Stoneage Romeos

My Stoneage DnD game had another session. Party put under pressure to get food. Living in halfling village for winter was working but a month of storms coming and most animals in hiding or leaving. Halflings fear only 4 meals a day in the terrible crisis.

The elf has recruited the unsupervised pine elf scouts to teach them chaos and independence of wood elf clan dogma and tree worship. He has freely taught archery to humans and halflings (blames it on orcs saw trading javelins). The halfling Bunz hs married into the halfling clan and has a few skilled followers he uses to expand his own skills. The colony cave in the lost valley (where former pcs retire as NPCs) has the Pterodactyl warrior visit them by flight now. The tribes greatest warrior was away on some mission.

So grandfather halfling declared we need at least 4 preferably six weeks food go hunt a big animal that does not offend any other tribe laws.

So the elf and halfling as the tribe intelligence officers or scout corp went flying. The halfling now a druid2 turned into a hawk (rumours are he has a secret hawk family in mountains) to go searching and considered using his salmon form. The elf considered going but was feeling chaotic lazy but ended up drilling the halflings in bow and arrow making and drilling the elf way. They wouldn't leave him alone. The halflings while advanced in homemaking, pottery, food preservation and cooking had poor flint use and didn't use any tools with hafts. Mostly they threw rocks and brawled from ambush. So the halflings were getting lots of tools and tricks from humans.

So the hawk got to see survivor runaways of the snake tribe and he met them and helped them find the tribe to join. Grandfather halfling not amused. Saw a family of hyena folk. Saw last few mammoth herds and lived with a human village of mammoth hunters pretending to be a lost mute human child. They wanted to initiate him as he was so popular and made sweet ground seed bread so he ran away. Wife not pleased he contemplated wintering away without a thought.

Anyway, a week was wasted and finally back on patrol as a hawk saw a family of struggling megaceratops family. So told the elf who cast fly and followed back with followers on foot. So the megaceratops family of a dozen with older calves were a bit intimidating at 2.5m tall 5m long 3 tons each. Eyed off babies to find cows were watching babies but between them and downwind were grumpy bulls. The bulls were already grumpy at four terror pigs but were watching four entadolants upstream eying off calves too. So the elf investigated the terror pigs while the halfling got neat calves and another halfling animal handler was hoping to split the cows and calves while the elf got the terror pigs and bulls into a fight. 

So the elf shot a terror pig. It flinched. Shot it again and it squealed and stomped about angrily. Shot it again and it attacked another pig who backed off. The 2m tall pigs screeching did upset the bulls but rest of party realised combat was sort of on so abandoned plan and went after big pig. Elf was yelling and shooting pigs who were confused and never looked up to see the elf which the plan depended on. So elf swore and fireballed the endolant terror pig and everyone finished it off and chased it's porcine peers away. The megacorps groaned deeply and wandered towards the mountain pass south.  In hawk form flew to the halfling hill holes and the clan came out. A follower fed scraps to vultures as they were less visible eating on the ground than in the air. Clan came and stipped the bothersome bacon beast bare to the bone carrying it back home. Some hyenas sneaked up before clan started but easily driven off killing four for new fir and teeth. The endolant tusks were amazing.

So grandfather halfling blessed back to 5 meals a day (burp) but we have a week left according to granny before the great white hits for midwinter to get a bit more so we know we are comfortable on five squares a day into the thaw in case beast late returning. So the elf helped more flying about and looking for stuff. Found the last reindeer moving through the passes south followed by wolves after stragglers. So the guys found a cliff path with crowded deer on it and well drove a few off to fall to their deaths. Collected away from wolves and hyenas but vultures came. Gathered lots of meat and buried some 2m deep for later. On way down found dream cave on a hill on the bottom of the mountain but a family of orc lived there. So the elf put a charm on the halfling and he did the whole orphan orc child mute routine with gifts of food. The orc mothers were curious and pleased and gave him food. Four orc kids not so happy. Fathers returned from the hunt and a bit meaner but he didn't back down so they accepted him sort of. The kids kept pointing for him to go back of cave into a sloping passage and he thought better and ran. These were redeye orc tribe known to locals and seemed meaner than the cyclops orcs they joked and drank with before.

Back at halfling hole hill Grandfather pleased and declares scouts can rest after bringing back that buried meat treasure. WInter went on and the trib Granny especially pleased by her halfling friends. Druidry seemed to be sweeping both tribes and all had shared lots of songs. Finally, as thaw broke the tribe decided to move to the new cave as much as they loved new halfling kin. The former snake tribe youths told of how their mad shaman hero had not returned from the serpent eye quest and many warriors had all vanished in lost valley (all killed by players). A few snake witches apparently march north to seek evil magic to get revenge but marching into coming winter whiteout seemed madness and kids fled. 

So tribe camped and heroes went forth to see if those orcs were there. Nope but two huge cavebears were making sweet love instead and the orcs apparently had wintered deep underground. So bears got a fireballin and some arrows and well both savaged the halfling who wondered where the warrior hero friends were. Got knocked out and male bear was killed and wounded female fled. Luckily nobody spoke bear because they were very upset and swore lots during the murder and eviction. 

So the tribe moved in and happy and blocked the mystery tunnel. All pleased and started seed gathering and clearing areas for gardens they had learned about on their travels. Once all settled in and happy the elf and halfling decided to go into the deep with their followers. The rest of the tribe followed them after moving away the rubble barrier and helped them down with a gift made from the tribes hair and other mystery fibres in a 12m rope. The elf had a magic dagger that was better than a hand lamp made from a rock with burning lump of fat or a torch but they brought them too. The tiny handlamps good for sneaking though. 

So they found a ritual cavern covered in art from all the peoples who had lived here in the past or just moved through as this was also the threshold of the underland. Found a shamans hole with some trinkets and a deep shaft and a well. Told tribe who declared only initiated adults allowed here and promptly declared all tribe adults were initiates. Granny loved the hole and was happy to move in. The hafling-druid used salmon form too explore many openings to dry spaces. The shaman hole among idols had a magic water breathing herb.

The shaft dropped to deep waters but a side passage off the side was reachable with a rope. Found a old weak rope which they gave to tribe and went down. Found an ancient ogress lair and the elf gave her silver rings which she was pleased by. She said they were welcome to consult her or pass but must bring her gifts or food. She also offered to teach women the secrets of the darkness priests which party declined.

Went on and caught delicious cave piercers and found another shat down and as they looked at a dropping lump of burning stuff they dropped they saw two reachable side passages. Was a skeleton with no legs by the shaft. Only one person saw the sucker tendril from above and screamed in time. All backed off and debated what to do then faced the horrible clawed beast with a fireball then missiles. It too was delicious and they wondered what or who else was good to eat down here....

So retired and levelled up (I'm rushing a bit to test system at mid-high level)

So now party can kill behemoths will continue with this dungeon cave (a Patreon module i released a while back Secret of Sunderhill). I have strangely a call of Cthulhu scenario to run and some more battles with ancient magic coming up. Fireball sure changes dynamics of this setting but I guess I mostly write for 0 to 6th Lv and need to get more hands-on and rules ready for higher-level play. Elf just got polymorph other so might turn megaceratops into a mouse then take home and throw off a cliff while reversing the spell for lazy dinner. 

Underland has promise too as I have a chunk of it very detailed which might keep them into high-level play. Might have some time travel later of sending them all to planet psychon.....though all followers and tribal kin loss would be a bit sad.

The snake tribe might be back or just remnants.
The clan now around 30 people of mixed species
Centaurs might move into the area as I just got a 1/72 box of centaur minis