Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

ms. When the search is narrowed to a
sh ort list of suspects, it's a good idea to
PE netrate the living quarters of those
PE :ople and look for evidence. I am not
su iggesting that the intrepid hunter find
a way to break into the home of anyone
WI IO was not accounted for the last time
th e lycanthrope made an appearance.
W hen criminal activity is justified by the
vi rtue of its intent, then the line between
9( iod and evil is lost and we quickly find
01 Jrselves hard in the company of those
W e despise. Rather, I am suggesting that
th e hunter enter into a, shall we say,
d, iplomatic form of pursuit.
Pose as a delivery clerk, drop by
u1 iexpectedly for tea, even boorishly
in tvite yourself into the suspect's home
UI nder the pretense of using the faciliti(
es, but find some way to insinuate
Y' Durself into the suspect's quarters, if
01 niy to take a quick look around. It's
..ot n necessary to find the meat larder in
order to confirm your hunch. If you
have reason to believe that someone is
a werebeast, then a simple scan of their
living room can condemn them. Do not
look for overt signs of violence and
cannibalism, but for subtler clues that
fit into the puzzle you have already
been piecing together. Observe the suspect's
taste in decoratlon, for example.
A dark and disturbing painting often reflects
a similarly disposed character. Or
seek objects lying about that link the
person to the scene of a crime, like a
possession of the deceased. I once
identified a wererat when I coincidentally
observed a shiny brooch on its
coffee table that had belonged to a
friend of mine, recently murdered.
Wilderness Lairs
My discussion of the wilderness lair
assumes that the hunting party has
already found it-whether they have
followed a set of tracks to the
monster's doorstep, convinced a
natural animal of the beast's
phenotype to lead them there, or
bungled upon it by sheer luck.
'WEREBEASTS Y
Discovering the residence of the
beast is a step in the process of both
identifying the beast and learning a bit
about it. If you are lucky, you may find
some insight into the monster's habits,
and maybe a record of what the
lycanthrope knows about you. But best
of all, a hunting party that locates the
lair of a werebeast has just located the
ideal place to set a trap!
When the place in question is lo-
cated, first search it for all its en-
trances and exits and all its hidden
nooks and crannies. Then learn what
you can about the beast's domestic
habits-where it sleeps, stores its food,
hides if necessary, and so on. Finally,
design a trap that will blend into the
surroundings, avoiding the disturbance
A great way to turn a simple
hack-'n'-sla!jh adventure into a detective
mystery is to very subtly
wave ciues ,of the lycanthrope's
identity under the PCs' noses.
Introduce objects or sounds or
smells that readily blend into innocent
backgrounds and then challenge
the PCs by linking them to the
murders, iater on in the adventure.
Sometimes the tiniest clue is the
key that breaks the mystery wide
open, and the werebeast's lair is the
ideal place to plant it.
If and when the PCs discover the
lair of a lycanthrope, particularly the
wilderness location, the DM should
pay close attention to how carefully
they approach and search the area.
Most animals can easily tell if their
lair has been compromised, without
even entering it, and the best-laid
plans may be wasted by one PC
footprint.
Always give the PCs a chance to
find every secret door in the lair, but
seek ingenious ways to keep them
from turning the creature's home
into a death trap; this is the
monster's home turf. after all, and
should not be easily used against it.