Desperately Seeking Insanity

[Greenfield]

Within the next couple of weeks I'm probably going to be running a special game session, one where a character has to evade the Wild Hunt, of Celtic mythology.

According to Celtic lore, Arwyn is the Celtic deity in charge of the underworld. The Wild Hunt is normally lead by Vandos, a minor deity, who leads/drives the hunt across the land at night. The hunt gathers the souls of the fallen and drives them to the dark realm of Tor, under the plains of Glastonbury.

The PC in question is fated to die (the dice have already been rolled, it's a done deal). He's 9th level, with 3 Barbarian and probably 6 Wizard.

Now, to my way of thinking, he'll be running in spirit form, but still semi-solid, in that both the hounds and the prey need to concern themselves with terrain modifiers, and things like brush and walls and such. He won't have any of his gear with him (you can't take it with you, you know).

Now this particular chase won't be taking place anywhere near Celtic lands, so I'm probably not going to have the actual deity on the field. Divine presence in the lands of another pantheon, even in this special context, would be a problem, so they'll send one of the other huntsmen and a portion of the Sluagh (the hounds of the hunt) to do the job.

Now I'm thinking that the Sluagh should probably be Shadow Mastiff, perhaps bumped a dice or two. There should be no way to fight a pack of these guys and make it. The scene is, they chase and you run.

Shadow Mastiff have a lovely ability for this purpose: Their baying causes panic in those who hear (anyone within 300 feet). Once affected you're immune to the bay of that particular hound, but with a pack of them you could keep someone in near mindless flight all night long.

While my first impulse is to put the huntsman on a Nightmare, I know there's almost certainly something more appropriate.

Oh, I almost forgot the goal of this: In our version of the mythology, you can choose to challenge the huntsman to a "true hunt", make a real sport of it. Our hero will begin his flight at sunset. He'll have a head start until moonrise, then the hunt will be on. If he can evade the pursuit until sunrise, he gets to return to his body. Failure means that he becomes one of the Sluagh, and never reaches the afterlife.

As a side note, there is an in-game, story bases reason for this to take place, it isn't just a DM pulling the punch on a PC death. Also, the Wild Hunt is just about the only afterlife transition that's said to be visible to mortal eyes. Legend says that mortals may in fact get caught up in the hunt if they're incautious and out on the plains at night. That means that other PCs might get involved, voluntarily or otherwise, and "civilians" can be accidentally involved as well.

I can't have the Sluagh actually hurting civilians in this, but if someone intentionally interferes they're fare game (literally).

So, what I'm looking for is inspiration, alternatives, bits of the unexpected to toss in.

If you were designing it, how would you lay it out. (Likely to begin in a major city, in China of all places.) System is D&D3.5, in case that wasn't clear.

 

[Sekhmet]

For one, Monster Manual V has all the stats for The Hunt as a CR22 Master of the Hunt and CR 18 Hounds of the Hunt encounter.
They represent the Master of the Hunt as a Fey (which makes sense), and the four hounds as Magical Beasts (which also makes sense).
It gives a little background and will help you achieve the ideas you're looking for.

 

[Greenfield]

I don't think I have that particular book, but I'll look into it. Thanks for the tip.

Four hounds seems awfully few, over all. If I use this version I'll probably fluff their numbers with a lot of "also ran" types. As noted, the goal isn't to out fight the pack, but to avoid/evade them. If they catch you, you're done.

There was a take on this in a book I read (note that I didn't say it was a good book). The master of the hunt had the prey start surrounded, and indicated an avenue of escape. While it was flanked by his hounds, he promised that they wouldn't strike the prey down, as that would break his promise of a head start. Besides, it wouldn't be much sport, would it. Instead they'd blood him slightly, so he'd be slowed a bit and would leave a good strong scent for them to follow.

The "prey" immediately turned and ran the other way, avoiding the gauntlet. Pissed the hunt master off immensely.

As a note, this is far from a walk over for either side. This particular Wiz has the Eschew Materials feat, so he doesn't need his spell component pouch. That gives him a lot more options, and will make it a real contest.

Thoughts on how to run said contest? There are very few games with good pursuit rules.

