Interlude--The Pygmies

Today's post is an encounter with advanced pygmies, one that can be a mere diversion or an outright danger for the PC's.

-Nate


Interlude: The Pygmies
It's a difficult thing, provisioning a voyage by sea. For one thing, limited space prevents a captain from stocking as much food an water as a crew would like to have. For another, the vagaries of traveling time make it nearly impossible to predict just how long a journey will last. Even worse, the risk that water might go foul, or food might spoil or become infested with vermin, is always a danger. For all of these reasons and more, it often becomes necessary to stop on remote island and restock the provision aboard a vessel.

Even these remote landings are not without their own hazards, however. Seemingly deserted island can be home to wild animals or—what is worse—hostile native tribes. Detailed here is one such encounter with a band of pygmies, one that could be an irritating distraction or an outright threat to the party's survival, depending on circumstances and the needs of the game.

For the most part, use the sample stats given for pygmies in the Skull & Bones rulebook. To increase the danger for more experience characters, however, a couple of more advanced characters are presented below.

Pygmy Battle Leader
Ranger 3; CR 3; Size small; HD 3d10+9; hp 30; Init +3 (+3 Dex); Spd 20 ft.; AC 14 (+1 size, +3 Dex); Atk +3 (1d4, small shortspear) or +6 (1d4, small shortbow); AL N; SV: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +1; Str 11, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
Background: Native.
Skills: Climb +6, Hide +9, Move Silently +9, Survival +6.
Feats: Ambush, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Track.
Fortunes: None.
Special Qualities: Favored enemy (humans), wild empathy.
Equipment: Short bow, quiver of arrows, short spear, knife, vial of poison.

Pygmy Battle Leader (Advanced)
Ranger 5; CR 5; Size small; HD 5d10+15; hp 47; Init +4 (+4 Dex); Spd 20 ft.; AC 15 (+1 size, +4 Dex); Atk +5 (1d4, small shortspear) or +9 (1d4, small shortbow); AL N; SV: Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +1; Str 11, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
Background: Native.
Skills: Climb +8, Hide +12, Move Silently +12, Survival +8.
Feats: Ambush, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Track.
Fortunes: None.
Special Qualities: Animal companion, endurance, favored enemies (humans, hairy wild men), wild empathy.
Equipment: Short bow, quiver of arrows, short spear, knife, flask of poison.

The advanced leader should also have an animal companion; a wild (riding) dog is perhaps the best fit, but other types of creatures could work as well. The whole party of pygmies could be outfitted with any number of poisons; this list contains just a few of the possible options.

Animal and Poison
Centipede—DC 10 or 11; damage 1 Dex, initial and secondary
Snake—DC 10 or 11; damage 1d6 Con initial and secondary
Spider—DC 10; damage 1d2 Str initial and secondary

Tactics are important here to make for a challenging encounter. The pygmies should use surprise whenever possible, attacking from covering and using movement to their advantage. Some might even climb up into trees, sniping from high ground where it is difficult for characters with melee weapons to reach them. At the GM's discretion they might even use more advanced tactics, such as dropping nets onto characters and the like.

This encounter could develop in a number of ways. Depending on how the PC's handle it, they might overwhelm their enemies or be forced to flee. In the prior case, they might set out to find the pygmy village. That, in turn, could bring discoveries that lead to other adventures, such as finding a long-lost party of travelers who possess a map or some other kind of secret.