The Encounter
PREPARATIONS
- The jackalweres have set up a fake bear trap, in which one of the Bravo’s is locked. The jackalwere does not take damage from this trap but is considered restrained until it uses its action to escape the trap.
- Urishi, along with the other three Bravo jackalwere, is hiding in a cave. Due to his personality, and Urishi not wanting to scare prey away with Jeriach’s endless discussions, jeriach is hiding at the top of the hill. He has used foliage to hide himself and can be spotted if a player succeeds on a DC 19 perception check.
The Plan
The jackalwere wish to lure groups of merchants of weak adventurers (see; Jackalwere as a sidequest) towards their ambush. The jackalwere bravo that is fixed inside the bear trap pretends to whine and beg in its jackal form. If a party approaches, the jackalwere will attempt to get them close to him to save them. Once a creature is close by, he attempts to use its gaze on the largest party member. The party can be notified of this trap by spotting Jeriach (DC 19), hiding up the hill, or by successfully beating a DC 14 insight check against the performance of the jackal. If this does not happen, the fight starts after the bravo uses its gaze.
Run the fight with the following in mind:
- Urishi and Jeriach both hold their actions to dash toward the party. One from out of the cave, and one from up the hill
- Initiative is rolled.
- The first round; the jackalwere move outside of the cave and use their Gaze. Jeriach attacks the character closest to him while Urishi casts a suggestion spell on a magic-user. The jackalwere Deceiver suggests for the character to go inside the cave and wait for her.
- The second round and onward, the bravo’s attack with their swords, or when they are already hit, they become more primal and prefer to bite. Urishi attempts to destabilize and split the party, while Jeriach strikes further onto its chosen enemy. Jeriach does not want to switch targets, usually pursuing one until it is slain.
Reactive Death
- If Urishi dies while Jeriach lives, Jeriach automatically uses its reaction to move up to its movement speed and make one melee attack (prefer’s to target Urishi’s killer).
- If Jeriach dies while Urishi lives, she can cast a cantrip with the casting time of 1 action as a reaction (prefer’s to target Jeriach’s killer)
CREATURES
Click on the link to access the Creature’s Sheet
- JACKALWERE HARRIER – JERIACH THE THIRSTY. medium humanoid (shapechanger), chaotic evil […]
- JACKALWERE DECEIVER – URISHI THE VICIOUS. medium humanoid (shapechanger), chaotic evil […]
WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST
When all hope is lost, and these jackalweres are too much for the party, you may consider the following:
- The jackalwere kill and eat one party member, but capture the others to preserve food.
- A group of weaker adventurers show up that help the party. (Most logical when using the “Feral Stranger” side-quest opener.)
- Jeriach and Urishi get into an argument and Jeriach makes a play for the leadership of their small group.
Resolution
When the party has succesfully defeated the jackalwere hunting party, they may find treasure in the cave where they hid. If the “Missing Halfling Side-Quest was used, the party finds a deed to a small house within the town (dm’s discretion) on the semi-eaten corpse of the halfling. A plurality of other bones and viscera can be found within the cave; If a character spends its time digging through the pile of rotten meat and flesh, they may find the following:
- A pouch containing 74 gold pieces and 44 bronze pieces, found on the corpse of a salesman
- A DC 15 investigation check reveals a red stone (a ruby worth 50 gold)
- A DC 19 investigation check reveals a small knuckle bone pendant. While wearing this pendant, the wearer may communicate simple ideas with jackals, dogs, and beasts.