I've been running a campaign since February that started with Lost Mines of Phandelver and transitioned into Storm King's Thunder.
I'm currently trying to get my head around the giant relics at the barbarian spirit mounds, but there's a big logistical issue that I'm not finding a solution too (it must have been written up elsewhere, but all of my internet searching has been fruitless, which usually isn't the case).
The PCs are supposed to take these giant relics to the Eye of the Allfather to get clues about the giant lords. The adventure also says that Harshnag wont come with them to get the relics. The more they bring, the more information they get about Giant lords as I understand it.
So, what I'm confused by is that some of these relics are big and heavy (one is a boulder). Others are more manageable in size. But how are they supposed to get these large heavy objects back to the Eye of the Allfather? Or maybe they are just S.O.L. for these larger relics?
I've been running a campaign since February that started with Lost Mines of Phandelver and transitioned into Storm King's Thunder.
I'm currently trying to get my head around the giant relics at the barbarian spirit mounds, but there's a big logistical issue that I'm not finding a solution too (it must have been written up elsewhere, but all of my internet searching has been fruitless, which usually isn't the case).
The PCs are supposed to take these giant relics to the Eye of the Allfather to get clues about the giant lords. The adventure also says that Harshnag wont come with them to get the relics. The more they bring, the more information they get about Giant lords as I understand it.
So, what I'm confused by is that some of these relics are big and heavy (one is a boulder). Others are more manageable in size. But how are they supposed to get these large heavy objects back to the Eye of the Allfather? Or maybe they are just S.O.L. for these larger relics?
I feel like I'm missing something.
Anyways, thanks.
The story provides at least one option that might work.
There is an airship waiting to help the characters when they exit the temple. "Airship of a Cult" pg 132.
The text goes into why a Dragon might offer up an airship to assist the characters. Mostly because the dragon doesn't like the giants and expects the adventurers to eventually go around slaughtering giants so any help he can give the characters towards that goal is good for him. Sort of a temporary ally. However, the airship (if you add a crane or even a bunch of ropes/winch/etc) can allow the characters to travel to these sites quickly as well as haul up the heavier ones.
However, I think the boulder you mentioned specifically has a shrink option. "A creature can use an action to shrink the stone to the size of a 6-inch-diameter orb weighing 25 pounds, or enlarge the boulder to its normal size." so it is possible to transport the multi-ton boulder quite easily.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the players don't need every artifact. In fact they only need one for the plot to continue and they only need that if they haven't found whatever object the giant lord's have that they need. I think the different artifacts just unlock different giant paths forward - if they have more then one then they may get to choose which giant lord to confront but they only really need one artifact.
Aaaaaaah-ha! Thank you very much David42! Yes....the airship does make things a bit easier. Yeah, and a good point about not needing all the artifacts.
I feel like I'm going to have them get a couple of the artifacts......just because I like some of the spirit mound encounters (although, like others, I don't love the "raiding a culture's religious artifacts" thing much.....I've decided to spin it that in the distant, past barbarian tribes stole these items from giants as a way for ancestral barbarian leaders to show they were more powerful than giants. So the artifacts are more a representation of "perceived power" and less of an important religious item... that way PCs are not defiling a cultural site as much as righting a wrong. I'll have Harshnag explain this to the group. Not perfect, but feels better.
Regardless, I often forget that as DMs we can basically change things however we want. So I could have just on my own made up that all of the items shrink when picked-up, or just move different artifacts to the spirit mound encounters that I like, etc.. Sometimes, however, I have this problem with wanting to follow the story as written.....so I sort of "freeze up" when I can't find it exactly in the story.
Regardless, thank you!!
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Hi All,
I've been running a campaign since February that started with Lost Mines of Phandelver and transitioned into Storm King's Thunder.
I'm currently trying to get my head around the giant relics at the barbarian spirit mounds, but there's a big logistical issue that I'm not finding a solution too (it must have been written up elsewhere, but all of my internet searching has been fruitless, which usually isn't the case).
The PCs are supposed to take these giant relics to the Eye of the Allfather to get clues about the giant lords. The adventure also says that Harshnag wont come with them to get the relics. The more they bring, the more information they get about Giant lords as I understand it.
So, what I'm confused by is that some of these relics are big and heavy (one is a boulder). Others are more manageable in size. But how are they supposed to get these large heavy objects back to the Eye of the Allfather? Or maybe they are just S.O.L. for these larger relics?
I feel like I'm missing something.
Anyways, thanks.
The story provides at least one option that might work.
There is an airship waiting to help the characters when they exit the temple. "Airship of a Cult" pg 132.
The text goes into why a Dragon might offer up an airship to assist the characters. Mostly because the dragon doesn't like the giants and expects the adventurers to eventually go around slaughtering giants so any help he can give the characters towards that goal is good for him. Sort of a temporary ally. However, the airship (if you add a crane or even a bunch of ropes/winch/etc) can allow the characters to travel to these sites quickly as well as haul up the heavier ones.
However, I think the boulder you mentioned specifically has a shrink option. "A creature can use an action to shrink the stone to the size of a 6-inch-diameter orb weighing 25 pounds, or enlarge the boulder to its normal size." so it is possible to transport the multi-ton boulder quite easily.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the players don't need every artifact. In fact they only need one for the plot to continue and they only need that if they haven't found whatever object the giant lord's have that they need. I think the different artifacts just unlock different giant paths forward - if they have more then one then they may get to choose which giant lord to confront but they only really need one artifact.
Aaaaaaah-ha! Thank you very much David42! Yes....the airship does make things a bit easier. Yeah, and a good point about not needing all the artifacts.
I feel like I'm going to have them get a couple of the artifacts......just because I like some of the spirit mound encounters (although, like others, I don't love the "raiding a culture's religious artifacts" thing much.....I've decided to spin it that in the distant, past barbarian tribes stole these items from giants as a way for ancestral barbarian leaders to show they were more powerful than giants. So the artifacts are more a representation of "perceived power" and less of an important religious item... that way PCs are not defiling a cultural site as much as righting a wrong. I'll have Harshnag explain this to the group. Not perfect, but feels better.
Regardless, I often forget that as DMs we can basically change things however we want. So I could have just on my own made up that all of the items shrink when picked-up, or just move different artifacts to the spirit mound encounters that I like, etc.. Sometimes, however, I have this problem with wanting to follow the story as written.....so I sort of "freeze up" when I can't find it exactly in the story.
Regardless, thank you!!