Hi there, Jubal! A complex topic that deserves a complex answer. : )
In the Viaticum setting (the one in which both The Tavern and TFWM are set) there is no real distinction between animals and monsters (beasts). The general understanding is that animals are small, monsters - larger and more dangerous, but it's completely subjective. You can still find small rodents, cute birds or a house cat, but many animals are mostly present in their wilder forms. For example, a sheep in our world is a huge beast with a couple of horns and an ability to easily trample a hostile human.
You mentioned a boar, and it's surely a good example. However, it's difficult to find a boar similar to the ones we know from Europe. We actually plan to show a boar in our game, and we want to portray it as this giant beast with large tusks and spikes spread all over its body. Basically, in Viaticum humans are not the dominant species. We need to be clever. Or at least run fast.
Predi, Vena's mother, is a master arbalist. Sometimes you have only a single shot, and a bow may not cut it. A good crossbow is much more reliable.
Latro, Vena's father, is the one who mastered the art of the spear. It's a defensive weapon, one that can be thrown and one that can be used from a good range even in a melee battle. When a huge beasts jumps on you, you don't want a sword or an axe. You want to stab it and run away. And Vena is very, very impressed by her father. To the point where she probably wouldn't change her weapon of choice even is she would find it tempting.
When Predi and Latro were hunting together, they were often facing their game in the open battle. However, when Predi got sick and Latro was forced to hunt with young Vena, they started focusing on traps and keeping each other safe.
Also, they don't hunt to feed themselves. It's too dangerous and too difficult to live solely from hunting. But at the same time, animal trophies are worth a lot. Bones, tusks and feathers are used by craftsmen, rare meat is considered to be a luxury, furs and skins are essential for many trades. Some trophies are also valued by alchemists and other magicians. Overall, Vena's family is fairly rich, one of the richest in Windy Meadow... but I don't think she realizes how much she already has in her life.
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In the game not every information will be put as bluntly like that. A lot of things will be only suggested through some conversations or graphics. : ) Explaining things can be nice, but it's pretty boring for most of the player, myself included.
