Running "Against the giants"

[azathosk]

I've started on Against the Giants from Tale From the Yawning Portal. Mostly as a test how to run an adventure from Dnd Beyond, but also to reminisce the old days.

My group (lvl 12 paladin, fighter, warlock and priest) entered the steading via the main entrance (stealthed past the sleeping hill giants) and tried to talk some sense into the giants. That didn't work and our heros ended up slaying alot of giants.

The characters discovered the hidden treasure chamber and the map to the frost giants cavern. They're heading there in the next session.

Now, the chief's wife and the ambassador got away and I was planning to let the party face them in the frost giants cave. In which room would that encounter fit? Swap some of the giants in the visitors section?

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[pukunui]

The adventure seems to suggest that if Nosnra survives, he goes straight to King Snurre's lair (where he takes up residence in the storage room). If you want to include him in the frost giant lair, the visitors' room sounds good.

 

[azathosk]

Does it? I couldn't find any of it in the text. I noticed "Escaping adversaries will generally flee to the next higher-ranking stronghold (from the steading to the rift and from the rift to Snurre’s hall)", but not any more specific.

 

[pukunui]

Look at the entry for the storage room on the second level of the fire giant stronghold (page 199).

 

[azathosk]

Ah, great, thank you.

That leaves the ambassador, I guess he travelled to the Jarl to tell about the fierce humanoids attacking and slaying the hill giants.

 

[cthulhu42]

I'm also currently running AtG. It sounds like I'm only slightly ahead of you. My players just finished their first session in the upper lair of the frost giants tonight.

Chief Nosnra also escaped in my game, and as others have said, I'm having him flee to the fire giant lair, but not before informing the frost giants of what happened in his own lair. Thus, the frost giants have been warned and they are acting accordingly, although I'm allowing for a little bit of hubris on their part, at least until the upper level has been bested. More than likely some survivor will flee to the lower level, at which point the Jarl will take the coming threat much more seriously. I'm planning quite the ambush/last stand in the Jarl's throne room.

At any rate, Nosnra will flee to the fire giant lair where Snurre will relegate the disgraced hill giant chief to the storage room. However, when/if Snurre escapes and flees to the 2nd level, he will charge Nosnra, any remaining hill giants, and several of his own giants with defending his lair while he escapes into the 3rd level. Nosnra will have to stand fast against the party on threat of death from his superior.

Having Nosnra escape to warn the frost and fire giants has really thrown the adventure as written out the window, but I'm having a lot of fun working out strategies for ambushes and so forth. It's been much more fun than just having them go from room to room, killing occupants as laid out by the module, and ultimately it'll be a much greater challenge to the PC's.

 

[cthulhu42]

As an aside, I hope you drop an update here from time to time. I'm very interested to hear how this adventure goes for other DM's.

 

[azathosk]

Nosnra didn't survive the encounter, but his wife did. She did either escape to other hills or ends up at King Snurre's lair. The ambassador however fled to the glacial cave to tell the Jarl about what was happening and see how the Frost Giants have prepared themselves.

I think I'll run the first level more or less out of the book. The giants are to believe the hill giants are weak and puny, and that the MIGHTY frost giants are more than ready for any humanoids. They will, however, try to run away from battle if they see it goes against them. They will also try to engage the characters more on distance than in hand-to-hand-combat.

 

[jasper]

Add the escapees to the visitors room. Also if the escapees got a good look at the pcs, I would have the giants focus fire on them.

 

[azathosk]

The characters have gone through the lairs and is now on the second level in Muspelheim (the fire giant's lair). I have an issue regarding the temple. In my game I'm using AtG to launch the players into our new campaign where they're going to fight/find Acererak (we're not doing ToA) and hopefully stop Vecna.

Now, the problem with the temple is the altar. The adventure says the following: "Then a tentacle comes out of the altar and grabs the nearest living creature. The tentacle has a reach of 20 feet and a +11 bonus to hit. A creature hit by the tentacle is drawn into the stone — totally gone, destroyed." My problem with this is how I warn the players without saying/revealing too much.

The tentacle will be substituted with a long, skeletal hand and arm which suits this place of worship of Vecna alot more than a tentacle btw...