Hex Crawl 23 #42: Jackals of the Hills

 Four hexes northeast of Alakran.

 

Jackals are not a particularly worthy foe for your gaming adventurers. As written in the various editions of D&D, they are weak canines that do not measure up to the wild dog let alone the wolf. A look at their natural habits will have you concluding that the 1d6 jackals encountered, for example, in the 1st edition Monster Manual are a bit of an overestimate. Still, even that is no great challenge for even a low-level group, assuming doubtfully that  the jackals could be provoked to attack. That same Manual confesses they are only included because they're an entry in the bag of tricks magic item. In that regard, they maybe should be relegated to the standing of low-level ubiquitous fauna like foxes or raccoons.

And yet, here they are, in the hills of western Dulsharna. Legends of the world note that jackals are a metaphor for the encroachment of the desert and - like coyotes - for trickery. In that spirit, here are four preternaturally clever tricks that might make a run-in with jackals more memorable than dangerous.

1. A jackal is spotted in the middle distance running with a bag in its mouth, from which the sound of clinking metal comes. This is a ruse to get the party to abandon camp and chase after it, whereupon other jackals sneak in and rifle the camp's food supply. The bag is filled only with broken tin pots.

2. In the dim light of dawn or dusk, three jackals climb on each others' shoulders to form a human-like figure, which dips into the brush and rises, getting closer every time. This trick will be pulled on people who are cooking food, provoking fear of the jackalwere legend, and probable abandonment of the repast.

3. Having found the broken-off tip of a bronze sword, jackals contrive to wedge it into the mud of a termite mound. When the humans break open the mound to get the rest of the sword, and move away disappointed, the jackals dive in to eat the termite grubs.

4. A young and pitiful-looking jackal gains the affection of a group of armed wanderers by jumping in the air, chasing its own tail, and other silly tricks. It knows that such groups are noted for getting into fights and leaving behind piles of carrion. When this happens, the "pet" yelps and barks loudly, attracting an ad hoc pack of d6+6 other jackals, who will even venture underground to reach their feast.