Iron Kingdoms Unleashed: Monster Hunters 101
Today Privateer takes you deep into the wilds of Immoren on a hunt like no other. Meet the Monster Hunter.
Monster hunters. Their name says it all. They are the men and women (and bog trogs, farrow, gatormen, et cetera) who strike out into the territories of the biggest, meanest, and most dangerous creatures in western Immoren hoping to bag a few trophies. They are experts at tracking down and eliminating the deadly wildlife of western Immoren, and they possess a number of talents that make them excel at the task.
Every character in Iron Kingdoms Unleashed has the ability to kill monsters, but few do it quite so well as a monster hunter. In addition to a broad range of skills tailored to the job of hunting deadly game, the monster hunter is a skilled survivalist, almost on par with the scout. Monster hunters also are some of the best characters in Unleashed when it comes to constructing, setting, or disarming a variety of different traps. From swinging logs that crush or impale creatures the size of a full-grown blackhide to traps that incorporate a primed and ready grenade, trap making is one of many skills at the monster hunter’s disposal.
The Monster Hunter career was designed to focus on monster-mashing and survival. These characters can take on some of the responsibilities of guides and scouts for a group, but they are also very self-sufficient. Only the Scout career beats the Monster Hunter career when it comes to weathering the perils of surviving alone in the wilderness. But whereas a scout’s job is to help everyone else in party endure these dangers, the monster hunter does so in order to get himself deep into the wilds and into a position to take down whatever nasty creatures get in his line of fire.
The Unleashed Adventure Kit features a special breed of monster hunter. Longchops the gatorman is a monster hunter many would consider a monster himself. Coupling the ferocity and strength of his race with the biggest rifle he could wrap his claws around, Longchops showcases just how diverse characters in this game can be.
Like many of his profession, Longchops is ultimately looking out for himself (and maybe his buddy Lurk). During the adventure he’s helping Gullin, Zocha, and Lurk achieve their own goals, but he has his own personal reason for joining up: Warlord Morrg’s warband has earned a reputation in the Blackmarsh Valley for breeding large and fierce razor boars. Aside from being vicious, these beasts are delicious, and Longchops will go out of his way to pick up any boar steaks he can get his claws on.
Once you’re playing the scenario included in the Unleashed Adventure Kit, the Game Master can add these short scenes as a means of giving Longchops more opportunities to shine. Both of the following include traps, which are one of the gatorman’s specialties.
Pit Traps
Use this situation when the party travels through a wooded area, such as the travel time between the first and second encounters in Hogwash. This encounter is best used any time the PCs are traveling through the Gnarls, particularly if they leave the main paths through Morrg’s territory and strike out into the trees.
Members of Morrg’s warband have dug many pits in the regions they control for hunting and to dissuade intruders from coming near any of their camps. The pits are covered with leaves and other brush to conceal them.
Read Aloud
As you walk through a group of trees in a patch of swampy soil, something feels out of place.
There are d3+1 pit traps scattered through the region, covered with a variety of foliage to conceal them. The Game Master should set up a simple layout using the tiles from the Adventure Kit and choose where each of the pits is located. A character who moves within 24 feet (4˝) of a pit can make a PER + Detection roll against a target number of 10 to spot it. In the swampy terrain, Longchops gains a bonus due to his Hunting Ground [swamp] ability. If the roll succeeds, one of the traps is revealed (see below). A character can spot only one pit trap per successful PER + Detection roll.
Pit Trap
Description: One of the simplest trap designs, a pit trap is a deep hole camouflaged to conceal it from potential prey.
Special Rules: When a character triggers this trap, place a 3˝ AOE over him. Each character within the AOE must make an AGL roll against a target number of 12. If a character succeeds, he manages to avoid falling into the pit. Each character that fails falls into the pit, is knocked down, and suffers a fall damage roll as if he fell from a height of twelve feet (2d6 + POW 10).
Once revealed, the AOE remains in play. Characters in the pit gain cover and do not block line of sight. Characters attempting to climb out of the pit must succeed on an AGL + Climb roll against a target number of 14.
After discovering the traps, a PC can make a PER + Survival roll against a target number of 12 to locate other traps in the outlying area. If the roll succeeds, the PCs locate a pit with an animal carcass in it. There is not much useable meat left on the body, but a PC can make a PER + Survival roll against a target number of 12 to salvage d3 pounds of meat from the carcass.
Wounded Razor Boar
The party comes across a large razor boar with its leg caught in a trap that is chained to a tree. The chain is twelve feet long.
Setup
This requires the large forest tile HW Board B01. The Game Master is free to use any other tiles and terrain.
Read Aloud
Traveling through the forest, you hear a large animal thrashing and grunting in a nearby stand of trees. You make your way through the trees and find a large razor boar caught in a steel jaws trap. The trap is chained to a tree. The boar does not seem severely injured, but its leg is firmly held.
There is one large angry Razor Boar in the forest. It is caught in a steel jaws trap like the ones carried by Longchops.
The wounded boar uses the Razor Boar profile on p. 28 of the Hogwash scenario, with the following stat adjustments and abilities:
- +1 MAT, –1 DEF, +2 ARM
- +5 vitality points to Physique, +5 vitality points to Agility, +2 vitality points to Intellect life spiral aspects
- Brute Force – This character gains an additional die on melee damage rolls.
- Big ’Un – This character is treated as being one base size larger than normal, up to a maximum of large-based. A small-based character is treated as medium-based, and a medium-based character is treated as large-based.
- Blood Thirst – This creature gains +2˝ movement when it charges a living character.
- Critical Shred – On a critical hit with a melee attack, after the attack is resolved this creature can make one additional melee attack against the character hit.
- Snacking – This creature can spend a quick action to devour any destroyed living character within its melee range to immediately regain d3 vitality points.
- Tough – When this character is disabled, roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, the character heals 1 vitality point, is no longer disabled, and is knocked down.
Enemy Tactics
When the PCs initially encounter the razor boar, the trap and chain prevent it from moving more than 24 feet (4˝) from its starting position in the tree. The boar attacks anyone who comes close to it. If a member of the party damages the boar from a distance, it becomes further enraged and breaks the chain, allowing it to move freely.
Once the boar is defeated, the PCs can harvest material from its body as outlined in “Option 1: The Right Path” in the Hogwash scenario. Longchops can recover the trap, which has the same stats as the steel jaws trap he carries.
Characters can examine the area and make a PER + Detection roll against a target number of 14.
If the roll succeeds, read or paraphrase:
You discover the remains of a human killed by the boar in the underbrush near one of the trees. The body still bears a worn oilcloth knapsack.
The body is the remains of a hunter that came upon the boar while it was sleeping. Assuming the boar was grievously injured, the hunter foolishly approached it. The knapsack holds a knife, some dried rations, and a small bag of d3 gold coins.
More Iron Kingdoms Unleashed coming soon.
