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Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how a lot of 1e adventure paths drove forward the story of the setting. Jade Regent, Reign of Winter, and War for the Crown saw rulers of nations overturned. Hell’s Rebels and Ironfang Invasion saw new nations form entirely. Wrath of the Righteous and Tyrant’s Grasp both saw the cleansing and destruction, respectively, of entire areas of the map.
But in 2e, there’s been a notable lack of world-altering events, at least from my perspective. APs like Agents of Edgewatch, Abomination Vaults, Ruby Phoenix, and Blood Lords really just seem to be maintaining the status quo. Sure, they may result in stopping a grand evil plan from taking place, and the perpetrator of it is taken care of, but things in the setting are largely the same before and after the events of the APs happen. The most impactful advancement of the lore to come out of 2e is Night of the Gray Death, and that wasn’t even in a full AP.
I’m not saying this is either a good or a bad thing, but it’s certainly something I’ve noticed, and I was wondering if other people see it too. Furthermore, is this a conscious effort on the part of the developers?
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There were a significant number of PF1 APs that didn't have outcomes that would be understood beyond the people who were there.
Like Strange Aeons ends in a way where nobody can (or should ever) know what the PCs did. Carrion Crown and Council of Thieves both got undone by later APs. Mummy's Mask, Ruins of Azlant, and Giant Slayer were "a bad thing is going to happen if you don't stop it" that's familiar in the PF2 tradition. 2/3 of the Runelords trilogy was like this with the geopolitical changes only happening in the finale.
Now we haven't had an AP that reworks the map or local politics (Though you do get to become Blood Lords.) Part of the reason for this might be that the three part AP format doesn't really lend neatly to this.
But there is probably a big one coming down the pipe.
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Age of Ashes has likely seen Hermea turned upside down, and contributed to the turning of the tide against slavery in Katapesh. Strength of Thousands has likely returned the Magaambya's legendary founder to their ranks. Other than that, 2e APs have been a little more "status quo" than "shake up the world" - but I think that makes good sense, between trying to showcase the 2e state of the setting and the shift to more APs that end at level 10.
That said, we're four years in now, and I think we're seeing them tell 'riskier' stories to reflect that; while Sky King's Tomb is a 1-10, I think it'll have some significant impact on Dwarves and Orcs both, and Stolen Fate sounds like it's playing with some big-deal cosmic stuff.