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| The great obsidian doors |
Introduction
Having navigated the lost underground river last session, and then finding a possible route to the city of the Firenewts, the party continued in that direction this week, right? No, they did not, instead going in the other direction to investigate the Fire Giant settlement Sever had scouted in that direction some months ago. What would they find inside? G3: Hall of the Fire Giant King, that is what they would find.
Timekeeping
This session began on January 22nd, with the player characters adventuring until the end of the day and then travelling to Minas Mandalf. Downtime for these characters begins on the 23th.
Player Characters Present
Sever the Wrathful (Level 10 Pegasus Corps Ranger of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength, rider of Mustang) with henchman Thomas (C7), and Poindexter(M6)Fluid the Druid (Level 9 Druid, "Scourge of Trollopulous", former wearer of the Ring of Kings, current wearer of the Cloak of Druidish Awesomeness)Sheamus (Level 9 Irish Fighter from Brovenloft, rider of the Rocket Cycle and wielder of the Drewblade)Giuseppe (Level 8 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of Sanctus Draconis Interfector and the Shield of Protection from Missiles, rider of Bonecrusher) Gurt the Green (Level 7 Paladin of Machodor, wielder of the Liberator, bearer of the Fabled Ice Jewel of Frigia, wearer of the Armour of Most Superior Defence, rider of Artax) with henchman Cedric (C5)Connor (Level 4 Irish Fighter) with some bowmen he had somehow brought along
Downtime
Session Report
Encounter #1: Fire Giant door guard
Rounds: 1
Result: Party victory
Highlights:The ranger's blade found the horn before the giant could blow it, slicing it in two. The others piled into the alcove and the giant was dead before it managed much of anything else. It carried little of value.
No alarm had been raised; the corridor remained quiet, save for an odd, high-pitched whinny from somewhere ahead — nothing like any horse they knew. The adventurers proceeded further down the corridor, finding no more waiting guards behind tapestries. A large hall opened at the far end, but before that, on the left, was a set of stables. Inside, goblins were preparing horses for a journey. Five Fire Giants, meanwhile, were saddling up a string of huge black horses — each animal every bit as large as the giants themselves, and deeply unhappy about the interruption. When the party entered, the giants immediately loosed their evil mounts before joining the fray themselves.
Encounter #2: Fire giant merchant expedition
Naked fury
Rounds: 5
Result: Party victory
Highlights: When Gurt was hit with a natural 20, his armour clattered about him and fell the the ground. The supposed Plate Mail +3 obtained in Brovenloft was cursed and the Armour of Most Superior Defence was anything but. He bravely fought on in his undergarments, while the others layed about them with Were'shbane, the Drewblade and the like. The spell casters too were crucial, with spells like Slow and Prayer helping out a lot. Eventually the heroes had the victory, but at the cost of a lot of hit points lost.
Borrowing from the idea of the boisterous teenage hill giants in G1, I had decided that the other giants would largely ignore the sounds of bellowing from the stables, putting the sounds down to the ornery giant steeds. Taking the full turn to catch their breaths after the heavy fighting, the heroes searched the bodies and found such loot as:
- boulder for throwing x 4
- woollen cloak
- comb and hairpins of bone
- iron cooking pot
- 300cp minted by giant king, been around a while
- full wineskin x 3
Really, a bit of a disappointment if you are at all familiar with the normal treasure tables of giants. The pack horses, however, were another matter: overloaded with trade goods and spending money, they more than compensated. On one of the giants was a soiled map and letter, both damaged where his wineskin had split open and soaked them through. With the magical assistance available at Minas Mandalf, the heroes were confident both could be restored.
The party still had resources to expend and they were keen to do so. Poindexter went forward Invisible and returned shortly report his findings. Having put the goblins in the stables out of their misery, the party advanced up the corridor and into the grand hall beyond. The space was enormous: the floor reddish-black, highly polished stone, and along both walls a series of pillars carved to depict dwarves stacked one atop the other, straining to hold the ceiling 40 feet above. The two Ettins on guard had four heads between them; none were surprised, and all four turned toward the party as they entered.
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Rounds: 1
Highlights: Gurt charged in his undergarments, Liberator raised. Had the Ettins been more discerning, I would have given them a considerably better chance of targeting him specifically; as it was, the rest of the party hit so hard in the opening round that the question of targeting became academic. The battle was over before it had properly begun. Worth noting for next time: these particular Ettins carried special weapons rather than default clubs. I missed that in the moment.
A horn bellowed from somewhere deep in the hall and the sound of angry giants rolled toward them down the length of polished stone. The heroes read the situation correctly and fell back toward the stables. Fluid cast Obscurement over the corridor mouth where they had just defeated the Ettins. When the giants arrived, they found only a roiling grey mist and no certainty that anything was actually in there; they held at its edge and waited, ready to strike at whatever came through.
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| "These giants are going nowhere. Yeah." |
Of course, nothing came through. Back in the stables, the pack horses waited patiently and were still loaded with loot. The party were delighted to collect them on their way out. There was brief discussion of arranging the bodies, or otherwise staging the scene, to cast suspicion elsewhere when the giants arrived. In the end they left ample evidence of their passing, took the horses, and made for the hidden cave and a flight back to civilisation.
The talk of crime scene evidence stayed with me afterward. I found myself musing on what a Fire Giant investigator would make of it all. That idle thought led, unexpectedly, to an entirely unplanned development in the next session involving a certain red-haired player character.
Session Statistics:
Combats: 3
Rooms mapped: 3
Combat rounds: 7
Losses: Gurt's dignity
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