So with the last PF1 game I'm in slowly coming to an end, I'll be running a campaign for my regular group. We're doing Age of Extinction, because who doesnt love circus performers vs dinosaurs? The only thing is, I'd like to give them a starter adventure to get them into the groove of play. A one shot or two, maybe a trilogy, so they know how the system works and whatnot.
Any suggestions? Fall of plague stone is a tad deadlier than I'd like, and some of the PFS scenarios I've done havent been very exciting or interesting (to me anyway. I'm more of a starfinder guy in terms of tone)
So yeah, any advice on a good one-shot to start with would be appreciated!
You might consider running a Bounty
So all those are fine ideas, but too short. A PFS Scenario may work, but I'm not sure which ones can be run in a vacuum
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#1-05 Trailblazer's Bounty could be run with the whole "Society" aspect downplayed a lot. It's a pretty easygoing adventure, good for a breath of fresh air of Plaguestone was overtuned for your taste.
#1-06 Lost on the Spirit Road would also be fairly easy to repurpose, is also a bit of a trip in the woods kind of thing, but the combats are a bit spicier (but not overtuned IMO).
#1-12 Burden of Envy is more of an urban adventure which could work well for you if you're getting people ready for a somewhat urban adventure path.
#1-22 Doom of Cassomir has some RP opportunities to enhance the wackiness if you want, and combines some urban investigation with some school of hard knocks action.
So all those are fine ideas, but too short. A PFS Scenario may work, but I'm not sure which ones can be run in a vacuumWhat do you mean by 'run in a vacuum'?
I mean ones that dont have a deep delve into pathfinder lore as its hook. For example, one where you go around and meet all the different faction leaders wouldnt be what I'm looking for. Most of our PF experience has been outside of Golarian (Dragon's Delve and Into the Wintery Gale. I did do Skulls and Shackles, but it was all on the sea, so they didnt get much into the mainland.)
1-05 is very much what I'm more trying to find. Spirit Road could be on the right trail. Will need to look into the other two.
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I thought you were looking for the more "gonzo" elements that you find more in Starfinder - not that much of that in PFS2 so far, there's a lot of dungeon crawls and forest trips.
#1-03 Escaping the Grave could be reflavored easily to focus more on the crusaders of recently-fallen Lastwall, since the attack of Tar-Baphon on Absalom is probably a bit of a backdrop event for Extinction Curse as well.
It's level 3-6, but #1-13 Devil at the Crossroads could be run as a spooky Halloween adventure or as a snowed-in murder mystery style adventure. It may need a bit of handling for the overtuned bits though, if you're introducing new players. But if it's for a home campaign you could tweak the stats, such as slapping some Weak templated on overly rough monsters (Bestiary page 6) or adding some helpful items to overcome problematic monster abilities. You could also use this as a "teachable moment" about some stuff adventurers need to be prepared for.
Going up even higher level (5-8), #1-25 Grim Symphony is also a decent standalone adventure.
Looking into season 2, I rather like #2-02 Mountain of Sea and Sky. The premise is constructing a new Pathfinder lodge but it's really just about clearing the way for it, you could easily invent another reason. It's level 3-6 though.
Some people like it (I don't know if you're among them) to give people a teaser of "this could be you at level 5" play before setting them down to build level 1 characters. On the one hand it gives people an idea of what they're building towards. On the other hand, level 5 characters are noticeably more shock-proof than level 1 characters so it might also make for a rough start then. And of course there's a lot more moving parts to a level 5 character. Overall I think you may be best off with the low-level adventures.
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There are many scenarios that work even with the Pathfinder Society parts excised. Ascalaphus gives good advice, but here's my two cents:
1-07: Flooded King's Court. The players do a brief theatrical performance at the start, perfect for EC players. Social and combat encounters both, plus an interesting moral choice at the end, although there won't be resolution unless you write it into Extinction Curse.
I also recommend 1-03: Mosquito Witch, in which the PCs investigate spooky cryptid, adn 1-05 Trailblazer's Bounty, in which the PCs chart a course through dangerous mountainous terrain.
I enjoyed all these scenarios, and they all work even if the PCs aren't Pathfinders.
Shout out to the first adventure from the Playtest! Doomsday Dawn overall is very much a playtest and is designed to push the envelope. And of course some things have changed significantly so it would require work on your part to re-write it as a PF2 adventure. But if you are willing to do that, then adjusting for lower level ought to also work fine. PF2 is pretty easy to scale.
My thoughts on the adventures within:
The Lost Star is a great, generic dungeon delve. We all had a blast with it.
In Pale Mountain’s Shadow is also fun. You would need to level up the characters, or level down the adventure. Same goes for the rest of the adventures.
The Affair at Sombrefell Hall is thematically awesome. It was a grind play testing. Too many shadows. So I would suggest converting and reducing the number of shadows.
The Mirrored Moon was a fantastic adventure. One of the most fun I’ve run. It is a very well written and paced area exploration adventure with some really great fights. I particularly liked the red dragon and the final fight.
The Heroes of Undarin is an intentional TPK adventure. My group took so long to find time for the playtest that we never got this far. If people are game for a last stand, this might be fun.
Red Flags and When the Stars Go Dark... honestly I never read them thoroughly as I knew we weren’t going to get there. Red Flags is an intrigue adventure. Stars Go Dark is a dungeon crawl at high level.