There was a two-fold reason for me starting this thread. First, my players are at the tail (no pun intended) end of the adventure, and are having a heap of fun. Second, I just noticed the thread "Kings of the Rift errors", and I didn't even notice the occasional mechanical error, as I had been wrapped up in the scope of a magnificent siege in progress.
Personally, I love the role of the carrion crawlers in the adventure. For a low-level worm-like classic D&D baddie not to make an appearance in the Age of Worms would be heresy. While not actually encountered as a typical foe, the crawlers--in the role of the crawler loads--flesh out Kongen-Thulnir's state at an implied level. The crawler loads show that the giants are on the losing end of the siege for sure, if their primary offensive trick is something to which all of the beseiging dragons are immune. (That's how I read it in my own campaign). But it also illustrates a kind of crude barbarism (i.e. low-tech, low-magic) in their strategies that seems befitting of giants at large.
And the encounters! For a campaign which has relatively little to do with dragons or giants, these archetypal foes get their due in this adventure. I felt both creature types were represented admirably, and in the span of only a single adventure, at that! Even though the giants have complex names, they are beginning to be spoken by my players at regular intervals. (In truth, I expanded the scope of the political intrigue within the three tribes of giants, by adding an assassination of Achiame Silvereye by a fellow giant.) Last night, our party fought the Mother Worm (bumped up to CR 22, w/51HD, 844hp, fast healing 20, etc...insert Tim Allen's grunt from Home Improvement here,) Xyzanth, Vercinabex Tor, Wilmot, Bagg (yep), and had time to unravel a murder mystery. And there's more to come.
While I was edgy that my players, who approached Kongen-Thulnir from the top of the cliff overlooking the city, decided to teleport directly to the Citadel of Weeping Dragons, (no secrets, even with a DC 30 caster level check, can be kept from our party's super diviner), I was afraid I'd lose the chance to run all of these encounters. But with the fitting characterizations of the unique giants, they have been able to discern where and how to go next...letting me still get my money's worth from every encounter.
After reading the issue, prior to beginning the adventure, I showed my players a scene from Apocalypse Now (the part where Kilgore flys his helicopter calvary over the Vietnamese village, while playing Wagner's "Ride of the Valkryies") to give them an overall sense of the siege. The effect mirrored dozens of dragons laying waste to the home of the giants excellently.
I could go on about each individual encounter, and how stellar each one ran, but I urge those who haven't had the chance to play out this adventure, do so, as it is a wonderful "smash-and-grab", with so much more.
I gotta sa I whole-heartidly agree with you, Hierophantasm. This module was one of the most exciting to run. Flights of Dragons, Unique giants, millions of carrion crawlers...what's not to like. The entire adventure had the feeling of a cinematic movie that the players were starring in, with the most epic of backdrops imaginable. I'm not saying the other adventures haven't been cool, but Kings of the Rift shines above many as far as being sheer fun, both for the players and the DM.
I am very excited to run this adventure when my party eventually makes it there (we are currently on the SoLS, and have been running since March of 2006, so it might be a while yet). I actually forshadowed this adventure (a big bonus you can do when you start the AP after it is nearly all published) by adding the Giants of Kongen-Thulnir, a group of warriors to the Champions Games.
The Giants were a group of fun, life loving, CG warriors, the leader a Duke Half-Giant Monk leader, a Warforged Monk (an ancient creature of the city of the Gods from Blackmoor), and two Stone Giants to back them up. They befriended the players, although never fought them in the ring (they were the last team to battle Auric's Warband, during the round in which the players battled Madtooth the hungry). The Giants are going to show back up at the Kings of the Rift, trying to take command of the City and fight off the dragons.
I have also been collecting Dragon and Giant figures for this battle. While I have had trouble getting my hands on Fire Giant figures (they are dang expensive, with the cheapest like $20-25 or so) I have got 2-3 hill giants, 1 cloud giant, a Formorian, 2-3 Ogres, a Mountain Troll and a eldritch Giant. As far as dragons, they are also dang expensive and so I have only a few so far: Black Dragon with Sorcerer, one old Pewter figure, and I ohpe to buy the Blue Gargantuan Dragon here soon. Beyond that I am trying my best and am looking at Todd McFarlan's line of Dragons for fill in.
I have some time though to fill the ranks till the great battle begins!
I have also been collecting Dragon and Giant figures for this battle. While I have had trouble getting my hands on Fire Giant figures (they are dang expensive, with the cheapest like $20-25 or so) I have got 2-3 hill giants, 1 cloud giant, a Formorian, 2-3 Ogres, a Mountain Troll and a eldritch Giant. As far as dragons, they are also dang expensive and so I have only a few so far: Black Dragon with Sorcerer, one old Pewter figure, and I ohpe to buy the Blue Gargantuan Dragon here soon. Beyond that I am trying my best and am looking at Todd McFarlan's line of Dragons for fill in.
For the minis, I recommend using mostly large-sized giant minis, such as King Snurre or the Frost Giant. The Eldritch Giant and Fomorian will come in handy for the Raams, as they are huge size.
For the dragons, you will need mostly huge-sized ones. However, Xyzanth and Brazzemal need the gargantuans. I recommend the black gargantuan over the blue, as the blue's length gets in the way. If you've got the colossal red, its the perfect size for the Mother Worm, who is also curiously 40ft x 40ft.For kicks, you could even litter the battle map with some medium monstrous humanoid minis, to represent the bugbears and troglodytes that are scrambling in Kongen-Thulnir for safety.
Thanks for the Mini Advice, I will check those guys out.