Battle of Oleg Keep

• Session 100 - 103 The Battle of Oleg Keep (← links | edit)

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Four between 09 September - October 2023

Campaign Date

Morning Wealson 7, CY621

The assault begins ( Days 1-2 )

Vellors forces have besieged Oleg Keep and the surrounding village of Grenvik and Oleg. Baron Dunthmore has secured himself in the Keep along with elements of the Rippers and Red Company who made sorties from the Keep to disrupt Vellors forces. The two forces engaged in combat trading siege engine fire as night fell. At daybreak the undead fell back to Grenvik Bog to the south of the Keep. Both sides regrouped during the day. (while the PC’s were airship touring the area 60-90 miles to the NE) At night the undead attacked again, and as with the day before, withdrew just before dawn to the swamp. Stirkirk seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the Keeps damage and the defenders fatigue has led Burtons Irregulars in a charge to breach the south wall just after dawn.

The rules of engagement and victory conditions:

Force	Objective	Victory
Vellor	Sack the castle and kill the defenders	Take the castle (inflict 60% or more loss on defenders), or occupy the town of Oleg, and Grenvik
Baron and allies	Hold the castle and immediate settlements	Avoid losing 60% forces, or secure and hold the towns
PC’s + allies	Take and hold the castle	Inflict 40% or more loss on the Barons forces, AND eliminate Vellor’s army
Independents (Flan Villagers)	Ensure the survival of their allies	The Baron or the PC’s win. (you don't have to announce your allegiance)
Spoilers	Composed of underdark forces who seek to take advantage of the chaos. Ensure the survival of their allies	The Baron or the PC’s win. (you don't have to announce your allegiance)

Day 3 of the Siege

The Flan farmers and their Druid allies sweep in from the north taking their anger out on the Barons lands around Oleg Keep, burning the fields and homes immediately surrounding the keep. A thick column of white smoke blocks their view of the keep.

The Baron launches a retaliatory catapult barrage against the raiders injuring many but they return a volley of arrows that injury the defenders in kind.

Rampaging villages set Oleg Keep's fields afire

Rushing in from the south to harvest the bodies, the 52nd Marauders run smack into Burtons Irregulars who have been battering down the walls and fighting to enter the breach since before dawn. After an afternoon of hard fighting, Burtons Irregulars suffer 30% casualties and unable to enter the fort as they thought begin to retreat in good order. Vendrix swoops in and unleashes his breath weapon, decimating the retreating troops. Vellors troops surge in from the woods to the rear of the troops to begin the body harvest, Stirkirk sensing the end is near for Burtons Irregulars orders his troops to self detonate their explosive vests rather than being turned into fresh undead troops. The mournful sound of rolling explosions echo through the Blemu Hills.

From the north and west the 1st Battalion of Logeth takes a beating as they hold off a terrible three pronged assault by the Death Dealers, Marauders, and Wraiths. The Death Dealers are routed and flee to the East while the 1st Battalion watches in horror as their fallen compatriots rise from the ground in the jerking motion of the undead and march off to follow the dealers.

Vellor's personal guard and 73rd siege battery re-consolidate their forces to the west and begin to setup their war engines to bombard the keep.

1st Logeth moves to the flank and attacks the Red Company who overran the company forcing them to retreat back inside with 70% casualties.

The gnome airship moves in to take advantage of the chaos of forces scrambling to retreat into the keep. From over the railings of the sky ship the party launches spells and missiles into the massed troops a hundred and fifty feet below. They glide over and unleash an aerial bombardment on the Red Company Hornets and force them back into the fortress walls.

As night falls the Barons mage works quickly to magically ward the north and south gates with powerful sigils of warding. The defenders settle in for a long siege as Vellors forces move to surround the keep sealing in the defenders.

Day 4 of the Siege

As the day dawns the flan villagers continue their scorched earth campaign, they move around the west side and finish their destruction of the fields and small hamlet outside the South Gate. No major casualties occur but a few of the forces spend time taunting the defenders by lobbing cows over the wall into the keep.

The barbarians join in the villages rampage and move out of the woods to the west, and sweeping south find the partial breach Strikirk's forces opened the day prior along the south east wall. They hit the screaming spears hard in a frontal assault who break ranks and flee in a route back to their tribal lands near the Ripper Mines. Most of the barbarians upon seeing the Braons forces rush to seal the breach, decide a drink and some looting is in order and move quickly SE to sack Grenvik village along with the flan villagers. The druids and Barons forces engage in combat but the outcome is a draw with both sides fatigued and are forced to withdraw from the field.

High above the gnome airship with the PC's aboard heads in a slow arc from the SW where they had been watching the battle and move towards the keep. Barely two miles out, they see the 45th marauders marching out to meet the Elves advancing from the Ivae Orr. Using spells and arrows from a few hundred feet up in the air they blast them mercilessly, completely eliminating the unit.

Below the PC's, their path now clear the Elves of the Ivae Orr use the trees as cover come up behind a unit of undead who were securing Oleg Road to the NW of the keep. The battle is a draw with both sides forced to retreat from the field, the elves returned to the Ivae Orr, while the undead move to rejoin the Vellor's to the NE of the keep.

At the keep, the Barons forces unleash a catapult barrage upon any forces who have strayed too near the keep itself. They eliminate two barbarian units who remained near the walls after the mornings attack. The reminder withdraw to the nearby treeline.