 

[Sekhmet]

Consider the Master has a move speed 30' (Fly, perfect 60') and total freedom of movement at all times. He is immune to exhaustion and fatigue, so he can hunt tirelessly.
He can use Discern Location against any creature who is outdoors while the moon is in the sky as a swift action (CL20).
Once he has found prey, he can "select" them (one creature at a time, three times per night) - this affects them with Faerie Fire (among other bonuses).
As a swift action, he can summon a Phantom Steed (CL20) for himself only.


The Hounds have a similar Howl to the Shadow Mastiff, but 120' radius, DC28 Will save or be shaken for 1 minute. Making your save makes you immune to that Hound's howl for 24 hours.


During the autumn months, the Hunt appears and stalks their prey. They choose only very skilled hunters, trackers, and escape artists - those that are skilled at avoiding capture. They will hunt that individual, disregarding all others unless they are foolish enough to get in the Hunt's way.

Have your PCs become aware of the legends through a Celt that has found his way to China on trade or whatever, perhaps the man has had a run in with the Hunt in his village (a particularly skilled hunter was killed?).
Let them put it to the back of their mind for a while - have them do other things for a few nights until you spring it upon them.

[sblock=Sample Hunt]
One night, the moon is high - it's the autumnal equinox, and you wake to hear the baying of hounds. Loud, they're nearby. In the distance your keenest eyed companion spots glowing, smokey eyes moving terribly swiftly towards your location.

And then it's silent.

Confused, he stands from his bedroll to ask if it was just an illusion when suddenly an arrow the size of a spear imbeds itself in front of his foot. A narrow miss or an intentional warning?

Out in the moonlight, an eight foot tall Elf wields a massive bow, aimed at your heart. You are chilled to your very heart, breaking out in a cold sweat from the Elf's masked gaze.
Suddenly, the Elf's eyes are alit with blue green fire, and his whispered word makes it's way across the hundred feet of distance as if it were nothing, speaking directly into your soul.
"Run." it says.

And the night is alive with the baying of hounds again, they've got you surrounded on three sides. Massive hounds with blue and red and green and white smoke streaming from their eyes lower their heads and growl at you, baring sharp, jagged teeth that could sever a man's head.

You believe it best to follow the Elf's advice.[/sblock]

Have them encounter a fey creature that can tell them more about the Hunt and how to beat it during the night (it's a lore (Nature) check 42 to know that if you evade him for one night that you "win", and won't ever be hunted again, and a 37 to know that the Hunt's powers are inhibited by being indoors [not under cover of moonlight]).
Give them a fighting chance, but remember - if the Hunt Master catches them, he WILL attempt to kill them, and with 42 AC, 560 HP, DR 15/cold iron and epic, five attacks (starting at +34/+34 [rapid shot] ), and a +5 Seeking Mighty Composite Longbow that fires spear sized arrows (additional 20 damage per hit), he'll probably succeed.

If you'd like, I'll copy the pages of the book and make them available for you.

 

[Greenfield]

First and foremost, thank you.

Secondly, I wouldn't ask you to violate copyright.

The scene will be a bit different for us, since the prey will be the lone Celt in the party, and he'll already be dead. And he is, by chance, a BArbarian with the Tracking feat (i.e. a skilled hunter).

There is no direct sunlight or moonlight in our game world. It's always overcast (part of a world wide curse that's part of the campaign purpose). Yet, oddly, for this one night, in this one area, the sky is clear and the stars shine brightly.

The character will be in the city, and the event will begin at sunset. The scene will be protested/interrupted by local authorities/priests as an "outlandish blasphemy".

The huntsman will counter that there is an agreement among the gods so old that even the mightiest dare not break it: The souls of the fallen belong to their gods, no matter what land they die in.

Vandos, the true master of the hunt, won't be present. The actual presence of a foreign god on their soil would be pushing it, inviting interference and trouble. That's how and why I scale down the hunt to the point where a 9th level PC could actually win. No guarantee, just a chance.

I like the aspect of using Faerie Fire at an extended range. Discern Location seems a bit much, but we'll see. Find the Path might be a better fit, flavor wise, specifically allowing him to designate "My prey's hiding place" as a valid target location. Meaning, to use the classic phrase, "You can run, but you can't hide".

Now, in the PC's favor, he's dead. That is, like an undead, he has no CON score, and like an undead he can run/sprint forever without tiring himself out. To his disadvantage, he's leaving his body behind, along with all his worldly possessions. No magical gear of any kind, no material components, no weapons or armor, not even a pair of shoes.

