3.5 Adventure Paths

[Blackhawk748]

I know that 3.5 (and 3.0) had a bunch of individual modules, but im curious as to how they all link up. For instance, im aware that the Sunless Citadel begins an Adventure Path that ends with the Bastion of Broken Souls, but i dont know what goes in between. Also Deep Horizons leads in to Lordo f the Iron Fortress, but again, im not sure what comes before it or what would come after Lord of the Iron Fortress (if anything).

Can anyone shine some light on this?

[Diarmuid]

Google is your friend:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/39CTXE22HRB6H

[Extra Anchovies]

Three Adventure Paths were published as serials in Dungeon Magazine near the end of 3.5's run.

Shackled City: muck about in Cauldron until something interesting happens

Age of Worms: engage in the violent oppression of a minority religion (the cult of Kyuss)

Savage Tide: pirates, dinosaurs, impending apocalypse

Shackled City got compiled into a single book, but for the other two you'll need to dig up print or digital copies of the original magazines.

There's also Red Hand of Doom and Castlevania Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, mini-campaigns running from levels 6-12 and 6-10 respectively.

[Starbuck_II]

Ebberon has one.
Whisper of Vampire Blade to
Grasp of Emerald Claw to
Eyes Of Lich Queen

[Tiktakkat]

The original AP:
The Sunless Citadel (levels 1-3)
The Forge of Fury (levels 3-5)
The Speaker in Dreams (levels 5-7)
The Standing Stone (levels 7-9)
The Heart of Nightfang Spire (levels 10-12)
Deep Horizon (levels 13-15)
Lord of the Iron Fortress (levels 15-17)
Bastion of Iron Souls (levels 18-20)

Of these, the first two and last two link up the best. The others seem almost side treks to the main theme of those four except for Nightfang Spire.

The Vanguard Series:
Barrow of the Forgotten King (levels 2-4)
The Sinister Spire (levels 5-6)
Fortress of the Yuan-Ti (levels 7-8)

Though not part of that series:
Scourge of the Howling Horde (level 1)
is an excellent lead-in to it.

Individual Adventures:
Shattered Gate of Slaughtergarde (levels 1-6)

Which conveniently ends in time to begin:
Red Hand of Doom (levels 6-10); OR
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (levels 6-9)
You would need some rework on the background of SGS to get a smooth transition, but either can be linked in thematically.

Another start is:
Expedition to Undermountain (levels 1-10)

Higher level continuation options are:
Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (levels 8-13)
Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (levels 9-12)

The transition would be smoother from the Vanguard series or Ravenloft because of the level, but you could squeeze the start in around the last segment of RHOD with some extra work.

As a note, the Expedition line, which are not connected to each other in any way, are heavily episodic, almost to the point of being vaguely connected short encounters (especially Ruins of Greyhawk). That makes it possible to set up "jumps" between them and other adventures with some additional work.

Then there is the Fantastic Locations line:
Fane of the Drow (level 4)
City of Peril (levels 4-14)
Frostfell Rift (levels 6 and 14)
Fields of Ruin (level 8)
Hellspike Prison (level 9 or 12)
Dragondown Grotto (level 10)

Fane features drow, so makes a useful intro to Demonweb Pits. It is underground, so it can also be turned into a side trek for Sinister Spire with little effort.
City of Peril is 8 random encounters. They could be seeded through Greyhawk Ruins with some effort, though the highest EL ones are not very background compatible. They might work as side treks to a nearby competing city (Dyvers in Grehawk).
Frostfell Rift is two short sets of 4 random encounters each. This has the least potential to interact with any other adventures.
Fields of Ruin, Hellspike, and Dragondown easily fit as continuations of any of the above, Dragondown from RHOD in particular. Or you can just run them as a short combined quest of their own. (Which I'm currently doing.)


FR Adventures:
The Twilight Tomb (level 3)
The Sons of Gruumsh (level 4)

Two adventures with no direct links.

City of the Spider Queen (level 10-18)

A longer epic underground.

Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave (levels 4-8)
Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land (levels 9-13)
Anauroch: The Empire of Shade (levels 13-17)

A long series that would not link easily to any of the others.


Eberron adventures:
The Forgotten Forge (level 1) (in the Eberron Campaign Sourcebook)
Shadows of the Last War (levels 2-3)
Whispers of the Vampires Blade (levels 4-5)
Grasp of the Emerald Claw (levels 6-7)

An extended series.

Eyes of the Lich Queen (levels 5-9)
Voyage of the Golden Dragon (levels 7-8)

Two independent adventures that would not link easily to the others or each other.


Beyond all of those are an array of adventure shorts in various books and web enhancements, ranging from extended encounters to a full city location, with no direct connections but some potential for seeding into any of the above.
One notable exception is the appearance of the Vanguard in Elder Evils, but that is a collection of adventure backgrounds rather than actual adventures.

[PrismCat21]

Tiktakkat, you are awesome :)

[thorr-kan]

Bunches o'commentary!
Thank you.

This is an excellent overview of 3.5's adventures. I appreciate it.

[digiman619]

It's also worth noting that the first 4 Adventure Paths from Paizo (Rise of the Runelords(the original, not the anniversary edition), Curse of the Crimson Throne, Second Darkness, and Legacy of Fire) were written for 3.5.

[thorr-kan]

Thematically, The Sons of Gruumsh fits as a precursor to RHOD. Simply change all orcs to hobgoblins, Gruumsh to Azur Kul, and the location. You're good to go. Don't even bother to change the stats.

I've wanted to run Slaughtergarde then Red Hand then Ravenloft. I would like to include Demonweb Pits, too. But it doesn't map out; too much overlap.

Maybe:
Slaughtergarde: 1-6; establishes your rep and involvement with extraplanar forces.
Ravenloft: 6-9; a more personal compaign.
RHOD: 9-10; named heroes are recalled to address an epic threat: the Battle of Brindol and clearing the Fane.
Demonweb: 10-12; your extraplanar shenanigans allow make you the perfect choice to address Lloth.