Pugwampi Hunt

The party can find the pugwampi tracks in the hills north of the camp with a DC 10 Perception check, while a DC 15 Perception or Nature check can identify the tread of Rombard. When the party near the ravine where the pugwampis have tied up the goat, the cry that Rombard makes can be identified with a DC 12 Nature check as being from the goat.

Pugwampi Hunt
Encounter Level 1 (500 XP)

Setup
5 pugwampi snivellers (P)
Rombard (G)

Unlike the original adventure, there are five pugwampi that have kidnapped Rombard. They have secreted themselves about the cactus patch--two on the large boulder, one behind some rocks next to Rombard, and two behind some rocks at the front of the patch--and wait for someone to stumble into range of their unluck ability.

Rombard has an AC 10, Fortitude 12, Reflex 9, Will 7. He has 5 of a total 20 hp, and one healing surge. He makes Acrobatics checks at +2.

Perception Check
DC 23: You spot small creatures peering out from behind rocks and coarse brush.

Tactics
The pugwampis will remain hidden if not spotted. With their stealthy sabotage ability, they will aim to use three minor actions each turn to ensure that their unluck attack is maintained on as many foes at the same time as possible. That likely means a lot of dice (potentially up to fifteen a round), so you may just wish to rule the attacks as automatically hitting until the pugwampi are revealed, or else roll a large number of d20 checks before the session and make a note of them, crossing them off as they are used. The advantage is that it helps avoid "tipping your hand" as to the presence of the pugwampi until after a few cases of "bad luck".

The pugwampi wait patiently for the party to start attempting to rescue the goat, preferably through some ingenious scheme that will provide plenty of skill checks for the unluck penalty to affect. Any time a character suffers a mishap that causes them any damage, the pugwampis are unable to control their snickering, lowering the Perception DC to spot them by 2 each time party hit points are lost. The pugwampis will attack if they are spotted or if the party looks likely to escape with Rombard (likely if they free him).

Once combat is joined, the pugwampi prefer to stay out of melee where possible. If one does find themselves in melee, another pugwampi will attempt to use unluck where possible to reduce the chance of an opportunity attack hitting when the pugwampi moves away.

The pugwampi are still cowardly, but now they flee when bloodied. If all the pugwampi look to be set to escape, engineer some mishap to befall them, or have Dashki step in to land a final blow.

Features of the Area
Illumination: Assuming that the party headed straight off at Almah's request, it should be night and the area should be dimly lit (moonlight).
Cactus Patch: Moving full speed through the dense cactus requires a DC 17 Acrobatics check. This is reduced to a DC 10 check when moving at half speed, shifting, or being pushed, pulled, or slid through the area. It increases to a DC 24 check when running. Failure at the check results in 1d6 damage being taken from the cactus spines for each square moved through.
Spaces within the cactus patch also counts as being heavily obscured.
Ravine: The ravine is 10 ft deep and the sides require a DC 10 Athletics check to scale.
Boulders: Three large, mostly flat boulders sit on the western side of the patch. The two on the ground are roughly 10 ft high. The one on the westernmost edge of the map provides enough room for a run up, making a DC 10 Athletics check to leap the gap between it and the largest boulder on the ravine edge. The stacked boulder at the edge of the ravine is 10 ft high itself, making it 20 ft above the ground when combined with the other boulder. It takes a DC 8 Athletics check to successfully climb the boulders.
The other rocks only stand a few feet tall. They provide cover to small and medium creatures and superior cover to tiny creatures (like the pugwampis).
Rombard: Rombard is tied to a scrub bush and in his panic makes attempts to rescue him difficult. It takes a DC 12 Dexterity check to untie the rope. On a failed check, Rombard running around the character makes a +6 vs Reflex attack. A hit pushes the character 1 space towards the ravine edge.
If a character makes a DC 12 Nature check, the check to untie Rombard is reduced to a DC 5 Dexterity check.
The rope can be cut (AC 10, Reflex 8, Fort 8; 5 hp) leading to Rombard running unless someone is ready to grab him or the rope.



Developments
Returning with at least one pugwampi to camp is handled as detailed in Howl of the Carrion King, except the payment that Almah originally offers the party is 350 GP (treasure parcels 5 and 10 from level 2). The party can negotiate a further 180 GP on top of this (treasure parcel 6 from level 1) in a skill challenge that will be presented in a later post. Returning with the pugwampi also gains one success or removes one failure in the Befriending Almah skill challenge.

For solving the mystery of the fire reward the party 125 XP. If the party return Rombard alive award the party a further 100 XP, and also leads to gaining two successes in the Befriending the Camel Drivers skill challenge.