Wolves: pack tactics

[Quixote]

Working on a tribal/prehistory game where I want to focus on the idea of civilization vs. nature, with lots of weather hazards and animals and such.

So wolves. They bite and have trip. Except that doesnt seem to represent the "surround the prey, distract to the front, attack from behind" strategy that wolves actually utilize. At least, not completely.

I was thinking that I could just give them a +2 to feinting and call it a day. Maybe give them a bonus to tripping flat-footed opponents or a plus to AC while flanking.

I'm usually a "less is more" kind of guy, almost to an extreme. But I want to offer a more dynamic encounter than a series of attack rolls, a block of hit points and a drain on the PC's resources.
Any thoughts?

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

I've always felt that the bonmus to trip is a weird choice. Something like Improved Grab would work better, imo, seeing as they grab hold and try to stop the prey from moving.

As for pack tactics, why not just have individuals do different things? One can try to feint or intimidate, the rest can flank and try to drag or reposition, grapple and pin, etc. If you need some special ability, how about something like "All members of the pack benefit from debuffs on targets. E.g. if one wolf successfully feints a target, the target loses its Dexterity bonus to AC against each of the pack members' next attack."

[Quixote]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

I've always felt that the bonmus to trip is a weird choice. Something like Improved Grab would work better, imo, seeing as they grab hold and try to stop the prey from moving.

Yeah, it's a little odd. I mean, the lines between a grapple and tripping and "just attacking" with a natural attack are all pretty blurry, when you get down to it.

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

As for pack tactics, why not just have individuals do different things? One can try to feint or intimidate, the rest can flank and try to drag or reposition, grapple and pin, etc.

This is sort of what I was talking about, with maybe slightly less variation; I think Feint, Trip, demoralize and Drag/Reposition all potentially have their place.

It's hard to come up with something that (1) feels right, (2) makes for an interesting encounter and (3) is simple enough to run, all while being mathematically as sound or more so than "they all charge and attack).
But I suppose we need to run them correctly; few animals will willingly put themselves in harm's way if there's another option. Wolves aren't known for their swift and efficient hunting strategy so much as their tenacity and endurance.

If ten wolves surround a large target, two attempt to demoralize, the other's feint until one of them is successful, then one of them darts in and attacks. They move the target around to keep it flanked and everyone fights defensively until a shot is lined up with as many bonuses stacked on it as possible. Repeat until a trip is successful, then everyone rushes in and worries the target to death. Losing a third of the pack in one turn or half over all makes them run. Something like that.

[Lady Asharah]

"All wolves count as flanking as long as there is another wolf adjacent to the same enemy"

That's for pack tactics.

As for Pack Tactics, that's something done more in actual combat, delaying actions, isolating weaker enemies with a pack while solo wolves are holding stronger enemies at bay with trips etc.

Alpha wolf with a demoralizing howl that works exactly like Dazzling Display but hear instead of see.

[Anarchy_Kanya]

Why not just customize the feats?

[Andostre]

I've always felt that stacking Aid Anothers is all you need for pack tactics.