Can you distract wolves in Lullwood?

Yes, briefly. In Lullwood you pick a stone up with E and throw it with a left click. It lands 18 units ahead of you, and any wolf, bear or lion within 24 units of that spot will usually turn and walk over to it. It buys you seconds, not safety.

How do you pick up and throw a stone?

• Pick up with E. Stand within 3 units of a stone on the ground and the game shows “Press E to pick up the stone”. On a phone, the E button does the same.
• Throw with a left click. Once you hold one, the prompt reads “Holding a stone — click to throw”. The click only throws while the game has your mouse; the first click after a pause just takes the mouse back. On a phone, a Throw button appears while you hold a stone.
• You hold one at a time. While a stone is in your hand you cannot pick up another. Only the direction you face matters; looking up or down does not change where it lands.

Which predators hear the stone?

The noise is made where the stone lands, not where you stand. The landing spot is 18 units ahead of you along the direction you are facing, and every wolf, bear and lion closer than 24 units to that spot hears it. Predators farther away do not.

The arithmetic that matters in a chase: a predator in front of you, straight along your line of sight, hears the stone out to 42 units away (18 + 24). One directly behind you only hears a stone thrown forward if it is within about 6 units, so turn and throw toward it. A whole wolf pack inside the 24 units is pulled over together.

What does a predator do when it hears the stone?

A hunting predator switches to investigating the landing spot, chase included, and walks there at 0.45 of its normal speed instead of running. Four things then decide whether you gain anything.

• The detour is short. The stone sets a timer of 3 to 5 seconds. When it runs out, the predator's approach points back at you instead of the stone.
• Reaching the stone does not end the hunt. A predator that arrives and sniffs while you are standing in the open goes straight back to chasing. A predator that arrives while you are hidden carries on sniffing and, as in the wolf guide, gives up.
• Some states ignore the stone. A predator in the middle of a charge finishes the charge first. One in a forced hunt keeps coming straight at you for as long as it can see you. Blackout's opening hunt can still be pulled to the stone once it loses sight of you. The 30-second escalation, when nothing has come near you, cannot: it keeps tracking you by scent after it loses sight and ignores the stone.
• A stone does not hide you. It only moves the predator's attention. Use the seconds to break line of sight and hide.

So the stone is a way to get from “being hunted in the open” to “hidden in bramble”, not a way to escape on foot. The Lullwood survival guide covers hiding and the mist veil.

Does Pocket Stones give you more throws?

Yes. Pocket Stones is a one-time purchase in the Embers shop. Every run then starts with a stone already in your hand and a second one in reserve, which replaces the first the moment you throw it. The prompt shows the reserve, for example “+1 in reserve”. Price: 80 Embers on Lantern, 120 on Night and 140 on Blackout. Both stones are in addition to any you find on the ground.

How to use stones well

• Pick one up the first time you see one. You can only hold one, so a stone in hand is a stone ready for the next chase.
• Throw before the predator is on you. The redirect needs the predator to be near the landing spot, and the closer it already is to you, the less distance there is to put between you.
• Face the predator, then throw. Aim past it, not at your feet: the stone lands 18 units out, and it is the predator's distance from that spot that counts.
• Move the moment it lands. Run for cover while the predator walks the other way; hiding is what turns the detour into a lost trail.

Short answers on controls and price are in the Lullwood FAQ, and is Lullwood too hard? explains how many predators each tier puts in the forest.