Episode 3 – Going Hunting (Help hunting party survive dinosaur attack)

Rem-Kel-Ah approaches the PCs with an offer. He is representing Polmak-Trey-Ar the master carpenter who knows of a stand of particularly valuable wood, but has been unable to harvest any of the trees because of the proximity of an Allosaurus. Polmak has been told of the power of the Tail-less ones’ weapons and asks for some assistance. In exchange for their help, the carpenter will provide services of equal value in home construction. As the Macao Clipper was never designed for long term occupancy, Polmak’s offer is more than fair and it has the advantage of allowing the castaways to establish residency in Davao, in addition to showing the locals that they can provide useful work to the town.

The specifics of the deal will depend on how well the PCs can barter. This is an Opposed Roll of Willpower + Influence / Barter. If the PCs win, Polmak will build five houses for the humans. If they manage an Extraordinary Success, he will also furnish the homes. If the PCs lose, he will only build three houses, and if the PCs Botch, he will only build two houses.

The harvesting is a major event that will require thirty loggers and twenty guards, in addition to Polmak-Trey-Ar and his two sons. Following Polmak’s description requires a HARD (11) Intelligence + Discipline / Concentration roll. If a PC succeeds in understanding the layout of the area that the carpenter wishes to explore, they must roll an AVERAGE (7) Intelligence + Perception / Tactics or Deduction to correctly plan the size of the escort. If the first roll fails, the second task difficulty increases to HARD (11). Succeeding with both rolls figures that one BAR, one Thompson with two magazines (40 rounds total each), two Rifles with three magazines (25 rounds total each), and two Mills bombs provides the best chance of success. Failing the roll leads the PC to decide that one BAR with two magazines (40 rounds total) and two Rifles with three magazines (25 rounds total each) will be sufficient, while a Botch decides that two Rifles with three magazines (25 rounds total each) is all that is required.

After their trail in the jungles, the travel to trees seems like a trivial matter as Polmak’s work crew are total professionals. They know how to move, have already set up defensible camps, and either bring or know how to gather enough food and water for the entire trip. However, Davao has existed for a long time and all the good lumber near the town was harvested long ago. The jungle trek will take ten days to reach the stand of fine Philippine teak that he wants to bring back, with the return trip taking closer to fifteen days as the slow moving brontosauruses pack the cargo out of the jungle. Thanks to the sheer size of the group of highly experienced ground crew, there are a minimum of encounters by local fauna and in fact, the trip to the farthest outpost is completely uneventful.

On day ten, not long after establishing their base camp, the first signs of the allosaurus are found. First his just spoor and tracks, then the powerful animal is hear screaming in the jungle, having caught scent of the pack brontosauruses. The pack animals in turn are terrified by the sounds of the predator and it takes a HARD (11) Willpower + Animal Handling roll to prevent a stampede. If this roll fails, the Lemurians will eventually gain control of the animals, but the screaming and motion will cause a one step penalty to the use of all guns or ranged weapons due to distraction. If the roll is Botched, the brontosaurus lashes at the PC with it’s tail This is an attack versus the PC’s dodge.

Soon the approach of the allosaurus is clear to everyone and the main reason for the PCs coming along is at hand. The Lemurians will assist as best as they can, but their weapons are simply not up to fighting a creature of this size. The Lemurian defensive position is strong, but can only stand up the powerful predator for so long. The spiked abatis that forms the main defense has Armor 6W and LP 8. The dinosaur will have to defeat the defenses three times to create a breech large enough for it to fit through. The only other defense inside the compound are the four firing platforms. These eight foot high towers normally heavy ballista, but the allosaurus arrived too quickly for them to be ready. Run the battle as normal with the stats for the raging dinosaur as listed below.

Allosaurus

Agility d4 Strength d12 Vitality d12 Alertness d4 Intelligence d4 Willpower d4; Initiative d4 + d4; Life Points: 20

Traits Intimidatin’ Manner (minor) d6, Inherent Armor (Major), Mean Left Hook (minor) Tough as Nails (Major)

Skills Athletics d4, Perception d6, Unarmed Combatd6 / Bite d8 / Claws d8

Armor 4W 4S

Claws (d8 W, Large scale) and Bite (d12 W)

Description: A 35’ long six ton behemoth capable of attacking all but the largest sauropods. Fast and powerful, the allosaurus is the apex predator of this part of the world.

After the allosaurus is defeated, Polmak quickly organizes his work crew to harvest the trees that he has wanted to gather for so long. In addition, he sends his two sons, Telnak and Gulak, with a third of the surviving guard force and two of the pack dinosaurs to drag the allsaurus’ carcass away from the camp to prevent other carnivores from being drawn to the work site. If the PCs volunteer to assist his sons, Polmak will build one additional house over and above what he has already agreed to build. However, the PCs must volunteer on their one to gain this bonus. If they PCs do not volunteer, Polmak will ask for them to assist, but the forfeit the bonus. Working quickly, the carcass is dragged away and the work party returns before nightfall before any other carnivores or scavengers arrive. In addition, under Polmak’s expert guidance, the main work crew successfully harvests the stand of trees by night fall.

While en route to their base camp for the night, one of Polmak’s scouts manages a strangled shout before being transfixed by several quarrels. This partial warning is all the group gets before a dozen Grik warriors burst out of the jungle and attack. The Davao Lemurians are stunned by the reappearance of the Old Enemy’ that they had almost stopped believing in and several of Polmak’s men bolt in terror during the initial rush. The humans, while still shocked, haven’t got the cultural baggage and see the attackers as larger and armed versions of the raptors they fought during the Rite of Forbearance. Still, each PC must roll an AVERAGE (7) Willpower + Discipline to not be so shocked to see armed dinosaurs that they are unable to react.

Any PC that succeeds in their ‘morale’ roll, they can roll initiative as normal. On a failure, they are too stunned to react normally and may only take defensive actions for the first Combat Turn and may then act normally. If they Botch the morale roll, they flee in terror until they can make a HARD (11) Willpower + Discipline or five Combat Turns whichever occurs first. Run the fight as normal with the PCs able to rally 2d6 Lemurians per attempt with a HARD (11) Willpower + Discipline roll.

Once the fight is over, a shaken Polmak explains why the People were so shocked by the creatures that he calls Grik. He tells of the loss of their ancestral home in the west and that land settlements are actually fairly new. The great Homes were how the People escaped the Grik and how were the only way they lived for many generations. The Grik had not been seen in the east before and this brought enough sense of security that Davao and other settlements were built. The People still living on the Homes said they encountered their ships but for land folk, the Grik had become a story that parents used to scare misbehaving children. A search of the Grik bodies finds their weapons, armor, and small personal items, but nothing that explains how they came to be where they were encountered.

On return to Davao, even Polmak might be doubted if not for the proof in the form of the Grik weapons and equipment brought back for just that reason. Aako-Hris-Am is rattled by the discovery, but Chi-Dan-Ag feels vindicated. Aako needs more proof to rally the citizens of Davao to serious action. He asks the PCs to remain quiet until such proof can be obtained. He does however, provide manpower to assist Polmak in building the homes for the PCs. If the PCs happened to roll poorly in their negotiations, he adds one additional house to what ever Polmak agreed to build. The Tail-less ones’ homes are built near the merchant’s quarter of Davao in a nice area that shows all that they have earned the respect of one of the most influential merchant’s in the city.