawls in the history of Pathfinder.
I'd really be very tempted to put it forward as the best AP Paizo has ever done, and one of the very few that can be run pretty much out of the box with minimal tweaking. Just again remember it's 3.5 so some minor adjustments may need to be made - among the most notable, either remember to put your players on the Fast XP track, or don't use XP at all and just level them up when the AP says to.
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While Curse of the Crimson Throne is one I'd highly recommend as well it does have the 3.5 caveat. Which doesn't amount to too much difference except for the CR difference in a few monsters and some on the fly CMB/CMD calculations.
Having recently read Mummy's Mask I'm going to put that forward as fulfilling the criteria you're searching for. There's a series of excellent mysteries/archaeological puzzle solving, there's fantastic RP opportunities and I think it's the easiest to run "out of the box" of any AP I've seen since Rise of the Runelords.
Speaking of which Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition is another great AP for running straight out of the box.
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Yes, Anniversery Edition Rise of the Runelords is a cheap and excellent choice, although there are large stretches of it that are kind of mindless.
If you are into horror themes, Carrion Crown could be the AP for you. During most of it the players will be involved in social situations, there are some mysteries to solve, and the dungeons are usually more interesting than just a head bashing romp. I'm not sure how easy the campaign is to run but it shouldn't be harder than usual or anything.
As someone who's run Carrion Crown, I wouldn't recommend it for a group that's out of practice. It's got some hiccups here and there that, if you're not prepared for how to handle them, will leave players' heads scratching. Also, it has a villain who comes completely out of nowhere towards the end and it's highly recommended that you read the whole thing ahead of time and try to foreshadow some.
That said, having read it but not played it, I'd have to agree with the Mummy's Mask suggestion.
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I'll agree with the Runelords anniversary edition and Mummy's Mask. Crimson Throne is also very solid, but as mentioned, requires a fair amount of work to convert from 3.5 to PFRPG.
One AP that just doesn't get much love is Shattered Star. Its very heavy on the dungeon crawling, and is a clichéd "collect the artifacts" adventure, but it's very solid, and those dungeons have lots of puzzles and RP opportunities. It also works very well out of the box with little extra work needed.
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I'll agree with the Runelords anniversary edition and Mummy's Mask. Crimson Throne is also very solid, but as mentioned, requires a fair amount of work to convert from 3.5 to PFRPG.
One AP that just doesn't get much love is Shattered Star. Its very heavy on the dungeon crawling, and is a clichéd "collect the artifacts" adventure, but it's very solid, and those dungeons have lots of puzzles and RP opportunities. It also works very well out of the box with little extra work needed.
I was thinking about Shattered Star but decided not to recommend it due to it's plot dependancy on earlier APs. For a group just starting out, that can be confusing or weird. I do agree it is otherwise an excellent choice, though.
It's not so much dependency as continuity. You don't need to know anything about the previous APs other than what is given in the SS books. They're fun nods or rememberences if you've already played them before, but no actual previous playing is necessary.
My personal favorite has been Kingmaker AP, but I'd suggest Council of Thieves to start off. I'm currently running a melded Council of Thieves/Second Darkness adventure path (with Second Darkness taking place in Westcrown instead of Riddleport) and my players are having a blast. They especially have loved every portion of the second module of Council of Thieves.
Has solid social interaction/role playing opportunities:
In the first module, the interaction with the various members of The Children of Westcrown. The gnomish pimp trying to get the female members of the party to work for her was great fun.
But it is the second module of the adventure path that really stands out. The PCs become actors in a lawful evil Shakespearean death play called the Six Trials of Larazod. I printed out 6 copies of the script for the play and had the players read out their lines. they loved it, each act basically ends with the PCs engaging in some dangerous trial or combat on the stage)
Then attend a party with the nobility of Westcrown and try and gather information/rumors from them.
Has puzzle solving, Mysteries, or some system where creativity is rewarded?
Yes, there are various mysteries to be solved throughout the AP. Who is the Council of Theives? What is the cause of the shadow beasts prowling Westcrown's streets at night.
Easy to run?
Yeah, fairly simple as long as you get a handle on the various NPCs. It is an urban adventure so not too heavy on the kicking down doors and charging into rooms.