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Against the Giants: Campaign Journal
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<blockquote data-quote="cthulhu42" data-source="post: 7332601" data-attributes="member: 6792361"><p>Session 4</p><p></p><p> Some pre-session notes to myself to try to work out some possible avenues of intrigue among the different factions dwelling within the hill giant dungeon:</p><p></p><p> The party has walked into an ambush. From the NE door, the Keeper and his two ape pets will charge. The Keeper will step back to allow his two pet apes to rush out, then he will hurl stones if he can, or go right to work with his +1 axe. He will attempt to put his back to the wall, but he is still very aggressive. Remember his 15' reach!</p><p></p><p> From the South door will charge 40 bugbears (one of whom is a chief). The bugbears will do their best to surround the PC's, and cut off escape routes, specifically the stairs back up. Several of them should be armed with missile weapons and stand up on the tables to get shots off at the party. </p><p></p><p> In the meantime, the two hill giants from room 15 (torture chamber) will rush in from the south hall. Be sure to take advantage of the giant's reach. </p><p></p><p> The ambush party...</p><p></p><p>The Keeper, HP 200, AC 16, Spd 40, Int +2</p><p>2 +1 Battleaxe +10 (3d8+7) reach 15'</p><p>1 Rock +9 (4d10+6) 60/240'</p><p></p><p>2 Giant Ape – HP 150, AC 12, Spd 40', Int +2</p><p>2 Fists +9 (3d10+6) 10'</p><p></p><p>Biasco, Bugbear chief, HP 100, AC 18 (plate), Spd 30, Int +2</p><p>Advantage vs non evocation spells. </p><p>2 x morningstar +6 (2d8+4)</p><p></p><p>40 Bugbear HP 45, AC 16, Spd 30, Int +2</p><p>Surprise attack (2d6)</p><p>Morningstar +4 (2d8+2)</p><p>Javelin +4 (1d6+2)</p><p></p><p>2 Hill Giant, HP: 160, AC: 13, Spd 40', Int -1</p><p>2 Greatclub: +8 (3d8+5), reach 10'</p><p>1 Rock: +8 (3d10+5) 60/240'</p><p></p><p> I should really try to open the story of this dungeon up, considering the tension of having the orcish rebellion just looking for an opportunity to strike. The hill giants have pulled all the bugbears away from their watch over the orcs, and the orcs know something is up. An orcish spy (Jok), with the aide of his Ring of Invisibility, will find that something big is happening and has his people get ready for action. </p><p></p><p> Once the battle in room 1 is pitched, the orcs will bide their time. When the Keeper and the other hill giants are down, and the time is right, they will rush in to join the fray, harassing the bugbears.</p><p></p><p> In the end, several of the bugbears might surrender and the PC's will have to figure out what to do with them. The orcs, of course, will want to execute them, as will Black Metal. Krote's magic axe is most insistent and might even decide to force Krote to shed bugbear blood, depending on Krote's stance on the matter. </p><p></p><p> The bugbear chief might try to bargain their way to freedom, offering to map out the rest of the level and even guide them. He is, Biasco. He knows about the secret treasure in room 33. All of this should be role played out. The surviving enemy still have their motivations. </p><p></p><p> The troglodytes will hang back, satisfied to either retain their current location, or take over the dungeon if the hill giants and bugbears are destroyed. </p><p></p><p> The orcs, of many different clans, will want to escape and head back into the Lortmil mountains. </p><p></p><p> 23 troglodytes, 14 young. </p><p> 78 rebel orcs (2 orog, 26 fighters, 50 commoners). Key npc: Jok. </p><p> 82 submissive orc slaves.</p><p> 87 imprisoned orcs.</p><p> </p><p></p><p> I'll need to have the stats for the female elvish knight, Selendra Rainfall, and the dwarf veteran, Joshua Ironjaw, ready for the PC's.</p><p></p><p> Selendra Rainfall, Knight (MM 347), 80 hit points, AC 10, no weapon or armor currently. </p><p></p><p> Selendra is an elvish knight of the Silverthorn order, of the Lat'iran tribe of elves. She has taken up her brothers quest to find Wayth, the greatsword now in the possession of the players. Her brother, Theatrous, died trying to find it. She tracked him as far as Ulek and was following a rumor that he'd been seen in the Kron hills. She was on her way to crossing the Lortmils when she was captured by the giants. </p><p></p><p> She and Joshua Ironjaw are comrades. </p><p></p><p> Joshua Ironjaw, Veteran (MM 350), 90 hit points, AC 10, no weapon or armor currently. Change weapon to greataxe. </p><p></p><p> Ironjaw is from the Holdernecht dwarf clan. He has been traveling with Selendra on her quest. He was a friend and fighting companion of her brother's, and now that he is missing, he has joined with Selendra, becoming very close to her in the process. </p><p> </p><p> The Session</p><p></p><p>We begin the session with battle. The Keeper unleashes his giant ape pets upon the party, and forty bugbears stream into the room. Soon after, two more hill giants arrive. </p><p></p><p> Area spells quickly thin the bugbears, and the apes and giants are no match for the fully rested party. The PC's take a few hard hits, but eventually the apes fall, then The Keeper, and the remaining hill giants. Only one bugbear soldier is left, and he runs for his life down the south tunnel, while the chief bugbear flees down a tunnel to the east. </p><p></p><p> The fleeing bugbear soldier is soon ushered back into the room, prodded by the weapons of Jok and his rebel orcs. The PC's and the orcs soon realize that they are on the same side, and once they get a load of Black metal