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Wrath of the Righteous #1
Pathfinder Adventure Path #73: The Worldwound Incursion
The Beginning of the End
For more than a hundred years, the demon-infested Worldwound has warred against humanity, its Abyssal armies clashing with crusaders, barbarians, mercenaries, and heroes along the border of lost Sarkoris. But when one of the magical wardstones that helps hedge the demons into their savage realm is sabotaged, the crusader city of Kenabres is attacked and devastated by the demonic hordes. Can a small band of heroes destined for mythic greatness survive long enough to hold back the forces of chaos and evil until help arrives, or will they become the latest in a long line of victims slaughtered by Deskari, the demon lord of the Locust Host?
This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path and includes:
- “The Worldwound Incursion,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by Amber E. Scott.
- A gazetteer of the crusader city of Kenabres on the border of the Worldwound, by Amber E. Scott.
- The search for an infamous demon hunter in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Robin D. Laws.
- A complete outline of the Wrath of the Righteous campaign.
- Four new monsters by James Jacobs, Jason Nelson, David Schwartz, and Jerome Virnich.
Cover art by Wayne Reynolds
For more than a hundred years, the demon-infested Worldwound has warred against humanity, its Abyssal armies clashing with crusaders, barbarians, mercenaries, and heroes along the border of lost Sarkoris. But when one of the magical wardstones that helps hedge the demons into their savage realm is sabotaged, the crusader city of Kenabres is attacked and devastated by the demonic hordes. Can a small band of heroes destined for mythic greatness survive long enough to hold back the forces of chaos and evil until help arrives, or will they become the latest in a long line of victims slaughtered by Deskari, the demon lord of the Locust Host?
This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path and includes:
- “The Worldwound Incursion,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by Amber E. Scott.
- A gazetteer of the crusader city of Kenabres on the border of the Worldwound, by Amber E. Scott.
- The search for an infamous demon hunter in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Robin D. Laws.
- A complete outline of the Wrath of the Righteous campaign.
- Four new monsters by James Jacobs, Jason Nelson, David Schwartz, and Jerome Virnich.
Cover art by Wayne Reynolds
92 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2013
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34 people want to read
About the author
Amber E. Scott
48 books7 followersFor over a decade I’ve built a career as a freelance writer in the tabletop roleplaying game industry (including the Pathfinder RPG and Dungeons & Dragons). Now I’m focused on writing for myself.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 23, 2020
Lots of great material here that I loved, and plenty that had me scratching my head or that I would drastically re-arrange for actually running this campaign. Obviously due to the monthly 92 page format there's only so much content that can go into any of these adventures, but the intro here just doesn't really work. The story thrusts the characters into a situation they have no control over, watching as the guardians of the city die and the party is cast into a pit that seals up over them so they survive the battle (ugh).
That's workable, but the problem is that since this is literally the very first moment of the campaign, there's no impact there. Why would the players care that this city got destroyed, this ancient silver dragon was slain, and the leader of the crusaders was turned into a demon puppet if they've literally never interacted with any of these individuals before? This campaign works a lot better if you take the Kenabres gazetteer at the end and use it to create your own starting adventure in the area before moving into The Worldwound Incursion.
There's a lot of great material to mine for tension in a party and great stories to tell both before and after the fall of Kenabres, as there's no lack of conflict even with a city full of lawful good and lawful neutral crusaders battling demons. Unfortunately, some of the gazetteer doesn't make a ton of sense, and even occasionally directly contradicts itself. For instance, Area 4 "Crusader Camps" explains that crusaders aren't actually allowed to stay at the inns anymore because they kept getting into fights with each other, but then area 5 "Defender's Heart" is an inn within the city walls that specifically caters to... crusaders. Yeah. That's literally two sentences apart.
The bulk of the adventure itself is a fun sandbox where the players get to forge alliances, deal with demons running amok, and even see the dark side of the crusade as people go mad or try to use the chaos of war to their advantage. The NPCs that accompany the party for most of the adventure have great backstories ripe with roleplaying potential, and I was super stoked to see a trans couple get some representation. This issue's bestiary also has some really top notch creatures, from the city-destroying Ulkreth demon to the druidic Herne that could be friend, foe, or both.
All in all, this is a mixed bag. I wouldn't run it as printed at all, but there's a fantastic springboard for a military campaign on a crusade into the depths of the abyss and I'm interested to see where Owlcat Games goes with this when the PC adaptation comes out.
That's workable, but the problem is that since this is literally the very first moment of the campaign, there's no impact there. Why would the players care that this city got destroyed, this ancient silver dragon was slain, and the leader of the crusaders was turned into a demon puppet if they've literally never interacted with any of these individuals before? This campaign works a lot better if you take the Kenabres gazetteer at the end and use it to create your own starting adventure in the area before moving into The Worldwound Incursion.
There's a lot of great material to mine for tension in a party and great stories to tell both before and after the fall of Kenabres, as there's no lack of conflict even with a city full of lawful good and lawful neutral crusaders battling demons. Unfortunately, some of the gazetteer doesn't make a ton of sense, and even occasionally directly contradicts itself. For instance, Area 4 "Crusader Camps" explains that crusaders aren't actually allowed to stay at the inns anymore because they kept getting into fights with each other, but then area 5 "Defender's Heart" is an inn within the city walls that specifically caters to... crusaders. Yeah. That's literally two sentences apart.
The bulk of the adventure itself is a fun sandbox where the players get to forge alliances, deal with demons running amok, and even see the dark side of the crusade as people go mad or try to use the chaos of war to their advantage. The NPCs that accompany the party for most of the adventure have great backstories ripe with roleplaying potential, and I was super stoked to see a trans couple get some representation. This issue's bestiary also has some really top notch creatures, from the city-destroying Ulkreth demon to the druidic Herne that could be friend, foe, or both.
All in all, this is a mixed bag. I wouldn't run it as printed at all, but there's a fantastic springboard for a military campaign on a crusade into the depths of the abyss and I'm interested to see where Owlcat Games goes with this when the PC adaptation comes out.
November 24, 2013
A good start to a mythic adventure path. I liked the NPCs the heroes start off with and how they affect the story.
February 4, 2014
An astounding first chapter in one of the most ambitions Adventure Paths yet seen. With a jaw-dropping opening and rock solid writing it promises to be one for the ages.
October 9, 2014
I experienced this book as a player, and it was great! There were a few dull moments, but the awesome scale of the events in the adventure path really hit home right away.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews