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Hello all,
So Kingmaker 2E as designed has more encounters than a party using the standard advancement track will need in order to progress, and the Adventure Path recommends using the Slow Advancement Track if you want to spread things out more.
Because I was curious about this, I counted up all the fixed sources of XP that could be found between Lady Aldori's Manor and the death of the Stag Lord, and found that were was 3,630 EXP, just enough to take a Slow Advancement party to Fourth Level assuming they do literally everything to do in the chapter (get in every fight, complete every quest, etc) and don't have any random encounters (which will, admittedly, mess with the math in unpredictable ways.
My question as I try to figure out how to manage the EXP track from here on out (my PCs are currently exploring the Greenbelt), to those more familiar/experienced with Kingmaker and the 2E Adventure Paths in general, is "Is this slower pace worth it?" What do y'all feel is added or lost by this more "completionism required to advance" mindset versus the chance of either having more powerful characters/needing to adjust difficulty on my end/missing some areas and quests, and what would you recommend for other groups?
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Honestly this is a conversation that needs to be had with your players. The great thing about Pathfinder 2e, is that at any time you can switch advancement tracks.
Going slower allows your players to explore the Greenbelt, take their time and improve the game's hangoutitude. Just vibing in the Greenbelt, exploring all the nooks and crannies. Take years of downtime to level up themselves and their kingdom. A lot of groups want that long-term campaign that lasts forever. Going slow replaces hard choices with time and completionism. It also means you get the most use out of your very expensive book from first use. Especially if you're using the companion guide.
If your players prefer to make difficult decisions, then going Medium means that they'll potentially lock themselves out of some stories, and miss out some side-quests. While this sounds like a bad thing, Sandboxes really let players choose their goals, and meaningful decisions sometimes means missing out on stuff. They aren't going to get from one chapter to next with perfect foreshadowing of what's coming next, but they'll grow at a rapid enough clip that they'll be able to face the challenges that come up.
Basically check-in with the players after each chapter, and see if they are happy with the pacing.