Play Report Nov 4 2025 - Crow's Keep #15
Introduction
Shifted gears a bit due to a few absences this week. The session wound up being a hot mess within the fictionโthe dice seemed hell bent on throwing a wrench into the Ogre-whelming Forceโs plans. Despite this, I feel it was a productive mess; lots of improvising and adjusting plans on the fly. I hadnโt been expecting them to go to Nulb immediately, but they seemed more keen on keeping the operation moving.
They also posted their first monetary loss this sessionโlittle gold to be had! Iโve been using Osse Rotaโs Anti-Treasure as my philosophy for handling loot, so I think a negative balance will serve to steel their resolves when they hit the Caves of Quasqueton next session.
I was also very pleased when Glennโs player asked to hire scouts to get a sitrep on the Caves of Chaos! Initially I thought about using the classic reaction roll to figure out what happened, but I eventually spun it out into a solo session. Had a lot of fun with that and will probably run most off-screen happenings this way from here on.
Not a ton of thoughts on this one, but thatโs fine! Weโve been at it for almost four months now, so a routine session is part and parcel of a grand campaign.
Report
In attendance:
- Carrick, level 2 warrior
- Glenn, level 1 warrior
- Winifred, level 1 thief
- Kaledar, level 1 cleric
- Zig, level 1 dwarf
As well as hireling men-at-arms: Sigrid, Theoderic, Dirk, Ignatia โIggy,โ Wolfe, and Strum;
A nun and physician named Hilda;
and porters: Sam, Carlos, Vladimir.
This session, Glenn also hired a scouting expedition to reconnoiter the Caves of Chaos. Leading the expedition was the mercenary thief Screwtape, a one-eyed, silver-tongued knave of slight stature. Screwtapeโs own hired hands were Aislinn and Donncha, two Woodfolk warrior twins. Their misadventures will be detailed in another report.
With a smaller group sallying forth ahead of a larger operation, the Ogre-whelming Force planned to forage the western woods for physic and herbs, useful to Winifred and Glenn, who sought to develop a stimulant to offset the crash from the bear-capeโs berserk state. Yaupon was identified as a likely candidate for such a tonic.
From there, the plan was to investigate the overland route to Quasquetonโs entrance, which was rumored to have become a hotbed of activity for kobolds emerging from the Caves of Chaos. The strange rat-like men had been said to have grown much more bold and coordinated in recent weeks. Having located a prehistoric portal to the site, the Force had not yet passed over Rogahn and Zelligarโs old doorstep.
Rough weather slowed the journey to the western woods, known to some as the Gnarled Forest. The party spotted humans caked in mud and lugging shovels in the old battlefield of Emridy Meadows, but the strangers shied away when the band tried to make contact. The rain ceased around the time camp was set, though the tired Force opted to not light a fire. It was but a stoneโs throw to the Caves of Chaos, and in the vicinity of Nulb were bandits were said to haunt.
In the night, Kaledar heard arguments and squealing. With his eyes sharper in the dark, Zig opted to creep toward the sounds and investigate. There he saw the odd tableau of eight orcs around a campfire with a dozen pigs lashed to the trees. A spirited debate was underway among the pigmen, regarding the feasibility of consuming one of their more primitive fellows before returning to the Caves of Chaos.
Zig crept away to alert the rest of the band, and an ambush was settled upon. However, with the whole detachment moving upon the enemy camp in war gear, the orcs were able to hear the Forceโs approach and launch a surprise attack of their own!
Iggy, Strum, and Wolfe all fell to the hewing blows of the orcs, while Zig and Kaledar caught bloody wounds for their trouble. Still, the party had approached in a tight square formation, ultimately allowing them to repel the orc attack and triumph! Glennโs blood was still hot from the bear-capeโs fury, allowing him to overtake and capture one of the fleeing orcs. Before his merciless demise at the hands of Kaledar, the orc revealed that he had been doing business with someone in Nulb, bringing live pigs to one โPapa,โ a mysterious wizard in the Caves. A crumpled bill of sale in the leaderโs pocket corroborated the intelligence. The party also seized the pigs, hoping to turn a profit on their sale. Carrick and Hilda administered to the group's wounds while porters prepared the dead for transport and cremation back at the Keep.
The next day, Winifred conducted a quick harvest of yaupon before the band made way for Quasqueton. The complex was nestled near the bald peak of a small mountain, perhaps 1200 feet in height. Signs of an old fire left a treeline, making the mountain feel much taller. Upon their arrival, they marked the entranceโa modest cave-mouth and a lonely watchtower topping the rocky summit. Rough brambles had colonized parts of the peak, hampering direct routes and obscuring sight lines.
Sure enough, a sizable force of kobolds was present and patrolling. By Zigโs count, nearly 30 canvassed the mountaintop. After some discussion, the band opted to retreat and tangle with the garrison at another time. They opted instead to follow up on the lead in Nulb.
Situated on a small canal and wharf leading to the River Goblindrink, Nulb was notorious as a nexus of commerce for thieves, bandits, and the forces of Chaos. The Force received a cold welcome from Richard, proprietor of the Waterside Inn and local bigwig. After being fleeced for gold, he eventually divulged the name of a local game butcher.
Barth the Butcher quickly folded when confronted with the bill and the pigs. He confessed to having gone behind the backs of local bandit groups, striking a clandestine deal with a faction in the Caves of Chaos. Using a hidden pen in the woods, Barth smuggled pigsโand only pigsโto them at night. With ample blackmail against the butcher, the Ogre-whelming Force leveraged him as a spy in Nulb, demanding regular updates on movements within the town in exchange for their silence and protection.
In the meantime, Barth alerted the party to the presence of a bandit camp in the Caves, used as a resupply hub by its denizens. Several bandit groups were coordinating this profitable business, with Richard of the Waterside as the only public face of the operation. The Ogre-whelming Force thought uneasily of their friend, Hommlet's Bill the Boatman, who was said to have shady dealings of his own along the Goblindrinkโฆ