their loyalty is assured. </p><p> </p><p> Edran attacks and kills the bugbear captive, which Thoradin is not happy with. Even Krote has issues with such unsportsmanlike conduct, although Black metal is only unhappy that it wasn't Krote who drew that blood. </p><p> </p><p> Krote and Edran, led by the orcs, head south to free the remaining orcish captives. After setting loose 82 of them, they press on, surrounding four bugbear guards who immediately surrender. Black Metal demands Krote slay these bugbears, at which point there is a contest of wills between the two. Krote falls under Black Metal's command and unloads on a helpless bugbear captive, spitting him in half. This pleases the orcs, who, with Edran's help, slaughter the remaining three captives. Krote finally gets his axe back under control, but things are a bit tense between the two right now. </p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Thoradin goes back upstairs to sweep the top level with a Detect Magic, finding nothing. </p><p></p><p> Once they are all back in one place they check the remaining door in the central room and discover the holding cells. They release Marcus, an engineer from Lampsberg, cure an insane man, who still is suffering from a bit of amnesia, and meet Selendra Rainfall, an elven knight. After Selendra tells them her story it doesn't take long for Thoradin to put two and two together and he soon shows Selendra the greatsword they'd found upstairs. With tears of gratitude, she takes the weapon and swears her allegiance to the party for one year. </p><p></p><p> Edran also released the wights, who are quickly dispatched. </p><p> </p><p> From there, they head east, then north, discovering the cistern and the wine cellar, along with the bugbear chief who's been hiding there. They promise him his freedom if he shows them the hill giant chief's treasure chamber, which he gladly does. </p><p></p><p> The bugbear chief beats feet out of there as the party moves to deal with the manticores. </p><p></p><p> Once the manticores are dead, the party moves to the treasure room the manticores had been guarding, but even as they do, Sai, who out in the main chamber, casting a ritual Detect Magic, catches sight of the hill giant chief slipping through a secret door. It takes the party a few rounds to get to that door, but once there they find a secret chamber, but no giant chief. Just a chain on the ground laid out in the form of a figure eight. </p><p></p><p> After much back and forth, it is Thoradin who threw caution to the wind and steps into one of the chains loops, instantly disappearing. Selendra follows without hesitation, and eventually the rest of the party follows suit. </p><p></p><p> And that's where we ended. </p><p> </p><p> It is Harvester 5th, roughly 1:00pm</p><p></p><p> Notes: If you're familiar with AtG you'll notice that the party skipped a good portion of this dungeon, which I was a bit disappointed with. I was looking forward to seeing them in the abandoned temple. Plus, they left a hallway unexplored which would have introduced them to Joshua Ironjaw which meant I had to figure out a way to get him to the frost giant lair and into the party.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cthulhu42, post: 7332601, member: 6792361"] Session 4 Some pre-session notes to myself to try to work out some possible avenues of intrigue among the different factions dwelling within the hill giant dungeon: The party has walked into an ambush. From the NE door, the Keeper and his two ape pets will charge. The Keeper will step back to allow his two pet apes to rush out, then he will hurl stones if he can, or go right to work with his +1 axe. He will attempt to put his back to the wall, but he is still very aggressive. Remember his 15' reach! From the South door will charge 40 bugbears (one of whom is a chief). The bugbears will do their best to surround the PC's, and cut off escape routes, specifically the stairs back up. Several of them should be armed with missile weapons and stand up on the tables to get shots off at the party. In the meantime, the two hill giants from room 15 (torture chamber) will rush in from the south hall. Be sure to take advantage of the giant's reach. The ambush party... The Keeper, HP 200, AC 16, Spd 40, Int +2 2 +1 Battleaxe +10 (3d8+7) reach 15' 1 Rock +9 (4d10+6) 60/240' 2 Giant Ape – HP 150, AC 12, Spd 40', Int +2 2 Fists +9 (3d10+6) 10' Biasco, Bugbear chief, HP 100, AC 18 (plate), Spd 30, Int +2 Advantage vs non evocation spells. 2 x morningstar +6 (2d8+4) 40 Bugbear HP 45, AC 16, Spd 30, Int +2 Surprise attack (2d6) Morningstar +4 (2d8+2) Javelin +4 (1d6+2) 2 Hill Giant, HP: 160, AC: 13, Spd 40', Int -1 2 Greatclub: +8 (3d8+5), reach 10' 1 Rock: +8 (3d10+5) 60/240' I should really try to open the story of this dungeon up, considering the tension of having the orcish rebellion just looking for an opportunity to strike. The hill giants have pulled all the bugbears away from their watch over the orcs, and the orcs know something is up. An orcish spy (Jok), with the aide of his Ring of Invisibility, will find that something big is happening and has his people get ready for action. Once the battle in room 1 is pitched, the orcs will bide their time. When the Keeper and the other hill giants are down, and the time is right, they will rush in to join the fray, harassing the bugbears. In the end, several of the bugbears might surrender and the PC's will have to figure out what to do with them. The orcs, of course, will want to execute them, as will Black Metal. Krote's magic axe is most insistent and might even decide to force Krote to shed bugbear blood, depending on Krote's stance on the matter. The bugbear chief might try to bargain their way to freedom, offering to map out the rest of the level and even guide them. He is, Biasco. He knows about the secret treasure in room 33. All of this should be role played out. The surviving enemy still have their motivations. The troglodytes will hang back, satisfied to either retain their current location, or take over the dungeon if the hill giants and bugbears are destroyed. The orcs, of many different clans, will want to escape and head back into the Lortmil mountains. 