Acora
2016-08-14, 01:25 AM
So I'm looking to get a new campaign started with some players I've played with before and some I've never played with. Due to time constraints in my own life, I'm looking to pick up one of the prewritten Adventure Paths that Paizo has published. I'm DMed the first quarter of Rise of the Runelords before (and loved it), but given that half of the party has played through some of that with me and the rest of the party hasn't, we don't feel right either continuing that (we ended the campaign due to a falling out with two party members) or restarting it (since the players who have played it are both very new, and are worried about metagaming). As such, we're looking for something new.
On my end, I loved the level of detail that was put into the world for RotRL. There was a lot of extra tidbits and information I could build off of to give my players fun experiences that were unique to them. I also enjoyed the various opportunities to mess with my players and to surprise them, whether it was convincing them that Tsuto was a victim and them having them get sneak attacked, or letting them develop a relationship with and a fondness for Foxglove before he is revealed as a villain. I had a ton of fun with this, and I really enjoyed the detail put into the villains in the campaign. All of them were fun to play, and all of them were interesting enough both from a motivation standpoint and a mechanical standpoint that I could build off of them and keep them in the campaign if the players responded well to them.
As far as my players go, the two I've played with before have only ever played Pathfinder when we did the first quarter of Rise of the Runelords (ending soon after Foxglove Manor). I've talked with them about what they want for a new campaign, though, and both of them have agreed on two things: First, that they absolutely loved the creepy and spooky moments in RotRL (Malfeshnakor's whole floor in Thistletop, the ghoul scarecrows, Foxglove Manor, that sort of thing) and that they loved the various plot twists and surprises (Tsuto being evil, Foxglove being the Skinsaw Man, the fact that the same person had been supporting Nualia and Foxglove). I can also tell that they really enjoyed being effective but challenged in combat (with some of their favorite moments coming from dishing out completely disproportionate retribution on villians they particularly hated). Interesting combat situations, like fighting Nualia around the glaive trap, seemed to be fun for them, but they also really enjoyed roleplaying even if it wasn't something they were too experienced with.
Basically, I'm coming to you guys to ask for your advice on the other Paizo Adventure Paths. The only one I've ever played or DMed is RotRL, so I know basically nothing about the other APs. I'm considering Carrion Crown, since that seems like it would play into the creepy/spooky vibe my players want, but again, I don't know how good it actually is. What adventure paths would you recommend that might fit my groups' needs, and what do you believe are the best Adventure Paths that Paizo has released?
On my end, I loved the level of detail that was put into the world for RotRL. There was a lot of extra tidbits and information I could build off of to give my players fun experiences that were unique to them. I also enjoyed the various opportunities to mess with my players and to surprise them, whether it was convincing them that Tsuto was a victim and them having them get sneak attacked, or letting them develop a relationship with and a fondness for Foxglove before he is revealed as a villain. I had a ton of fun with this, and I really enjoyed the detail put into the villains in the campaign. All of them were fun to play, and all of them were interesting enough both from a motivation standpoint and a mechanical standpoint that I could build off of them and keep them in the campaign if the players responded well to them.
As far as my players go, the two I've played with before have only ever played Pathfinder when we did the first quarter of Rise of the Runelords (ending soon after Foxglove Manor). I've talked with them about what they want for a new campaign, though, and both of them have agreed on two things: First, that they absolutely loved the creepy and spooky moments in RotRL (Malfeshnakor's whole floor in Thistletop, the ghoul scarecrows, Foxglove Manor, that sort of thing) and that they loved the various plot twists and surprises (Tsuto being evil, Foxglove being the Skinsaw Man, the fact that the same person had been supporting Nualia and Foxglove). I can also tell that they really enjoyed being effective but challenged in combat (with some of their favorite moments coming from dishing out completely disproportionate retribution on villians they particularly hated). Interesting combat situations, like fighting Nualia around the glaive trap, seemed to be fun for them, but they also really enjoyed roleplaying even if it wasn't something they were too experienced with.
Basically, I'm coming to you guys to ask for your advice on the other Paizo Adventure Paths. The only one I've ever played or DMed is RotRL, so I know basically nothing about the other APs. I'm considering Carrion Crown, since that seems like it would play into the creepy/spooky vibe my players want, but again, I don't know how good it actually is. What adventure paths would you recommend that might fit my groups' needs, and what do you believe are the best Adventure Paths that Paizo has released?