10 Different Kinds of Trouble with Orcs
This is the second post in the orc theme started last week. Today's list is nothing more than a bunch of adventure seeds involving orcs, but they might not be exactly what you expect. I firmly believe that you should 'never judge a book by its cover', so some of the hooks below may seem vastly out of character for any orc. I would suggest making these sorts of encounters rare unless orcs really are significantly different in your world than they are described in the various editions of the Monster Manual. There are also numerous adventure ideas following the more traditional view of orcs for those who just want a simple, understandable evil to hunt down and beat to death. Whatever your style of play, I hope that you find something that you might be able to use in today's list: 10 Different Kinds of Trouble with Orcs. Happy Gaming!
You spot smoke on the horizon. A few hours travel brings you to the burning ruin of the small village of Wolfpine. Just about 15 hours ago, orcs of the Broken Fang clan raided this village. They killed all of the fighters, stole everything of value and left the village in flames. Survivors, who hid during the raid, tell you that the orcs also took 6 little girls away with them. The villagers have nothing, but beg you to save their children.
A crusty old farmer hires the group of PC's to find his "lovely" teenage daughter who has been kidnapped by foul orcs and dragged off into the Orcwood. He seems a gruff and nasty widower, but he pays and negotiates well, hiring the group for 1/3 down and 2/3 on delivery. The "lovely" daughter is actually a half-orc (because Mr. Farmer is sterile and Mrs. Farmer had a "thing for orcs") who has run off with her orc lover to live with his clan. Mr. Farmer wants to keep her as a slave.
A small and artistic flyer will catch your eye among the others on the community post. A group of halflings is offering a large reward in gems for the safe return of a number of their kind who are believed to have been captured by orcs of the Moon Skull clan. The halflings need a group capable of sneaking into the orc fortress Kharzaag, finding the slave pens, freeing their captured companions, and returning alive. They are quite frugal and will NOT waste their money or time on groups which they believe cannot succeed.
During the great orcish festival of Gloomcrashah, the celebration of darkness, held on the night of the longest new moon, bands of orc warriors prove their bravery, cunning, and skill by counting coup upon (by knocking unconscious with a club stealthily) as many enemies as possible between midnight and sunrise. The band that brings back the most spoils wins the respect of the clan elders and the blessings of the clan shamans.
The cleric leads you to a private room behind a secret door from the main hallway of the temple. Inside the room sits the high elf the cleric spoke to you about. He wishes to hire a group to escort him deep into the Orcwood and back out again, safely. He has private business from his master, Lord Shadone Keyzana (an elven sorcerer), to discuss with Vertharg Slag of the Green Leaf clan. It's strange business indeed when elves WANT to talk to orcs.
Have you heard the rumors? I can't even believe it, but it's true. Last night, three orc shamans from three different tribes just walked up to the gates of the outpost and surrendered. My buddy who was on guard says that they came to help us and to get us to help them. They say one of the clans in the Orcwood has allied itself with an insane ettin. That clan is now a threat to both the three smaller clans AND to our outpost here. They want us to send a group WITH THEM to kill the ettin. They can't get help from their own because many orcs believe ettin to be holy creatures and won't attack them even if it is in their best interest to do so.
The villages of Brookton and Nightwall have both been devastated by orc attacks and many of their people have been either killed or enslaved. The villagers of Oakdale do NOT want this to be their fate so they have pooled their resources to hire you to protect them over the summer season and into late fall. How will you fortify the small village? What are your plans for when the orcs come? Is the village being watched? Are there traitors among the villagers?
The halfling sage Halicar the Curious wishes to hire a brave party of adventurers to travel in disguise into the Orcwood to the fabled orc city of Kharzaag to attend the Gathering of the Clans. It is an event which happens once every ten years during which all of the orc clans send representatives and gather together for reasons unknown. Halicar must know what goes on and he is willing to pay handsomely for the knowledge.
An underworld contact of the party presents a strange job offer. An orc princess from the Trail Stalkers is pledged to marry a strong orug warrior in the Moon Skull clan, but she is actually in love with a crafty orc rogue from the Blue Beetle clan. She has provided a large sum of gems to hire a group of "bandits" to raid her wedding party and steal her and her maid away before she is delivered to the Moon Skulls. Afterwards, the group will need to escort the pair of orcs to the Blue Beetles waiting for her.
Six well-known bards have gone missing along the Great Northern Road. The last one was rumored to be forced out of the Blue Goose Inn at swordpoint by 5 orcs. The owner of the inn is related to the latest missing bard and has offered 1000 gp for his safe return. Interested parties should ask for Radnar Jolen at the Blue Goose Inn.
I recently discovered, when I went to vote for the 2016 ENnies, that Black Shark Enterprises has been nominated in the Fan Favorite Publishers category. This came as quite a surprise to me and my wife and we thank whoever 'put our name in the hat'. It doesn't seem right to have been nominated and not do at least a little campaigning, so here it is.
Vote for Black Shark Enterprises for Fan Favorite Publisher in the 2016 ENnies.
Seriously though, if you are reading this then you really should vote for your favorites, whoever they are, in the 2016 ENnies awards by clicking on the graphic above. Thanks.
