Echo Woods

The opening scenes for a Pathfinder Fantasy TTRPG Adventure.

Toolbox

• Pathfinder Core books. GM, Player, Monster.
• Pathfinder Bestiary 1,2 & 3.
• Pathfinder Lost Omens Ancestry Guide.
• Pathfinder River Kingdoms Guide Book.
• Various Pathfinder Maps and charts and a Pre-Gen Character.
• Bones Dice from Pickpocket Press.
• Random Word Generator.

The Characters

🎼 Renka, the Kitsune Bard

A wandering performer with an enchanted shamisen that sings of sorrow and stirs the soul. Her music is a gift and a curse, coveted by many, feared by more. She never stays long in one place — until the wolves came.

🧙‍♂️ Lini, Gnome Druid

A dew-collecting, mushroom-whispering devotee of nature’s quiet wisdom. She believes the forest speaks in riddles and dreams. Travelling with Branwen, she follows a map older than memory.

🏹 Branwen Hollowmark, Human Ranger

Raised on the edge of wildness, Branwen knows the woods like a second skin. She trusts her bow, her instincts, and little else. The map she carries led her here — but it’s Renka’s howl that binds her to what comes next.

🧭 Their paths converge at dusk, beneath the lantern-lit canopy of Echo Woods. One treed bard. Two wary travelers. A pack of wolves. And a village that remembers more than it tells.

🌒Scene One: The Arrival at Dusk

The sun, a fading disc of amber, dips below the horizon and bathes the landscape in the warm glow of twilight. A gentle breeze stirs the leaves as two companions stands at the edge of the Echo Woods—an ancient forest where legends say the trees themselves remember the footsteps of heroes long gone. The air is thick with the scent of moss and distant rain, and the canopy above is alive with the soft, melodic calls of unseen birds.

A well-worn cobblestone path stretches before you, twisting into the shadowed depths of the woodland. Flickering lanterns, strung between gnarled branches, cast dancing patterns on the ground. Somewhere beyond, a faint glow suggests the presence of a settlement—perhaps the village of Willowshade, where adventure might begin.

As the two pause to take in the scene, the forest seems to hush, as if holding its breath. The last rays of sunlight catch on the silvery strands of spider webs, and the distant howl of a wolf reminds you that you are not alone. The map in their possession is old and frayed, marked with cryptic symbols. Somewhere within these woods lies the secret they seek—the reason for their journey, and the promise of glory or peril.

The two companions’ step onto the path and brave the mysteries of Echo Woods? The adventure awaits.

🌒 Scene Two: The Rescue Before Nightfall

The wolves came with the dusk.

Not in a rush, nor with snarling fury — but with the quiet certainty of creatures who knew the woods better than any map. Their paws made no sound on the leaf-littered path, and their eyes gleamed like twin moons in the underbrush. Renka had seen them first from the clearing, just as she finished the final note of her shamisen’s lament — a tune she hadn’t meant to play, one that seemed to rise unbidden from the strings.

Now she was up a tree. Not a graceful perch, mind you, but a desperate scramble into the twisted arms of an alder whose bark smelled faintly of cinnamon and old secrets. Her shamisen was slung across her back, humming softly as if amused by the predicament. Below, the wolves circled. Not leaping. Not growling. Just waiting.

Far off, two travelers emerged from the shadows of the Echo Woods. One tall and quiet, the other small and muttering to mushrooms. Branwen Hollowmark had her bow in hand before she saw the wolves — her instincts always a step ahead. Limi squinted at the scene, then whispered something to a nearby fern, which nodded in approval.

“Trouble,” Branwen said.

“Or a musical misunderstanding,” Limi replied, adjusting her simple hat.

They moved quickly. Branwen’s arrow flew true, striking the ground near the largest wolf with a thud that echoed like a drumbeat. The pack flinched. Limi raised her hands and murmured a prayer — a burst of radiant light spilled across the clearing, painting the wolves in gold and sending them skittering into the trees.

Renka blinked down at them, her tails twitching. “I don’t suppose you’re from around here?”

Branwen lowered her bow. “No. But we have a map.”

Limi smiled up at her. “And a fondness for rescuing musicians in trees.”

Renka slid down, landing with a thump and a wince. Her shamisen gave a soft chime, like a bell at the end of a performance. The wolves were gone. The forest was quiet again — but not empty. Somewhere beyond the trees, Willowshade waited.

Three strangers. One howl. And a village that remembered more than it told.

To be continued.

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