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Against the Giants: Campaign Journal
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<blockquote data-quote="cthulhu42" data-source="post: 7332600" data-attributes="member: 6792361"><p>Session 3</p><p></p><p>An hour after they hunker down in the cave to rest, Edran, up in a tree on watch, hears Rufus whine at him. A few seconds later he hears the tell tale howling of wolves on the hunt. Ten minutes later the wolf pack is cresting the rise and Edran scurries down the tree and tries to get into the Leomund's Tiny Hut that Sai has set up only to find that, since he wasn't inside the hut when it was cast, he cannot enter it now. He and Rufus are stuck outside as the wolves close in, followed closely by fifteen ogres and hill giant servants, as well as the hill giant sub chief and hill giant wolf master. </p><p></p><p> Edran and Rufus are quickly surrounded and harried by the wolves. Rufus takes an awful beating, and Thoradin and Krote leave the protection of the hut to aide their comrades. </p><p></p><p> What follows is a very tough fight, given that Thoradin is very low on spells, and all of them are low on hit points, having only the benefit of a short rest to heal. Sai is unable to even leave the hut, for if he does the shelter will disappear, and with so many foes in close quarters he would probably be overwhelmed. </p><p></p><p> They slowly kill wolf after wolf, but the ogres and servants close in right behind. Rufus goes down, but Edran manages to save him, only to go down a moment later himself. By the time Sai is able to leave the hut with some sort of chance of staying alive more than a round, Krote is down to a single hit point, and even Thoradin, with his high armor class, only has a handful of life left. </p><p></p><p> But now that Sai is able to cast, he piles on the fireballs, three in a row, even as Thoradin and Krote take on the two giants. It is seriously touch and go for a few rounds, but fortunately for our heroes, my dice go rather cold, and despite being surrounded on all sides by hill giant servants, I'm barely able to put even a small pounding on Sai, let alone put him down. </p><p></p><p> As his fireballs pile up, the servants go down, then the sub chief, then the beast master, and finally the last servant. Thoradin is able to stabilize Edran at the last possible moment, saving their rogue. </p><p></p><p> What follows is a well deserved rest, uninterrupted by further attacks. </p><p></p><p> The following morning, at 9:00am, healed and refreshed, they head back to the hill giant keep. Only to find it deserted, except for a pair of injured orc slaves, whom they set free. It takes them a good hour of searching, but at last they are satisfied that no more giants are occupying the top level. One thing they do discover via a lucky Detect Magic casting is Wayth, the giant killing greatsword. They also find a stair case leading downwards, and soon they brave the depths of the hill giant dungeon. </p><p></p><p> The first room they enter is rather large with several exits and doors leading from it. Thoradin and Edran are having a philosophical conversation as Krote peers down a couple of darkened corridors. He is approaching one of the doors in the chamber, with the other three following, as the ambush is sprung! The door slams open to reveal a particularly tough looking hill giant wielding a huge axe. Even as that happens, a door to the south opens and bugbears begin to stream into the room, screaming their bloodcurdling war cry. </p><p></p><p> And that's where we wrapped for the night. </p><p></p><p> It is Harvester 5, about 11:00am</p><p></p><p> Notes: After the PC's initial assault on the hill giant keep, Chief Nosnra has retreated to the lower level, but before he does, he instructs his sub-chief to have their beast master round up their wolf pack and track down the interlopers. Despite the rain, the pack of dire wolves pick up the scent and follow it to our heroes. I did give the party a short rest, figuring that it would take at least that long for the giants to </p><p>organize and track them down.</p><p></p><p>The giant posse consisted of...</p><p> The sub-chief (still wounded, but had downed several healing potions)</p><p> The hill giant beast master with his whip, urging the wolves forward</p><p> 2 hill giant warriors </p><p> 10 hill giant servants (ogres, basically)</p><p> 5 ogres</p><p> 14 dire wolves</p><p></p><p> Leomund's Tiny Hut has long been a bone of contention for me, and I was curious as to how the encounter would go, with the party being holed up in it while the giants wait for them to come out. But Edran, true to form, chose to climb a tree and be on watch, neglecting to be inside the area when the LTH was cast. Upon careful reading of the spell, I realized that since he wasn't in the area when the spell was cast, he couldn't enter it at all! </p><p></p><p>Yes, it was probably cheap of me not to assume that by that time they wouldn't have known that important detail, but then again, they all have Player's Handbooks. Read your spells! So there's Edran, swinging in the breeze, as the giant/ogre/wolf horde come streaming over the rise. This forced a combat that was much more dangerous and interesting than if they'd simply been able to wait out the eight hours and come out at top form. </p><p></p><p> As it was, the presence of the Hut in the cave took up enough space that the PC's were able to retreat somewhat behind it, forcing the enemy to funnel in and not surround them. Being able to deal with their foes one or two at a time probably made the difference between success and failure.</p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Nosnra has gone down to the dungeon and has set up another ambush with The Keeper and some forty bugbears just in case the PC's manage to survive. Nosnra plans to hide in the secret passage off of room 1 in the dungeon and watch events unfold. He has also set up an ogre to keep watch from the guard tower on the upper level. If the sub-chief returns, then all is well. But if the sentry spots the PC's, he'll come down and give the word, triggering an ambush set up. </p><p></p><p> Also of note, Annabelle Zane sends a Sending to Edran telling him specifically not to beat the drum, ring the chimes and strike the triangle. Edran has no idea what this means and Annabelle is not forthcoming with explanation, but it is certain to have Edran now on the lookout for any of those things. </p><p></p><p> This is an allusion to the Temple of the Eye located on the 2nd level of the fire giant lair, and almost guarantees that Edran will do all three of those things the first chance he gets.