Task Force Beholder - Blackmarsh Training Exercise 1
Date played: 10/17/2026
Players:
Truffle Pig - Me
Jazzy Dwarf - Oldsklgmr
Mont Kaskad - Aggie
Odyssia - Nobody
Brick Schidtt - Mistuh
GM - Oldhawkeyes
Recap:
This game was run using DCC and Sean Richer's Orbital Assault Vehicle supplement, which introduces rules and equipment lists for modern military items. The setting is Robert Conley's Blackmarsh.
Task Force Beholder were given orders by NATO to patrol the Westwall Mountains. Outfitted with live firearms they left the fishing village of Solna to the neighboring Trollhattan Keep, where the civvies reported ogre raids. The local lord had mustered a hunting party to deal with the ogres but was too cowardly to initiate the assault. He was completely overriden by Odyssia who showed him what her shotgun could do. The hunters took orders from TFB and brought them horses to accompany them on the hunt.
In the wilderness west of Trollhattan, TFB ran into a marked oak tree that the hunters said was special and respected. Something, something, spirit of the woods. Kaskad urinated on it in a show of dominance.
TFB had the hunters make camp at this spot. Truffle Pig saw a rustle in the woods on his watch and had a hunter go deal with it. It was just a fox apparently.
The next day TFB made it deep enough into the woods next to the Westwall that they encountered an ogre. Kaskad convinced the lord to accompany him and challenge the brute to combat. The ogre crushed the lord but was disarmed by a crack shot from Odyssia. The ogre thence became known as One Thumb.
Odyssia went to check on the lord and discretely slit his throat, then stripped him of his plate armor.
One Thumb surrendered and disclosed details of the nearby ogre encampment. Namely, the leadership structure (big chief) and dietary habits (deer). Kaskad suggested that we approach the ogre chief with gifts of deer carcasses spiked with lethal poison.
Sgt. Brick Schidtt went into the woods to procure poisonous mushrooms. He found just enough to poison one deer. With the fattest deer stuffed with poison, TFB made for the ogre camp bearing "gifts".
Arriving at the ogre camp, TFB were greeted by the ogre chief who was receptive to the gifts, but mean to One Thumb. The deer carcasses were offered and the poisoned one specifically given to the ogre chief. Truffle Pig challenged the chief to a deer eating contest to see if he could out-eat a puny dwarf. He did. Then died.
The ogres were distraught at the chief's death and surrendered.
Kaskad attached a warhammer to One Thumb's stump as a reward for his loyalty.
The hunters recovered a magic flail from the ogres' hoard which could only be wielded by Brick, for it was a Flail of Law. As of now, Brick is the only Lawful agent in TFB.
With the encampment cleared TFB spent the night there. On Kaskad's watch he noticed a warband approaching made up of armored men on horseback. One Thumb was sent to greet, but it resulted in hostility towards the ogre. Odyssia called upon One Thumb to trigger an avalanche, which buried 2/3rds of the hunters and all of the encountered riders. These riders turned out to be knights allied with NATO which meant more plate armor for TFB.
They returned with their retrieved armor back to Solna and gave their report to NATO HQ.
Thoughts:
I want to put automatic weapons in all my D&Ds.
The pairing of vanilla fantasy with NATO is peak gaming. I had thoughts a while back of running B2 using DCC + Orbital Assault Vehicle, but it would only be after I wrap up my Thracia game, which as of this writing is still trucking along nicely. Getting to play in this game basically scratches that itch for me. Hawkeyes completely gets it..
Being a dwarf with a silenced pistol and a shield for bashing fools just feels right. Also, I think DCC has the best Dwarf-as-class.
I also would love to see where this thought experiment leads. What is the logical conclusion of automatic weapons being introduced to Blackmarsh?
I'm sure it will be nothing like NATOs real-world interventions.