K'roaa'ka's Swamp (Unnamed)

K’roaa’ka’s Swamp

A Grung tribal territory in the swamps of Greno, near Thornhollow and the Thorndeep ruins. The tribe worships Rrabek. An outpost with guards and hounds sits at the edge of the swamp, where K’roaa’ka first encountered Echo.

No formal name given yet. The Grung have their own name for the area. Dorian and the people of Thornhollow refer to the cave/ruin area as “Thorndeep,” but K’roaa’ka’s people call it something else.

Known Details

Settlement:

• Grass huts, small caves
• Central fire pit used for rituals, dances, and gatherings
• Located in the swamp, relatively close to Thornhollow (about an hour’s walk to the cave entrance area)

Society:

• Caste system: royals, warrior class, farmers, commoners
• Different Grung colors correspond to different castes/roles. K’roaa’ka is orange (warrior caste, one of the higher castes). The warriors who ambushed the party included a purple Grung as leader.
• Queen/tribal chief leads the tribe. Agreed at the table to be matriarchal.
• Isolationist. Grung are not allowed to interact with those outside the swamp. Violation means permanent exile (“never to be seen, never to be heard from again”).
• Territorial. Grung warriors guard the area, particularly the cave approaches. They are not outright hostile to passersby but will challenge and threaten anyone entering their territory.
• Grung visiting Thornhollow is extremely rare, maybe once per decade. The scholars of Thornhollow know about them and study them from a distance.

Culture:

• Ritualistic dances to Rrabek, especially before war and fighting
• The Grung Death Song exists and is sung during mourning
• Grung use shells, snails, and muddy materials as currency rather than gold coins
• Common is spoken in a very broken, gestural way. Grung language is native.
• Grung weigh about 30 lbs (small creatures)
• Grung require regular water to avoid exhaustion. Going too long without feels like a hangover.
• Grung bleed the color of their poison

History:

• Adventurers from an older campaign came through and slaughtered Grung warriors. This event contributed to K’roaa’ka questioning Rrabek.
• Dorian used to sneak to caves near the swamp regularly to explore the Thorndeep ruins. The Grung were never hostile toward him specifically, and that’s how he learned their language.

Mentioned In

• K’roaa’ka — his homeland and the tribe that exiled him
• Thorndeep — the cave/ruin system is near the swamp
• Dorian-Oric — Dorian’s connection to the swamp through his cave expeditions