Megadungeons can work if you set a tradition of returning to base at the end of every session, but that's easier in faster paced games.
The existing beginner box and its upcoming successor both have an adventure anthology that can be run as a follow-up, and Troubles in Grayce will also lead into the Bastion of Blasphemies AP that's coming this fall (which is a megadungeon).
It's Starfinder, but the upcoming adventure Anthology Tales from the Vast would be perfect for this since they tried to channel a Classic "Planet of the Week" vibe.
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I feel Kingmaker, with its open nature and so many quests, might be perfect for this.
It even includes Companions that can join the adventuring party so that you do not need to fiddle with the encounters' numbers.
That's what I intend to do for my Kingmaker game where I am just meeting the same situation you mention (ie not all players always available).
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Though depending on your player's preferences, the kingmaking system is a bit cumbersome to use, and eats up a lot of time, so it might be considered home ruling an expedited version of it, or losing it altogether.
There is the Vance/Keneshara homebrew that was recently updated, it eases the management a lot - but its still cumbersome if you ask me, and i wanted to like it.
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Yeah if you're doing this in Kingmaker, avoid the extra subsystems. Camping doesn't really add anything for very long, Kingdom Building is a slog with untested rules that don't work properly, and if you get far enough for army combat... well my group didn't make it that far but the players were not enthusiastic about learning what amounts to a strategy board game.
But even in Kingmaker there are plots going on that take multiple sessions to work through and the parts that are more sandbox are exploration or events.
Really, doing Pathfinder Society scenarios is probably better than an adventure path for this since they're built for that already. Each one is a mission, some of them have a plot that ties together, and they're meant to be wrapped up in a single game night.
Really, doing Pathfinder Society scenarios is probably better than an adventure path for this since they're built for that already. Each one is a mission, some of them have a plot that ties together, and they're meant to be wrapped up in a single game night.
Additionally, each of the seasons (one year’s worth of adventures) have an overarching plot related to the Pathfinder Society. That provides you the flexibility as a GM to take one of three approaches: you could have each session be episodic, have small plots of two to three scenarios before moving on to a new mini plot line, or focus on the broader seasonal story linking the larger campaign setting together through all the smaller plots.
However, if you decide to go the Pathfinder Society route, keep in mind that most of the encounters and scenarios are a lot easier than the APs. You can easily adjust or not depending on your group’s preferences.
While it would need some adjustment I could see this working for Quest for the Frozen Flame. If you set up the Broken Tusk following as basecamp and then turn the AP into scouting missions by whichever members of the following are available that week.
You'd definitely need to adjust things more than the PFS route though. The hexploration sections would be the easiest, but there'[s other sections of the AP that would be trickier to do this route.
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Hello...
I am wondering if there are any adventures that could be turned into episodic adventure with a safe haven element...
I have a few players but scheduling is an issue and running an AP in a traditional way has raised issues...
We like an all encompassing story, but dropping in and out for flexibility would allow for a better game experience...
Any help would be very much appreciated
This is literally how Pathfinder scenarios work; they are all meant to run in one session. For a longer connected story, run scenarios in a season's meta-plot.
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This is literally how Pathfinder scenarios work; they are all meant to run in one session. For a longer connected story, run scenarios in a season's meta-plot.Hello...
I am wondering if there are any adventures that could be turned into episodic adventure with a safe haven element...
I have a few players but scheduling is an issue and running an AP in a traditional way has raised issues...
We like an all encompassing story, but dropping in and out for flexibility would allow for a better game experience...
Any help would be very much appreciated
TBH PFS can feel kind of disjointed. The scenarios are not always built so that you have the proper level to do the meta-plot scenarios. It requires the GM to pick carefully the scenarios that will enable the players to reach the proper level milestones to enjoy the meta-plot. While also breng enjoyable to play and run.