As the afternoon wears on Vellors forces move into Oleg Village from multiple directions and surround the Rippers 2nd battalion. After a brutal battle they eliminate the Rippers and using their unholy powers raise half the defenders to replenish their own forces and move towards the North gatehouse. As the undead pour through the streets towards the North Gatehouse, Vendrix the dragon swoops down and blasts the North gatehouse with his breath weapon. The blast sets off the sigil the Baron had secretly placed on the portcullis and steel shod doors the day before. Vendrix is wounded but remains near the castle. Vellors forces are now at the North gate.

Breaching the walls of Oleg Keep

The green dragon Selena and her rider Lady Furweather circling high above Oleg Keep decide to exact their revenge on the Baron, after the PC's convinced Selena that Vellor betrayed Vendrix her mate. The troops below Selena are a mix of the Barons forces and his Ripper allies who repel the attack but are now moderately fatigued and seek cover inside the Keep. Selena and Lady Furweather were unable to strike a decisive blow and realize they should have concentrated their attack on one unit at a time. They fly off to the NW to consider their next move.

As the day progressed the Drow and Druegar used their knowledge of the caverns and old mines beneath this part of the Blemu Hills to move unseen and breach the dungeon complex under the keep.

Day 5 of the Siege

The Ripper reinforcements complete their long two day march south from the mines, and moving to the east and south to avoid Vellors troops they make their way to the breach opened by Stirkirk. They charge the screaming spears and pour through the breached wall and into the orchard, kill many, and driving the screaming spears off the wall into the north courtyard area in a near route. They secure their holdings and prepare for a counter-attack.

Vellors 73'rd Siege troops open a heavy bombardment from the large catapults they spent the last day constructing partially destroying the NW corner tower. their attempt to open a new breach point leaves a quarter of the tower collapsed into rubble but still standing enough to prevent Vellors forces from entering.

The Red Company Hornets attack the Drow who appear thought the well in the garden. They drive them back underground. The Hornets chase them back underground and try to seal the breach.

Vendrix dives upon the Red Company garrison, forcing them to retreat +3 (broken) 50% casualties. Vendrix swoops off leaving the field littered with bodies ready for being raised into more undead (102 bodies). Vellor begins to shift his forces for a move against the Keep and starts to marshal them in the village of Oleg.

Recovered from the aerial battle the day before - the Druids resume their bird form again and attack the gnomish flying ship. The forces are still to closely matches for one side to have a siginifnat advantage with both the PC's but the Druids taking an equal number of casualties again. Both sides are forced to retreat from the air over the Keep, the PC's head afew miles to the west while the Druids head east.

Late in the day the Druegar marshal their troops and burst forth from a cellar under one of the warehouses into the courtyard. Finding the Red Company garrison nursing its wounds from the earlier battle with Vendrix they attack en-masse. The two forces trade blows and neither sides holds a clear advantage. They both withdraw to buildings within the Keep complex of out buildings each with moderate losses.

As the Druegar make their way back towards the various hidden entrances to the tunnel complex beneath the keep the Drow and Ripper reinforcements smash headlong into each other. Much like the Druegar before them the forces of the underdark deal out as good if not better as they get but their numbers are simply not as great as the defenders and so they too withdraw back to the buildings to see the tunnels.

Seeing the chaos in the courtyard below Selena and her rider Lady Furweather strafe the Barons forces caught in the open or under partial cover so they can watch for Vellor. The poison gas fills the courtyard and wafts through the arrow slots to kill scores of troops whose contorted and mangled bodies join those killed by Vendrix earlier in the morning.

Nighttime of the fifth day

Ghoulish mages invade the keep after dark and begin raising the dead among the fallen troops. They are discovered by a patrol who raise the alarm.

Mage hunters leave the safety of the keep and follow their former brethren outside the wall in attempt to kill them - again. They charge out of the walls to investigate and didn't notice the undead crawling through he down were swarmed by the undead killing every last man.

Vendrix swoops in from out of the moon diving on the Ripper Strippers. The sickening sound of num num num can be heard as the undead gnaw their way through the piling up bodies. 85 more bodies join Vellors army.

Catapults unload on the NW tower. 40% of it is now in ruin. Just before dawn the 52nd Marauders, 62th, Wrath Bringers, clamber over the broken wall undetected. Barons forces detect the undead but are too frightened to attack in the dark and secure themselves inside the keep.

The Drow take notice of the lack of pursuit by the Barons forces, and cautiously make their way back up from the caverns they retreated to and re-enter the keep's dungeons. Finding the undead now within the walls they decide to hold off on a counterattack and wait to see what happens over the next day.

Unbeknownst to the PC's the Elves decide to break their secret truce with Vellor, and send Darmouths Raiders to attack the 73rd siege works forcing them from the field. Vellor is disappointed and perhaps even a little surprised by their betrayal given the hell he can bring upon them for this treachery. The reminder of the PC's forces are too distributed around the lands to the south and west to mount a cohisive attack and they decide to hold their positions.

Done with their looting, and wary of being caught between the PC's and Vellors forces the barbarians along with the Flan clansman decide to break camp before dawn and make their way back to the .

Day 6 of the Siege

Baron abandons the keep via a secret passage.

The humans offer to surrender to Vellor. 30% left

Rippers fight to last against Vellor. (10%)

Drow and Duergar looking for slaves.

Selena and her rider?

Flan and Barbarians retreat back to the hills.

PC's sit back and wait for dawn to take.

Trumpet call of truce breaks the dawn.