What if instead of The Road Not Taken, we considered the paths not traveled? A bow of the head to Robert Frost of course as I couldn’t help but think of the poem prepping for this article. I encourage you to read the entirety of it again as you may not have read it since junior high, and its message hits a bit harder as you get older. But why choose just one path if we can explore them all?
I don’t know about you, but there just isn’t enough time in the day, week, month, or year to do all and play all that I want. One night while Order of the Amber Die membership was relaxing, eating after a day of marathoning, Adam Smith – our masterful GM – was talking to me about the various adventure paths and why marathoning can be so valuable, even if it is arduous to prepare for and then to run through in a weekend (or two for some larger paths). He pointed out how most groups have to pick and choose what paths they may run. If it takes you 2 or 3 years to play through a path, and yet at least 2 paths come out a year (4 if you count the 3-module paths), then you’ll always have paths you want to play but can’t. Choose wisely or play a heck of a lot more. I mean, I know what I’ll be running and doing in my retirement, but before we get there…
Cue how I run our current campaign of the Expedition Coalition, leveraging all I can from sourcebooks and adventure paths alike! You’ll find bits and pieces of mentions of our campaign in all my articles, including where I spoke of making a victory point system to handle my heroes exploring Absalom and the Grand Bazaar. I specifically used the Agents of Edgewatch path material to add some detail, as well as pulling from the published sourcebooks of all that delicious Lost Omens lore. I find this incredibly valuable in a custom campaign when building some descriptions, referencing important NPCs, or needing detail on history or locations. Even if you aren’t using mechanics from an adventure path module, you can get a lot of information out of it.
In order to help me get the most out of the adventure paths when I’m not running them, I’m putting together details of what’s to be found within. Knowing the areas of interest and locations detailed in the path lets me know where I might research for more information or pull mechanics to utilize. Considering our Expedition Coalition game is all about exploration, venturing off to different areas, and preventing evil factions like the Whispering Way from getting access to treasures or new power then knowing what paths I could quickly look into for lore, NPCs, and those useful venues is key.
I’ve had to avoid looking into a few paths too deeply (for now) but I’ll update them once I can, typically because I’m playing through it like Extinction Curse for Three Ring Adventure at Roll for Combat. Soon we’ll have the Travel Guide to aid us but to help other GMs, I thought I’d share that list of paths and locations!
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
You might find details about areas visited during a path that aren’t obvious or generally known/expected. Ask your GM if you aren’t sure!
Adventure Path & Locations List
Rise of the Runelords
- Sandpoint, Magnimar, Hook Mountain and Iron Peaks, areas of Varisia
- Cinderlands, Storval Plateau
- Xin-Shalast, Kodar Mountains
Curse of the Crimson Throne
- Korvosa and areas nearby including Old Korvosa
- Cinderlands, Storval Plateau, Kodar Mountains, areas of northern Varisia
- Scarwall, Hold of Belkzen
Second Darkness
- Riddleport, Devil’s Elbow, Mierani Forest, areas of northern Varisia
- Kyonin
- Zirnakaynin, Land of Balck Blood, Orv, areas of the Darklands
Legacy of Fire
- City of Katapesh, areas of Katapesh, Pale Mountain
- City of Brass
Kingmaker
- Varnhold, Pitax, areas of the Stolen Lands, specifically areas within the River Kingdoms
Serpent’s Skull
- Smuggler’s Shiv, Sargava, Saventh-Yhi, areas of the Mwangi Expanse
- Ilmurea, areas of the Darklands
Carrion Crown
- Ravengro, Harrowstone, Ilmarsh, Caliphas, areas of Ustalav
- Gallowspire
Wrath of the Righteous
- Kenabres, Drezen, areas of the Worldwound and Sarkoris
- Other realms including the Midnight Isles and the Ivory Labyrinth of the Abyss
Iron Gods
- Torch, Scrapwall, Silver Mount, Iadenveigh, Scar of the Spider, areas of Numeria
Giantslayer
- Trunau, areas of Hold of Belkzen
- areas of Mindspin Mountains
Strange Aeons
- Thrushmoor, areas of Ustalav
- Lake Encarthan, Sellen River
- Cassomir
- The Parchlands
- The Dreamlands
- various other realm locations
Ironfang Invasion
- Longshadow, areas of Nirmathas
- Kraggodan, areas of Mindspin Mountains
- The Onyx Citadel on the Plane of Earth
- areas of the Darklands
Ruins of Azlant
- Arcadian Ocean
- Talmandor’s Bounty, Ancorato
- Zanas-Tahn, Kalas-Ti, various ruins of old Azlant
- Underwater city of Talasantri
Return of the Runelords
- Roderic’s Cove, Riddleport, Magnimar, areas of Varisia
- Kodar Mountains
- Xin-Edasseril
- Other realms including the Boneyard
Tyrant’s Grasp
- The Boneyard, the Dead Roads
- Roslar’s Coffer, Vigil, areas of Lastwall
- Virlych
- Xopatl, Arcadia
- North of Absalom, Isle of Kortos
Abomination Vaults
- Otari, isle of Kortos
- Fists of the Ruby Phoenix
- Bonmu of the Minata Archipelago, Goka, Flying Mountains/Wall of Heaven, areas of Tian Xia
Quest for the Frozen Flame
- Lost Mammoth Valley, Hillcross, Tamarnian Tar Forest, areas of Realm of the Mammoth Lords
Blood Lords
- Graydirge, Field of Maidens, Yled, other areas of Geb
Yep, the newest path will be the Gatewalkers coming next January!
Until then there’s lots to explore! Some of those paths are very focused in their areas, a couple even in a particular city, but others really have you explore the world and beyond. I appreciate that. I did in all my research also discover a reddit thread where the user has been mapping the trajectory of paths. See a resized image of the map below! Download GIMP and you can leverage their file to help you! Otherwise, I hope you’ll invest in Paizo’s adventure paths as you and your parties explore the many lands and secrets of the Age of Lost Omens. Whether doing an official path or borrowing from them, you’ll find a great deal of adventure and I hope my list here helps you too!
Investing In:
I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!
I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!
Sources
Banner – GM Screen for Beadle & Grimm’s Absalom: City of Lost Omens Gold Edition, Paizo
- The Golden Road, Paizo blog, art by Mary Jane Pajaron
- Absalom and Starstone Isle, Paizo blog, art by Roman Roland Kuteynikov
- Map of Adventure Paths, reddit, Sethanatos
