Easy to DM AP?


Pathfinder Adventure Path General Discussion

The Exchange

So our usual GM is running us through RoTRL and we are really enjoying it. However, he is due to have a kid in the next month and half and has basically said that he would be able to play but not run a game. So, I'm looking at running my first AP. I initially was looking at Wrath of the Righteous, but am a bit intimidated by having to work with the mythic and campaign rules, which I am not at all familiar with. I have run some modules and small scale campaigns of my own making before, so I'm not brand new, but this would be my first major campaign. That said, any recommendations as far as easy to run AP's (or easier to run than others)?


Well, I'd say Rise of the Runelords itself is probably the easiest one of them all, unfortunately.

Aside from that, my next recommendation is Jade Regent (which actually works nicely as a follow-up for a group that's gone through Runelords). It's fairly simple; just ditch the caravan rules and do caravan combat encounters as regular combat encounters instead (because by the time you hit JR's halfway point, basically every caravan encounter is a near-guaranteed TPK).


Because high level combat tends to give rookie GMs headaches I'd suggest Council of Thieves since it ends around level 12. Part 2 is brilliant if you have dramatically inclined players otherwise as an AP it is only ok. Still fun though.


I'd avoid WoTR unless you and your group are inclined to dive into working with the mythic rules or your willing to put in extra work as a DM to not use the mythic rules.

I'd second Jade Regent (and the advice of ditching the caravan subsystem) we're 2/3 through and its been a lot of fun and would connect nicely if you've been playing RoTRL.

Carrion Crown is another one I'd recommend. Each adventure is fairly episodic the only work really is to flesh out some story connections which the boards here are a trove of adivce to do.

The Exchange

I hadn't really looked much at Jade Regent only because I'm not really big on an Eastern setting. How is Reign of Winter to run?


KefkaZ wrote:
I hadn't really looked much at Jade Regent only because I'm not really big on an Eastern setting. How is Reign of Winter to run?

Reign of Winter is fun and easy! another fun and easy (and often overlooked) is Shattered Star, one of the best APs in my opinion:)


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Yep shattered star
Only one important npc to bother about
Pc's can adventure at their leisure
Very easy social encounters and easy plots/trails to follow

Liberty's Edge

I'll say, from what I know about it, Shattered Star may be the way to go for you. In addition to the above points, it works as a tie in to RotRL as well.

I have been part of a few APs so far and I recommend against Wrath fo the Righteous since it incorporates the mythic rules and that is a whole other set of rules to learn and get used to. It's a fun game so far, but more complex than it seems you are interested it.

Skull and Shackles was a lot of fun to play and doesn't seem like it would be difficult to run, at least my GM didn't seem to have any issues. It's nontraditional but that's not always a bad thing.

Reign of Winter was a lot of fun to run, though I didn't finish it. It involves some additional rules complexity a few times and involves some pretty gonzo moments later on. It's a great campaign, but might not really be what you are looking for.


RotR: Probably the easiest
CotCT: Somewhat easy, but lots of names
SD: Fun and fairly easy
LoF: Different feel, so depends
CoT: Easy in that the game ends 'early' around the early teen levels
KM: Paperwork heavy, but one that is most like a sandbox game
SS: Don't know enough about it
CC: Can be odd, but not too difficult
JR: Scrap caravan rules, receive fun
S&S: Pirates, and like CoT, ends 'early'
ShS: Dungeon crawler, so fairly easy
RoW: No goofy mechanics to track really, so fairly easy
WotR: Hardest one to GM due to the added rules and mythic tracking and keeping the campaign traits in mind as the story progresses
MM: Newest one, don't know
IG: Not out yet

My thoughts on this.


I would also advice against Wrath of the Righteous unless both you and your players are ready for quite a bit of work, especially you since it goes to really high level gameplay.

I have finished Jade Regent (as a player) and as long as you ditch the whole caravan thing you should be ok, now on the eastern stuff of the AP... well books 4,5,6 have them it's true so if that's a problem for you or your players... also you and your players will have to not think the whole "why don't the bad guys attack us and annihilate us sooner" thing, it's really the only downside of the AP (that and the whole caravan thing)

I am actually running Shattered Star and it's quite good and relatively easy BUT it's essentially a series of dungeon crawls, yes there are other things to do here and there but, the essence of the AP is a series of dungeons. Also it's quite story light, so if you and your players like APs with strong stories you have to create one.
If you and your players don't have issues with the above i highly reccomend Shattered Star.

