DM Carbide's Giantslayer

Game Master John Woodford

Kronug moves up and swings at the giant, doing his best to stay on his guard Combat Expertise.
Movement provokes an AOO; his AC is 29 vs giants

Attack, PA -2, CE -2, IC +2, Good Hope +2: 1d20 + 14 - 2 - 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 14 - 2 - 2 + 2 + 2 = 23
Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3, 6) + 8 + 6 + 2 + 2 = 27

He lands a solid blow with Gorum's Thorn.

His AC will be 31 after his attack (+2 from Combat Expertise - doesn't apply on the AOO since that happens before he gets to attack). If Haftor ends up adjacent to him then Kronug's AC will be 33 vs evil foes due to Lastwall Phalanx.

Round 3 (ongoing):

Bronwyn's arrow zips by the cyclops, close enough to trim off a few hairs. Kronug steps up, taking a solid shot from the creature before getting close and landing a decent blow of his own.

Take 34 HP, Kronug.

Haftor to go!

I'm suddenly unable to access the maps, which has never happened before. My gmail account has been shut down for some mysterious reason and I can't get another one right now, also for some mysterious reason.

So, how far away from the cyclops is Haftor? Can he get into range without drawing an AoO?

The cyclops is 25' away from Haftor, and it's already used an AoO attacking Kronug.

Haftor plods toward the cyclops and takes a whack.

Move 20' towards the cyclops, then warhammer att 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28 damage 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

It's 25' between you and it, so moving 20' won't get you adjacent to the cyclops.

OK - can I throw a handaxe then, instead? Keeping the rolls, it would be 3 HP damage.

Sure.

Round 3 (ongoing):

Active conditions: Good hope, inspire courage, cyclops is shaken, weapon of awe

Initiative order
Kronug-acted
Haftor-acted
Bronwyn-acted
Cyclops-acted
Roshelle
Jarrek

Haftor stomps forward and throws a handaxe at the cyclops, doing it a bit of damage.

The cyclops takes a step back and pounds on Kronug, missing him twice.

Roshelle and Jarrek can act!

Cyclops: AC 22 T 8 FF 22 HP taken: 58

Jarrek charges forward with Heartspit out like a lance, screaming like a raging orc as he comes.

Longspear+1, GH, IC, Power Attack: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 12 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 31
Piercing dmg, PA, GH, IC, WoA: 1d8 + 8 + 6 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 6 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 21

Move to 15' from cyclops, attack with reach, continue Inspire Courage 3/15.

Round 3 (ongoing):

Active conditions: Good hope, inspire courage, cyclops is shaken, weapon of awe

Initiative order
Kronug-acted
Haftor-acted
Bronwyn-acted
Cyclops-acted
Roshelle
Jarrek-acted

Jarrek stabs the cyclops deeply.

Roshelle?

Cyclops: AC 22 T 8 FF 22 HP taken: 79

Roshelle watches Jarrek move up and attack the cyclops. He and Kronug and Haftor and Bronwyn -- they are becoming like brothers to her. Well, not Brownwyn, she's becoming like a sister. A very burly sister.

Roshelle flips the hair out of her face and moves up and to the side. She wants a clear shot at the cyclops. She unslings her bow as she moves and the puts an arrow to the string. As soon as she has a shot she looses an arrow. It flies wide.

shortbow@cyclops, good hope, inspire, into melee: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 2 + 2 - 4 = 9

Roshelle's accuracy is about as good as Bronwyn's, unfortunately.

Round 4:

Active conditions: Good hope, inspire courage, cyclops is shaken, weapon of awe

Initiative order
Kronug-
Haftor-
Bronwyn-
Cyclops-
Roshelle
Jarrek

Kronug, Haftor, and Bronwyn can act!

Kronug says a silent prayer of thanks to The Lord In Iron that his armor held against the giant's attacks.

He tries to finish it.
Attack, IC +2, GH +2, PA -2: 1d20 + 14 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 14 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 34
Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 2 + 2 + 6 ⇒ (4, 5) + 8 + 2 + 2 + 6 = 27
Confirm?: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20

Iterative: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 9 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 29
Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 2 + 2 + 6 ⇒ (5, 1) + 8 + 2 + 2 + 6 = 24
Confirm?: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Not sure if Gallant Inspiration can be used on confirmation rolls. They are technically attack rolls, I think, but I could see it either way. If so, a Gallant Inspiration from Jarrek here would be awesome. If not, cool.

AC is 31 vs giants with 1 ally adjacent.

