As said before, I have trouble coming up with anything without its backing components. I like for things to build off each other, and for them to seem relatively natural and opportune design decisions once that’s been done. As such, I aim for a certain feel and then progress quest-chains (with multiple encounters along the way, ending in a final boss fight) to reach these combat scenarios.

In this case, I decided to use a wolf pack located in the Black Shroud, with an overall intention of making the world feel more immersing, consequences more applicable, and a certain sort of emotion between conflict and slice of life, as I felt fit the zone. It has some implications towards the wild-kin (in both its fearful term as in 1.0, and a more understanding and satirical one closer to the actual truth) and very slight mentions of Fenrir.

(That said, Fenrir remains a relatively unimportant primal-idea, not actually related to Eorzea; he’s simply something the wolves and the wild-kin leading them sort of noticed as a collective idea. Garuda may have some fun with this later, once you’ve met her. As far as indirect acquaintances go, I think she and he would get along well…)

The encounters and even the final fight are based, obviously enough, on the individual characteristics of the pack. In other words, there are numerous named mobs, each with personalities and distinct combat styles. You will be seeing them often, and even the changes in them should you kill a member of the pack. Continuity is a huge part of this chain of encounters and its overall experience.
That experience can be anywhere from FATE encounters to the quest fights themselves to even seeing the different reactions of young wolves of the pack in the woods as you approach – at first timid, then cocky and aggressive as the wolf pack begins winning its fights, and finally running from you at first sight as they start being killed off.

The wolves’ domain is a den by a healing spring deep in the thick of the woods, the place around it hidden with confusing twists and turns, evidence of stranger elementals and their relationships with the more highly sentient beasts of the forest. This healing spring is important to both the story and combat presentation. As I said, this all begins with FATEs, initially attacks on caravans and hamlets in an almost playful manner, stealing food and supplies. In these, it is very hard to actually kill a wolf. They collapse with a fair portion of their health left, and while they may still remain targetable, and can thereby be killed or even captured (each with different effects on FATEs as relevant to your quest party), others will quickly try to grab the wounded and retreat, rescuing their ally. The time that the rescuers are out of the fight will depend on the damage done to the wolf they are rescuing.

Less wounded wolves will merely be taken out of sight, disappearing literally when too far from the players involved in the FATE, and the rescuers will run back into the fight. Others will be taken back to the healing springs directly—the rescuers will not have time to return. The rescuers may be interrupted when under too much threat, fighting as briefly as possible before returning to save their fellow wolf. They may also intercept ranged damage aimed at the wounded pack member.

The FATEs will have a total strength of the wolf attacking force based on the players present and the progress of involved members in the quest. In that sense, all of these are ‘quest first, FATE second’. Though they are FATE events, and anyone can involve themselves, they are started and based largely on those progressing in the quest only.

That quest-chain can be broken into roughly 5 parts, with about 11 unique encounter types along the way, though many can be repeated until reaching triggers to go into the next. Even without reaching these triggers though, your efforts will have effects. This should feel like a real ongoing war between the pack and those defending against and later hunting them. I’ll give the actual encounters when I get more time.

I Discovery
II Finding out where the wolf domain may be
III Expelling the wolves from the healing springs (and holding the location)
IV Surviving the Alpha’s counterattacks.
V Hunting down the Alpha and defeating the pack as a whole (final boss fight)

That said, the quest-chain doesn’t quite just end with the defeat of the druid leading them. You can choose to go on supporting the pack, take responsibility of the pack as a Free Company, befriend certain members of the pack, or just leave them be, as you like. The pack members, unless killed, will be persistent NPCs on an individual basis.