The Boar of Calydon

A level 8 wilderness boss-hunt for six Theronauts.

Style: Mythic wilderness hunt with rival patrons, broken oaths, and a brutal quarry.
Win: Stop the boar, expose the curse feeding the hunt, and leave the Calydonian claimants alive enough to accept a shared trophy.
Lose: The hunters turn on each other, the boar scatters the villages, and Artemis marks the party as oath-breakers.
Maguffin: Moon-Black Bristle · Ally: Atalanta, Unwanted First Spear · QG: King Oeneus of Calydon

"A bristle black as fired iron is tied with red wool. When moonlight touches it, the shadow points toward the hunter who lied most recently."

Major Beats

Oeneus asks for heroes while hiding the divine insult that caused the hunt.
Atalanta sees the true trail before the court agrees she is allowed to speak.
The boar kills selectively, proving the quarry understands pride and politics.
The final trophy must become a peace bond or Calydon bleeds after victory.

Difficulty

Tier	Adjust
As Written ★	6 PCs · APL 8
Library Standard	6 PCs · APL 8 — Identical to As Written — this guide’s baseline is already 6 PCs at average level 8.
Easier	APL 4–6: reduce minion counts ~30%; DCs −2; boss loses one recharge or legendary option.
Harder	APL 10–12: boss HP +25–35%; +1 legendary action; add a lieutenant or extra wave.

King Oeneus of Calydon hooks the party. Maguffin Moon-Black Bristle pays off in the finale against Calydonian Boar . Recruit Atalanta, Unwanted First Spear along the way. Join a prideful hunt that turns on itself when the quarry starts choosing victims.

Creature / Enemy List

Creature	Counts / Notes
Razorback Sounder	med · hard · CR 3 · Skirmishing beasts and living alarms
Pride-Drunk Hunter	med · hard · CR 5 · Rival elite with a fragile oath
Calydonian Boar	med · hard · CR 11 · Boss quarry, curse engine, and terrain breaker
Atalanta, Unwanted First Spear	1 · 1 · Recruit Enc. Encounter 1 or 2

DM Tips

As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 8: Baseline for this guide. Numbers, DCs, and win tracks assume six PCs at average level 8.
Easier: APL 4–6: reduce minion counts ~30%; DCs −2; boss loses one recharge or legendary option.
Harder: APL 10–12: boss HP +25–35%; +1 legendary action; add a lieutenant or extra wave.

Maguffin reminder: Check Enc. 3 payoff on the item card (page 3/4). Reward players who keep the object in hand.

Maguffin detail

Moon-Black Bristle

Appearance: A hand-length iron bristle wrapped in red wool and smelling of wet leaves.
Handout. "Hold me to moonlight and pride will cast the longer shadow. Hold me to blood and the forest will remember the wound."
Enc. 1–2. Reveals false trails and social lies: advantage on one Survival, Insight, or Persuasion check tied to the hunt.

Ally snapshot

Atalanta, Unwanted First Spear

RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Back her claim to the first blood or help her save a rival who insulted her.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

Encounter 1 — The Feast Before the Blood

The party enters a loud lodge where Meleager, Atalanta, uncles, priests, and trophy-seekers argue over who deserves command before the first horn sounds.

Non-combat path: mediate three rival claims with DC 15 Persuasion, History, or Insight.
Discover Oeneus's omitted altar with DC 15 Investigation or Religion.
Recruit Atalanta by defending her right to first blood or asking for her read of the tracks.
Failure starts the hunt with one rival hunter secretly hostile in Encounter 2.
Tip: Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Hunter ally and truth-teller
Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Back her claim to the first blood or help her save a rival who insulted her.
Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

Encounter 2 — The Quarry Chooses

A false trail leads the hunting line through farms, sacred groves, and ravines while the boar begins isolating the loudest hunters.

Non-combat path: run a 5-success skill challenge before 3 failures to rescue stragglers.
Use the bristle to identify one false trail or one hunter marked by the boar.
Rival hunters attack only if shamed, exposed without mercy, or abandoned to danger.
Each failure costs a hunter, burns supplies, or gives the boss a lair advantage.
Tip: Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Hunter ally and truth-teller
Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Back her claim to the first blood or help her save a rival who insulted her.
Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

Encounter 3 — Tusks in the Sacred Mire

At the moonlit mire, the Calydonian Boar bursts from reeds, using fallen hunters, sucking mud, and pride-curses to split the party.