Bronwyn swore fluently as her arrow missed the cyclops. She moved forward, nocking a new arrow before letting fly once again, imbuing it with more magic.

Moved 10' N on the map. Same attack as before; Ranged Spellstrike with Ray of Frost:
Ranged Spellstrike; GH, IC, PBS: 1d20 + 14 + 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 14 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 37
damage: 1d8 + 2d6 + 8 + 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + (6, 4) + 8 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 29
cold damage: 1d3 ⇒ 2

Hell yeah! Gallant Inspiration!

Jarrek stabs at the cyclops again, trying to distract it so his friends can finish the monster. "Finish it, Kronug!"

Immediate Action to cast Gallant Inspiration, +2d4 retroactively to Kronug's confirm check (hopefully).

If that doesn't finish the thing, here's Jarrek's attack rolls:

Longspear+1, GH, IC, Power Attack: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 12 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 20
Piercing dmg, PA, GH, IC, WoA: 1d8 + 8 + 6 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 6 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 26

Jarrek, you're not up yet.

With a quick pair of strikes, Kronug leaves the cyclops dead on the ground as it falls with a sound like an avalanche.

Out of combat! More to come.

The escaped villagers slowly emerge from the dense forest, clearly in awe of how easily the party dispatched the cyclops and ready to flee again if it turns out that you're also hostile. After reassuring them, they inform you that there's another group of giants up ahead, still moving downstream with at least six more captives.

The trail the captors left is trivially easy to find, and the combat at its end is likewise simple. Unless you want to spend time on fighting four ogres when any of you could defeat a single ogre and some of you would probably solo the encounter....

In addition to the captives, the ogres also had the treasure they'd looted from the village: various items totalling 2300 gp including a marble statue of Torag worth 300 gp by itself.

One of the captives, a middle-aged human woman named Cerrina, speaks the Giant language and had the presence of mind to listen to the ogres' conversations. "Three of them wanted to eat one of us, but the leader said we'd be worth more to a more powerful giant named Gristlecrack." One of the others interjects, "I think that's what they called the leader of the raid! She was bad news--like, as big as that cyclops, I bet." Cerrina continues, "There was at least one more group ahead of us with more of the ones they'd taken--I don't hold out much hope for them. The giants were talking about meeting at a place called the Tinder Hall, or something like that."

Another captive, a prospector who looks too young for the job, remembers that the ogres were trying to get them to move faster "...because they didn't want to be late for the mustering for the Storm Tyrant's army. I think they meant Gristlecrack."

k:local: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Bronwyn shook her head, none of this bringing memories to her mind. The Storm Tyrand and/or Gristlecrack did sound formidable, however. Sounds like a tough customer indeed," she commented, "One to write songs about our victory maybe?" The last said with a wide grin.

The escaped villagers slowly emerge from the dense forest, clearly in awe of how easily the party dispatched the cyclops

Kronug picks up on the impression the villagers have, and he sneers as the healers tend to his extensive injuries. "Nothing about that was easy. A damned near thing. Another hit like the one I took could have taken my head off. I will do better next time."

He's clearly not happy being such a drain on the healing resources.

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Kn:Religion 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

EDIT: I don't know much, but I know I need to return that Torag statue somehow.

Kn:Local: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Kn:Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Jarrek laughs off Kronug downplaying their efforts and claps the one-man shield wall on the shoulder. "Yeah but we wouldn't let it get to that, would we, Haftor?" He glances at the frightened villagers, projecting confidence and strength. "Giants aren't gonna be a problem anymore now that we're here."

He nods his head at the villager who had said 'Tinder Hall'. "They might have said Minderhal. That's a giant god. There are stories of a massive cathedral built by ancient giants in a remote valley somewhere in the Mindspin Mountains. We might be tracking them to there. Definitely sounds like the kind of place someone calling themselves the Storm Tyrant would want to hole up."

Oof, looks like no one has updated the loot table since 2020. I hope somebody's been keeping notes. I can try to go through old posts and update it later this week.

Haftor nods to Jarrek in solemn agreement. "Hrrm. Heads are over-rated anyway. I try to use mine as rarely as possible. Tends to get me into trouble when I do."

Haftor steps up to the woman. "Well done, Cerrina. Thank you for the information. My comrades and I are Giantkillers you see, and what you have told us will be very helpful."

He then turns to the group. "First, Torag's blessing." He focuses for a moment and a wave of positive energy emanates from his raised hammer.

