D&D 5E TftYP - Against the Giants

[Lancelot]

I intend to just double the scale. 15' squares are a bit annoying, but 20' squares are easy. Looks better on a battle map too, once the minis get slapped down on the table.

 

[jasper]

Hmm so change the map scale 1 box = 15 ft or = 20 ft. I must think on this.

 

[robus]

Totally off topic, but if one were wanting to substitute an adventure for AtG (in a TftYP campaign) what are some good alternatives from the archives (similar level and length) that don't feature giants?

Sorry for thread-jacking for a moment

 

[ccs]

I mentioned this in a previous thread. It's an issue, and I'm not sure what the writers expected us to do about it (assuming they even noticed it). The Frost Giant lair is the most problematic, as it has the most 10' corridors.

If I ever run AtG, I plan to be candid with my players and explain the situation. Then, for a solution, I'll propose that giants can move through 10' corridors without squeezing (i.e. it doesn't cost them extra movement) for this adventure. That seems to be the only solution that doesn't introduce problems of its own.

That seems pointless. You could just draw the map larger.

 

[werecorpse]

That's really disappointing to hear. The main reason I have been interested in this product was to see how wotc took into account the edition differences to do a conversion of old modules. To hear that they didn't take into account a pretty significant difference is disappointing.

Are the numbers of enemies per room just the same as the AD&D versions or did they balance out the CR's of the encounters a bit?

 

[Croesus]

Are the numbers of enemies per room just the same as the AD&D versions or did they balance out the CR's of the encounters a bit?

I just glanced through the module at the store, but it appears they did dial down the numbers a bit. The great hall in the hill giant steading doesn't have as many hill giants as in the original. The treasure was also lowered somewhat, though it seems to be closer to 1E levels vs. the 5E adventures that have been released.

All in all, I didn't see enough differences in the Yawning Portal version to make the book worth $50 (or $35 discounted).

 

[Lidgar]

How big of deal would it be just to downsize the giants to Large again? I know the maths on their damage, etc, may be off, but does it really matter?

While the AtG maps are good, other maps are just tiny. Or, like LSoT, printed awkwardly across two pages so parts of it are hidden in the binding.

Makes it almost mandatory to purchase the maps on Mike's website.

 

[Lidgar]

Totally off topic, but if one were wanting to substitute an adventure for AtG (in a TftYP campaign) what are some good alternatives from the archives (similar level and length) that don't feature giants?

Sorry for thread-jacking for a moment

You could go with D1-3 (Descent into the Depths of the Earth).

Or S4 (Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth) with some additional/higher level foes.

Or Maure Castle. The later would require more work if converting from the 3e version published in Dungeon Magazine.

 

[Luz]

The maps are different enough that I'm not sure how usable they are with this version of the adventure, is what I'm saying. I'd have to study them more closely while reading through the adventure, and I'm not up to it yet. (Still on Tamoachan.)

While its true that Schley's maps have modified the original maps, they are still very usable. His map of the ground floor of the steading, for example, has removed some rooms altogether (like rooms 12 & 13) or consolidated smaller rooms into one (like rooms 3 & 5 or 17 & 18). Rooms that have been removed are, for the most part, weapons or supplies rooms and easy to relocate to other areas of the steading. The bigger nuisance is that the numbered rooms of Schley's maps do not correspond with the original's numbered rooms, so in order to use his maps some small adjustments are required by the DM beforehand. Still, his maps are amazing and they do accommodate Huge sized giants better than the originals, so they are totally worthwhile using if you run this module again. I used them with an overhead projector to display the map on the table and it looked awesome!

Are the numbers of enemies per room just the same as the AD&D versions or did they balance out the CR's of the encounters a bit?

They definitely trimmed down the number of enemies in all three modules to balance out the CR's. We've been playing this series without changing any of the number of enemies. G1 was a blast to play like this, but G2 it became much more of a slog, so I switched to TftYP when it was released. My players are about to start G3 and I will use the TftYP version to keep it from grinding down too much. I mean, the original G3 has an area where the party could be attacked from all sides by 56 trolls. That may be a little overkill, dontcha think?

 

[jasper]

I mentioned this in a previous thread. It's an issue, and I'm not sure what the writers expected us to do about it (assuming they even noticed it). The Frost Giant lair is the most problematic, as it has the most 10' corridors......

That seems pointless. You could just draw the map larger.

No it is not CCS. Others have stated they adjusted the numbers of monsters in the encounters. At min. They could very simply on the map said 1 square = 15 feet. It is beginning to look like on the maps they just scanned, reduce 90%. Scan again and reduced 90%. And give this to my 14 year to color in.
I am looking over Dead in Thay. And I have to take off my glasses and get 5 inches away to read room numbers on the dm's map. NOT Good layout design.
And NO we as consumers should not have go buy a map pack Mike S, Dm's Guild, Larry, Curly or Moe to run the dungeon on the table top.