OOC DATE: 29th May 2026
IC DATE: 17th Meadowtide, 1500 AF
PLAYERS:
GNURL (MALE HALF-ORC RANGER)
DAVEDOFF MAINHOFFEN (MALE HUMAN BARD)
RIPPIN ROOK (MALE HALFLING THIEF)
GRAMAELDA BRONZERIVER (FEMALE DWARF PRIEST)
SUMMARY
The party set out from Fort Red Rock toward a crude orc shrine in the jungle, following rumours that their orc cleric contact had vanished in the area. Before departing, they discussed what equipment to take, choosing to leave the Wand of Fabricate safely in their lodgings despite its potential usefulness. The journey required several days of travel through the jungle, with the party purchasing rations before setting off.
While travelling, the party heard the sound of trees crashing down ahead. Gnurl investigated and discovered huge clawed footprints in the soft jungle soil, identifying them as belonging to a massive quadrupedal reptilian creature. The group cautiously skirted around the disturbance and glimpsed two large, young draconic creatures with jade scales and thorn-like barbs fighting each other amid the shattered trees. Deciding discretion was wiser than intervention, they avoided the dragons and continued toward the shrine.
After two and a half days of travel, the party reached the orc shrine: an ancient stone structure covered in crude blood-and-filth daubed graffiti. Gnurl recognised the markings as a primitive form of Orcish, boasting of strength and declaring all others weak. At the entrance stood two pig-faced orc guards in dirty chainmail with axes. Around them were poles topped with painted boar-like skulls and piles of blood-smeared human, elf, and orc skulls. One of the guards carried the holy symbol of the missing orc cleric contact.
Davedoff drank a potion of mind reading and learned that the pig-orcs considered Gnurl a weak “man-orc” and viewed themselves as the true children of the orcish ancestors. Gnurl and Davedoff attempted to talk their way inside, but the pig-orcs were contemptuous and hostile. They claimed that, during the ancient catastrophe when other peoples fled underground, their ancestors stayed on the surface, endured the falling sky, and took on the true orcish form through communion with ancestor spirits. Rippin used the distraction to sneak up and murder both guards.
Inside the shrine, the party found a chamber full of crude wooden statues mocking the so-called civilised peoples. The statues depicted elves, dwarves, humans, and others kneeling or cowering, smeared with blood and filth. Listening at the passages, the party detected blood and offal in one direction, feasting and drunken orcish laughter in another, and the voice of an angry elven woman being dragged toward some sort of pit. She spoke in an unfamiliar elven dialect and threatened that the Vhaurak would avenge her.
The party attempted to lure pig-orcs into an oil trap. Gramaelda poured oil across a corridor, but was heard. The party taunted the orcs, threw a torch onto the oil, and burned two approaching pig-orcs. However, the noise alerted a much larger group. Six pig-orc warriors charged from the feasting chamber, supported by archers and later by more frenzied warriors.
At first the battle went well. Gnurl shot down several pig-orcs, Davedoff used magic and bardic abilities to distract enemies, Gramaelda called on divine magic, and Rippin used stealth and backstabs to kill isolated foes. However, the pig-orcs’ numbers and ferocity gradually overwhelmed the party. Davedoff was dropped by an arrow but revived by Gramaelda’s magic. Rippin was cut down by a frenzied pig-orc and later revived by a healing potion. The fight continued to turn against them as more pig-orcs pressed into the corridor.
Eventually Gramaelda and Davedoff fell, and Rippin was badly wounded again. Gnurl tried to escape while carrying Rippin, but the pursuing pig-orcs repeatedly caught up with him and hacked at him as he fled. Finally, Gnurl abandoned the attempt to carry Rippin and ran for his life, barely escaping the shrine alive with only a few hit points remaining. When he returned to check Rippin, the halfling was already dead.
Gnurl made his way back alone to Fort Red Rock. The expedition recovered no meaningful treasure from the shrine, and the bodies of Davedoff, Rippin, and Gramaelda were left behind. Gnurl spent what money he had on grim carousing, mourning his fallen companions. He survived a dangerous knife-throwing event, gained some experience, and earned a luck token.
With most of the party dead, new characters were created: three elven adventurers named Calthal, Larthal, and Rathal. The group then chose their next destination: the ghost settlement of Rheintaldorf, the first colony founded on the coast of Zakasa, where all the colonists reportedly vanished over winter.
NPCS
Missing Orc Cleric Contact
Orc cleric contact whose disappearance led the party to the shrine.
His holy symbol was found in the possession of one of the pig-orc guards.
His fate remains unknown by the end of the session.
Pig-Orc Guards
Two pig-faced orc guards stationed outside the shrine.
Wore dirty chainmail and carried axes.
One carried the missing orc cleric’s holy symbol.
Claimed their people were the true orcs who remained above ground during the ancient catastrophe.
Killed by Rippin after Davedoff distracted them.
Pig-Orc Warriors
Savage pig-faced orcs occupying the shrine.
Used axes, chainmail, shields, and bows.
Fought in large numbers and entered frenzied states during battle.
Overwhelmed the party inside the shrine.
Captured Vhaurak Woman
Elven woman heard deeper inside the shrine.
Was being dragged toward some sort of pit by the pig-orcs.
