Giants have been raiding civilized lands in bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. Death and destruction have been laid heavily upon every place these monsters have visited. This has caused great anger in high places, for life and property loss means failure of the vows of noble rulers to protect the life and goods of each and every subject—and possible lean times for the rulers as well as the ruled.
Therefore, a party of the bravest and most powerful adventurers has been assembled and given the charge to punish the miscreant giants. Characters whose homes lay in the devastated land probably need little more motivation to face their oppressors. You five.
This campaign will be in three stages:
STAGE ONE The first stage of your mission is an infiltration and assault of the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief - Nosnra. Your primary mission is to kill Nosnra. Secondary objectives include finding any information as to why the giants are attacking.
STAGE TWO Dozens of leagues to the north and west of the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, amid the tallest mountain peaks, is the stronghold of Grugnur, Lord of Frost Giants. Your primary mission is to assassinate Grugnur. Secondary objectives include finding any information as to why the giants are attacking.
STAGE THREE Venture into the hot and smoking barrens of Muspelheim, the home of the fire giants. In the vast rocky halls of the fire giants’ doughty liege lord, the dread King Snurre Iron Belly, awaits your vengeance. Your primary mission is to murder him. Secondary objectives include finding any information as to why the giants are attacking.
Three locations. Three threats. Three kills. End each one and the land is saved.
STAGE ONE: STEADING OF THE HILL GIANT CHIEF
You have safely arrived at a spot near the hill giants’ stronghold—a small cave, well hidden, where you all can hide mounts and equipment. You come to the place of the giants just at dusk. No windows are visible, nor can giants or any other creatures be seen about the place, although occasional bursts of shouting and laughter can be heard faintly from within. You have been warned to expect guards at the great doors to the steading, but none are visible. The time has come to see what is afoot.
The stronghold is a huge timber stronghold of the local clan of hill giants. All outer walls are of logs at least 3 feet in diameter. Inner walls dividing rooms are about 2 feet thick. All inside floors are of stone. The steading is in a nasty, damp area, where hard rain is a daily occurrence and wet fog a nightly event. As a result, all wood in the place is very damp and smelly. Ceiling height varies from about 16 feet at the edges to 32 feet at the center, the roof being held up by great, smoke-blackened rafters. Doors are great iron-bound log affairs 1 foot in thickness, each about 7 feet wide and 16 to 18 feet high.
AREA 1 - FRONT GATE AND FOYER
Guards at the Gate.You approach quietly to the main entrance.Two snoring hill giants, supposedly guarding the entrance, lie curled up blissfully asleep just inside the front gate, a nearly empty keg of ale between them.
Seeing the slumbering giants, Icarus can't help but lick his lips noticeably, as he fights his inner demons wishing to suckle on their copious amount of blood. Whispering to the group, "What do you think? The direct approach, and stifle those snoring snots, or the more subtle approach, finding the back entrance?" he says, with saliva literally dripping from his mouth with every punctuated syllable.
Icarus (pronoun: he) looks quite pale, almost as if he's walking dead. You all don't realize that he's undead, but you somewhat suspect it due to his sickly pallor. That, and his continual offhand remarks about his hunger for blood. Icarus is a diminished manifestation of an otherworldly being, and those of you who are not from this plane might recognize him for his alien origins.
Paeris gripped his blade and eyed the giant from afar. The small voice in the back of his mind urging him to kill the towering beasts. He was happy to oblige, both because he was a faithful servant, but also because he believed that any of these creatures left alive, was a possible danger to the people of the land. Speaking up in a clear, smooth voice, "I think we should take them out. We're here to kill them, aren't we? Might as well start at the front."
Paeris was an adventurer of regional renown, much like the others in the group. His work as a freelancing mage-knight allowed him to find work in most places. However now, he was dressed in his iconic blue robe, just barely hiding the mithril plate that protected his body. White and grey hair cloaked his head, though his face was still fairly young. By the end of it all, it was hard to get a read off the man, as he hid half his face with his scarf. Still, he was reliable and did his work.
