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Pathfinder Society Scenario #6–10: The Wounded Wisp (PFRPG) PDF

4.30/5 (based on 28 ratings)
Pathfinder Society Scenario #6–10: The Wounded Wisp (PFRPG) PDF

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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–2.

More than 400 years have transpired since the Pathfinder Society began in a humble tavern that has quietly weathered the centuries without incident. When a routine errand there uncovers a clue left behind by one of the founding Pathfinders, it’s up to the PCs to solve a puzzle whose pieces are scattered across Absalom—and whose prize dates back to the Society’s darkest years.

"The Wounded Wisp" is an evergreen, replayable scenario designed to help introduce players to the history of the Pathfinder Society and Absalom’s greatest sites.

Written by Thurston Hillman.

This scenario is designed for play in Pathfinder Society Organized Play, but can easily be adapted for use with any world. This scenario is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

PZOPSS0610E

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4.30/5 (based on 28 ratings)

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An Instant Classic

5/5 —

NO SPOILERS

The Wounded Wisp is one of the most played PFS scenarios, and it's easy to see why: it's fantastic! Perfect for newcomers to PFS but fun for veterans, the scenario is designed for low-level PCs who may be on their first or second adventure. It reveals some intriguing history of the Society, has great NPCs to bounce role-playing off of, and has a strong story. As a repeatable, it also has several randomised elements. I played this a long-time ago via PbP, and had an enjoyable experience. This is one to put high on the "to-play" or "to-run" list.

SPOILERS!:

The introduction is fun. The PCs are directed to a particular street corner to receive an urgent mission briefing. In the middle of pouring rain, a beggar approaches--but it's Dreadle Dreng in disguise! Apparently, all he wants the PCs to do are walk to a nearby tavern, the Wounded Wisp, and get a particular vintage of wine for him from the cellar. Dreng is a notorious eccentric (and one of my favorite V-Cs), so although it's an odd request, it's not unprecedented.

Inside the Wounded Wisp, the PCs are told by the owner that she can lead them into the cellar once things quiet down, but for now they should have a drink and relax. This is an opportunity for the PCs to do some role-playing with any of a quartet of well-described NPCs--a couple of whom (Janira Gravix and Yargos Gill) appear in previous scenarios. The Wounded Wisp is the place where the Pathfinder Society was founded four centuries previously, and it has remained a favorite watering hole for members of the group. The NPCs all have some useful skills that the PCs could drawn on later in the adventure if they need help, but for the most part this is role-playing just for the sake of role-playing--and that's a good thing! I think, too often, recent scenarios "gamify" every role-playing encounter by making it a skills challenge. These conversations with NPC Pathfinders really help portray the PCs as part of a long tradition and a warm fellowship of (mostly) like-minded seekers.

When they walk down to the cellar to obtain Dreng's bottle of wine, it turns out that the exact bottle he wants is actually a lever that opens a secret door! The secret door leads to the private sanctuary of famed Pathfinder Selmius Foster and his assistant, Adolphus, members of the Society who were part of the founding generation. However, the sanctuary was compromised in an earthquake a decade ago, allowing some of Absalom's subterranean monsters to enter. The exact nature of the threat is one of the randomised elements of the scenario. After the battle, the group can look around the sanctuary. The big find is that Foster and Adolphius left various notes indicating their belief that another of their contemporaries, Eylysia, was hiding some of her discoveries. Adolphus compiled various clues he found as to where Eylysia might have hidden this cache (all of this is conveyed via handouts), and it looks like the PCs have a mystery to solve!

One of the leads left by Adolphus directs the PCs to the Wall of Names, a curving wall of black glass where fallen Pathfinders have their name, date of death, and greatest accomplishment (or how they died) recorded. Eylysia recorded some false names on the wall (a pretty crappy thing to do!), but the false names contain vital leads to help the PCs get on the track of her secret vault.

