L1-10. Ogre Den of the Broken Market

Suel features & lore keys

• Market Mural (north wall): From a distance, serene trade life; up close, the anomalies sharpen—sub-human porters, priests dispensing “justice,” archers on the colonnades.
• DC 12 Investigation: Notice the corrections and over-painting; parts were re-worked to hide cruelty.
• DC 13 History/Religion: Reads as a Suel civic scene turned authoritarian—ledger lines and trade glyphs (Xerbo/Osprem) buried under the later hand of law-as-punishment (Wee Jas) and spite (Beltar). Players who call this out gain advantage on the next Insight against Temple loyalists in this dungeon (they’ve “seen through the pageantry”).
• Defacement: Scraped spirals in one corner hint at later forbidden icon cleansing; a smear of newer soot covers it.

Features & checks

• Bloody handprint (door): DC 10 Medicine/Survival—fresh within a day; orc-sized; blood mixed with ash (from nearby halls).
• Collapsed bed + furs: DC 11 Perception reveals a vermin scuttle; disturbing the pile has a 1-in-6 chance to release a Swarm of Insects (flees if set alight or doused with oil smoke).
• Blanket-draped chest: The simple grey blanket hides the lid; DC 12 Investigation notes it’s a working chest, not trapped. Inside are the ogre’s hide sketches (see Items).
• Large chair (broken): Counts as half cover if tipped; the ogre can wrench a leg free as an improvised club (d6 bludgeoning).

Tactics & response

• If no prior alarm: Diirag lounges in the furs, scratching and drinking. On seeing intruders he rises and charges with a laugh.
• Fighting style: He tries to bull rush the largest foe, using the bed heap to block others, then hurls anything handy before closing with the greatclub. If bloodied and a doorway is blocked, he grabs and throws the chair to clear space (improvised 1d6 bludgeoning, 10/30).
• Response clock: Any combat or shout here draws aid as follows:
• Rooms 11 & 12: arrive next round.
• Chief + bodyguard: 3 rounds.
• Barracks warriors: 6 rounds.

Items (as found)

• Crude charcoal drawings on hide inside the chest and tacked to the wall—victims and kill scenes, with real blood rubbed into wounds and splashes. (If shown to thinking foes, Intimidation checks against orcs who fear Diirag gain advantage once.)
• Odds & ends: cracked mug, bone dice (worthless), bent nose ring.

Map notes

• Single entrance. Place the mural on the wall opposite the door to command the eye.
• Bed + furs along one long wall; chair near the mural; chest near the door.
• Keep 10 ft clear in the center so the ogre can build speed for a charge.

Running tips

• Let the mural be a moral mirror; players who call out what they see earn social leverage later.
• Use the response timing to create pressure—the den should feel like a lid about to blow once the fight starts.
• If the party is quiet and clever, the blanket can be flung over Diirag’s head (contested Athletics on success, he fights blinded until he tears free (action).