Hunting
See also the Hunting Q&A section.
A number of good questions on the Yahoo Pendragon list have prompted me to revise the Hunting Sequence. My thanks to everyone who asked questions to bring this about, especially Darren Hill, Julius Watts, and stephen538554,
So, my first suggestion/correction is to get rid of that stupid formula on page 181! A Surprise Attack is possible when a hunter wins the resolution with a Critical Success.
To track the riders' relative positions during a chase, the GM draws six parallel lines on a paper.
Alternately, print out this nice page, contributed by David Zeeman.
The lines are an aide to keep track of the hunters’ relative positions as they succeed, fail and fumble their way after the prey. It doesn’t mean to suggest the knights are in a line abreast, but rather their relative positions as their horses race across fields of barley, maneuver through tender grapevines, circle patches of thorns or among trees.
If someone gets more than 6 lines back then they are far enough behind to be lost from the crowd. Go back to the main camp and have a cup of wine with the ladies and join the party the next time they go out.
Three types of actions typically occur in a Hunt.
Search
Chase
Kill
Segment means a cluster of die rolls made by the players of all participant knights.
Everyone attempts unopposed Hunting to Search for a trail, and if successful (“There it is!”) can continue to the Chase. If successful they got closer to the critter and moves ahead "one line." Everyone who failed #1 and is not a follower stays back.
This searching for the trail only happens until one person succeeds, because we assume when one member of the party sighs it they shout the cry, blast their hunting horn and off they all go.
Fumble = You are alone and lost.
Afterwards we assume there is one animal that is being sought by everyone, so that the riders can be imagined to be strung out along a line, some ahead, some behind. They are not bolting full speed. They are riding along, scanning and scrutinizing the landscape, following the sound of horns and hounds, looking for scat, etc.
If chosen, the attack occurs at the end of this segment.
In a Surprise Attack the knight stumbles right onto the unexpecting creature, which naturally jumps up in fright and bolts. The recklessness of the hunter’s unprepared attack means that he has set the creature off and free.
When contact with it has been maintained, there is just no surprise attack. That is the Kill Phase. For a Surprise Attack go right to combat: succeed in Weapon versus animal’s Avoidance.
If the creature wins this roll, it escapes - and there is no further opportunity for melee. The prey escapes from whoever attempted the Surprise Attack. If other hunters are present then it does not (necessarily) escape from them.
A key point of the Surprise Attack is that the rider is not in danger of being hurt. A Surprise Attack is voluntary. If your knight gets there in range of it he does not have to attempt a surprise attack, nor even attack at all. Blow that horn and get friends in here! But this brings everything to a subsequent Chase Segment again.
A. Everyone in the Chase Phase (everywhere along the “lines”) attempts a Hunting versus the Avoidance of the creature.
Fumble = You are alone and lost.
B. Everyone still in the Search phase (i.e.-Hunters who failed last turn) can choose to either:
A. Chase Phase, as above.
B. Search Phase, as above.
C. Kill Phase
Those hunters in range of the beast may attempt to kill it. They use appropriate weapon skills against its attack skills, if it is fighting; or its Avoidance, if it is attempting to flee.
Types of Hunting Round Actions
The hunters do not have a trail, and are trying to find it. Under all normal hunt conditions, a pack of dogs is present (if no dogs are present, -5 to all knights Hunting skills; +5 if the knight has his own kennel. (Book of Manor, page 22))
The trail of the quarry is known, both to dogs which run far ahead; and to knights who follow until the beast is in sight. A special horn blast notifies nearby knights of this.
The beast is in sight, and combat ensues until it is slain.
Hunting Sequence
Segment 1. Start the hunt: Search
Failure = You do not find a trail or know which way to go. Do not move.
Success,
Tie = You move to the Chase Phase. Move your figure ahead 1 “line”
Critical Success = You are on top of it! Surprise Attack option possible.
Surprise Attack Option:
Segment 2: Chase
Failure = You lost the trail and do not know which way
to go. Do not move.
Tie = You are still on its trail. Continue the Chase Phase. Move your figure ahead 1 “line”
Success = You are in visual contact with the creature, close enough to attack it next segment.
Critical Success = You are on top of it! Surprise Attack option possible.
Attempt Hunting Roll and rely on their own skills, or to
become a Follower of another Hunter. Followers must be in the same zone as the knight they are following, but always remain one line behind their leader. Followers (like squires) may not move up to his rank or ahead. They are always at least one rank behind the leader.
Segment 3