One of the clues leads the PCs to a mausoleum where the bones of Arkath, a stonemason who had worked closely with Eylysia, are stored. In a really well-done randomised element, the necropolis is patrolled by a cleric of one of four different faiths. Each cleric is given a distinct personality, motivation, and reaction to the PCs. Combat is possible but not inevitable, which is a good way to allow different groups to achieve their goals in different ways. Once the PCs access the right vault and find Arkath's bones, they'll uncover a hidden Pathfinder's Coin that contains a secret message.

Another clue leads to the house of a gnome illusionist named Fimbrik, a long-standing member of the Arcanamirium and friend of Eylysia. There's a bit of fun to be had with programmed illusions and a summoning circle before the PCs find some more clues towards discovering the location of Elyysia's secret vault of records. I find it a bit far-fetched that Fimbrik has had the same house for nigh-on 400 years, but I guess that's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

In the final sequence, the PCs travel to the Starstone Cathedral and visit the Shrine of the Failed, where those who took the Test of the Starstone (to attain divinity) and biffed it are memorialized. As the last clues are deciphered, somewhere nearby, a Mendevian crusader named Sir Reinhart is charging his steed toward the great chasm only to fall to his doom! It's a lovely touch. Anyway, the clues are enough for the PCs to find a secret door that leads to Eylysia's hidden vault of discoveries she didn't think the world was ready to know. But it turns out that the Pathfinders aren't the only group after these secrets--in another randomised element, another group (either Aspis, Devil's Claw mercs, Harbingers, or Norgorberite cultists) has followed the PCs and launches an ambush. It's a fun and original setting for the big ending.

After surviving the ambush, the PCs can return the files they've discovered to Dreng. And unlike some scenarios, the group get to find out details of what they've worked so hard to find! In a clever touch, they letter receive a letter (in handout form) from Ambrus Valsin explaining one of Eylysia's big secrets, and alternate letters were made for Season 6, Season 7, and Season 8 because each leads into a season-specific story arc. It's rare to see conscious attention to updating scenarios for later seasons.

There's a lot to love about The Wounded Wisp: it has several excellent opportunities for role-playing with well-developed NPCs, it reveals intriguing details about the history of the Pathfinder Society, it involves interesting settings like the Wall of Names and the Shrine of the Failed, and the combats provide a nice break from the mystery/puzzle solving. It's a model for how to do a repeatable scenario with randomised elements. This scenario was an instant classic, and it's easy to see why.

Investigation Rich intro to PFS

5/5 —

Recently finished going through this one as a player in a PbP (Play by Post).

When I think about what makes for a good PFS session, I think:
- Varied encounters (this one has them)
- Enough information for the players to both speculate and investigate the plot (6-10 has just enough to be interesting)
- Needs to have a satisfying narrative arc for the players (yep! The newbie party goes from errand boys to recovering something important on their own initiative)
- A mix of combat, non-combat and RP (check on all three counts!)
- Memorable NPCs (Janira is back!)
- Cool twists (yeah, quite a bit of intrigue to be had here!)

Wounded Wisp succeeds on all these fronts, delivering an interesting and well-rounded adventure that is likely to be memorable for some time. Top it off with handy boons and chronicle purchases and its no wonder that people like it as well as they do.

There are still a couple of areas that feel weak:

Spoilers for the scenario:
The encounter under the Wounded Wisp is really out of place, so close to a safe area. Also, law abiding characters don't have a good excuse to break into Fimbrik's house, potentially stalling the scenario.
Other than those two, everything else worked well.

This scenario also stands out as one of the few that gives a good sense of accomplishment and meaning at the end. This is reinforced by the handout recieved after the completion of the scenario, that details the impact of your actions. Its really satisfying to have something like this!

Well-crafted, eminently replayable scenario. Bravo!

5/5 —

Pros:
- A fun gumshoe detective plot that doesn't over-elaborate
- Randomization of elements provides different characters and different combats to interact with every time you replay
- Combat is reasonably well balanced, easy for the most part and moderately challenging for the finale.
- Lots of fun characters to roleplay as the GM
- All statblocks are available at the back of the scenario
- All maps with labeling stripped off for online setup available at the back of the scenario

Cons:
- There is a minor hiccup in the scenario writing where a certain choice is not clarified as to how it is chosen. But GM discretion solves that problem easily.

