The Tribe of Gong - Summer

It's summer in the area claimed by the Tribe of Gong. And the tribe's shaman has had a vision that a group of wild dogs nearby has had a litter of puppies, which are now secreted in the pack's den. Whether a chance to add more hunting dogs to their group, or simply a tasty treat, the hunters set out to relieve the dogs of their offspring.

There are five wild dogs hanging around the den.

They are mostly Pendraken 10mm wolves, so probably a bit small to be considered proper wolves. I see them as small but angry, like Tasmanian devils or similar predators.

And let's review the hunters:

Ron (Leader) - Club - Bigfoot
Frun - Bow - Alert + Hound
Grub - Spear
Vikk - Club
Brell - Axe - (Hungry)

(At the end of the last post I had the hapless Vikk as Hungry. That was a mistake on my part; a hunter only gains a negative trait on an unsuccessful hunt).

The hunters enter from the four corners. If a hunter spends an action next to the den they can take a puppy. Three of the five hunters need to take one and get it off the board for the hunt to be successful.

Grub, Frun and Frun's dog enter as a group. They are to distract the dogs whilst the other hunters move towards the den.

They move into position cautiously. A couple of the dogs look up, sniff the air and eye them warily, but are otherwise content to sit in the sun.

The leader, Ron, reaches the den and carefully takes a puppy.

Frun starts the distraction, wounding a dog with an arrow. The dog runs into the attack.

Frun's dog draws it away.

The wounded predator attacks Frun's dog, who is now wounded.

Ron creeps away from the den, ignoring the barks and growls coming from over yonder.

Two wild dogs pursue Frun's hound, and this gives Frun the chance to bring down the wounded one. Both his dog and the other wild dog close in on the body.

Grub reaches the den, and looks for a puppy. In the background the hapless Vikk is having trouble creeping past an alert dog that keeps growling at him and advancing in a menacing fashion.

Frun's dog goes on a wide sweep, drawing the attention of the wild dogs

As Grub escapes with a puppy, Vikk and Brell now reach the den.

Frun keeps watch as the other hunters grab some puppies. But the dogs seem strangely indifferent.

Brell and Frun make their exit. Vikk went the other way and, true to form, sparked an aggressive but futile reaction from a couple of dogs.

Frun was the last to leave, his dog returning to him accompanying Vikk.

This was a very successful hunt. The wild dogs were very inactive, partially because the hunters were very cautious and partially because they didn't roll too many failures (Vikk probably had about half of their total). The tactic of using Frun's hound to draw the wild dogs away from the hunters by making lope moves near them worked OK too. Even if the dogs attacked, they couldn't reach the hound, who used multiple actions to keep out of their way.

So what happened afterwards? Brell is no longer hungry and is an accepted member of the tribe. His Hunger trait had little effect in this game, as the only kill took place out of his sight. The scenario dictates that the most successful hunter - the one who gains a positive trait - is the first one to escape with a puppy. But that was Ron, who already has a trait, so nothing was gained there. And hounds seem to recover from wounds with no ill effects, so Frun was happy.

However I rolled to see if any other hunter gained a hound, and Ron acquired one. And I decided not to see if any new hunters joined the group. So this is now how the party looks:

From left to right: Grub, Brell, Ron (with a hound), Frun (also with a hound) and Vikk.

Ron (Leader) - Club - Bigfoot + Hound
Frun - Bow - Alert + Hound
Grub - Spear
Vikk - Club
Brell - Axe