"Yes, go through the front. I am not going to be sneaking up on anyone." Voltan is a man in his early 50s, with graying hair and worn skin that's indicative of a hard life. Despite this, he is still strong and fit for battle. His armor and shield have both seen better days, as both of them look like there was a time where they were a sight to behold, but now they are as beaten up as the man who wears them, with scratch marks and faded paint. Around Voltan's neck is an old holy symbol of Helm.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
The tiny, 2 1/2' tall kobold referred to as Splat bundles himself closer in his series of rags and scraps amassed for the purpose of shielding off the sun. "The front. Splat isn't lettin' any Giant get away," he snarls, causing the mound of rags to quiver in rage. They had slain his brother, Spurt - and this little kobold is out for vengeance. Having traveled the lands and eviscerated any Giant he comes across in his usual rip and tear manner, Splat has earned an amount of respect in the adventuring community that most kobolds only dream of achieving. He carries only a small, wooden shield that could likely serve as a coaster for the larger folk.
The cat spirit butted her head into the redhead's leg. Ebony reached down absently, scratched at the spirit's black head. "Yes, dear, one moment. You really are insistent, you know that? One would think you were a real cat." She sets the arcane grimoire on the table and heads over to the magic circle, tugging the silvery sickle from the sheath at her belt. The woman, her age indeterminate, dug the sickle's tip into the pad of her finger and let the blood well before turning her hand so a drop fell to the outside of the circle, empowering it with a soft hum of green energy. Ebony crossed her wrists, the seals tattooed across her skin illuminating with the same green light. "Taris! I call on your power! Come hither! Taris of the Fifth Bower, Leader of the Hunt of Thorns, Drinker of Crimson Nectar, come hither and fulfill your debt unto me!"
The smell of leafmold filled the air, and a warm green glow heralded the arrival of a woman sculpted entirely of rosebushes. "Ebony darling. Did you have to include that last title? It's so embarrassing." She smiled and leaned against the green force field marking the edges of the circle. "A girl impales one fellow through the jugular...it was just a couple drops."
Ebony lowered her wrists. "Taris," she greeted the archfey. "I'm calling in that favor. One plane shift, to the Material Plane, Faerun. I know exactly where."
"E-bo-ny," Taris said, sounding downright offended. "No need to be so specific! I'm no fairy godmother, I won't try to mess with you." The archfey shook her head.
"It never hurts to be sure," Ebony replied lightly. And it usually did when you weren't. Taris liked her, but the fey were innately tricksters, and if she wasn't specific, she ran the risk of being delivered where she wanted...two hundred feet off the ground. The summoner slipped Ghost into her pocket dimension, slipped the book on the table into her bag, and set the circle to vanish the moment she exited the plane. She gave specific instructions to Taris, and the archfey clapped thorned hands together. In a rush of rose petals, the woman and the cat vanished.
There's a small explosion of rose petals, and a woman of indeterminate age steps out of the air, shaking leaves out of her hair. "Sorry I'm late," she says casually, leaning down to pick up the black cat spirit at her feet and scratching its head. "Fey have a terrible sense of time. This is where the giants are, right?"
The woman has an androgynous, ageless appearance that you would normally associate with a creature not of the Material Plane. She wears a long leather coat with short sleeves, and almost every inch of skin you can see is covered in ink, arcane seals and magical sigils tattooed along her arms and chest. Her red hair is cut short enough to just brush the bottoms of her ears, from which hang several earrings covered in runes. At her side hangs a sickle with a silver, runed blade, balanced by the component pouch and spellbook at her other side. In her arms is a cat-shaped collection of dark energy, which watches you all with glowing white eyes while purring hard.
The woman looks up at the steading, quartz-grey eyes taking in the massive doors. "I'm guessing we're heading in there? I'm Ebony, by the way."
Paeries runs up for the first Hillgiant, and jumping up to strike the monster, he slashes down with his exotic looking longsword.
Attack: 16 Damage: 11 Attack: 24 Damage: 9
If one hits, Eldritch Smite (5th level): 12 (if this does hit, the hillgiant is knocked prone, and since I rolled higher than everyone, people attacking HG1 in melee, get that advantage!)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Icarus' initiative: 7
Silent as a dead church mouse, Icarus withdraws his six shooter hand crossbow and faster than they eye can see, pew-pews a half dozen bolts down range at HillGiant2:
Splat runs up to the fallen Giant with some rather adorable snarls, slashing the throat viciously with some puny claws.
