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.

ENC 1 — The Feast Before the Blood

Enc 1: Social Hunt Council · ~45 min · Long mead hall, trophy wall, moonlit altar court, and cellar stair.

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.

ENC 2 — The Quarry Chooses

Enc 2: Branching Wilderness Chase · ~60 min · Three-lane forest chase: ravine bridge, trampled vineyard, and shrine pool.

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.

ENC 3 — Tusks in the Sacred Mire

Enc 3: Hard Boss Hunt · ~90 min · Sacred marsh with three dry hummocks, thorn channels, and a half-sunk altar.

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.

STAT BLOCKS

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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