# The Pack's Runt

> From the Curse of Strahd game wiki (it covers the whole game, spoilers included): https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-packs-runt.html. Unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy, not approved or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.

> [!infobox]
> ![quest the packs runt](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/quest-the-packs-runt.webp)
> **Type:** Side quest
> **Region:** [Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/regions/krezk.md) · level 7
> **Given by:** [Little Petru](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/little-petru.md)
> **Starts at:** [Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md)
> **Rewards:** [Iron Bands of Bilarro](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#iron-bands-of-bilarro), 300 gp

## Summary

Of the five children brought home from the werewolves' den, the smallest came home different, and something big circles the farms below Krezk's wall.

## Walkthrough

### Getting the quest

You first have to free the five stolen children from the werewolves' den (see [The Children in the Pen](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-children-in-the-pen.md)). Once you have, the smallest of them, [Little Petru](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/little-petru.md), is in the goat pens on the west side of [Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md), day and night. Any of these starts the quest:

- Ask the [Krezk Watchman](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/krezk-watchman.md) at the gate *"Heard anything interesting?"*. He tells you Petru sleeps with the goats and that something bigger than a wolf has been circling the farms (**Rumored**).
- If you can speak with animals, any goat in the pens tells you the boy who sleeps there smells more of wolf every night (**Rumored**).
- Just talk to Petru (**Asked**).

### Step by step

1. **Talk to Petru.** *"What happened to you in the den?"*: the moon came for him before you rescued them, and the Grandsire, the pack's eldest, licked his face and said the runt was his. He'll come for Petru at the full moon, which is very close.
2. **Look at him closely, then decide whether to cure him.** *Insight DC 13* ("Look at him the way a goat would") shows that he's a wolf nearly all the way through. Whether you pass or fail, the cure options appear afterwards. To lift the curse, someone who can cast [Remove Curse](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/spells/level-3-spells.md#remove-curse) uses it on him, or you read a [Spell Scroll](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#spell-scroll) over him. Far beyond the wall, something howls at the loss. Curing him is optional: the fight and the reward are the same either way, and the Grandsire is angrier if you did. Only the cure makes him a boy for good, though.
3. **Wait with him for the moon.** Come back at night and choose *"(Wait with him by the pens for the moon.)"*. [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/the-grandsire.md), a wolf the size of a cart horse, comes over the wall into the square with the old wolves of his pack and demands the runt. Choose *"(Stand in front of the boy.)"* to fight, or *"(Hear what it wants.)"*: he offers the pack's word to take no more Krezk children in exchange for Petru. You can still say *"No."* and fight.

![sq grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/cutscenes/sq-grandsire.webp)

4. **Fight the Grandsire** (**Grandsire**) in Krezk's square:
   - level 9: [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/the-grandsire.md) (AC 16, 180 HP), 3 Old Wolves of the Pack ([Werewolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/werewolf.md)s) and 2 [Dire Wolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/dire-wolf.md)s;
   - level 8: 2 werewolves and 2 dire wolves (6,800 XP);
   - level 7: 2 werewolves and a dire wolf;
   - below that: the Grandsire at 140 HP with one werewolf and one dire wolf.

   His bite knocks you prone, and everything here has Pack Tactics, so keep your fighters back to back rather than strung out alone. His howl frightens everyone within 60 feet (Wisdom save DC 15). He turns two failed saves a day into successes, and between your turns he snaps or lopes away. Kill the smaller wolves first to take away his advantage.
5. **Talk to Petru again** after the fight. The quest ends at **Done**.

### Choices and endings

- **Done (you fought).** Petru's mother thanks you without words, and Dmitri pays Krezk's bounty for a child-taking wolf: 300 gp and the [Iron Bands of Bilarro](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#iron-bands-of-bilarro) that have hung in the watch house for generations. Godrick +2, Liriel +2, Thistle +2, Wren +1, Ratatouille +1. Afterwards the watchman reports that Petru sleeps in a bed and nothing circles the farms. Petru himself tells you how it went: if you cured him, he's a boy all month now; if you didn't, the curse is still on him, and his mother locks him in the pen with the goats on full-moon nights.
- **Given (the quest fails).** *"(Give Petru to the Grandsire.)"* He walks off into the dark with the old wolf and runs on all fours before they reach the trees. The pack keeps its word: no more children are taken from Krezk's farms. There's no reward. Godrick -3, Liriel -3, Thistle -2, Wren -2, Ratatouille -2.

