An Amusement for the Nobles

Synopsis
"As if we hadn't had enough trouble with bandits and trolls, a new calamity has befallen the country. No one knows from where, but countless magical beasts have appeared! Hydras, wyverns, hairy things with bird heads — all sorts of monsters arrived to upend the normal lives of our subjects! Deciding to combine business with pleasure — that is, combine diplomacy with killing monsters — our baron/baroness went to partake in a favorite pastime of nobles everywhere — the hunt. Nobles from Pitax and Mivon joined in, and some Embeth Travelers volunteered to be the huntsmen. Embeth Forest teems with different monsters and, fortunately, grows far away from our borders."

Meet the Huntsman in the Hunting Lodge

 * The hunt will take place on a nameless highland in the Kamelands, where several monsters — each of unbelievable size, unrivaled ferocity, and unprecedented rapacity — have set their lairs. The huntsmen and the guests have gathered in a lodge near the hunting grounds, and it's time for us to join them.

Go to the Hunting Grounds

 * The highland where the monsters live isn't too far from the lodge. The guests have already headed there. If we don't hurry, they'll get all the trophies, and we'll get a big fat nothing!

Kill at least two of the three magic beasts
We obtained the head of an enormous owlbear.'' We obtained a hydra's head I hope one is enough!''
 * The hunt is underway! The one who collects the most trophies will be proclaimed the winner! But the hunters can't collect the heads of just any beasts — we're out for the heads of the most terrible ones. There are three dire monsters here, so to become a winner, we have to bag at least two of them. We'd better hurry — the other hunters won't wait for us!
 * ''Embeth Travelers don't waste time. They're real professionals they just tear monsters to shreads!
 * ''Seems our guests from Mivon bit off more than they could chew! If we don't intervene, they monster will be chewing them instead!
 * Here are our guests from Pitax. They seem to be enjoying the hunt... from a safe distance!

Ask Jamel Visser about the competition results

 * So that's it the dire monsters have been killed off. Who was the best hunter? Who will claim the prize? In just a moment, the huntsman will declare the winner!

Wait for the royal council to gather.

 * Some jolly entertainment has turned into a dark tragedy. Just as everyone was about to go home, a servant who'd been feeling sick all day suddenly just... exploded! A monster jumped out of his body and attacked the guests. Could it be that every magical beast we've seen... Oh, it's horrifying to even think it! But we do have to think, and think well how else can we stop this calamity? The baron{ess} should discuss the situation with {his/her} advisors.

Meet the Huntsman in the Hunting Lodge

 * The hunt will take place on a nameless highland in the Kamelands, where several monsters — each of unbelievable size, unrivaled ferocity, and unprecedented rapacity — have set their lairs. The huntsmen and the guests have gathered in a lodge near the hunting grounds, and it's time for us to join them.