Hard fight: the boar charges through reed walls and creates difficult terrain lines.
Pride curse: a PC who refuses aid or glory-sharing has disadvantage on the next save.
Maguffin payoff: plant the Moon-Black Bristle in the old wound to suppress curse aura.
Mercy option: saving rivals mid-fight removes one legendary charge or grants Atalanta an opening.
Tip: Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Hunter ally and truth-teller
Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Back her claim to the first blood or help her save a rival who insulted her.
Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

DM Callouts

Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique
Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Hunter ally and truth-teller
RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Back her claim to the first blood or help her save a rival who insulted her.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

Extra Encounter Detail (from session guide)

Tip: Keep page-3 creature AC/HP lines visible while resolving Enc. 3.
Tip: Favor non-combat paths in Enc. 1–2; Enc. 3 should still feel Hard.

STAT BLOCKS

Atalanta, Unwanted First Spear

Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Hunter ally and truth-teller

AC 17 | HP 76 | Speed 30 ft.

	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
sc md sv	12 +1 +1	14 +2 +2	12 +1 +1	12 +1 +1	14 +2 +2	16 +3 +3

RECRUITMENT (Enc. Encounter 1 or 2). Back her claim to the first blood or help her save a rival who insulted her.

Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

Strike. Longbow +8 to hit, 150/600 ft., 2d8+4 piercing; marks one trail sign.

Razorback Sounder CR 3

Medium Creature · Skirmishing beasts and living alarms

AC 14 | HP 45 | Speed 30 ft.

	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
sc md sv	14 +2 +2	12 +1 +1	14 +2 +2	10 +0 +0	11 +0 +0	10 +0 +0

Note. Use as pressure, not slaughter; they flee if bloodied and uncornered.

Attack. Tusks +6 to hit, 2d8+4 slashing; DC 14 Str save or knocked prone.

Pride-Drunk Hunter CR 5

Medium Creature · Rival elite with a fragile oath

AC 16 | HP 78 | Speed 30 ft.

	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
sc md sv	14 +2 +2	12 +1 +1	14 +2 +2	10 +0 +0	11 +0 +0	10 +0 +0

Note. Can be talked down by naming their oath and offering public credit.

Attack. Spear +7 to hit, 2d6+4 piercing plus 1d6 if an ally threatens the target.

Calydonian Boar CR 11

Large Creature · Boss quarry, curse engine, and terrain breaker · Boss

AC 18 | HP 218 | Speed 40 ft.

	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
sc md sv	18 +4 +4	12 +1 +1	18 +4 +4	10 +0 +0	12 +1 +1	12 +1 +1

Note. Boss last. It chooses proud targets first and cannot be appeased by flattery.

Hard encounter focus. Win condition may be steal, escape, disable, or drive-off — not always kill.

Multiattack / Assault. Gore +10 to hit, 3d10+6 piercing; charge adds 4d8 and pushes 20 ft.

Advance (1). (Legendary Actions) Move up to half Speed.

Session reminders

6 PCs level 8; 3 encounters; 3 to 3.5 hours.
Enc 1/2 can resolve through social play and rescue skills.
Enc 3 is Hard; boss last.
Maguffin payoff: suppress boar curse for 1 round.
Win requires stopping the hunt from becoming civil murder.

Maguffin

Moon-Black Bristle

Reveals false trails and social lies: advantage on one Survival, Insight, or Persuasion check tied to the hunt.
Driven into the boar's old wound as an action, it suppresses the boar's curse aura for 1 round and prevents a regeneration surge.

NPC / ALLY

King Oeneus of Calydon

Save his fields and heirs without admitting that his neglected sacrifice invited divine anger.
He will not order the death of any named hunter; if pressed, he demands a public trial after the boar is stopped.

Atalanta, Unwanted First Spear

Recruit Enc. Encounter 1 or 2: Back her claim to the first blood or help her save a rival who insulted her.
AC 17 · HP 76 · Longbow +8 to hit, 150/600 ft., 2d8+4 piercing; marks one trail sign.

Remember

Stop the boar, expose the curse feeding the hunt, and leave the Calydonian claimants alive enough to accept a shared trophy.

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