Pterodactyl Hunt

From SWILwiki

Event name: The Pterodactyl Hunt 
Creator: The Swarthmore Folkdance Club
Dates run: October, 1982? - October, Next Year

The Pterodactyl Hunt is SWIL's annual all-campus event. (We invite campus to lots of other events, too, but this is the only one that hundreds of campusfolk actually attend.) Picture lots of Swatties running around campus in the dead of night (generally around 8 p.m.) wielding "deadly" foam weapons, trying to kill monsters, get gold, buy equipment, and win a pizza.

There's another page with advice on running the Pterodactyl Hunt. The past victors of the Pterodactyl Hunt are listed in the Annals of Eternal Glory.

Table of contents

1 Current Rules 2 Evolution and History 3 Monsters 3.1 Current Monsters 3.2 Monsters in Progress 3.3 Retired Monsters 4 Links

Current Rules

• Hunter Orientation Video is a lengthy explanation of the rules, in the form of a script. It should be summarized to replace the following rules when it is finished. (Or I suppose those are short enough to go in this section.)
• http://www.swil.org/Pterodactyl/Rules.html should be updated at some point, for style if not content

The following rules were compiled by JillianWaldman, Mark Handler, and Rachel Sapiro, before the 2004 Hunt, where it was revealed that nobody ever gave the Hunt Wizards a copy. They need to be updated to reflect any changes that may have occurred.

No intoxicants or people under the influence of intoxicants are allowed on the play area.

All participants are issued a trashbag. Monsters are given black trashbags and hunters are given white ones. The trashbag is worn over the (entire) torso. Any participant struck by an enemy's weapon on the trashbag is dead. A dead hunter loses his sword and all extra equipment (which is collected by the monster, who is not allowed to use it) but not money. A dead monster gives a reward to the hunter and then holds his weapon above his head to signal that he is dead as he walks directly to monster respawn. A blow to the head means instant death to the one striking the blow. The monster is the arbiter of any dispute. If things cannot be decided easily, as a last resort the monster and hunter may together appeal to a wizard.

No more than six hunters may attack a single monster at a time. If a monster is already engaged with a group of six hunters, you must wait until the current battle is finished before approaching. Please note you are still in play and may be attacked and killed during this time. Hunters are encouraged to create formal groups of six, because they can all share a bank account at hunt central, but it is by no means required.

Typically, the reward for killing a monster is money. Money may be used to buy all manner things (the exact items vary from hunt to hunt), including a 'dactyl hunting licence. A group of up to six, all with licences visibly displayed, may attack a pterodactyl (and his entourage). To kill the pterodactyl, both targets must be knocked out of the wings, and then the pterodactyl must be hit on the trashbag. A hit to the trashbag does not count if either of the targets are still in place. A shot from the watergun on the trashbag will kill any hunter. There is no 'dactyl hunting queue (only one group may engage the pterodactyl at a time, and if another group is waiting it is not safe from attack from monsters).

(At the Wizards' discretion: A hunter may request single combat with a monster. In the case of single combat, no one else may attack either of the participants. If single combat is enabled, no one in a 'dactyl hunting party may engage a guard in single combat. Accepting is always up to the monsters' discretion. Guards are encouraged to refuse but may accept if their 'dactyls are currently not under attack; special monsters are likewise encouraged to refuse, for the sake of fairness.)

At the beginning of the hunt, a hunter is given a sword. When the hunter dies and loses his sword he must return to Hunt Central to get a new one. Also at Hunt Central is the bank and the store, and snacks provided by SAC. Hunters are not allowed to fight without a sword because a swordless hunter is, by definition, dead. A hunter may only have one sword; if a hunter buys a new sword upgrade he must relinquish his old sword.

When the dactyl is killed it relinquishes its heart to the player who killed it. The player must then make his way back to Hunt Central with the heart. If the player dies on the way the heart goes back to the dactyl (this has always been in the rules but has never come up). At Hunt Central, the player shows the heart to the banker, gives his name and the names of the other members of his party. They should be told to return after the Hunt to receive their prize (pizza certificate). The death of the dactyls does not end the hunt.

Evolution and History

The Pterodactyl Hunt originated as a joke perpetrated within the Swarthmore Folkdance Club, and was adopted by SWIL in 1984. Since then it has grown, evolved, and become much more complex, as well as both a SWIL tradition and a fairly notorious Swarthmore one. Hunt history describes the history of the Hunt in more detail, and links to pages with details on individual years. Individual monster pages also chronicle the evolution of each monster.

• Hunt Economy (should) list(s) past values of money and equipment.
• http://www.swil.org/Pterodactyl/history.html is a "Book of the Dactyl" Hunt History page that could easily be dumped to a wiki page (Hunt History?). That's probably also the place to list changes to the rules over time.
• 2006 Hunt Suggestions describes some ways that the hunt could be improved in future years.

Monsters

The following monsters/characters are, have been, or could be associated with the Pterodactyl Hunt.

Current Monsters

Not all are necessarily used every year. "Current" in place of "Last Date Used" indicates that the monster ought to be used in every hunt, because of necessary mechanics.

Monster Name	Last Date Used	Date Created
The Black Knight	current	1986?
The (Were)Cat	2006	1995
The Fishmonger	2006	1996
Hobgoblins	current
Hobgoblin-King	current
Hydra	2006	2000
Jabberwock	2005	1986
Kobolds	2004	???
Oracle	current
Orcs	current
Orc-King	current
Phoenix	2006	2004
Pterodactyl(s)	current	1982
Dactyl Guards	current	mid '90's?
Shadow	2006	1989
Sphinx	2006	2003
Spondees	2006	2004
Turtle(s)	2006	2002
The Vampire	2006	1986?
The Werewolf	2006	before 1993
The Hunt Wizards	current
Imp	2006	2005
Cardboard Tube Samurai	2005	2005
Troll	2006	2006

Monsters in Progress

The following have possibly been playtested but never been used in the Hunt: (would it make sense to collapse these all onto one page, then split off when they exist?)

Monster Name	Last Date Used	Date Proposed
The Grue	hypothetical	2003
The Kraken	hypothetical	early 00's?
The Dragon	hypothetical	2005
The Assassin	hypothetical	2003?
Harpies or Furies	hypothetical	2006

Retired Monsters

Some are a Bad Idea, others merely lack interested parties to play them. You can generally tell from "last date used", since the hunt has changed a lot since the early 90's.

Monster Name	Date Created	Last Date Used
The Wraith		late 90's?
The Siren	retired
The Ravenous Bug-blatter Beast of Traal	1990	1994
The Game Warden	retired
Achilles	2002	2002
The Necromant	retired
The Thief	???	2003
The Unicorn	???	1988
The Medusa	???	1988
Grunts	??	2003
Troll (riddle)	early 80's	2002

Links

• The Swarthmore Folkdance Club (http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/folkdance)
• Hunt Page at swil.org (http://www.swil.org/Pterodactyl) (which hopefully will become pretty at some point)
• Phoenix column (http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2000/2000-10-12/opinions/10228.html) from 2000
• Phoenix column (http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2001/2001-11-08/opinions/11503.html) Hunt heals a campus rent asunder by the War on Terror
• The Swarthmore Bulletin (http://www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/index.php?id=282) mentions the Hunt in the June, 2005 article "101 Ways to be a Swarthmorean". I guess this proves that the hunters actually know the rules! Or that Jawaad was the one who wrote that blurb.

SWIL Annual Events	(view·discuss)
Pterodactyl Hunt | SWILoween | Inauguration | Massacre | Kegger | Walpurgisnacht | Remembrances