 * Head to the Hunting Lodge to meet all of the competitors in the competition; there are Embeth Travelers of course, a pair of Swordlords from Mivon, Julia and Edna Aldori, and a group of bards from Pitax lead by Annamede Belavarah. Jamel Visser will entice the participants by putting forth a reward for the team returning with the most trophies at the end of the competition.
 * Before heading out, check behind the counter for a hidden chest [Perception 20] with a [Trickery 24] lock.
 * Speak with the Servant in the room before leaving as well; it would seem that this man is a bit under the weather, which has some surprising ramifications:
 * (Neutral Good) The player can tell the servant to leave and get some rest.
 * (Chaotic Neutral) The player can request that the servant go 'prank' the Aldori by sneezing on them.
 * (Neutral Evil) The player can order the servant to leave to prevent them from getting the guests and themselves sick.
 * Head off to the Hunting Grounds and buff up as soon as you get there. The enemies here are no joke to say the least.
 * Just to the north of where the party arrives are a group of alpha worgs and greater worgs waiting in ambush; the worgs have a lot of hit points, but the party should be tough enough that the worgs won't put up too much of a fight. An owlbear may wander into this combat encounter at some point from the east, or the player may encounter it soon after combat is done.
 * Continuing north the player will come across a pack of four owlbears. Owlbears are still a fairly big threat in groups due to the amount of damage they can dish out. They're also fairly resistant to spells like Grease and Web due to their high Reflex saves, but if the player can send a character with a high AC in first to keep them stationary they may fail successive checks.
 * Continue north through some more greater worgs and the party will encounter the Swordlords Julia and Edna engaged with a Greater Enraged Owlbear; the player may either let the owlbear kill the two outmatched combatants, or attempt to rescue them. As long as one of them is still standing, then they will both survive the encounter and engage the player in conversation after the encounter is over, which will give some background on how the Swordlords in Mivon operate and the challenges they're facing right now. The player can leave with the sisters grateful for the help, or, if the player insults the honor of the Swordlords, Edna will challenge the player to rescind their words:
 * (Chaotic Neutral) The player will apologize for their tasteless joke.
 * (Chaotic Evil) The player will attack Julia and Edna to prove their point.
 * The sisters are a bit of a joke if the player attacks them, especially if they've already been injured by the owlbear. either way, make sure to collect the Owlbear's Head to earn one of the three trophies needed for the quest.
 * Travel east next, avoiding the valley in the center for now. The next foes will be a trio of Greater Dire Bears; these bears are actually weaker than the average owlbear, so they shouldn't pose that much of a threat.
 * Follow the path southeast to catch a brief cutscene of several goblins praising a Ferocious Wyvern in the name of Lamashtu before being attacked by the beast. The wyvern is pretty weak, so when it's dead take the fork to the north once it's dead.
 * There is a group of worgs at another fork in the northeastern corner of the map; take the path to the northwest to find a hidden slab of rock with a Taldan Snaffle with a [Perception 7] check.
 * Return to the fork and head further northeast. There are two [Perception 20] [Trickery 20] traps along the way; right about where the second trap is, the player will be able to witness a cutscene of the Embeth Travelers taking down their target, an Ancient Wyvern. This opens a brief conversation with some alignment choices to make:
 * The player can congratulate the Travelers and then be on their way.
 * (Chaotic Neutral) The player can attempt to demand that the Travelers hand over the head of the wyvern to them by their right as the sovereign of these lands.
 * (Chaotic Evil) The player can attack the Travelers to take the head by force.
 * The Travelers will scoff at the suggestion that they hand over their trophy, so the only way to claim it is to slay the Travelers. Even without the Wyvern's Head, the player will still be able to claim two out of three of the trophies needed to win the contest.
 * Head south from the wyvern encounter to find a Primal Giant Flytrap; the primal version of the standard giant flytrap is more of a nuisance than anything due to its decent armor class combined with a permanent Blur effect on top of a hefty amount of hit points. Once it lies dead make sure to pick up the Melted Shard of a Ring off its corpse.
 * West of the giant flytrap is a pair of chests with a [Perception 20] [Trickery 20] trap guarding them. One chest has another Melted Shard of a Ring, while the other has a [Trickery 27] lock on it and a Hunter's Roast (recipe) inside.
 * Make your way back to where the cutscene between the goblins and wyvern was, then head southeast to pick up a Torag's Pendant from some rubble, and check next to the shattered bones for a [Perception 25] check to reveal a tarp-covered cache; unlock(?) the cache with a [Trickery 28] check to find Kneesplitter.
 * Follow the path southwest around the ridge to avoid a nasty ambush from some worgs; the Pitaxian envoy Annamede Belavarah and her fellow bards will be resting nonchalantly, but we'll avoid talking to them for now. To the east of them are the worgs that were waiting in ambush in the choke point. There are some brambles with a Token of the Dryad nearby.
 * Head back west along the path, avoiding the valley still. Just past the abandoned cart is a rock with a Taldan Warrior's Dog Tag hidden by a [Perception 8] check.
 * Take the fork to the northwest to find a large rock with a Taldan Warrior's Dog Tag, and to run across another pack of greater dire bears guarding another rock with a Token of the Dryad.
 * Finally, it's time to head into the valley. There is a roaming Ferocious Hydra with a Melted Shard of a Ring near a trio of Primal Hydras in the northeastern corner of the valley.
 * Around the center of the valley's curve is a Poisonous Hydra, which is the final deadly creature needed for a trophy. This is probably the most underwhelming trophy enemy, the only potential trouble is the hydra's poison spray ability, which can be countered if the party has a Delay Poison, Communal spell active. The hydra's body has a Hydra Head, the final trophy needed for the competition. We'll just need to finish exploring the valley to move on.
 * North of the hydra is a Giant Flytrap with a Shard of Knight's Bracers and a stump requiring a [Perception 25] check to notice.
 * The last of the enemies can be found a bit further north of the giant flytrap in the form of a trio of owlbears. Once the party has taken them out, return to the Pitaxian nobles at their camp.
 * Speaking with Annamede Belavarah will give the player some background of and details on current affairs in Pitax, but the bard is more interested in relaxing than partaking in the hunt. Resting with the nobles will end the hunt, but the player can choose to betray the Pitaxians and attack if they wish; the two nobles will stay and fight, but Annamede will flee and become untargetable.
 * With everything accomplished and all possible trophies in hand, head back to the Hunting Lodge. Speaking with Jamel Visser the player can end the hunt and inquire about all of the participants, which the player should already be aware of if they helped or harmed any groups.
 * Unfortunately, just as the party is ready to leave, the servant who mentioned feeling sick will call for help, and suddenly explode as a Ferocious Owlbear burst out of his body from a portal. Once the player has slain the owlbear, their envoy may recommend covering up that this is how magical beasts seem to be appearing in the barony depending on which envoy was chosen. This gives the player an array of alignment choices:
 * (Chaotic Good) The player will insist on telling the people so that they can make an informed decision about staying in the barony.
 * (Chaotic Neutral) The player will will begrudgingly conclude that warning people now is better than having them find out later.
 * (Lawful Neutral) The player will agree that keeping this information on a need-to-know basis would be better.
 * (Lawful Evil) The player will agree that covering up the tragedy and keeping the problem among the ruling class will be for the best.
 * Whether the player decides to share or hide the information is up to them, but covering up the manner in which the monsters have been appearing will make some things more difficult later during an encounter with none other than Annamede Belavarah.

Outcome
"TBD"