Just last Thursday, I got together with my group for the first time in about three months. They were currently assaulting the glacier tunnels inhabited by a Gelugon with a penchant for adding fiendish grafts to his Frost Giant captives, with the intent of killing the Gelugon and taking his Widget. Now that I look back on the evening, there were two events that really impressed and inspired me.
At one point, one of the characters snuck away to do some scouting. He came upon an ice tunnel lined with Frost Giants that were manacled to the wall. He spoke to the giants, and found that the giants were captives, and tried to convince the giants he wanted to release them if they would let the party pass. Due to the character's heritage (he's a half-fiend), the giants were enraged and refused to believe a word he said. Despite this, and the fact that the group desperately needed to get through this corridor, the character continued trying to prove his sincerity. Eventually, he released the Frost Giant prince and challenged him to a wrestling match to prove the truth of his words, despite the fact he could have easily slain the captive giant, and despite the fact that Frost Giants are really good at grappling. The character stayed true to his word, even intervening on the giant's behalf when the rest of the party arrived and found him locked in combat with the raging giant. The party intimidated the giant into leaving with the rest of the captives, and the half-demon PC gave the prince his sword, a true gesture of friendship and sacrifice.
Although his actions didn't provide any immediate benefit, the story of the Frost Giant prince will certainly come to the fore in the future.
The other event happened as the PCs engaged the Gelugon. They were walking across a large (giant-sized) rope bridge that spanned a 100 yard wide and hundreds of feet deep chasm. Most of the party was still trapped on the bridge, and two giant skeletons had moved to begin uprooting the supports of the bridge. One of the giants was slain, but the other continued, and it was quickly evident that the bridge would come down. Although he had a chance to move off the bridge, the elven bard/virtuoso, he of few hitpoints and no flying ability, moved to a position still on the bridge so that he could ready an action to plant his Immovable Rod in a position to hold up the bridge when the post came out. It was a risky move, but one successful Disable Device check later, the post was ripped out and the bridge was suspended from the Immovable Rod. This one action literally saved the lives of three of the PC's, and it allowed the party to be victorious in the end.
I just wanted to let you all know that I've seen what heroes are made of. It was... awesome!
At one point, one of the characters snuck away to do some scouting. He came upon an ice tunnel lined with Frost Giants that were manacled to the wall. He spoke to the giants, and found that the giants were captives, and tried to convince the giants he wanted to release them if they would let the party pass. Due to the character's heritage (he's a half-fiend), the giants were enraged and refused to believe a word he said. Despite this, and the fact that the group desperately needed to get through this corridor, the character continued trying to prove his sincerity. Eventually, he released the Frost Giant prince and challenged him to a wrestling match to prove the truth of his words, despite the fact he could have easily slain the captive giant, and despite the fact that Frost Giants are really good at grappling. The character stayed true to his word, even intervening on the giant's behalf when the rest of the party arrived and found him locked in combat with the raging giant. The party intimidated the giant into leaving with the rest of the captives, and the half-demon PC gave the prince his sword, a true gesture of friendship and sacrifice.
Although his actions didn't provide any immediate benefit, the story of the Frost Giant prince will certainly come to the fore in the future.
The other event happened as the PCs engaged the Gelugon. They were walking across a large (giant-sized) rope bridge that spanned a 100 yard wide and hundreds of feet deep chasm. Most of the party was still trapped on the bridge, and two giant skeletons had moved to begin uprooting the supports of the bridge. One of the giants was slain, but the other continued, and it was quickly evident that the bridge would come down. Although he had a chance to move off the bridge, the elven bard/virtuoso, he of few hitpoints and no flying ability, moved to a position still on the bridge so that he could ready an action to plant his Immovable Rod in a position to hold up the bridge when the post came out. It was a risky move, but one successful Disable Device check later, the post was ripped out and the bridge was suspended from the Immovable Rod. This one action literally saved the lives of three of the PC's, and it allowed the party to be victorious in the end.
I just wanted to let you all know that I've seen what heroes are made of. It was... awesome!
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