Pathfinder Adventure Paths in Mystara
by Andrew TheisenI know there has been at least one Rise of the Runelords adaptation done for Mystara here on the boards (and I seem to recall at least one other one), but has anyone else adapted any of the Paizo APs for use in Mystara?
I sent a reply to a question about this to the MML not long ago, and had some thoughts:
1) Rise of the Runelords: I'm on the fence about this one. The concept of the Runelords doesn't really fit anywhere into Mystara canon, and this AP is so hardwired into the story of Golarion as a whole that it kind of loses its impact if divorced from that setting. That said, I could see possibly running it as an Alphatian campaign, with the Runelords ancient Alphatians (perhaps even from Old Alphatia). Again, though, removed from Golarion, it sort of loses a lot of its resonance, I feel. It is still a really solid AP in its right, though.
2) Legacy of Fire: Fairly easily placed in Ylaruam. Like Second Darkness, this AP has some issues with the last couple of modules which are very railroady. LoF is a bit easier to fix, it seems to me (and seems to be the popular opinion). I'd personally prefer to set the 5th module in the entire City of Brass rather than arbitrarily confine PCs to one building in the CoB.
3) Second Darkness: Would probably run this as a Darokin centered AP, around the time of the Wrath of the Immortals, when the knowledge of the shadow elves finally came to light to the non-Alfheim surface worlders. The asteroid that strikes Mystara would be brought down by the shadow elves rather than the Master/Immortals. The last couple of modules in the AP are a little wonky and railroady even as they currently stand, and I'd probably look at the Paizo SD forum for some suggestions to change it.
4) Curse of the Crimson Throne: I have some very specific thoughts on this that I'm not going to spoil here, but it could be reworked as a Sindhi adventure I think.
5) Council of Thieves: I don't know much about this one (only have the first chapter), but it could probably work as a Darokin module, possibly.
6) Kingmaker: I would be tempted to make this the "Norwold Series, take 2" and use the sandboxy nature of the AP reset in that setting. Wouldn't require much of a shift in story/background.
7) Carrion Crown: This AP seems pretty tailor-made for Glantri. Ghosts in Klantyre, Constructs in Aalban, Werewolves in Morlay-Malinbois, Dagon-spawn in Nouvelle Averoigne, Vampires in Boldavia, and then off to the wilderness (somewhere) for the finale. I don't own the last two modules, but offhand I'm thinking that the "Big Bad" could be an attempt to resurrect Halzunthram. In any event, I think this would work well and be very customizable to Mystara canon. My only real complaint with the AP as a whole is that it is so modular; the various adventures seem only very loosely connected by a vague plot, and almost work better as standalone modules in my opinion than as an overarching story- at least with its present structure.
8) Serpent's Skull: Again, I only have the first module (for some reason I thought I had the third as well). I think it could work as an Ierendi based module, borrowing from some of the Fanon-lore as established by people like James Mishler and Geoff Gander, wherein there was once a serpentine empire with influences in the Sea of Dread region. Alternatively, the kopru might be somehow able to fill the role of the serpent men, although their limited land mobility makes them not work quite so easily.
9) Jade Regent: This is the hardest to fit into Mystara, and not because of the story, but because of simple geography. The second and third adventures entail going to the coldest parts of the world (and over them), and then to the "other side" of the planet, where the eastern cultures reside. On Mystara, the only currently existing Asian-themed cultures are the Ethengar Khanates (not really suitable for this AP) and Ochalea, which *would* work really well, but there is no earthly reason why the adventurers would be taking a caravan through Norwold and then back overseas down to Ochalea. Putting the Minkai setting on the continent of Skothar is a possibility (and one in keeping with the old M-Asia project), but then you still have the problem of the big hole in the north pole which leads into the Hollow World. I still have not figured out how to rework this series without overcoming those geographic difficulties.
10) Skull and Shackles: This could work most anywhere, though my preference is the Isle of Dawn/Alphatian Sea region.
11) Shattered Star: This could be run anywhere, though it faces many of the same problems as Rise of the Runelords (ie, the backstory is very tied to the Golarion setting). I think it would actually be slightly easier to do than RotRL without losing its impact.
12) Reign of Winter: This is a really fun AP, and it isn't tied in too explicitly with Golarion's back story that it couldn't be easily transported, yet oddly, because Baba Yaga isn't a currently "known" character in Mystara's canon, suddenly inserting her seems to remove the fun of running it as a Mystara module. I could be wrong.
13) Wrath of the Righteous: This one is still running (and my order for module 3 is still pending, dangit!) but I think it could work pretty easily. Offhand, I think the best location for the Worldwound is to have the Place of the Dead in Ylaruam opening and spewing forth demons who are invading Mystara.
As an addendum to the above, I've been recently of the mindset that Skull and Shackles would actually work well as a historical AP, set during the time of the pirate leadership of the Ierendi Isles, c. 637-713 AC. The Empire of Thyatis would work as a stand-in for the Cheliax Empire, and the Battle of Midpoint (713 AC) would actually probably work out very well for the timeframe of adventure #5 in the series (making the AP set around 712-713 AC or thereabouts).
There is no Eye of Abendego stand-in, currently, though I suppose any hurricane and/or standing whirlpool could fill its function during adventure #4.