I want to kick off posts here with a short review based on my experience playing the 1e adventure path Rise of the Runelords (RoTL, anniversary edition). It took a few years for our group to get through this one and I really enjoyed it.
Party:
We had 4-6 players at any one time, and a mix of classes throughout the adventure. Nobody was min-maxing, and I found that all PCs had opportunities to shine. Later levels went much easier with a full arcane caster in the party. Early/mid levels it helped to have 1 or more PCs that can go toe-to-toe with large+ creatures.
What I liked:
- Range of genres: early on there were strong mystery and horror themes, near the end it was more wilderness exploration.
- Good dungeon crawls throughout.
- Good mix of combat difficulty gave the feeling of high fantasy, where one minute you can be smashing face and the next you are barely hanging onto the ropes. The dynamic flow added tension and excitement.
What I didn't like:
- Not a lot of RP.
- I don't always enjoy the highest levels of play (this one went beyond 16). At these levels it can get into the territory of 'which wizard kills everyone first'.
- The Runeforge felt out of place
- There wasn't a recurring big-bad throughout the story, just a series of more powerful big bads that did not always tie together well.
Overall, this was one of the better APs I've played or ran in 1e. The variety of themes, locations, and story elements leads to a dynamic and well-balanced adventure.