Against the Giants 5e PBP (Full)

[FitzTheRuke]

I'll comment on Snarf's comments (because why not):

Spoiler: Group 2

1. Doc is a reborn from the Mesa of Madness with a pact to collect souls for the Nameless Sheriff as well as being a phantom rogue. So his recognition of the voice as something familiar ... is not a good thing.

Yeah. (Though, I thought we called it "The Whispering Mesa" - but it probably goes by many names.)

2. In 1e modules, orcs are not particularly friendly; I don' think we have any particular allegiance or requirement within the party to free them. But I am open to reasonable discussion.

True, though even back in 1e I always felt that it was more that they had a cultural clash with the "civilized" folk, and were not very well understood. That said, they ARE prone to violence and have been known to raid at least as often as these giants do. I think it would be natural for the PCs to be callous about them. I wouldn't go as far as to suggest that we roleplay the PCs being racist, but they probably are, to various extents. You could rescue them, or not, and I'm not going to judge the players for it.

OTOH, these orcs are not willing laborers any more than the dwarves were, so if you think that your character would have a problem with that, that's up to you.

3. Don't think so.

Well, you DID chop off Nosnra's head and present it to Lord Faldur. It's just that you haven't yet been sure if that act would do anything other than create a power vacuum, which it has definitely done. First, with the Stone Giants Emissary thinking that he could keep the peace with you long enough to head home, then with the Houndsman heading off to bring back one of Nosnra's Three Wives (you killed another one of them when you killed him), but you put that group down, too. Currently, as far as you know, the Fire Giant that was working the forge down here has gone upstairs to take charge (and last you saw was leading the defense against Captain Kaine at the front gate).

We previously made a peace with the stone giants, and are continuing that. We are just trying to end the Hill Giant scourge. Don't make more fights than you need, I guess.

That was with the Emissary, Laerthar, and his aide, whose name I forget but it starts with a U. The two down here stood by while he ordered them to release the dwarves to you, which they did. The agreement with them was that you wouldn't come back for two days, but you returned anyhow, the following day.

As for why the Hill Giants, it's because they have been raiding and looting, and our mission is to end their baleful influence, with extreme prejudice. If they were to surrender and leave, that would be fine.

Yup. Pretty much. They're generally too stupid and mean to easily peacefully negotiate with, though Nosnra was known to be clever, if selfish, vain and deceitful, however he encountered the group while they were busy laying waste to his dozen children, their bodyguards (and uncles and aunts) in the middle of the night while he was sleeping. He and his youngest wife simply attacked, and very few, if any words were exchanged.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

@FitzTheRuke

Spoiler

Perfect.

I mean, you'd think I'd remember that the party cut someone's head off as a trophy and presented it... but just another day at work, I guess!

Now, who was I talking to?

 

[Lidgar]

I’m resisting tapping those spoiler tags, even though I’m totally sure they didn’t get to the spelljamming ship and giant flumphs yet.

Oops, should have spoiler tagged that. My bad.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I’m resisting tapping those spoiler tags, even though I’m totally sure they didn’t get to the spelljamming ship and giant flumphs yet.

Oops, should have spoiler tagged that. My bad.

SORRY KANT HEAR U OVER SOUND OF MY HOLY AVENGER MOWING DOWN DEMONS IN SYMPHONY OF AWESOMENESS FROM THE BOOM BOX PLAYING RIDE OF THE VALKYRIEZ WE GOT WHEN WE TOOK DETOUR TO THE SHOOTING SET OF APOCALYPSE NOW

 

[Tonguez]

So, for those in group 2, since I'm new and need a bit of a bigger explanation, I thought I'd post here.

So some answers from Kahru's perspective (my recall) including a possible overview of factions

Spoiler

1. Is there a reason we might know whatever is locked behind that door is bad? Did we run into undead earlier, or was it just a hunch?

Kahru is being cautious - hence saying we'd free those who the elf Tamanar could vouch for. The other prisoners didnt know who the voice behind the door was and theres no key, so suspcions raised
Kahru does know that Doc the gunman is an Unnatural eldritch something, so if the voice behind the door is something Doc recognises then Kahru says we abandon it for the giants to deal with.

2. Is there a reason why we wouldn't also free orcs? Are orcs in cahoots with the giants?

It's apparent (to Kahru at least) that the Orcs in the kitchens and Orcs in the caves are also abused slaves of the giants, and in the Barbarians estimation they're a bit pathetic. Now Kahru doesnt like tyranny but he also only respects those who are willing to fight for their freedom - so fyi if the Orcs choose to fight for their freedom, Kahru will support them.

3. Based on Opening Post, we are supposed to kill/depose Nosnra. Have we accomplished this yet?

yes Nosra is dead and so are a few other leading Hill giants, We could abandon the mission and claim the prize but the remaining Hill giants and ogres in the Steading are still a threat to public safety and we did promise to free the prisoners (two goals achieved).

Also
What we also discovered on infiltrating the Steading was that there were other giant emissaries in the Steading besides Hill Giants. These Stone Giants are digging and have made a truce with us (which we broke by coming back). There is also a Fire Giant (or 2?) that was in the Forge but has now taken command of the Steading.