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cthulhu42, post: 7332600, member: 6792361"] Session 3 An hour after they hunker down in the cave to rest, Edran, up in a tree on watch, hears Rufus whine at him. A few seconds later he hears the tell tale howling of wolves on the hunt. Ten minutes later the wolf pack is cresting the rise and Edran scurries down the tree and tries to get into the Leomund's Tiny Hut that Sai has set up only to find that, since he wasn't inside the hut when it was cast, he cannot enter it now. He and Rufus are stuck outside as the wolves close in, followed closely by fifteen ogres and hill giant servants, as well as the hill giant sub chief and hill giant wolf master. Edran and Rufus are quickly surrounded and harried by the wolves. Rufus takes an awful beating, and Thoradin and Krote leave the protection of the hut to aide their comrades. What follows is a very tough fight, given that Thoradin is very low on spells, and all of them are low on hit points, having only the benefit of a short rest to heal. Sai is unable to even leave the hut, for if he does the shelter will disappear, and with so many foes in close quarters he would probably be overwhelmed. They slowly kill wolf after wolf, but the ogres and servants close in right behind. Rufus goes down, but Edran manages to save him, only to go down a moment later himself. By the time Sai is able to leave the hut with some sort of chance of staying alive more than a round, Krote is down to a single hit point, and even Thoradin, with his high armor class, only has a handful of life left. But now that Sai is able to cast, he piles on the fireballs, three in a row, even as Thoradin and Krote take on the two giants. It is seriously touch and go for a few rounds, but fortunately for our heroes, my dice go rather cold, and despite being surrounded on all sides by hill giant servants, I'm barely able to put even a small pounding on Sai, let alone put him down. As his fireballs pile up, the servants go down, then the sub chief, then the beast master, and finally the last servant. Thoradin is able to stabilize Edran at the last possible moment, saving their rogue. What follows is a well deserved rest, uninterrupted by further attacks. The following morning, at 9:00am, healed and refreshed, they head back to the hill giant keep. Only to find it deserted, except for a pair of injured orc slaves, whom they set free. It takes them a good hour of searching, but at last they are satisfied that no more giants are occupying the top level. One thing they do discover via a lucky Detect Magic casting is Wayth, the giant killing greatsword. They also find a stair case leading downwards, and soon they brave the depths of the hill giant dungeon. The first room they enter is rather large with several exits and doors leading from it. Thoradin and Edran are having a philosophical conversation as Krote peers down a couple of darkened corridors. He is approaching one of the doors in the chamber, with the other three following, as the ambush is sprung! The door slams open to reveal a particularly tough looking hill giant wielding a huge axe. Even as that happens, a door to the south opens and bugbears begin to stream into the room, screaming their bloodcurdling war cry. And that's where we wrapped for the night. It is Harvester 5, about 11:00am Notes: After the PC's initial assault on the hill giant keep, Chief Nosnra has retreated to the lower level, but before he does, he instructs his sub-chief to have their beast master round up their wolf pack and track down the interlopers. Despite the rain, the pack of dire wolves pick up the scent and follow it to our heroes. I did give the party a short rest, figuring that it would take at least that long for the giants to organize and track them down. The giant posse consisted of... The sub-chief (still wounded, but had downed several healing potions) The hill giant beast master with his whip, urging the wolves forward 2 hill giant warriors 10 hill giant servants (ogres, basically) 5 ogres 14 dire wolves Leomund's Tiny Hut has long been a bone of contention for me, and I was curious as to how the encounter would go, with the party being holed up in it while the giants wait for them to come out. But Edran, true to form, chose to climb a tree and be on watch, neglecting to be inside the area when the LTH was cast. Upon careful reading of the spell, I realized that since he wasn't in the area when the spell was cast, he couldn't enter it at all! Yes, it was probably cheap of me not to assume that by that time they wouldn't have known that important detail, but then again, they all have Player's Handbooks. Read your spells! So there's Edran, swinging in the breeze, as the giant/ogre/wolf horde come streaming over the rise. This forced a combat that was much more dangerous and interesting than if they'd simply been able to wait out the eight hours and come out at top form. As it was, the presence of the Hut in the cave took up enough space that the PC's were able to retreat somewhat behind it, forcing the enemy to funnel in and not surround them. Being able to deal with their foes one or two at a time probably made the difference between success and failure. Meanwhile, Nosnra has gone down to the dungeon and has set up another ambush with The Keeper and some forty bugbears just in case the PC's manage to survive. Nosnra plans to hide in the secret passage off of room 1 in the dungeon and watch events unfold. He has also set up an ogre to keep watch from the guard tower on the upper level. If the sub-chief returns, then all is well. But if the sentry spots the PC's, he'll come down and give the word, triggering an ambush set up. Also of note, Annabelle Zane sends a Sending to Edran telling him specifically not to beat the drum, ring the chimes and strike the triangle. Edran has no idea what this means and Annabelle is not forthcoming with explanation, but it is certain to have Edran now on the lookout for any of those things. This is an allusion to the Temple of the Eye located on the 2nd level of the fire giant lair, and almost guarantees that Edran will do all three of those things the first chance he gets. [/QUOTE]
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