As for the Huntsman and Freedom of Movement, I was basing mine on a high level Ranger. That grants him Woodland Stride, the ability to pass through undergrowth and most forms of harsh terrain without hindrance. Oddly, FoM doesn't help with such mundane impediments, just magical ones and some underwater problems. Besides, I think the class feature fits better for who and what he is.

I was planning to bump the Shadow Mastiff a few dice, as well as increasing his physical size. Shadow Mastiff' are supposed to be 24 inches at the shoulder, and while that's a hefty dog, the Irish Wolf Hound stands a solid 36 inches at the shoulder and is much more appropriate for the setting and scene. I'll bump them from CR 5 to maybe CR 7, with a couple of CR 9 pack leaders.

I may add an odd limitation to them: The leaders are a mated pair. If one is badly injured, the other will fight to the death for their defense, but won't leave them to continue the pursuit.

I've got a few weeks, so I'll look for an MM V between now and then.

 

[Sekhmet]

It's a great idea to introduce.
Make sure to incorporate his skills (Jump, Intimidate, Survival and the like) into the adventure so that he isn't just being challenged by enemies, which is what he'd probably be expecting. However, since you don't want him to lose sight of who he is, put some large obstacle in his way (an oak door, a metal gate [BBLG, anyone?], or some other object he'll have to RAGE to burst) that he will have to smash with his fists to escape the hounds, it will give him the sense that he is using all of his skills to escape.

If he is intent on trying to fight them, make sure you gang up on him with several Hounds at once - remind him that he is not supposed to fight by showing him that they would win without much problem. Without armor, his AC will be terribly low.


Part of escape is about introducing obstacles into the path of your pursuer, so give him the tools he'll need to do that occasionally. A metal gate that he can lift with his mighty strength will be insurpassable by hounds - they'll have to find another way around. A wall that he can scale could save his life for a moment, but the hounds aren't just going to run away because they're incapable of reaching him - they'll stick around, using Scent to make sure he doesn't come down on the other side of the building.


Hunting dogs are extremely good at their job once they have the scent of who they're chasing. Cleaning yourself with strong smelling soap will throw them off for several minutes, but they'll still be able to find your scent afterward. Going through a river is a good idea, so long as the Huntsman doesn't push them through it and let them run up and down the bank finding your scent again (two to three minutes).

Even a short amount of time can mean the edge has been given to the barbarian, and he'll need every edge he can get.

 

[Greenfield]

I'm really tempted to lift an idea from 4e (after which I'll probably have to wash my mind out with soap).

D&D 4e has the Skill Challenge as a formal game mechanic.

To implement it I would have to build a matrix of sorts. At each junction he gets to choose: Use one or more specific skills that can aid him, or flee.

Succeeding on the skill checks would lead to different junction A, while failing would lead to junction B, and just fleeing would lead to junction C. Of course, the nature of the matrix would have to be concealed beneath color text.

"You've turned down a narrow side street. It's a run down section of the town, and all the doors along the way appear to be closed. The air is foul with the smell of the castoff, and puddles of waste show where people missed the sewer when emptying their chamber pots. There are alleys at irregular intervals, but no actual cross streets in sight."

He could try to mask his scent in a very unsanitary way, but might slip in it and lose time. Running down an alley might lead to a different street, or it might lead nowhere. He might try knocking on a door to see if someone might shelter him, or cut through, but that will take at least a minute (minimum for Diplomacy), and being a naked Scott barbarian in China, he'll have a few penalties to that check.

I don't know. While that would work, it begins to reek of "You're in a twisty maze of little passages, all different".

Still general changes in setting, based on his choices, would work. Some sections of the city will be busy at night, and while cutting through a crowd might slow him down and endanger bystanders, it would also overlay his scent with a lot of others. The Temple District might offer him shelter of a sort, but claiming sanctuary from a Chinese god, against your own, is crazier than I even want to think about.

He usually has at least one Alter Self spell memorized, so if he hasn't used it that day it would buy him an hour during which his scent has changed, and he need not be on the ground at all. Avarial (Winged Elf) is a popular transport form. Of course, he has eight hours of running to do, so he should save that for the home stretch.

Now, pardon me while I go wash my mind out with soap...