Bonus Action - Hunter's Mark Action - Rip & Tear Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 17 Damage: 12 Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 24 Damage: 12 Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 25 Damage: 8 Gloom Stalker additional Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 25 Damage: 14
Splat's rags become soaked in blood. It appears not an uncommon occurrence - they are stained with deep crimson tones.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ebony looks rather impressed as the entire group runs up and goes about massacring the hill giants. The woman flicks her wrist and summons a bolt of fire, which blasts towards the sleeping giant (who I think may already be dead, but pays to be safe).
AREA 1 is cleared. Most of the floor in the entryway is bare, but various items of giant outerwear (capes, cloaks, and the like) and bags hang from the many pegs along the walls. On the north wall, you have a left door, double doors in the middle, and a door on the right. Pick one.
Paeris will walk about, looking towards the bags that the giants had left behind. He motions with his hand, not wishing to make needless noise, then points up to the bags. He knows his own strengths, so doesn't bother looking as he walks to the west side, looking into the room, and up the stairs.
You can see from downstairs that steps in the western end of the foyer lead up to the watch tower, where a hill giant guard is dozing, an empty flagon smelling of mead still in his hand. An iron hoop and a straight bar hang on ropes from a rafter above; striking them together will alert everyone in the upper level - you can easily tell.
Ebony purses her lips thoughtfully. "Taking those out would probably be good," she murmurs. "Shall we see if we can kill this one as handily as we did the guards?"
CRISPYDM PRESENTS:
AGAINST THE GIANTS
Giants have been raiding civilized lands in bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. Death and destruction have been laid heavily upon every place these monsters have visited. This has caused great anger in high places, for life and property loss means failure of the vows of noble rulers to protect the life and goods of each and every subject—and possible lean times for the rulers as well as the ruled.
Therefore, a party of the bravest and most powerful adventurers has been assembled and given the charge to punish the miscreant giants. Characters whose homes lay in the devastated land probably need little more motivation to face their oppressors. You five.
This campaign will be in three stages:
STAGE ONE
The first stage of your mission is an infiltration and assault of the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief - Nosnra. Your primary mission is to kill Nosnra. Secondary objectives include finding any information as to why the giants are attacking.
STAGE TWO
Dozens of leagues to the north and west of the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, amid the tallest mountain peaks, is the stronghold of Grugnur, Lord of Frost Giants. Your primary mission is to assassinate Grugnur. Secondary objectives include finding any information as to why the giants are attacking.
STAGE THREE
Venture into the hot and smoking barrens of Muspelheim, the home of the fire giants. In the vast rocky halls of the fire giants’ doughty liege lord, the dread King Snurre Iron Belly, awaits your vengeance. Your primary mission is to murder him. Secondary objectives include finding any information as to why the giants are attacking.
Three locations. Three threats. Three kills. End each one and the land is saved.
STAGE ONE: STEADING OF THE HILL GIANT CHIEF
You have safely arrived at a spot near the hill giants’ stronghold—a small cave, well hidden, where you all can hide mounts and equipment. You come to the place of the giants just at dusk. No windows are visible, nor can giants or any other creatures be seen about the place, although occasional bursts of shouting and laughter can be heard faintly from within. You have been warned to expect guards at the great doors to the steading, but none are visible. The time has come to see what is afoot.
The stronghold is a huge timber stronghold of the local clan of hill giants. All outer walls are of logs at least 3 feet in diameter. Inner walls dividing rooms are about 2 feet thick. All inside floors are of stone. The steading is in a nasty, damp area, where hard rain is a daily occurrence and wet fog a nightly event. As a result, all wood in the place is very damp and smelly. Ceiling height varies from about 16 feet at the edges to 32 feet at the center, the roof being held up by great, smoke-blackened rafters. Doors are great iron-bound log affairs 1 foot in thickness, each about 7 feet wide and 16 to 18 feet high.
