Stone Age Safari

Keith watches and enjoys the players attempting to survive their Stone Age safari

We hadn't played one of Keith's Dino Hunts in a long time. So, last week, we decided to schedule one at Keith's house for this Sunday. Keith suggested that instead of Victorian era hunters going back in time on a safari, that we do a Stone Age hunting scenario with all of us playing small bands of anything from Neanderthals to Stone Age human hunters like my Adena group. Keith set his usual magnificent board up, chocked full with carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores.

Our tribe gets its first kill -- a Macrauchenia brought down by our two bowmen

The game drew out some of our formerly regular Sunday night games that we hadn't seen in awhile. Both Tom and Steve V showed up, and we ended up with seven bands of hunters on the table while Keith was GM. Each primitive band started on the edge of the table with the mission of bringing back some meat for the table. We were armed with anything from clubs to thrusting spears, javelins, atl atls, and even bows. Both Steve and Allen to my left were very primitive, with Steve's apparently the most primitive with no missile weapons, and Allen only slightly more evolved. My group was one of the more advanced, and our four included two armed with bows and the others clubs.

Steve's neanderthals spot some game in the distance and run howling towards it

We knew predators lurked throughout the brush and swamp, with many hanging out near the swampy river in the center of the table. We veered away from the swamp, and moved to cut off some Macrauchenia -- large tapir-like animals grazing towards the center of the table. Our movement spooked them, but we were able to race forward and our two archers shot and killed one as it crossed between clearings in the woods. We moved up and cautiously began to butcher the kill, which was too large for us to carry away.

Our brave hunters take down a bull of some sort dangerously close to the central swamp

Unfortunately, we had been watched by a huge bear, which decided to dispute our tribe's kill. Rather than tangle with such a fearsome beast, we took what we'd butchered so far and abandoned the kill to the bear. Moving through the woods towards a small herd of cattle-like creatures close to the river. Our archers once again brought down one, and we encircled the kill and began to butcher it. Before long, another predator was drawn to our kill -- this time a leopard. Even though we could probably have defeated it if it chose to attack, we had 50 pounds of meat for each to carry, so we backed off and abandoned the carcass to the big cat.

Allen's "Ginger" neanderthals were very aggressive, engaging in melee with wolves, bears, and giant vultures

Elsewhere on the board, others were faring similarly. Tom and Allen each lost a man to a counter-attacking animal. Tom ran afoul of three terror birds, and eventually managed to kill all three, but at the cost of one of his hunter's lives. Allen lost one of his neanderthals to a swat of a short-nosed bear, who had disputed their kill of a wild horse. Perhaps unwisely, Allen's band of doughty prehumans fought back against the bear. Drawn by the sound of conflict, Steve's neanderthals joined in the encircling the bear. One well-placed spear thrust by one of Steve's neandertals brought down the largest carnivore in North America.

We shook our head ruefully when Allen's tribe disputed a kill with a short-faced bear

Across the table, Mike S was becoming the first "colonel" and slaughtered a flock of aggressive, man-sized chickens. Brian was wrestling with gators in the swamp, and actually coming out on top. Joel, on the other hand, was ambushed by a giant warthog, who his group managed to dispatch. All bands of hunters retreated from the field once we had our maximum amount of meat we could carry.

Allen's foray with the bear began when they speared one of these wild horses, and refused to be chased from their kill

We agreed afterward that this version didn't seem as "dangerous" as the dinosaurs -- what with T-Rexes and velociraptors on the tabletop. Keith was using a modified version of Saurian Safari rules, and said he planned on tweaking them to ante up the level of danger for the players.  It was good to game with Tom and Steve, again, though. We all enjoyed the various puns and ridiculing the situation each other got themselves into.

A Deinotherium (I believe) grazes peacefully by the river -- safe with this size from any crocodiles

A ground level view over the should of my archers, who's deadly accuracy brought home meat for our tribe