Earlier there were also Cloud giants but they have left (and Kahru has now pledged service to the Cloud Giant Lord Thyffon who has asked him to "find out if there is any outside influence to this Alliance of Giants."

I've gotten the factions totally messed up. We're murdering a bunch of giants (hill giants?) but we just ran into some Stone Giants and have made a deal with them but they're in the same compound as the the ones we are murdering.

So factions I am aware of:
A. Lord Faldur at the Cairn <- Quest giver
B. The Human Soldiers attacking the gate < - a useful distraction, but mutiny??
C. the Hill Giants, Fire Giants (Ogres and Bugbears) < - these are the bad guys
D. the Stone Giants and Cloud Giants? < - these guys are Neutral but still giants and thus have no love for us small folk
E. the Orc servants < - abused, probably slaves
F. Tamanar and the Prisoners < - almost free/Hierlings
G. ?? Some Outside Influence < - Lord Thyffons mission
H. There is a weird purple glowing altar that iirc Doc explored (I don't remember if Doc told the rest of us about it or not)
Oh and apparently theres a Dragon under the Steading somewhere too

 

[Kobold Stew]

sorry, can't post properly for another 10 hours or so.

will try for sooner.

Totally missed my self-imposed deadline. Here I go.

 

[Kobold Stew]

So thanks, Team for these answers. Much of what I was going to say has been covered (and more! Really great to have the summary.

Here's a few minor additions from the Colonel's perspective.

Spoiler

So, for those in group 2, since I'm new and need a bit of a bigger explanation, I thought I'd post here.

1. Is there a reason we might know whatever is locked behind that door is bad? Did we run into undead earlier, or was it just a hunch?

the Colonel knows nothing, and on principle wants to free anyone the Hill Giants have imprisoned. He knew there was at least 1 dwarf being tortured, and the fact that they left before without getting him stuck in his craw.

2. Is there a reason why we wouldn't also free orcs? Are orcs in cahoots with the giants?

Before "today's" attack, I don't think we were aware the orcs were enslaved per se. I suspect the Colonel is not motivated to free them because letting a group of orcs free outside of the compound risks collateral damage that he doesn't see coming from the dwarves. As Fitz said, that's probably racist and might not be in the spirit of 5e. He's open to persuasion, but he has clearly been content to let the orcs stay, while he is going to extraordinary lengths to rescue the dwarves and other obvious prisoners.

Feel free to talk him round.

3. Based on Opening Post, we are supposed to kill/depose Nosnra. Have we accomplished this yet?

Keeping peace with the Stone Giants seems a good idea to the Colonel; he has had no conversations with the Fire Giant, and (rightly or wrongly) sees them as the puppet masters of the Hill Giants. If they were to see the Fire Giant, he plans on attacking.

(and again he can be talked out of this.)

I've gotten the factions totally messed up. We're murdering a bunch of giants (hill giants?) but we just ran into some Stone Giants and have made a deal with them but they're in the same compound as the the ones we are murdering.

Can someone please help me get it straight? I did go through the pbp but it was mostly the group attacking stuff. If it will be a spoiler to the other group, maybe put it into spoiler tags.

I hope this helps. I think we are all mostly on the same page. Maybe this will help get our momentum going again.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

@FitzTheRuke

A few things.

First, I will be out of pocket starting tomorrow through October 9, 2024. I may be checking in, but feel free to do anything needed with Doc in the meantime.

Second ... so, that was the first time I tried to go "nova" with Doc. Usually, I am busy with my bonus actions (steady shot, moving that hex around). To quote Dylan Thomas's last words, "Twenty-seven shots, that must be a record."

I mentioned this in a different thread a while back, but the character has genuinely surprised me in play. When I was making him, I assumed he would be more of a skill monkey and the secondary damage dealer (and a primary weirdo). But with the way our party worked out, he turned into more of a primary damage dealer- but one that doesn't get into combat. It's a truly interesting party. I love the dynamics and the way the characters are changing over time with their interactions with each other. I really feel the personality differences, and love how we are evolving (pace, inter alia, the recent discussion re: orcs).

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

OOC: @TaranTheWanderer I think you volunteered to track loot? Am I misremembering?

@Kobold Stew @Steve Gorak @Tonguez @FitzTheRuke
Ok, so looking at it, I didn't bookmark anything - it was probably for a different pbp. So I have nothing from before I joined and this will be the first instance of loot since I started playing.

I can start a post here and bookmark it and just edit/update it as we go but it may be hard for people to find it unless you bookmark it too.

Other option is to create a DM/Mail that includes everyone in the party and just use it to track loot. You can't edit posts but you can keep adding like a regular thread.

Does anyone have a preference?

Also, for things like cash, do you want to track it as group loot or should we just instantly divvy it up? For pbp, I tend to divvy it up so when people come to the page with the loot, they can just see how much each player should have.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Yeah, getting organized is probably a good idea - PBP takes far too long to expect to remember anything at all. I still haven't mastered the fine art of proper note-taking. Maybe some day!