Encounter-a-Day

For as long as anyone can remember, the ogres to the north in the Catclaw Mountains have been nought but an occasional nuisance. Once in a while they’d steal a couple goats, and every few generations a particularly charismatic leader would emerge and whip the ogres into a drunken frenzy, bent on conquest. These raiding parties rarely made it very deep into human territory, though, before a militia was raised to send them back. With the death of the leader, the ogres would be quiet again for a few more generations.

Something happened recently, though. The ogres have formed a new raiding party, but this one has otten much farther. They’ve already sacked 3 villages and fought off two militias and a unit of the king’s best. The king hires the PCs to find out what’s gotten into the ogres.

The catalyst of these events is a blight on the ogres’ crops– specifically, on their hops and other plants important in the production of their alcohol. When the alcohol supply dried up, it enraged the ogres. On top of that, without the constant inebriation dulling their senses and judgment, it turns out that they’re amazingly skilled fighters and tacticians, taking full advantage of their size, the terrain, and other factors to defeat any who challenge them.