Best AP for a new GM

[Kinetik]

Hi, Im interested in trying my hand at GMing again, ive only done it once before (Council fo thieves) AP a few years ago. I was very good at keeping everything flowing and being descriptive with the battles and plots. not so good with improvisation and still learning how to prep as a GM

I was away from the game for a while, coming back earlier this year and playing alot of PFS play. looking to find an AP that I can eventually run in a home game and wondering, with all the ones that have been released since council fo thieves and with the above information taken into account.

What AP would you recommend for me to pick up.

[Jericho Graves]

For a new GM the Rise of the Runelords AP is a great starter place. Many of the APs are good, however. I personally started Carrion Crown, only intending to play the first book as an october/horror themed one-off but my players are still going.

[captain yesterday]

Mummy's Mask and Reign of Winter are both good choices
Shattered Star and Jade Regent are also both great choices
also there is Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition (updated for pathfinder rpg and added content, essentially The Director's Cut for rise of the rune lords)

[Landon Winkler]

Yeah, Rise of the Runelords is solid (and you can get the Anniversary Edition which is cheaper and has some extra polish).

Going backwards through the other ones I have:
Iron Gods seems pretty awesome, but also not done yet. I wouldn't suggest starting with an incomplete path until you're more comfortable.

Mummy's Mask is pretty much what you'd expect from a pseudo-Egyptian AP. Lots of tombs with traps and the like. Not my thing, but shouldn't be hard to run if it sounds interesting.

I feel like I wouldn't suggest Wrath of the Righteous, because the mythic rules call for a lot of improv (both to get the mythic feel and for balance purposes).

Reign of Winter has a strong dark fairy tale feel in the beginning, expanding into general weirdness as you go through the path. Should be easy to run. Great if you're looking for something a little different.

Shattered Star is a set of classic dungeon crawls. It's also a sequel of sorts to Rise of the Runelords, so I'd play Rise first unless you don't plan to play it at all.

Cheers!
Landon

[Tybid]

Rise of the Runelords AE. The board for the path is absolutely jam packed with stuff that people who have run it before have added. It's an amazing resource. I am finding it far easier to run than Carrion Crown.

[Wrath]

I'd go Runelords. Pick up the anniversary edition since it's Pathfinder build rather than 3.5.

It has tons of background stuff to help with improv play when it happens. It has a classic feel and a solid plot that is easy to put in place throughout the entire game.

Avoid any AP that introduces new rule concepts. I'd avoid kingmaker and wrath of righteous because large parts if those APs involve complex game mechanics outside the core rules.

Carrion crown is a solid choice, at least for the first few books. The last two involve some interesting situations for PCs in terms of moral choices and could be difficult for a newish DM to run.

Cheers

[Skeld]

Runelords is a good start. One book, one campaign. It helps that it is a very interesting campaign and has some classic D&D-style moments to offer.

-Skeld

[Coridan]

If you have already run an AP you can stop calling yourself a new GM =p. Just go for one that has a theme or story that you like, that is the most important.

Hell if you want to work on your skills at prepping and improvising go for a harder AP to run. One ofbtue 3.5s would be great to improve your prep skills
Curse of the Crimson Throne is Tue best AP ever, Shackled City has a lot of fan additions you can work in and Second Darkness has to be practically rewritten in a few places? Take off the training wheels friend.

[Mythic Evil Lincoln]

Runelords has the most support, by far. There's almost no issue that hasn't been addressed in some form by the forum community in that AP.

I'd also recommend Kingmaker for a certain type of group -- one that is interested in low-magic type adventuring with survival elements.

It also works well for a specific GMing style -- that is, people who shine with random encounter tables. For some GMs, those things are kryptonite. But, if you're honestly interested in honing your improvisational skills, they can really put you to the test!

Not for everyone! I'd say if you expect your group to chafe on a "railroad" type plot, then Kingmaker's a good bet. Otherwise, Runelords!

[wxcougar]

I was a brand new GM who never ran anything before (and was in fact only starting to learn tabletop in general). I chose to run Carrion Crown as it was the one that peaked my interest and through lots of reading the books and following the forums had a very successful run of it. I made mistakes certainly but was able to find ways around them still and the players still talk about Book 1 and label Book 4 as the "Book that never happened".

I think what interests you and the players the most will also help in deciding what AP to run (which is likely to apply to not only new GMs but seasoned ones as well). I do agree that Runelords is also a good start for a new GM.