Use 2 Fervor to channel energy, and he'll gather any injured townfolk into the area of effect so they get the healing as well. Heal = 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

He continues, "Next, we must see that these people can return to their homes safely. The valuables stolen from their homes must be returned as well."

"Finally, we have a date with someone called the Storm Tyrant. Torag does not condone tyranny."

DM C - how far are we away from the village these people were taken from?

The villagers emerge out of the woods only moments after the cyclops falls and Roshelle greets them with a smile. "Please, everyone, you are safe now. As you can see, my big, strong friends are more than a match for these puny little giants." As she is talking, she notices Kronug bleeding from many deep wounds.

"Oh! Kronug. What did you do? Come here." She strides across the trampled grass and drops her bag to the ground. It takes a moment for her to fish out a wand then she starts waving it around in the air. Bursts of magical energy flow from it, closing up the wounds.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

41 HP, which brings you full, I think

She looks around and sees Jarrek also is nursing a wound. "You too Jarrek.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Confirming that no one else is wounded, she puts the wand away.

"Ok. Let's go get the rest of these giants. This Storm Tyrant sounds like he's ready for us."

@Roshelle - you can at least take off the last 3 charges used; Haftor's Channel got Kronug up to -35, and he'll heal 7 overnight, so being down 8 (as he would be after using 5 charges on him) is just fine. And Jarrek would only be down 1 after Haftor's Channel.

Can we find Healer's Kits in the villages? As mundane gear they should be more readily available than magic items.

Oof, looks like no one has updated the loot table since 2020. I hope somebody's been keeping notes. I can try to go through old posts and update it later this week.

We got a loot distribution in September 2024, from Fort Redlake. So any new loot would be just from this book. As to Nargun's tomb, I believe the dwarves compensated us equal to the value of the grave goods.

Kronug actually has a ton of gold but nowhere to spend it. I don't imagine we're going to find many magic shops when we head into enemy territory. That's one reason I think that wands do not make a great first option for healing. We don't know when we'll be able to get another. But we do have quite a wealth of free options now.

Are you going to rest in the village overnight, or continue to pursue the giants and their captives?

I have no need to rest now. I think Roshelle might have missed that we rested since the Lokmorr fight since her "used" tracker shows spells and channels that were used on that day.

I'm ok on resources. 3/4 2nd level spells left, 12/15 bardic performance. That's probably good enough to go on.

Bronwyn has 1/3 level 1 spells left, and she's used Falcon's Aim today. Rest would help, but not a lot. She can just continue using cantrips for spellstrike.

If Haftor is comfortable that the Torag Statue is back in the right hands, then he's ready to go. He's down 4 Fervors, but he spends them pretty freely since they aren't particularly powerful.

How late is it, and how much time would be involved in going back to the village from where we are right now?
I very much want to get as many supplies as we can (even if they don't have much in the way of magic items, then mundane gear such as Healer's Kits) before heading deep into enemy territory.
If we anticipate rescuing the prisoners we are tracking and escorting them back to the village, we can resupply at that time. But if we think we would just turn loose the prisoners and keep heading to where the giants are gathering, then we should resupply now.

Great. Happy to give myself 3 charges back and I did miss the rest. I'll reset things. As long as we have channels and spells to burn (e.g., at the end of a day, then I'm in favor of using those first too. I'm good with resting in the village.

OK, so with a bit of reading I've refreshed my memory. We were only an hour out of Shinnerman's Fortune when we caught up to the cyclops, then the ogres. So, we can get back to the village, return the loot, resupply, etc, and still get back on the road the same day, which appears to be the consensus. It seems like we're about half-way through a five day journey to where the Storm Tyrant is supposedly mustering his army. So we will try to make as much distance as possible today before resting for the night.

You're able to return to town and quickly return the loot and gather mundane supplies before getting on the road again (although the villagers at least feed you before you go).

Kronug buys the following in the village:

5 Healer's Kits (250)
2 Flasks Acid (20)
2 Flasks Alchemists' Fire (40)
50' silk rope (10)
Grappling Hook (1)

Starting gold: 3,797.5
Remaining gold: 3,476.5

I believe Haftor now has +13 Heal, or +15 with a Healer's Kit? So Treat Deadly Wounds with a Take 10 would then heal 10 HP (1 HP/HD of target, +Wis for hitting DC 25). It does take an hour (at least without certain feats), but it's an okay option for healing up at the end of the day. And the tools are available here.

Treat Deadly Wounds can get incredible with a couple of feats (as in, a mini-Heal restoring 50+ HP as a full-round action 10/day at level 10), but even the basic version has its uses.

