Catan: Wilds of Catan Custom Expansion

This is the first - ever expansion for Catan containing wildlife. Through many hours of work and development, this expansion pack was created. It contains five meeple tokens for a boar, a bear, a deer, a wolf, and a panther, 15 meat tokens, a cooldown track, and a Master Hunter trophy in the form of a boar's head. And here are the rules:

CATAN: WILDS OF CATAN
A Fan Expansion for Settlers of Catan

1. COMPONENT & SETUP REQUIREMENTS
   5 Animal Meeple: 1 Bear, 1 Panther, 1 Wolf, 1 Boar, 1 Deer.
   15 Meat Tokens

1 Cooldown Track

1 Master Hunter Trophy

Starting Placement:
Before placing your starting settlements, place the wild animals as follows:
The Bear: Highest-producing Mountain (Ore) hex.
The Panther: The Desert hex intersection (if none, place at the lowest-producing hills hex).
The Wolf: Highest-producing Pasture (Sheep) hex.
The Boar: Highest-producing Hills (Brick) hex.
The Deer: Highest-producing Forest (Wood) hex.
(Roll dice to break ties if multiple hexes share the highest production number).

1. ANIMAL BEHAVIOR RULES
   Animals affect resource distribution when their hex number is rolled. These events trigger BEFORE players collect standard resources.

The Bear (Rank 1): Blocks Infrastructure. Roads cannot be built along the edges of the Bear's hex until it is moved or hunted.
The Panther (Rank 2): Stealth Ambush. Sits directly on an intersection. When any of its 3 adjacent hex numbers are rolled, any player with a settlement/city on that intersection must choose to discard 1 sheep card OR give 1 Meat Token to the bank.
The Wolf (Rank 3): Scares Livestock. When its hex number is rolled, players settled on that hex do not produce resources. 

The Boar (Rank 4): Blocks Road Building. Additionally, no new roads can be built on the paths surrounding this hex until it is moved or hunted.
The Deer (Rank 5): It cannot be hunted if a Wolf is on an adjacent hex.

The "7" Movement Rule:
When a 7 is rolled, the active selects which adjacent hex to move the animals to, along with the robber.

THE PREDATOR HIERARCHY RULE
When an animal is moved into a space (hex or intersection) already occupied by another animal, look at their ranks and apply one of two outcomes:

Hierarchy Rankings:
Rank 1: The Bear (Supreme Apex)
Rank 2: The Panther (Ambush Apex)
Rank 3: The Wolf (Pack Hunter)
Rank 4: The Boar (Aggressive Prey)
Rank 5: The Deer (Defenseless Prey)

Outcome A: Predator vs. Prey (Rank Gap of 2 or More)
The dominant predator automatically hunts the lower-ranked animal. The lower-ranked animal is sent to the Cooldown Track for 2 rounds. The player who moved the predator instantly gains 1 Meat Token.

Outcome B: Territorial Dispute (Rank Gap of 1)
Animals close in rank fight for territory. Roll the Hunting Die:
Roll 1-3 (Fended Off): The higher-ranked incoming animal is forced to retreat to an adjacent hex.

Roll 4-6 (Dominant Win): The lower-ranked animal is driven out. Move it to the nearest available empty hex of its preferred type. No meat tokens are awarded.

Animal Respawn Protocol:
After spending 2 full rounds on the Cooldown Track, the Deer returns at the start of the turn of the player who triggered its removal. That player rolls the die. Count Forest hexes from left to right, top to bottom; the Deer respawns on the Forest hex matching the roll. If occupied by a higher rank, place it on the next highest-producing empty Forest.

1. THE HUNTING SYSTEM
   Players can hunt animals bordering their settlements or cities during their trade/build phase.
2. Pay Equipment Cost: 1 Ore and 1 Wood to the bank.
3. Roll the die and resolve the outcome below.

Standard Hunt Outcomes (Bear, Wolf, Deer):
Roll 1-2 (Failed Hunt): The target escapes.

Roll 3-5 (Successful Hunt): Gain 2 Meat Tokens. Move the animal to the cooldown track

Roll 6 (Trophy Hunt): Perfect kill. Gain 3 Meat Tokens and 1 VP (Max 1 Trophy VP per player). Move the animal to the cooldown track.

High-Risk Hunt Outcomes (Boar and Panther):
The Boar:
Roll 1-2 (Failure): Injured hunters. Completely skip the Trade Phase of your next turn.
Roll 3-5 (Success): Gain 2 Meat Tokens. Move Boar to the Cooldown Track.
Roll 6 (Trophy): Gain 3 Meat Tokens and 1VP. Move Boar to the Cooldown Track
The Panther:
Roll 1-2 (Failure): Stalked settlement. For your next 2 turns, you cannot claim any Meat Tokens from other hunts.
Roll 3-5 (Success): Gain 2 Meat Tokens. Move Panther to the cooldown track.

Roll 6 (Trophy): Gain 3 Meat Tokens and 1VP. Move Panther to the Cooldown track.

1. ECONOMY & VICTORY POINTS
   Spending Meat Tokens:
   Meat tokens do not count against your hand limit when a 7 is rolled. Spend them on your turn for these bonuses:

2 Meat Tokens: Feed workers. Build 2 roads in a single turn for the resource cost of 1.
Trading: behaves the same as resource cards.

The "Master Hunter" Trophy:
Value: Worth 2 Victory Points.
Earning the Title: The first player to successfully complete 3 Hunts claims this card.
Stealing the Title: If an opponent achieves more successful hunts than the current holder (e.g., reaching 4 successes), they immediately take the card and the 2 Victory Points. Track successes via a piece of paper or the tracking sheet on the last page via tally marks.

Have fun, and go get settling!