AREA 1 - FRONT GATE AND FOYER
Guards at the Gate. You approach quietly to the main entrance. Two snoring hill giants, supposedly guarding the entrance, lie curled up blissfully asleep just inside the front gate, a nearly empty keg of ale between them.
Seeing the slumbering giants, Icarus can't help but lick his lips noticeably, as he fights his inner demons wishing to suckle on their copious amount of blood. Whispering to the group, "What do you think? The direct approach, and stifle those snoring snots, or the more subtle approach, finding the back entrance?" he says, with saliva literally dripping from his mouth with every punctuated syllable.
Icarus (pronoun: he) looks quite pale, almost as if he's walking dead. You all don't realize that he's undead, but you somewhat suspect it due to his sickly pallor. That, and his continual offhand remarks about his hunger for blood. Icarus is a diminished manifestation of an otherworldly being, and those of you who are not from this plane might recognize him for his alien origins.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Paeris gripped his blade and eyed the giant from afar. The small voice in the back of his mind urging him to kill the towering beasts. He was happy to oblige, both because he was a faithful servant, but also because he believed that any of these creatures left alive, was a possible danger to the people of the land. Speaking up in a clear, smooth voice, "I think we should take them out. We're here to kill them, aren't we? Might as well start at the front."
Paeris was an adventurer of regional renown, much like the others in the group. His work as a freelancing mage-knight allowed him to find work in most places. However now, he was dressed in his iconic blue robe, just barely hiding the mithril plate that protected his body. White and grey hair cloaked his head, though his face was still fairly young. By the end of it all, it was hard to get a read off the man, as he hid half his face with his scarf. Still, he was reliable and did his work.
"Yes, go through the front. I am not going to be sneaking up on anyone." Voltan is a man in his early 50s, with graying hair and worn skin that's indicative of a hard life. Despite this, he is still strong and fit for battle. His armor and shield have both seen better days, as both of them look like there was a time where they were a sight to behold, but now they are as beaten up as the man who wears them, with scratch marks and faded paint. Around Voltan's neck is an old holy symbol of Helm.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
The tiny, 2 1/2' tall kobold referred to as Splat bundles himself closer in his series of rags and scraps amassed for the purpose of shielding off the sun. "The front. Splat isn't lettin' any Giant get away," he snarls, causing the mound of rags to quiver in rage. They had slain his brother, Spurt - and this little kobold is out for vengeance. Having traveled the lands and eviscerated any Giant he comes across in his usual rip and tear manner, Splat has earned an amount of respect in the adventuring community that most kobolds only dream of achieving. He carries only a small, wooden shield that could likely serve as a coaster for the larger folk.
The cat spirit butted her head into the redhead's leg. Ebony reached down absently, scratched at the spirit's black head. "Yes, dear, one moment. You really are insistent, you know that? One would think you were a real cat." She sets the arcane grimoire on the table and heads over to the magic circle, tugging the silvery sickle from the sheath at her belt. The woman, her age indeterminate, dug the sickle's tip into the pad of her finger and let the blood well before turning her hand so a drop fell to the outside of the circle, empowering it with a soft hum of green energy. Ebony crossed her wrists, the seals tattooed across her skin illuminating with the same green light. "Taris! I call on your power! Come hither! Taris of the Fifth Bower, Leader of the Hunt of Thorns, Drinker of Crimson Nectar, come hither and fulfill your debt unto me!"
The smell of leafmold filled the air, and a warm green glow heralded the arrival of a woman sculpted entirely of rosebushes. "Ebony darling. Did you have to include that last title? It's so embarrassing." She smiled and leaned against the green force field marking the edges of the circle. "A girl impales one fellow through the jugular...it was just a couple drops."
Ebony lowered her wrists. "Taris," she greeted the archfey. "I'm calling in that favor. One plane shift, to the Material Plane, Faerun. I know exactly where."
"E-bo-ny," Taris said, sounding downright offended. "No need to be so specific! I'm no fairy godmother, I won't try to mess with you." The archfey shook her head.