Haftor will cover the cost of one of the Healer's Kits. And yes, he has +13 Heal.

It's late afternoon. The dusty path eases down a gentle slope littered with small boulders. Jagged gray mountains rise on all sides, their peaks resembling the broken jaw of a fallen god. On the surrounding slopes, small copses of fir trees cling desperately to patches of rocky soil, their exposed roots tenaciously grasping the earth in knotted tangles.

Bronwyn and Roshelle hear something large moving up ahead, and pick out what sounds like an argument in Giant.

"Giants ahead,"Bronwyn warns in a soft voice. She hefts her bow and sneaks into the brush.

stealth: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (1) + 19 = 20

Scouting ahead. She knows Giant; if she can pick out words, she'll pass it onto the party.

There isn't a lot of brush near the trail, so Bronwyn is going to have to take a more circuitous route to keep cover.

The dwarf catches mostly things like this: "...I had that one in the second trial, and you...." (A slightly different voice:) "...on! You were nowhere near it!"

Eventually, when she's about 400 yards from the rest of the party, she gets to a good vantage point and sees an ettin along with a cave bear, a couple of hundred yards further away. The ettin's body language is downcast, and its two heads are arguing with each other. Neither the ettin nor the bear are acting like they've spotted Bronwyn.

Bronwyn returns to the group. "There's an Ettin arguing with itself. Along with a cave bear. I'm more worried about the bear, in all honesty."

"What was it arguing with itself about?" Roshelle hadn't encountered any ettins before but she's always thought the idea of two heads was strange. Two heads but only one body. There was always going to be a conflict.

"And were they friendly with the cave bear or did it look like they were going to attack it? Maybe this is a problem that will solve itself."

Bronwyn frowned. "Just a general nonsense argument. Like between siblings." She considered the bear and what they were doing, "I did not see any aggressive actions from either one towards the other; they may just be hanging out together?" Even as she said it, she cringed at how weird that sounded. "But if we can draw them into a fight with each other, then yes, perhaps."

"Like a human with a pet dog. Well, I don't have any way to control or influence animals.
I'm not afraid of facing the ettin myself. Trying to get another to fight my battles for me is... on occasion it might be a tactical necessity, but it's not something I take pride in. Especially against a giant. As for the bear, it's just an animal. If it flees when we wound it, or if you have magic to drive it away, then I'm not going to pursue it. If it doesn't flee, then we have a new rug. The ettin is my priority."

So it's late afternoon, still the same day as the fights with the troll, the giant Cyclops, and the handwaved ogres.
@Roshelle, we did not rest in the village (just to clarify, as from your earlier post on 2/21 it looked like you thought we were going to). So you have used up Good Hope, Weapon of Awe, and Hold Person.

"So how do we kill'em? Kronug and I can go up the middle, attract their attention, and the rest work around back for a flank, maybe."

Bronwyn was nodding, "They're not known for their intelligence. We can lure it into a killbox of our choice. I'll sneak around behind and flank 'em."

Correct--still the same day.

What's the terrain near the ettin like? Wide open, a copse of trees, with a few boulders around? That's what I got from the description earlier.

Also, can we roll Kn checks on ettins and cave bears?

Kn:Local for giants: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
Kn:Nature for animals: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Jarrek looked around for a good place to set up a battle line.

The ettin is walking along the path, so it's fairly open--the trees don't start until at least 30 feet or so from the path, and in this area the soil is thin enough that the trees aren't that big.

Jarrek is aware that ettins fight well with two weapons and are difficult to surprise. He also knows that cave bears--dire bears--are Large carnivores with no particular strengths or weaknesses.

"Roshelle, may I have a Shield of Faith spell?
I don't think that this fight will require more powerful magics, but if we seem to be in trouble, I think Blessing of Fervor is probably your strongest spell for our group."

Shield of Faith is only a level-1 spell, but +3 AC/CMD for Kronug is pretty beneficial because he doesn't currently have a Deflection bonus.

"Jarrek and Haftor, you may wish to prepare also."

Ready to do whatever the plan is, whenever everyone is ready.

Jarrek nods at Haftor. "Well we're not gonna sneak up on them. Ettins are really hard to surprise. Charge in to pin them in place while Bronwyn moves around to shoot them from behind makes sense to me. I'd only worry about the bear breaking away and charging you if you're off by yourself, Bronwyn. They're nasty fighters."

Heroism and Mirror Image have long durations so he'll cast them now. Divine Favor is only 1 minute, though, and if they're a couple hundreds yards away it will mostly be gone by the time we get to the fight.