23 troglodytes, 14 young. 78 rebel orcs (2 orog, 26 fighters, 50 commoners). Key npc: Jok. 82 submissive orc slaves. 87 imprisoned orcs. I'll need to have the stats for the female elvish knight, Selendra Rainfall, and the dwarf veteran, Joshua Ironjaw, ready for the PC's. Selendra Rainfall, Knight (MM 347), 80 hit points, AC 10, no weapon or armor currently. Selendra is an elvish knight of the Silverthorn order, of the Lat'iran tribe of elves. She has taken up her brothers quest to find Wayth, the greatsword now in the possession of the players. Her brother, Theatrous, died trying to find it. She tracked him as far as Ulek and was following a rumor that he'd been seen in the Kron hills. She was on her way to crossing the Lortmils when she was captured by the giants. She and Joshua Ironjaw are comrades. Joshua Ironjaw, Veteran (MM 350), 90 hit points, AC 10, no weapon or armor currently. Change weapon to greataxe. Ironjaw is from the Holdernecht dwarf clan. He has been traveling with Selendra on her quest. He was a friend and fighting companion of her brother's, and now that he is missing, he has joined with Selendra, becoming very close to her in the process. The Session We begin the session with battle. The Keeper unleashes his giant ape pets upon the party, and forty bugbears stream into the room. Soon after, two more hill giants arrive. Area spells quickly thin the bugbears, and the apes and giants are no match for the fully rested party. The PC's take a few hard hits, but eventually the apes fall, then The Keeper, and the remaining hill giants. Only one bugbear soldier is left, and he runs for his life down the south tunnel, while the chief bugbear flees down a tunnel to the east. The fleeing bugbear soldier is soon ushered back into the room, prodded by the weapons of Jok and his rebel orcs. The PC's and the orcs soon realize that they are on the same side, and once they get a load of Black metal their loyalty is assured. Edran attacks and kills the bugbear captive, which Thoradin is not happy with. Even Krote has issues with such unsportsmanlike conduct, although Black metal is only unhappy that it wasn't Krote who drew that blood. Krote and Edran, led by the orcs, head south to free the remaining orcish captives. After setting loose 82 of them, they press on, surrounding four bugbear guards who immediately surrender. Black Metal demands Krote slay these bugbears, at which point there is a contest of wills between the two. Krote falls under Black Metal's command and unloads on a helpless bugbear captive, spitting him in half. This pleases the orcs, who, with Edran's help, slaughter the remaining three captives. Krote finally gets his axe back under control, but things are a bit tense between the two right now. Meanwhile, Thoradin goes back upstairs to sweep the top level with a Detect Magic, finding nothing. Once they are all back in one place they check the remaining door in the central room and discover the holding cells. They release Marcus, an engineer from Lampsberg, cure an insane man, who still is suffering from a bit of amnesia, and meet Selendra Rainfall, an elven knight. After Selendra tells them her story it doesn't take long for Thoradin to put two and two together and he soon shows Selendra the greatsword they'd found upstairs. With tears of gratitude, she takes the weapon and swears her allegiance to the party for one year. Edran also released the wights, who are quickly dispatched. From there, they head east, then north, discovering the cistern and the wine cellar, along with the bugbear chief who's been hiding there. They promise him his freedom if he shows them the hill giant chief's treasure chamber, which he gladly does. The bugbear chief beats feet out of there as the party moves to deal with the manticores. Once the manticores are dead, the party moves to the treasure room the manticores had been guarding, but even as they do, Sai, who out in the main chamber, casting a ritual Detect Magic, catches sight of the hill giant chief slipping through a secret door. It takes the party a few rounds to get to that door, but once there they find a secret chamber, but no giant chief. Just a chain on the ground laid out in the form of a figure eight. After much back and forth, it is Thoradin who threw caution to the wind and steps into one of the chains loops, instantly disappearing. Selendra follows without hesitation, and eventually the rest of the party follows suit. And that's where we ended. It is Harvester 5th, roughly 1:00pm Notes: If you're familiar with AtG you'll notice that the party skipped a good portion of this dungeon, which I was a bit disappointed with. I was looking forward to seeing them in the abandoned temple. Plus, they left a hallway unexplored which would have introduced them to Joshua Ironjaw which meant I had to figure out a way to get him to the frost giant lair and into the party. [/QUOTE]
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