[osr Challenge] Boar Hunt

 

Boar Hunt: A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! Labyrinth Lord adventure set in the Ashford Valley.

Get Ready:

While traveling between Ashford Town and Tradetown, on the High Bridge Road, the PCs encounter an unusual boar and the party hunting it.

Get Set:

The PCs are traveling to Tradetown on business and encounter a band of hunters, lead by a "priest" named Peligro, who are after a "demon boar." Peligro is a fake priest who has duped these villagers into thinking that the boar is evil and must be destroyed. They claim to have lost the boar's trail nearby and Peligro suspiciously questions the PCs, taking everything they say as a lie and openly insulting them at every opportunity.

Go!:

After the hunters leave, an observant PC will note that they are being followed by someone (or something) in the woods along the road. Few attempts to find out who it is (the boar) will succeed, as the boar has better senses than the PCs and is very wily.

Any non-violent attempt to contact the watcher is met with a voice from the trees, willing to discuss a mutually beneficial endeavor. The voice explains that he is under a curse and that the means to free him from the curse is nearby, well-hidden in an old hermit's cave (as well as some treasure). If they promise to destroy the idol holding him in thrall, he will lead them to the treasure.

Upon agreement, he leads them through the woods, way off the road. PCs may notice that they are being lead by an animal (by the tracks) and a boar in particular. At the hermit's cave, they all stumble upon the hunters and Peligro!

Peligro orders the hunters to kill the boar and the PCs. The boar pleads with the PCs to kill Peligro but leave the villagers unharmed, as they are dupes and his friends.

The boar is the hermit, cursed by the idol (the same that Peligro wants for power). Peligro is just a madman who has been following the idol for years.

Notable NPCs:

"Wild" Boar; No. Encountered: 1; Alignment: Lawful; Armor Class: 7; Hit Dice: 3d8, Hit Points: 16; Attacks: tusk (2d4); Save: F2; morale: 9; Special abilities: cursed human, speaks Common.

Peligro the "priest"; Alignment: Chaotic; Armor Class: 8; Hit Dice: 1d8; Hit Points: 6; Attacks: boar-spear (1d6); Save: NM1; morale: 8.

Hunters; No. Encountered: 1d6+3; Alignment: Lawful; Armor Class: 7; Hit Dice: 1d8; Hit Points: 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1; Attacks: axe or boar-spear (1d6), dagger (1d4), short bow (1d6); Save: NM1; morale: 6.