"It never hurts to be sure," Ebony replied lightly. And it usually did when you weren't. Taris liked her, but the fey were innately tricksters, and if she wasn't specific, she ran the risk of being delivered where she wanted...two hundred feet off the ground. The summoner slipped Ghost into her pocket dimension, slipped the book on the table into her bag, and set the circle to vanish the moment she exited the plane. She gave specific instructions to Taris, and the archfey clapped thorned hands together. In a rush of rose petals, the woman and the cat vanished.
There's a small explosion of rose petals, and a woman of indeterminate age steps out of the air, shaking leaves out of her hair. "Sorry I'm late," she says casually, leaning down to pick up the black cat spirit at her feet and scratching its head. "Fey have a terrible sense of time. This is where the giants are, right?"
The woman has an androgynous, ageless appearance that you would normally associate with a creature not of the Material Plane. She wears a long leather coat with short sleeves, and almost every inch of skin you can see is covered in ink, arcane seals and magical sigils tattooed along her arms and chest. Her red hair is cut short enough to just brush the bottoms of her ears, from which hang several earrings covered in runes. At her side hangs a sickle with a silver, runed blade, balanced by the component pouch and spellbook at her other side. In her arms is a cat-shaped collection of dark energy, which watches you all with glowing white eyes while purring hard.
The woman looks up at the steading, quartz-grey eyes taking in the massive doors. "I'm guessing we're heading in there? I'm Ebony, by the way."
Ebony:
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
Paeris Init: 14
Paeries runs up for the first Hillgiant, and jumping up to strike the monster, he slashes down with his exotic looking longsword.
Attack: 16 Damage: 11
Attack: 24 Damage: 9
If one hits, Eldritch Smite (5th level): 12 (if this does hit, the hillgiant is knocked prone, and since I rolled higher than everyone, people attacking HG1 in melee, get that advantage!)
Splat's init! 6
Voltan:9
He then strikes thrice with his longsword!
Attack: 26 Damage: 12
Attack: 20 Damage: 10
Attack: 13 Damage: 8
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
HillGiant1(AC13/HP43)
HillGiant2(AC13/HP105)
Icarus' initiative: 7
Silent as a dead church mouse, Icarus withdraws his
six shooterhand crossbow and faster than they eye can see, pew-pews a half dozen bolts down range at HillGiant2:OOC: Forgot to mention all attacks are made using the Sharpshooter feat.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
HillGiant1(AC13/HP43)
Splat runs up to the fallen Giant with some rather adorable snarls, slashing the throat viciously with some puny claws.
Bonus Action - Hunter's Mark
Action - Rip & Tear
Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 17 Damage: 12
Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 24 Damage: 12
Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 25 Damage: 8
Gloom Stalker additional Form of the Beast: Claws Attack: 25 Damage: 14
Splat's rags become soaked in blood. It appears not an uncommon occurrence - they are stained with deep crimson tones.
Ebony looks rather impressed as the entire group runs up and goes about massacring the hill giants. The woman flicks her wrist and summons a bolt of fire, which blasts towards the sleeping giant (who I think may already be dead, but pays to be safe).
Attack: 11 Damage: 16
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
AREA 1 is cleared. Most of the floor in the entryway is bare, but various items of giant outerwear (capes, cloaks, and the like) and bags hang from the many pegs along the walls. On the north wall, you have a left door, double doors in the middle, and a door on the right. Pick one.
Icarus walks up to the door on the right, and while reloading, places his ear to the door to listen inside (Perception: 26).
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
You hear nothing.
Paeris will walk about, looking towards the bags that the giants had left behind. He motions with his hand, not wishing to make needless noise, then points up to the bags. He knows his own strengths, so doesn't bother looking as he walks to the west side, looking into the room, and up the stairs.
AREA 1B - WATCHTOWER
You can see from downstairs that steps in the western end of the foyer lead up to the watch tower, where a hill giant guard is dozing, an empty flagon smelling of mead still in his hand. An iron hoop and a straight bar hang on ropes from a rafter above; striking them together will alert everyone in the upper level - you can easily tell.
Ebony purses her lips thoughtfully. "Taking those out would probably be good," she murmurs. "Shall we see if we can kill this one as handily as we did the guards?"
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!