### If you're stuck

- **Petru only appears after the den's children are free.**
- **The wait option needs night**, and only appears while the quest is at Asked (talk to Petru at least once first).

## Rewards

- [Iron Bands of Bilarro](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#iron-bands-of-bilarro)
- 300 gp

**What your companions think**

- **Godrick Pendlebrook:** -3 you gave a child to the wolves; +2 you stood by Krezk's pens for Petru
- **Liriel Dawnsong:** -3 you gave a child to the wolves; +2 you stood by Krezk's pens for Petru
- **Thistle:** -2 you gave a child to the wolves; +2 you stood by Krezk's pens for Petru
- **Wren Featherfoot:** -2 you gave a child to the wolves; +1 you stood by Krezk's pens for Petru
- **Ratatouille:** -2 you gave a child to the wolves; +1 you stood by Krezk's pens for Petru

## Fights

- *The Grandsire comes over Krezk's wall in the moonlight with the old wolves of the pack at his heels.*, in [Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md): [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/the-grandsire.md), [Werewolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/werewolf.md), [Dire Wolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/dire-wolf.md). Scales with your level.
> [!example]- By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
> - **[Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md)**, when level ≥ 9: [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/the-grandsire.md), 3 × An Old Wolf of the Pack ([Werewolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/werewolf.md)), 2 × [Dire Wolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/dire-wolf.md) (7500 XP)
> - **[Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md)**, when level ≥ 8: [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/the-grandsire.md), 2 × An Old Wolf of the Pack ([Werewolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/werewolf.md)), 2 × [Dire Wolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/dire-wolf.md) (6800 XP)
> - **[Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md)**, when level ≥ 7: [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/the-grandsire.md), 2 × An Old Wolf of the Pack ([Werewolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/werewolf.md)), [Dire Wolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/dire-wolf.md) (6600 XP)
> - **[Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md)**: [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/the-grandsire.md), An Old Wolf of the Pack ([Werewolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/werewolf.md)), [Dire Wolf](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/dire-wolf.md) (5900 XP)

## Journal

> [!quote]- Every journal entry and hint
> **Rumored**: Krezk's watchman says Petru, the smallest of the five children who came home from the den, sleeps in the goat pens now, and something bigger than a wolf has been circling the farms below the wall.
> *Hint:* Find Little Petru in Krezk's goat pens and talk to him.
>
> **Asked**: The moon came for Petru in the den before we got the children out. The pack's eldest, the Grandsire, says the runt is his and will come for him at the full moon.
> *Hint:* Wait with Petru by Krezk's goat pens after dark. Look at him closely first (Insight): Remove Curse may help him.
>
> **Done** (the end: success): The Grandsire came over Krezk's wall for Petru at the full moon, and he's dead in the square. Dmitri paid what Krezk pays for a wolf that takes children.
>
> **Given** (the end: failure): We gave Petru to the Grandsire for the old wolf's word that the pack would take no more Krezk children.

> [!abstract]- Every skill check in its conversations
> - Insight DC 13: (Look at him the way a goat would.)

## Related

- **People:** [Krezk Watchman](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/krezk-watchman.md), [Little Petru](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/little-petru.md), [The Grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/the-grandsire.md), [A Goat](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/a-goat-of-the-pens.md), [A Goat](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/a-goat-2.md), [A Goat](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/a-goat-3.md)
- **Places:** [Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/krezk.md)
- **More in Krezk:** [Clovin's Audience](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/clovins-audience.md), [Lighter Than It Should Be](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/lighter-than-it-should-be.md), [The Burgomaster's Son](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-burgomasters-son.md), [The Gate of Krezk](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-gate-of-krezk.md), [The One-Horned Billy](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-one-horned-billy.md), [The Pool of the White Sun](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-pool-of-the-white-sun.md), [The Waystone](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-waystone.md)

> [!example]- Cutscenes
> **The Grandsire**: The Grandsire comes over Krezk's wall at the full moon.
> ![sq grandsire](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/cutscenes/sq-grandsire.webp)