Blackthorn Orc Clan

Identity & Origin

Blackthorn is a hard-line confederacy centered on a hidden under-realm beneath the Gnarley Forest (southeast of Dyvers). The lair houses several hundred orcs, ogres, and gnolls, with duergar deeper below. Blackthorn expands from below, keeping labor and refuse invisible; surface raids withdraw into tunnels no army has yet mapped. Captured Blackthorn troops die before revealing the caverns.

Current arc: Under Temple pressure, Blackthorn has occupied the Ancient Suel Temple of the Skull as a forward raiding/staging base for NA-12.

Order of Battle (typical)

• Core: orc squads (4–6) with javelins; bugbear skirmish pairs; hobgoblin files for drill; ogres as “anchors.”
• Patrols: 4–8 orcs; sometimes a bugbear pair at night; runners know horn posts by heart.
• Reserves: 1–2 ogres within a horn’s reach; reinforcements from woods/under-tunnels on a timer.

At the Skull-Temple (scale to party):
Outer kill-zone pickets, guard-den (drunk orcs), ogre bay inside; Krak/Targ deeper with bodyguard.

Doctrine

• Funnel & Crush. Herd foes into ogre reach at chokepoints; shove/drag across hazards.
• Layered Alarm. Door gongs → corridor horn → skull-mouth horn → signal fire.
• Night Edge. Bugbears own the darkness; orcs push with short lights; ogres rest and rotate.
• Counter-Pursuit. If PCs withdraw, a fast file shadows with javelins; they don’t overextend.
• Desecrate & Strip. Smash Suel icons, salvage brass/tiles for spikes and trade. (Their lair model prizes reusable material and hidden logistics.)

Culture & Discipline

Blackthorn respects results. Non-orcs are tools if they fight and obey. Watchwords, countersigns, and silent hand signals are common. Many squads carry rot-spirits (courage/discipline) but leaders discourage loud carousing near posts. Punishments are swift (fingers for theft; spectacle at the skull post for desertion).

Marks: black slash on helm brow; ogres wear thorn-wrapped armbands.

Logistics & Terrain

• Hidden entrances: masked by thicket and stone; primary movement is subterranean. Any humanoids met in this part of the Gnarley likely emerged from Blackthorn.
• Supply: fungi herds, rothe, and salvage; river skiff contacts via Imeryd’s Run; UnderOerth lanes for slaves and goods.
• Internal asset: a radiant Fountain of Pure Light deep below—hated by orcs for its glare but used for healing; a strategic reason they hold the caverns.

Signs & Forensics (what PCs can spot)

• Crate bands stamped with thorn marks; ledger slates using ogre-script initials (D = Deggum).
• Uniform boot-treads and crate-drag grooves (surface labor avoided—work happens below).
• Spider-steeder spoor or duergar picks near deep cuts (if PCs press under).

Morale & Breakpoints

• Steady while ogres stand and horns answer.
• Shaken when an ogre drops or a horn is silenced.
• Rout if Krak falls and Targ is missing or mocked (faith fear).

Running Blackthorn at the Skull-Temple (NA-12)

• Treat them as an organized occupation, not a mindless mob.
• Use response clocks: a noisy fight in one room brings probing orcs in 2 rounds; ogre commit in 3–4; reinforcement file in 1d6×2 minutes if horns/bonfire go up.
• Let evidence point back to Deggum and the caverns of Blackthorn—ledgers, thorn-sigiled orders, crates of Suel brass—building the larger arc.

Adventure Hooks out of NA-12

• Cut the UnderOerth lane. Track a ledger to a duergar exchange; sabotage spider-steeder runs.
• Expose Deggum. Prove he’s skimming temple loot to fracture Blackthorn-Temple trust.
• Ranger Raid. Gnarley Rangers prep a joint strike on an upper Blackthorn level; PCs serve as vanguard.

DM Cue: Blackthorn exists to feel coordinated, secretive, and mobile. When in doubt, have them

Expeditionary Garrison at the Skull-Temple (NA-12)

On-site strength (typical): 55–90 combatants, plus workers

Reinforcement timers:

• Nearby patrol (6–10 orcs) in 10–20 min if horns/bonfire go up.
• Detachment with an ogre in 20–40 min if multiple horns sound.
• Night swaps bring bugbear pairs forward while orcs rest and rotate.

Role Composition (how many do what)

• Front-liners: ~55% of total; shield + javelin doctrine at chokepoints.
• Skirmish/stealth: ~15%; bugbears at night, gnolls for pursuit.
• Heavy shock (ogres): ~5% but decisive.
• Ranged: ~10% (shortbows/crossbows/javelin specialists).
• Command/clerical/specialists: ~5% (Krak, Targ, sergeants, horn-keepers, sappers).
• Logistics & craft: ~10% (smiths, fletchers, leatherers, cooks, haulers).

Social & Discipline Snapshot

• Cohesion: High while ogres stand and horns answer; dips sharply if Krak or Targ falls.
• Punishment: Swift and public (finger for theft; skull-post for desertion).
• Integration: Non-orcs valued as tools; duergar ties are transactional (gear and routes), not cultural.
• Doctrine in a line: “Horn first. Blood second. From below we come; to below we go.”

What this means at the table

• The Skull-Temple feels occupied by a real army, not a random mob.
• If the party wins fast, nearby squads probe before committing; if the party lingers loud, numbers swell on predictable clocks.
• Success can be measured: kill/drive off the ogre anchor, silence a horn, capture a ledger → morale shifts and the garrison thins as they fall back down instead of out.