Pathfinder D&D Puzzles #21 - The Ethereal Wizard

Our adventuring party must retrieve a journal from the Ethereal Plane in order to help them find an item they are looking for. But how do they get the old wizard to release the journal back to the Prime Material Plane? The PCs will need to work together and come up with a plan to solve the puzzle of the Ethereal Wizard!
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[@ChrisWEEZ]

Cool idea. I have a player who wants to explore the planes, so this would be a nice introduction. In my adventure, I think I will adjust it so: i will reverse the roles and have the wizard in the material plane, complaining about how his lazy good for nothing apprentice hasn’t shown up for a week. The apprentice was working on a potion of planar travel, which the wizard will not think of because he does not consider his apprentice skilled enough to pull off such a concoction. The item or potion the adventurers obtain to see into the ethereal plane will allow them to see the apprentice, but they won’t have the ability to talk to him, so the apprentice must show them where to find the spellbook in his plane so they can go back and recreate the potion in the material plane. It’s not much of a puzzle in this version, but maybe another commenter will come up with something better. :)

[@WallyDM]

I dig it... and as you said, not much of a puzzle at this point... but... it is a fantastic quest or subquest idea!

[@toribiogubert7729]

I think this one and the Piano one, may work well toghether. Like to acess the secret lab of the mage (library + lounge) you need to pass the piano puzzle in the second floor of the tavern. You can even put a clue with the tavern owner, something like "oh mage was a reserved guy, but also like to watch the bards performing, actually he was a little musician himself. But it was kinda strange that he only played a part of one song on his piano... Either way, he said he was tutoring some noble kid or something before he dissapeared." Something like that. If you really want to be particular with the clue, maybe the tavern owner say the song's name. It could be fun if you have musicians on your group.

[@TerminallyNerdy]

Excellent as always my friend keep up the good work! :D

[@WallyDM]

Thanx buddy!

[@eleanorbrushia]

wow. this is a really good one. well done!

[@WallyDM]

Thanx buddy! I'm excited how well this one turned out. :)

[@kittenkagome1]

Nice. But now I want to know what the wizard was so obsessed with hiding!

[@WallyDM]

Hehee... well, that is a story we should save for another time... :)

[@ChrisWEEZ]

Question for you, Wally: when hosting your games, do you draw these puzzles ahead of time and “reveal” them with a sheet of paper? Or are you drawing the rooms from scratch each session?

[@WallyDM]

Fantastic question. I draw rooms from scratch each session. In fact, I usually just draw out one small area at a time. Drawing as I go gives me the ability to ad-lib or change things on the fly... either shortening an area if we are pressed for time or adding an area if an unsuspected pathway was discovered. Hope this helps! As always, I appreciate the conversation! :)

[@Sentinel851]

the one concern I'd have running this puzzle, is that the PC's will probably be like "wait, how did the journal get to the material plane?" i can see this being a "a wizard did it" moment, but other than that, nice puzzle.

[@WallyDM]

Ah, yes definitely! When I made this puzzle, it was my first experience in dealing with the Ethereal plane... it's a little wonky, but will definitely be a fun one. I love how the wizard is always the culprit in the bizarre and unexplained. lol. Thank you for the great comment! :)

[@kblochl]

Your puzzles are fantastic! Question though: where did you get the cutouts for the map (doors, statues, tables, etc). Is there a pdf available?

[@WallyDM]

Rock on. Thank you for the comment, I am glad you enjoyed the videos! :) The cutouts are from an AD&D 2nd Edition Supplement called Cardmaster Adventure Deck Design. I actually did a video review of this item if you would like to take a look: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaaxlYVjYppmeas Thanx again!

[@MarvelX42]

Meow likes.

[@WallyDM]

Thank you! I like it too. :)

[@MarvelX42]

Hmmm....Maybe Meow can twist this and make it work for Meows current campaign.

[@WallyDM]

That would be cool. Lemme know how it goes. :)

[@MarvelX42]

If Meow can figure it out Meow will lets you know for sure.

[@Movman82]

@@MarvelX42 I hope you don't still talk in third person