Carrion Crown is also quite easy to run with two caveats:
1) You being able to work and really play on the horror theme of the AP.
2) Change a few parts of the AP (especially at the begging) to make it less boring and interesting.
I am not saying that Carrion Crown is a boring AP, it's just that it does a has a lot of errors in it's design (some of them in the story side, some of them on the mechanics side) that you might want to correct in order to make your game not suffer at certain points.


If you want easy, I'd skip right over Crimson Throne through Legacy of Fire since you're converting from 3.5, and that can be tricky. If nothing else, CotCT and SD don't have clear advancement tracks. If not for that fact though, LoF is one of the more straightforward APs. Needs a little finesse to get from the end of chapter 2 to the start of 4 without coming off like you're railroading, but even then it's very good at including little sidebars on how to get the party back on track if things really go off the rails.

Second Darkness is probably the worst. Every book at some point or another has a point where it suggests the GM ad lib a bit.Kingmaker's probably tricky too since so much of it is exploration/random encounters/managing special rule systems.

Otherwise Seth there nails it all pretty well I think.


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Unfortunately RoTRL seems by far the easiest. I've not read all of Shattered Star, but it seems the best choice.

BTW Pathfinder/3e is a particularly hard system on the GM. I find running an AP in a pre-3e D&D ruleset (1e AD&D via the OSRIC retroclone is my current favourite) is VASTLY VASTLY easier than running it in the system it's written for. >:)


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The main points you have to consider are:

1) Choosing an AP that uses Pathfinder as ruleset. This rules out CotCT, SD, LoF.

2) Choosing an AP that doesn't have a 'heavy' subsystem. This rules out KM (kingdom building, mass combat), WotR (mythic), maybe S&S (naval combat) and JR (romance & caravan). You can perfectly well ditch both subsystems for JR but you won't be able to do that for the others.

3) Choosing an AP that fits your taste (and that appeals to your players). No one except your players can help you there, so I suggest talking it over with them. That's exactly what I do when I start a new AP, I present my players with 3-4 options I really like and let them choose. An AP is a heavy investment in terms of preparation, number of sessions, etc., so better choose one that makes everyone around the table happy.

So you're looking at the following list:

CoT - Urban adventures in Cheliax, finishes 'early' in terms of level.
SS - Exploring a lost city in the jungle.
CC - Gothic horror adventures.
JR - 'Eastern'-flavored adventures, no worries if you ditch subsystems.
ShS - A lot of dungeon crawling (can be a pro or a con depending on taste). Ties-in well with RotRL.
RoW - Travelling with Baba Yaga's hut - diversity and flavor are great!

And those that you should avoid:

(RotRL) - already played
(CotCT) - 3.5E
(SD) - 3.5E
(LoF) - 3.5E
(KM) - sbsystems
(S&S) - subsystem
(WotR) - subsystem
(MM) - too new to tell


Carrion has subsystems
serpents does

In fact most of them throw in something that seems 'clever' but often becomes annoying. Pathfinder is full of stuff already so they should always ensure subsystem is optional


I think most AP have a subsystem now.
But S&S gives you as GM a lot of freedom to explore the rules.
Especially as it is a very mature content, you do not play the heroes.
You do not have to play the chase of other ships wich gives other good options.


Lithrac, when it comes to Mummy's Mask you shouldn't dismiss it cause its new, embrace the pyramids i say!

Liberty's Edge

Serpent's Skull might be one to avoid as well. If you like tweaking and building and modding your adventure paths than it is for you, but if you want something that will run smoothly as written without work, it's not. Book three falls flat as written and requires a lot of GM intervention and invention to make exciting. Since book 3 is the focus of the arc and what carries the rest of the series, this is a pretty major flaw.

Personally, I am excited to run SS but then I like to modify my campaigns pretty heavily and this one gives me room to play. That however, is not what you are looking for.


Serpent's I'd avoid, as written you are going to run into lots of problems at the hidden city, so you will need to make a lot of changes in books 3 to 5 to make it enjoyable for the players.

Otherwise Lithrac's list is solid.

Grand Lodge

The easiest APs to run would probably be Rise of the Runelords, Council of Thieves, Jade Regent (as everyone already mention, minus the caravan rules), Shattered Star, and Reign of Winter. Everything else typically requires a bit extra work with sub-systems or has wonky stretches of the adventure that needs an experienced GM to alter and adjust to make it more enjoyable.


They are not that difficult to run, but you do have to read the books and be ready. I agree with what TES said also. I don't care for subsytems either.

I would avoid Kingmaker for sure, not that it is really difficult, but it is not a typical AP, and the players can go anywhere. Run something traditional first.


While not an official Pathfinder adventure path. I wouldn't rule out Way of the Wicked an evil AP where you're trying to bring down an Kingdom. While being Lawful Evil might be a restriction you can have some fun with it that's for sure.

Dark Archive

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You know, you don't have to start with an Adventurepath. It might be easier if you just try a couple of modules first.

There are a couple of trilogies I think and you could also try the Falcon's Hollow serie. (Hollow's Last Hope, Crown of the Kobold King, Carnival of Tears, Revenge of the Kobold King and Hungry are the Dead.)

You could also try the Dragon's Demand. It takes your Players from level 1 to level 7.


Dragon's Demand takes a fair bit of work though, as it doesn't provide nearly enough material to actually take you from 1 to 7, and instead expects you to take on frequent sidequests to get there. Those sidequests are briefly detailed, but need some extra GM work to actually be run.

...Also running a dragon isn't going to be particularly easy for a new GM. :P

I've just personally got my hands on the first volume of Mummy's Mask, and I might suggest that one. The Half-Dead City is nice and straightforward, really simple to run, and could easily be run as a standalone adventure if you don't want to continue into the rest of the AP.

Sczarni

Another thing to look at is that if you and/or the players are wanting pfs credit from the AP. Not every AP will offer credit but most of the good APs do.


Avoid skull and shackles. It's one of the best AP's but by no means is it a begginer AP, Subsystems, sand boxes and a crew of 20 plus officer means you have nearly 30 NPC's to keep a track of especailly in book 1. Get another AP or some modles under you 're belt first then run it. Its a blast this one.

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16

If you're a new GM, I would recommend against the vast commitment and contextual effort of an AP. I think modules would scratch your itch much, much better.


Now that people mention it, yeah, modules would be very helpful. If you don't mind it and you have 4 players (I think that's what the minimum is), you could do some Pathfinder Society modules. Straightforward, flexible for a few level ranges, and you level every three modules.And they're designed to be ran in a matter of hours.

They should help you figure out the rules and methods of GMing (and you can use it to give Pathfinder Society credit. Contact you local rep for more details).

Get a few modules (I'd say like 9 or so) under your belt, then try Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition.


Not PFS. They aren't really adventure modules you can use for generic adventure

Shattered star part 1 is a really good starter mod. Ditch any pathfinder stuff
simple puzzles, small social interaction with the city, then a dungeon you can do at your own pace, with a range of baddies, many of whom you can chat too.

Liberty's Edge

On the subject of modules, I'm wrapping up a run of The Dragon's Demand and it is a great adventure. I didn't have any issues at all in running it and the mix of town interactions and adventuring was a nice touch.


I'm currently running Reign of Winter for my daughter. My previous experience is DM for 3.5. So far, every encounter seems to involve a class or monster I've never run before, at least not with pathfinder rules (for example, not having played a cleric in Pathfinder), so I have to check everything. It feels a bit like jumping in at the deep end. Still, doable as long as you allow time to look up and make notes for the upcoming encounters. (Especially spells from UM and UC, which I don't have so have to be copied from the PRD.)

For the earlier APs, having only monsters from the Bestiary (1) and core spells and classes might be an advantage.

Sczarni

Another module that is very straight forward and easy is Thornkeep. As long as you and the players do not mind one big dungeon crawl, it is a good beginner.

It runs from level 1 to 7/8. You may need to add some little fights here or there if played on normal track but the book provides info on what can be found in the wilderness. It also provides pfs credit for those who care (like myself).

Paizo does also sell a map pack for maps 2 through 5. You would only need to draw the first dungeon area and any outside areas they may fight something.

The Exchange

I ended up picking up Reign of Winter after doing some more research on it. I'm really liking the story so far and it seems to be very workable.

I've got about a month before I would have to start running things, so I've had time to really "unpack" it and get it ready. Having Realm Works is helping a lot with that. I'm about 1/2 way through the first book and the sense I get is that gives me a 2-3 session buffer, which I think will be enough. I'm hoping to get all the way through the unpacking of the first book before I have to start running it, which seems likely given my group's time table.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Liberty's Edge

I ran the first book of RoW as a stand alone and it was a lot of fun. It's pretty linear but not in a bad way. There are a couple of fights that are pretty brutal, but my party mostly survived the whole thing.


thenovalord wrote:
Not PFS. They aren't really adventure modules you can use for generic adventure

Reason why I listed it was that they are quick, easy, and can help the GM learn the ropes in a few modules. I'm not saying make them into a campaign, just use them to figure stuff out. Then yes, move on to actual Pathfinder modules, and then eventually the APs.

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