My players are trekking through the pictish wilderness, and I thought I would give them a little diversion from the ordinary monstrous beasts and battlies with bands of picts.
I thought I'd share it.
****
As they trudge on one day (or, perhaps, as they camp at night) a young pictish brave, little more than a boy, runs almsot right into them, fleeing for his life. Pursuing him is a ghost-white panther, that will make short work of the boy should it catch him.
Should the PCs save him, he will (if they can get him to trust them) tell them a sad tale.
Despite his age, he is the "man" of his family, as his parents are dead, having been killed in one of the many inter-tribe battles endemic to the pictish way of life.
But he is strong and skilled enough to hunt for food, and so he has been able to support himself and his two sisters quite ably.
Until, unfortunately, his older sister of 15 years caught the eye of the local shaman.
The shamen is not part of the village, but lives nearby, and extracts tribute from the village who fear his sorcery.
The girl refused to go to the shaman, and so instead he sent his 2 henchmen in the night, to carry her off.
The boy went after her. None of the villagers would come with him, and so he went alone. And being chased through the forest by a summoned panther was the result.
If the PCs will help him rescue his sister from the sorcerer, he will guide them through the secret trails in the swamp, which will save them from having to go around, cutting a good 2 days off their journey.
*****
The Shaman is a level 3 Scholar, with Lesser Ill fortune, Ill Fortune, Animal Ally and Summon Animal.
His loyal henchmen are a pair of level 2 pictish barbarians, each armed with an ornate warspear and 2 javelins. He also has a pictish war-dog as his animal ally.
Upon arrival, the shaman, his dog, and the girl, will be in the shaman's hut. The two henchman stand outside the door.
The PCs would do well to approach with caution, as if they give the shaman warning by attacking his henchmen from range, he will be prepared to use his magic against them, starting by summoning a boar - and perhaps a second one if the PCs don't get inside the hut pronto...
I thought I'd share it.
****
As they trudge on one day (or, perhaps, as they camp at night) a young pictish brave, little more than a boy, runs almsot right into them, fleeing for his life. Pursuing him is a ghost-white panther, that will make short work of the boy should it catch him.
Should the PCs save him, he will (if they can get him to trust them) tell them a sad tale.
Despite his age, he is the "man" of his family, as his parents are dead, having been killed in one of the many inter-tribe battles endemic to the pictish way of life.
But he is strong and skilled enough to hunt for food, and so he has been able to support himself and his two sisters quite ably.
Until, unfortunately, his older sister of 15 years caught the eye of the local shaman.
The shamen is not part of the village, but lives nearby, and extracts tribute from the village who fear his sorcery.
The girl refused to go to the shaman, and so instead he sent his 2 henchmen in the night, to carry her off.
The boy went after her. None of the villagers would come with him, and so he went alone. And being chased through the forest by a summoned panther was the result.
If the PCs will help him rescue his sister from the sorcerer, he will guide them through the secret trails in the swamp, which will save them from having to go around, cutting a good 2 days off their journey.
*****
The Shaman is a level 3 Scholar, with Lesser Ill fortune, Ill Fortune, Animal Ally and Summon Animal.
His loyal henchmen are a pair of level 2 pictish barbarians, each armed with an ornate warspear and 2 javelins. He also has a pictish war-dog as his animal ally.
Upon arrival, the shaman, his dog, and the girl, will be in the shaman's hut. The two henchman stand outside the door.
The PCs would do well to approach with caution, as if they give the shaman warning by attacking his henchmen from range, he will be prepared to use his magic against them, starting by summoning a boar - and perhaps a second one if the PCs don't get inside the hut pronto...