My favorite evergreen

—

I -LOVE- this scenario. While I think that, thematically, 5-08 The Confirmation should be the first scenario a character plays, I think I prefer this one. It is the other half of what being a Pathfinder is to me: investigation investigation investigation! It's definitely the "Report" side of the motto! I love the open ended nature and how it helps the players feel empowered about choosing where to go.

Maybe I've run this too many times, but I don't get what a lot of people are saying about "too much prep time". Yeah, it can definitely help to pre-roll some randomness here, but I usually have some downtime while running to do that at the table. Typically, I'll walk my players through the intro, and when they hit the part where they read the two letters, I roll up the cleric and the 3 names, and which one is the "real" one, and refresh myself on the cleric's RP style. By the time I'm done, they're usually ready to go, and if not, I usually have enough time to score a bathroom break. (If you're a new GM running this, it might help to make notecards for each cleric with motivations and how to bypass as an easy reference.) I also assemble the multipart handout with paperclips. definitely saves on the cut and paste!

I also love the new handouts per season. I can't wait to see Season 8's new handout!

Overall, one of my favorite scenarios, and my favorite evergreen to date!

Too much prep time for a good scenario

3/5 —

I GM'd this for a table of new PFS players last weekend, and had a co-GM who was a great help setting up and prepping things.

The scenario requires a brutal level of prep to play decently. Also, there's so many small details and bits of info to fill in (not all clearly marked), that someone who is unfamiliar with Golarion could run into serious issues - again, without my co-GM to fill in the spots that both I and the players missed, this would have derailed several times.

I can see how this is a solid segue into The Confirmation, but overall I think The Confirmation is a better-written/scripted scenario.

Setting-wise, it's a great play - but it can take several days of solid prep to pull it off successfully. Even as an evergreen Tier 1-2 adventure, I won't run this for a group again.

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Webstore Gninja Minion

Announced for December!
Grand Lodge
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

FINALLY.
Scarab Sages

I know that as always the cover is subject to change, but ...

Iron Gods Book 1 minor spoiler:
That's the art used for the named gargoyle in the boss encounter of Fires of Creation. Is there an Iron Gods connection in the scenario?
Webstore Gninja Minion

The cover art is not final, and the mockup we have for this season's scenarios is the junkyard stylin' gargoyle that you see there—doesn't necessarily mean there's an Iron Gods connection.
Scarab Sages
Liz Courts wrote:
The cover art is not final, and the mockup we have for this season's scenarios is the junkyard stylin' gargoyle that you see there—doesn't necessarily mean there's an Iron Gods connection.

Heh, sorry. I guess I just didn't notice it before and my group just fought him last week so it stuck out. Thanks for the quick reply Liz!

Paizo Employee Contributor
4 people marked this as a favorite.

MUAH HA! Ha... ha ha ha ha... ha... ha!

Alrighty, now that I've got that out of my system. I can't wait for everyone to get a chance to play this. I'm hoping it fills a niche similar to the Confirmation, but is different enough to let them compliment one another.
Dark Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.

So, looks like my favorite PFS author is writing the new evergreen. I guess It's time for me to have a billion level one characters! :P

Dresden, I think you stole the very ideas I was thinking!
Grand Lodge

Alright, Thursty! I look forward to running and playing this adventure.

Soon? :)

(BTW, which map packs/flip maps are used in this?)

What time will this be released "today" ??? I've been waiting all day to read it so I can judge it on Friday.
Sovereign Court
1 person marked this as a favorite.

So did you all forget you were releasing this today and just went home early for New Years? I mean I like the bar as much as the next guy but come on now. :-(

@Duncan don't worry it will use at least 2-3 out of print flip mats
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I've found that new scenarios drop around (or after) close of business. Scenarios have been released as later than 9 PM EST in the past.
Sovereign Court

@slothsy Thanks haven't ever actually been waiting for a scenario before. Usually other PDF stuff I have looked for on day one (Ex: player companions) releases early to mid day (thus would be out by now). So it is good to know this "delay" on scenarios is normal.

