The role-playing game Pathfinder's popularity was built on a series of 24 Adventure Paths, linked sets of six adventures that formed a complete campaign taking player characters from 1st level to 20th and beyond. While the game came into existence as a response to the disappointing Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, it was the Adventure Paths and their world of Golarion that gave it an identity.

Since Pathfinder's Adventure Paths were such a varied lot, made by dozens of writers over the twelve years that the system was in production, there was a wide range in quality. The best of these, however, were some of the best adventure writing role-playing games had to offer.

10/10 Reign Of Winter Puts Players In The Real World

Reign of Winter logo

The Baba Yaga was once a relatively obscure mythological witch-queen figure from Russian folklore. Sometime around the early 2010s, she was suddenly a figure in popular culture, along with her chicken-legged hut. For a few years, the Baba Yaga was more evident in popular culture than she had ever been before.

Reign of Winter allows characters to travel not only in Irrisen, the land of Baba Yaga's daughters the Witch-Queens, but even into another dimension. The adventure sends the party to revolutionary Russia to battle one of the most infamous figures of Russian popular history: Grigori Rasputin. Combining world history with Pathfinder history creates a seldom-seen resonance in an official campaign work.

9/10 Council Of Thieves Is Small In Scope

council_thieves

The advertising for Council of Thieves promised an epic confrontation with the Infernal Council of Cheliax. What was delivered was something quite different, but in the hindsight of history, still a classic. Council of Thieves ended up being a small-scale adventure featuring the liberation of the City of Westcrown from the grip of a tyrannical thieves' guild.

With the need to change the entire world removed, this adventure path is a favorite for those who want to explore a small part of the setting. Its small scope and criminal intrigue emphasis makes Council of Thieves the "cozy mystery" of Pathfinder Adventure Paths.

8/10 Jade Regent Takes Players To The Dragon Empires

Jade Regent Adventure Path Logo

Building on the themes begun in the free Pathfinder adventure We Be Goblins!, the Jade Regent adventure path reunites players with old friend Ameiko Kaijitsu, first introduced in the very first Adventure Path module, Burnt Offerings.

Jade Regent is a globe-spanning adventure taking players from the coasts of Varisia to court intrigue in the Dragon Empire of Minkai. With a major character that most players were already familiar with as their patron, Jade Regent allowed players to explore a whole new flavor of their Pathfinder adventures.

7/10 Return of the Runelords Concludes The Thassilonian Saga

Return of the Runelords logo - Pathfinder Battles

Thassilon is one of the iconic parts of the Pathfinder setting. With four Adventure Paths directly relating to ancient Thassilon, Return of the Runelords is the last and the most ambitious. Rebuilding the old Thassilonian empire as New Thassilon, this adventure path changes the world.

Return of the Runelords presents massive challenges to the players. As the penultimate Pathfinder 1st Edition Adventure Path, it represents a synthesis of all the lessons learned in this edition. Its wide-ranging adventures have something for every player.

6/10 Iron Gods Returns The Players To The Barrier Peaks

Promotional image for Iron Gods adventure path on the Fantasy Grounds VTT app

The peculiar lands of Numeria are a link between the Pathfinder world and the greater universe. The setting of Numeria harks back to one of the earliest Dungeons & Dragons adventures: Return to the Barrier Peaks.

Set in a city built upon the ruins of a fallen starship from worlds unknown, Iron Gods introduces starships, ray guns, and technology to the fantasy world of Golarion. While not to every player's taste, it is worth checking out. To a GM who enjoys mixing science and the occult, Iron Gods is well worth the effort.

5/10 Second Darkness Raises The Stakes And Introduces A New Icon

Three Second Darkness covers

Third of the four "OGL 3.5" adventure paths released before the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Second Darkness is highly praised. Second Darkness is the point where the Golarion setting of Pathfinder matured. Sometimes overlooked, Second Darkness introduces so much that becomes iconic to the game that was being developed. It's worth a second look.

The drow, and the Underdark, get their first Pathfinder look in Second Darkness. Drow are one of the most iconic villains in OGL fantasy. Second Darkness delivers on their reputation. Second Darkness also introduces Seltiyel, an iconic fighter-mage character who would eventually become the setting's iconic Magus.

4/10 Shattered Star Revisits The Runelords

Pathfinder Shattered Star cover

Released from 2012 to 2013 to celebrate Paizo's 10th and Pathfinder's 5th anniversary. Shattered Star returns to the Varisian setting of the original Rise of the Runelords adventure path. Its title refers to the Sihedron Star and the Runelords, the iconic enemies of the setting.

Varisia, and its connection to the ancient Thassilonian Empire, is the focus of Shattered Star. Traveling once again from a frontier town of Varisia to the ancient Thassilonian capital of Xin, Shattered Star provides a compelling middle chapter to the Runelords' saga.

3/10 Urban Intrigue Defines Curse Of The Crimson Throne

curse of the crimson throne cover

From the depths of the Korvosa slums to the height of its decadent power, Curse of the Crimson Throne delivers intrigue and rebellion at every turn. With a wicked and decadent queen at the pinnacle of power, the players have a chance to truly return power to the people.

The images of Curse of the Crimson Throne remain iconic. While it may be seen as the "middle child" of the adventure paths released before the debut of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules, it should not be overlooked. It's fantastic.

2/10 Rise of the Runelords Sets The Bar

Cover of Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords

The original Adventure Path. Rise of the Runelords often tops best-campaign lists. The characters of the path are vividly-drawn and diverse. The adventures start in the remote coastal village of Sandpoint, echoing the hamlet of Hommlet, and progress into the infinity of the Planes.

Runelords' villain, the devastating Runelord Karzoug, is one of the iconic villains of the Pathfinder setting. Over a decade later, players are still finding Karzoug frustrating and being thwarted by his evil. Rise of the Runelords is a fantastic RPG campaign that announced the arrival of Paizo as a force to be reckoned with in the world of RPG design.

1/10 Kingmaker Clears The Bar Set By Rise Of The Runelords

Pathfinder Kingmaker

Kingmaker is a modern legend in RPG design. Kingmaker is as important to the Pathfinder world as the setting-defining Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path in its own right. The inspiration for the first Pathfinder computer RPG, Kingmaker is a true classic.

Rough edges abound, and the path-defining final encounter is poorly foreshadowed at best. What Kingmaker does best is present a coherent means of giving players the power they have always dreamt of. Kingmaker is the Adventure Path that best defines what Pathfinder truly means.