Spoke a strange dialect of Elvish.
Threatened that the Vhaurak would make the pig-orcs pay.
Her ultimate fate remains unknown.
Young Jade Dragons
Two large young draconic creatures encountered in the jungle.
Had jade scales and thorn-like barbs.
Were fighting each other and ignored the party.
Avoided by the party.
Calthal
New character created after the deaths at the shrine.
Male elf bard.
One of the new elven trio introduced for the next session.
Larthal
New character created after the deaths at the shrine.
Male elf priest.
One of the new elven trio introduced for the next session.
Rathal
New character created after the deaths at the shrine.
Female elf priest.
One of the new elven trio introduced for the next session.
LOCATIONS
Fort Red Rock
Vaelmark colonial base and party safe haven.
Starting and ending point for the expedition.
The Wand of Fabricate was left safely in lodgings here.
Gnurl returned here alone after the failed shrine expedition.
Carousing and replacement character creation took place here.
Jungle Trails
Route from Fort Red Rock toward the orc shrine.
The party encountered signs of massive reptilian creatures here.
Travel to the shrine took approximately two and a half days.
Young Dragon Battleground
Jungle clearing where trees had been smashed and uprooted.
Two young jade-scaled, thorn-covered dragons were fighting here.
The party avoided the encounter.
Old Lizardfolk Temple
Landmark on the route toward the orc shrine.
The shrine lay roughly half a day beyond it.
Not explored during this session.
Pig-Orc Shrine
Ancient stone shrine occupied by savage pig-faced orcs.
Exterior covered in crude Orcish graffiti, blood, and filth.
Entrance decorated with painted boar skulls and piles of blood-smeared humanoid skulls.
Interior contained mocking statues of civilised peoples, feasting halls, and corridors leading deeper into the complex.
Site of the disastrous battle that killed Davedoff, Rippin, and Gramaelda.
Statue Chamber
First chamber inside the shrine.
Contained crude wooden statues mocking humans, elves, dwarves, and other civilised peoples.
Statues depicted the other peoples cowering or kneeling and were smeared with blood and filth.
Feasting Chamber
Area from which pig-orc laughter, food smells, and stale beer smells were heard.
Source of many of the warriors who attacked the party.
Not fully explored.
Pit Area
Deeper part of the shrine where the captured Vhaurak woman was apparently being dragged.
Not reached by the party.
Exact purpose unknown.
Rheintaldorf
Ghost settlement chosen as the next destination.
First colony founded on the coast of Zakasa.
All colonists reportedly vanished over winter.
One day’s travel from Fort Red Rock.
Sunken Pirate Ship
Previously visited site associated with Captain Watson and the Golden Boys.
Mentioned as a possible destination but not chosen.
Now fully sunk.
TREASURE
The party purchased rations before departure.
The Wand of Fabricate was left safely in Fort Red Rock lodgings.
Gnurl carried the Ctherian cargo, granting him a luck point at the start of each day.
Two pig-orc guards had:
Great axes.
Chainmail.
Shields.
These items were not successfully recovered from the shrine.
No treasure was recovered from the expedition.
Gnurl sold his crowbar to raise enough money for minimum carousing.
Gnurl spent 30 gp on carousing.
Gnurl gained 4 XP and a luck token from carousing.
OPEN THREADS
What happened to the missing orc cleric contact?
Is the cleric still alive somewhere inside the shrine?
Why did a pig-orc guard possess the cleric’s holy symbol?
What is the true nature of the pig-orcs’ ancestor spirits?
Did the pig-orcs really remain above ground during the ancient catastrophe?
Are the pig-orcs physically transformed descendants of ancient surface-dwelling orcs?
What other peoples, if any, stayed above ground during the catastrophe?
Who are the Vhaurak?
What was the captured Vhaurak woman doing near the shrine?
Was she sacrificed, imprisoned, or taken deeper into the complex?
What lies in the pit beneath the shrine?
Can the bodies or possessions of Davedoff, Rippin, and Gramaelda ever be recovered?
Will the pig-orcs pursue Gnurl or retaliate against Fort Red Rock?
What threat do the young jade dragons represent?
Could the dragons’ scales or remains become valuable later?
Will the Wand of Fabricate be brought on future expeditions?
What caused the disappearance of the colonists of Rheintaldorf?
NEXT SESSION
Planned Destination
Rheintaldorf
Party Status
Expedition to the pig-orc shrine failed.
Davedoff Mainhoffen died at the shrine.
Rippin Rook died while Gnurl attempted to escape.
Gramaelda Bronzeriver died at the shrine.
Gnurl escaped and returned alone to Fort Red Rock.
No treasure was recovered.
Gnurl gained 4 XP from carousing.
Gnurl gained a luck token from carousing.
Three replacement characters were created:
Calthal, male elf bard.
Larthal, male elf priest.
Rathal, female elf priest.
Next real-world session scheduled for 12th June 2026.
Objectives
Travel to Rheintaldorf.
Investigate the disappearance of the first coastal colony’s inhabitants.
Search the ghost town for clues, treasure, and survivors.
Decide whether to return to the pig-orc shrine in future.
Learn more about the Vhaurak and their connection to Zakasa.
Consider recovering the fallen characters’ bodies and lost equipment.