That said my original comment was mostly tongue in cheek
Grand Lodge
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Yeah, it's still only 2:38PM there right now if my timezones are correct.

Still it is a little disappointing. It's getting late over in my timezone and being New Year's Eve I have to be heading out soon. Not sure why but I really was looking forward to giving this scenario a glance today.
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I remember that feeling while waiting for Destiny of the Sands Part III to come out!
Grand Lodge
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

I have to prep Slave Master's Mirror for Saturday, so I know the feeling.
Paizo Employee Developer
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Duncan7291 wrote:

Soon? :)

(BTW, which map packs/flip maps are used in this?)

Answers!:
Flip-Mat: Necropolis and Map Pack: Wizard's Tower
Paizo Employee Developer
3 people marked this as a favorite.

Regarding the scenarios' time of release, scenarios typically release around the close of Paizo's business day, which ends up being somewhere in the 5–8 pm range, local time (Pacific Standard Time). This is how things have gone for virtually every release since I have worked here—and possibly before.

This month's scenarios are finished and should be showing up on the website shortly.
Grand Lodge

thanks for the update John, I am also excited to pick this one up as soon as it releases!

John,

Thank you for all of your hard work. I plan on using this for my first GMing attempt.

“I’m sure you all know that in time travel, we work with the past, present and future. But you may not know that there are different verb tenses that can be used with each of these. Before we can tell a story about the past, we need to master the verbs in the present. And there are four different types of present tense verbs. How many types are there, recruits?”

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book series)
Douglas Adams
Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

F5... F5... F5... F5...
Matthew Morris wrote:
F5... F5... F5... F5...

Doing the same here.

John Compton wrote:

Regarding the scenarios' time of release, scenarios typically release around the close of Paizo's business day, which ends up being somewhere in the 5–8 pm range, local time (Pacific Standard Time). This is how things have gone for virtually every release since I have worked here—and possibly before.

This month's scenarios are finished and should be showing up on the website shortly.

GOT IT AND THE MAPS. YOU ROCK.

John Compton wrote:

Regarding the scenarios' time of release, scenarios typically release around the close of Paizo's business day, which ends up being somewhere in the 5–8 pm range, local time (Pacific Standard Time). This is how things have gone for virtually every release since I have worked here—and possibly before.

This month's scenarios are finished and should be showing up on the website shortly.

Re: Page 26 top left

A sincere thank you so very much for doing this. This should keep the evergreen fresh.
John Compton wrote:

Regarding the scenarios' time of release, scenarios typically release around the close of Paizo's business day, which ends up being somewhere in the 5–8 pm range, local time (Pacific Standard Time). This is how things have gone for virtually every release since I have worked here—and possibly before.

This month's scenarios are finished and should be showing up on the website shortly.

Re: Top-most magic item on chronicle sheet

Thank you for taking the time to think this through. This particular aspect of the game can be a huge nuisance and this should help clear things up.
Thurston Hillman wrote:

MUAH HA! Ha... ha ha ha ha... ha... ha!

Alrighty, now that I've got that out of my system. I can't wait for everyone to get a chance to play this. I'm hoping it fills a niche similar to the Confirmation, but is different enough to let them compliment one another.

Thank you. From what I have read so far you have done an excellent job.

Liberty's Edge

The maps in this scenario only copy as black so I cannot import them into Roll20... Please help!
Liberty's Edge
Cronge wrote:
The maps in this scenario only copy as black so I cannot import them into Roll20... Please help!

Fixed... had to use a pdf to jpeg extractor to get the map images out of the scenario.

Reading through this it almost feels like First Steps and the Confirmation had a baby that inherited the best traits of both its parents. I'm really loving the potential for roleplay that this scenario seems to offer. I just hope I can do it justice when I run it next week.
Liberty's Edge
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Looks like a small but meaningful typo on page 11:

Quote:
Rewards: If the PCs to defeat the creatures in area A13, (with or without help), reduce each PC’s gold earned by 50 gp.

Think we're missing the word "fail" in there.

Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

I'm not sure I am as pleased with this as I was the Confirmation - some parts of this are just needlessly complicated and could have been drastically simplified and still be as re-playable. Especially part B - that's a lot of resource for very little table play time.
Silver Crusade
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Is Onyeka Chaotic Good or True Neutral? Her stat block says one and her description says the other. Either one is legal (wouldn't have been in 3.5, which almost threw me for a second) but they're radically different in how they behave beyond the narrow confines of her description.

Edit: Also, I believe from context that Fimbrik has a cane in his hand, not a can. ;)
Paizo Employee Developer
Renegade Paladin wrote:

Is Onyeka Chaotic Good or True Neutral? Her stat block says one and her description says the other. Either one is legal (wouldn't have been in 3.5, which almost threw me for a second) but they're radically different in how they behave beyond the narrow confines of her description.

Edit: Also, I believe from context that Fimbrik has a cane in his hand, not a can. ;)

In Response:
Onyeka should be neutral--largely tied into her present low-pity/patience style of Sarenrae worship and past events.
Silver Crusade

I see the term "Evergreen" mention what does this pertain too?

thanks!
RM
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

It can be replayed for PFS credit with a different first level character over and over.

Same as First Steps I and The Confirmation.
Silver Crusade

Ok, thanks for the clarification!

I'm thinkin of running this one at ReaperCon this year.

RM
Grand Lodge

Yeah, this needed a more thorough edit before getting put up. Hopefully that happens relatively soon. Otherwise our VC will have to add a few sticky notes to the pages as to what's what.
Silver Crusade

By the by, the cover page with all the layered images is such a huge file that the game shop's printer can't handle it; it's an older one that wants to cache the page before printing it and it's too big for its memory. XD Actually the file in general could be optimized to be a lot smaller than it is, I think; I'd try running it through Acrobat to shrink it down but I don't know if the security features would allow it.
Grand Lodge

Is there a reason why the taven that the Pathfinder Society was started in, in PFS 5-08 The Confirmation, is named The Pigs Paunch and not The Wounded Whisp as it is in this scenario?
Paizo Employee Contributor
balakus01 wrote:
Is there a reason why the taven that the Pathfinder Society was started in, in PFS 5-08 The Confirmation, is named The Pigs Paunch and not The Wounded Whisp as it is in this scenario?

Continuity error. Addressed by John HERE.

Grand Lodge
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

I got a very Da Vinci Code vibe playing this. Looking forward to running this myself down the line.
Lantern Lodge
1 person marked this as a favorite.

My team also picked up on the pubs name change.

A few other things that would be helpful. Only one is really an error though.

Error: Tomb moving?:

The map and Section C have the tomb of Arkath the Stonemason in the Eastgate, but the note the players find says Ivy district. It would be nice to get that fixed.

Where is Dreg?:

It would also be helpful to know where Dreng is (players ask this sort of thing). I stuck him in the Docks 'a street corner far from the Grand Lodge'. I guess he can move around and keep the ever green feel going.

Timing:

Is it anticipated that the whole adventure takes one day? Or that the team rests in the middle. It would be kind of nice to set expectations here. It first comes up in the Wisp when folk overhear about Sir Reinhart's intentions - I guess this is kept loose so the team can stop and heal if necessary? I just had the patrons reply with different times, as nobody is too sure about exactly when he's going to try. As this is a module that new GMs might want to run, extra guidance on this would be helpful.
Grand Lodge
Shisumo wrote:

Looks like a small but meaningful typo on page 11:

Quote:
Rewards: If the PCs to defeat the creatures in area A13, (with or without help), reduce each PC’s gold earned by 50 gp.
Think we're missing the word "fail" in there.

Glad I remembered to come here. Have to run the game tomorrow, and that bit confused me.

Community & Digital Content Director

Updated to include updated Season 7 and 8 versions of one of the Player Handouts.

Dotted
Grand Lodge

Got my copy. Will be running it near the end of the month.
Grand Lodge

Is this getting a Season 9 update, or is it just going to have 6-8?
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