Not sure if this belongs under Advice or Product Discussion, but here goes.
Along with a character backlog, I'm preparing a couple of adventures to run for friends. Currently I'm running The One Ring RPG for them, but I'd like to have a Pathfinder adventure ready in case they decide to switch systems after the campaign is over. I've chosen Ire of the Storm as a starting point.
So, Ire of the Storm is a Paizo adventure from levels 1-6 dealing with a region south of Sargava. I'll put the actual plot in spoilers below:
Spoiler:
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The PCs end up having to stop a cult of lizardfolk trying to wipe out the colonists of the region with a massive storm using the elemental powers of the Eye of Abendego (if I remember correctly). This can be solved somewhat diplomatically, but ultimately there is a bad guy that has to be cut down, the storm is stopped and the region is saved.
In the aftermath, a lot depends on player actions. Whether or not Pridon's Hearth, the colonial settlement nearby, is actually operational or a ghost town depends on player actions. Whether or not a tribe of halflings has been pointlessly murdered is up to player actions. Players can potentially negotiate with some of the lizardfolk in the region instead of fighting them, meaning there's a very real chance there will be friendly lizardfolk natives after the storm that expect the PCs to help them get fair deals out of the townsfolk... Etc.
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In short, the storm leaves the region fairly devastated, and it's time to figure out how to continue the campaign.
OPTION A) There is an option to homebrew run a campaign in the region. This is a tempting opportunity to use the Kingdom Building rules, but... frankly, my experience with the Kingdom Building rules is "they're a massive chore." Is there a simplified version of them somewhere I could use, perhaps? Or a way to use them without slowing down play significantly with kingdom building sessions?
(If I CAN get simplified kingdom building rules, this one makes a lot of sense to me: the colony can declare independence from Sargava, can make alliances with the native peoples, can get colonists of its own to expand... The narrative makes sense, and the rapid expansion displayed in kingdom building rules can actually make sense for once, too!)
OPTION B) I can continue the campaign with another short adventure. I know there's another storm-related adventure in the area of Garund for levels 6-8. That could get the players to level 8, at least. Are there any other good options, or perhaps Pathfinder Society modules, that I could run in the area of south-western Garund that neatly continue the PCs' adventures?
OPTION C) It's possible I could slide the PCs into an adventure path proper after this. The question is: which one? The only two campaigns I know that happen anywhere near southern Garund are Skulls and Shackles and Ruins of Azlant. I don't think Skulls and Shackles is a good follow-up for the probably heroic players I have. Would a level 6 (or maybe 8) party of adventurers be able to easily slide into one of the other APs? And do any of those APs take place near Sargava?
OPTION D) Run a homebrew campaign, but without any kingdom building stuff. I'm not sure if I like this angle, mostly because it's a lot of extra work for me without getting into a cool subsystem. There's some good campaign material to be had - terrors relating to cyclopean ruins, armies of monstrous bad guys out from the jungle, what have you - but I feel like I need something more.
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So, what suggestions do you guys have? What follow-up would make sense? What adventure paths would the players be able to slide into easily?
I love this adventure, but it ends just a bit too soon, and I feel like my players would want to get to level 12 or so before stopping.
Option B - Seers of the Drowned City is the adventure that fits in neatly after Ire of the Storm. Plunder and Peril is also set in the same area, though it's more pirate-y.
There are a few PFS scenarios set in Bloodcove, but they are fairly heavily Pathfinder society vs Aspis Consortium in flavour.
Option C - Serpent's Skull is set in Garund, and AFAIK fairly pulp adventure in style. I also believe (haven't played it) that book 1 isn't essential to the plot.
Option D - I would look at the Isle of the Shackles and Lost Kingdoms sourcebooks for ideas, as they cover the area and have lots about ancient ruins and lost cities in the jungle,
Seers of the Drowned City, that's the one! Yes. I figure I can use Ire of the Storm + Seers, then drop into book 3 of an AP - or potentially just drop into book 2 of an AP after Ire.
So far as the Bloodcove scenarios go, do you know their names by chance? I might be able to use those since the Aspis Consortium absolutely has a presence in Ire of the Storm. With some adjustment to the fluff, those could make a good follow-up.
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Option C - Serpent's Skull is set in Garund, and AFAIK fairly pulp adventure in style. I also believe (haven't played it) that book 1 isn't essential to the plot.
I'll have to look into that one. Thanks for the tip!
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Option D - I would look at the Isle of the Shackles and Lost Kingdoms sourcebooks for ideas, as they cover the area and have lots about ancient ruins and lost cities in the jungle,
Will do that, and thanks again.
By the way, still looking for ideas on how to make Option A work. How would you go about making the kingdom building rules less clunky, streamlined, simplified? Last time I played with them (Kingmaker), we wound up making spreadsheets because of how much math was going on.
