Urban Adventure Path v. Wilderness/Varied - Thoughts? [PF]

[TheMinxTail]

Okay, I just managed to boost my numbers in my DnD group to an amount where I can have them play most published adventures without the use of addition- or DM controlled-PCs. As such, I'm picking up my first adventure path to run the group through the hoops. When we complete that, I might try an original adventure of my own, but in the meantime it is good to gain experience as a DM and as a PC, so I'm using Pathfinder adventure paths.

As these events tend to take months or even years of gameplay depending on how often I can scrounge up a group, it is pertinent I decide from the offset what adventure path to take; I found a good deal for Rise of teh Runelords, but I already own teh first installment of Council of Thieves. As Council of Thieves is of course a more urban focussed path, I imagine it plays quite differently from most others where you sepnd teh majority of the game in some fort of ancient dungeon or magic forest or what have you. I grasp the basics of DMing, I know the Rulebook from cover to cover, and I even picked up a bargain Monster Manual (not PF, but easily converted, for quick reference). However, there are many players and indeed DMs out there who I know are very experienced, so I must ask you this, and perhaps kick off an interesting conversation on the forums as a side;

Is it better for a new gaming group, of whom the majority of players are inexperienced and unfamiliar with the game, to play an urban focussed campaign or a more varied one, such as in the wilderness, or at higher levels the plains?

[InkEyes]

It's more about interest levels than ease of use. If a player is enjoying what's going on in the game, they'll be more likely to explore the rules and see how far they can push themselves. Urban adventures certainly lend themselves more to mysteries and political campaigns while wilderness adventures may have more combat (since there aren't many friendly faces in the woods), but you can just as easily have the PCs explore abandoned catacombs underneath a city or attempt to make peace with warring tribes in a forest.

Ask your players whether they'd have more fun traveling through the woods or cities. If they don't care, you could do a bit of both; have the party be a part of an adventuring guild that travels to wherever there's trouble. It provides great plot hooks and gives the players some say in what their next job is. As they experience more of the game, their tastes in adventures might refine and then you'll get a better idea of what kind of campaigns suit them.