THE HUNT A Treasure Awaits! Quick-Play Adventure Quick-Play Adventures (QPA) are a series of very short (1 to 2 pages) mini-modules which are intended to be used when a night’s gaming ends earlier than planed, or as encounters or side quests to intersperse within a larger campaign the Director might be running. THE HUNTING PARTY You’ve agreed to join Sir Rudrigg, a local nobleman, as his retinue on a boar hunt within Dahwelm Forest. The Dahwelm Hunt is a yearly event held amongst the minor nobles and merchant-lords of the region. The object of the hunt is to fell the largest boar before day’s end. The winner of the hunt receives 500 gold coins, with another 500 to be divided among his retinue. Sir Rudrigg has equipped you with boar spears (Damage Rating: 2) and loaned you fleet footed steeds to aid you in your trek through Dahwelm. In the chill of the early autumn morning you set off with Sir Rudrigg and the other noblemen, along with their respective parties, towards the woods. RUDRIGG’S SECRET Unbeknownst to the players, Sir Rudrigg hides a dreadful secret. Upon last year’s hunt, Sir Rudrigg became separated from his retinue while chasing down a particularly large boar. In a small clearing in the woods the nobleman and boar clashed. Sir Rudrigg sustained near fatal wounds at the end of the huge boar’s tusks yet managed to escape back to his keep. Unfortunately for Sir Rudrigg the beast he faced within the clearing was no mundane boar, but a lycanthrop named Derius. Derius managed to infect Rudrigg with lycanthropy, turning the nobleman into a wereboar. Now, Derius and Rudrigg wish to use this year’s hunt to infect even more unfortunate souls, thus increasing their numbers. With the coming years, Derius hopes to use the lycanthropic party-members, noblemen, and merchant lords of the region to covertly take the area and establish it as a wereboar bastion. Derius’ plan calls for Rudrigg to lead the players within a clearing in the woods. There, Derius and Rudrigg will attack the party, hoping to infect them with the Disease, thus increasing their numbers. THE CLEARING The afternoon drags on and still Rudrigg and his party have spotted no prey when all of a sudden the nobleman lets out a cry of excitement. Pointing westwards he urges his retinue to follow as he dashes madly through the trees. In a few short moments though, it will quickly become apparent to the players that the nobleman has greatly outdistanced them. Trying to track the nobleman’s direction (an awaneness/foraging task) will at first reveal a westerly route yet soon enough apprehension sets in as the players discover Rudrigg’s steed, yet the nobleman is nowhere to be found. Trekking further westwards reveals additional discarded objects which belonged to the nobleman (tabard, spears, chain shirt). Following these items will eventually lead the players into a clearing at the center of which they find Rudrigg’s clothing. Suddenly, from the encircling trees, two huge humanoid boar-like creatures (Rudrigg and Derius) spring into the clearing. The porcine monstrosities move to attack, assaulting the party with their infective bite, hoping to infect as many party members as they can before retreating back into the forest. THE AFTERMATH If Rudrigg and Derius manage to seriously wound most of the party, they will retreat back into the forest and let the Disease run its course (see below). If the infection is successful the Director may allow a Purfy spell to cure the lycanthropy. If the players manage to slay the were-boars, they will be surprised by the strange transformation that overcomes the two large beasts. Upon death both shed their ”animal-like” forms and assume their human appearances. Although one of the shape-shifting beasts is unknown to the players (Derius), the second creature’s human form reveals itself to be none other than Sir Rudrigg. ANTAGONISTS Wereboar Wereboars are shape-shifting lycanthrops. The may shed their human form and assume the shape of boars. They may also transform into a third shape which combines both boar and human forms (the statistics below are for wereboars in human/boar hybrid form, followed by statistics for wereboars assuming boar shape).

	ATTITUDE:			Aggressive
	FOCUS:			Besiege
	SIZE:			Large
	ABILITIES:			4-4-1
	PURSUITS:			Athletics, Brawling, Foraging
	WEAPONS:			Unarmed (tusk)
	ARMOR:			Natural 1
	NUMBERS:			Roll
	NOTES:			Poison: Injury-9-1-10. Any damage resulting from a wereboar’s poisonous tusks will mean the victim is now infected with the Disease (lycanthropy). The victim will be able to assume boar form as well as hybrid form. The victim will henceforth be under the damaging wereboars control and must follow its command least a reasoning task is passed

Boar Large and aggressive porcine monstrosities with lethal tusks.

	ATTITUDE:			Aggressive
	FOCUS:			Besiege
	SIZE:			Large
	ABILITIES:			3-4-1
	PURSUITS:			Athletics, Brawling, Foraging
	WEAPONS:			Unarmed (tusk)
	ARMOR:			Natural 1
	NUMBERS:			Roll
	NOTES:			A boar’s unparalleled aggression allows it to fight on for 1 extra turn after it technically dies.

SPOILS OF VICTORY Within Rudrigg’s discarded items the players will find a Potion of Healing (Heal 1), as well as a magic boar spear (+1 Damage Rating versus natural animals). These two items may be found wherever the Director wishes, between the time the player find Rudrigg’s riderless horse up until they happen upon his discarded clothes within the clearing. Should the players think of checking Rudrigg’s steed, they may discover the following item; Horseshoes of Speed: These double a horse’s movementrate (see AO:TA! Book Three p.6). Usable by: horses. If the players return to town and relate their adventure to the proper authorities, they will still receive the 500 gold coins they were promised and will be entitled to keep Rudrigg’s loaned steeds.