| Tom Kalbfus |
if you wrote a module based on the fairy Tale Jack and the Beanstalk, what problems do you think you would encounter using Pathfinder Core Rules and the Bestiary entry for Cloud Giant? I think one ability that would be troublesome for Jack would be the Cloud Giant's ability to levitate, when Jack chops down that beanstalk. Can you think of anything else? What character class should Jack be? Since he steals this from the giant, doesn't that make him a rogue? What level Rogue should he be?
| DM Soanso |
I'll bite.
First, it's too familiar to run "as is" so you need some twists to pique interest.
To make it memorable your protagonists need motivation.
Maybe they are Jack's siblings, and Jack's done "Pulled a Jack" again, selling the cow for magic beans and -Lo! a bean stalk to the clouds! Well, common sense says that giant bean stalks produce giant beans, so you have a hazard or a boon right there.
And when said beanstalk pierces the cloudy homestead of the Giant, it's a matter of perception checks and stealth to maneuver about the grounds. The Giant is an easy target so he'll need a foil. The Harp, or the Goose maybe. A reason to fear these tiny intruders. Perhaps this Giant owes a debt to another, more dangerous creature and the loss of the Goose/etc motivates the Giant to protect his valuables. (Plot Hook!)
Back to motivation. What would entice a group of ne'er-do-wells up a magic beanstalk into heights unknown? The Goose is a good motivation, or the Harp. Or the Legend of the Cloud Giant.
And maybe killing the giant isn't the end game, there is something else at play; The Tale itself is self-indulgent so how could it be altered to offer players a better puzzle? In the Tale, Jack chops down the beanstalk to escape the giant; what if he didn't?
Velcro Zipper
|
What if the cloud giant hires the adventurers to find the thief he claims tricked his wife and stole his goose, harp, etc? He'd do it himself, but he knows the kingdom below is waiting for any reason to retaliate against him. The party's investigation leads them to some gormless hick who already lost the items to the old man who sold him the beans in the first place. The old guy can secretly be a witch with the plants patron (possibly disguising himself with magic) who found out about the giants' treasure and sought out some rube to go and steal them for him.
If the party tries to keep the items, the giant finally takes matters into his own hands and comes down from his cloud. If they return the items, he lets them keep some golden eggs as payment.
I'd run this adventure for a group that would have a hard(, but not impossible) time killing the giant. The real bad guy is meant to be the old man so he'd be weaker than the giant but tough enough to challenge the party.
| Daw |
Actually, magic beanstalks are.already part of the Pathfinder mythlines, after all there is already a spell based on it. It's Druid/Witch level 2, Climbing Beanstalk. Magic Beans growing into a 350 foot beanstalk are also already a thing.
Jack as fall guy for Woodwitch conman. "When first you see him, he seems so mysterious..."
Cloud giants were created from this storyline, barring the levitate ability, Fee Fi Fo Fum. How about the dearly departed giant's levitate ability was interfered with by the conman witch. I rather like the idea that Jack and Conman might be in cahoots. Perhaps it is a conspiracy to create a war.
| Indagare |
The giant's wife comes down seeking justice for the thief who invaded her home, stole her treasures and murdered her husband.
Jack is one of the first anti-hero if not villain protagonists.
Actually, magic beanstalks are.already part of the Pathfinder mythlines, after all there is already a spell based on it. It's Druid/Witch level 2, Climbing Beanstalk. Magic Beans growing into a 350 foot beanstalk are also already a thing.
Jack as fall guy for Woodwitch conman. "When first you see him, he seems so mysterious..."
Cloud giants were created from this storyline, barring the levitate ability, Fee Fi Fo Fum. How about the dearly departed giant's levitate ability was interfered with by the conman witch. I rather like the idea that Jack and Conman might be in cahoots. Perhaps it is a conspiracy to create a war.
I think combining this idea and Velcro Zipper's could yield something interesting:
The adventuring party comes across a grieving cloud giantess who is looking for the thief that stole from her and then killed her husband. She could relate the tale from her perspective, which might include elements not typical in the standard story (Jack could have been considered a guest and stole from them in the night - he made up the part about her husband being mean to justify his murderhobo behavior).
Being in cahoots with the Witch allows for even less innocence on Jack's part (but also allows him to hide his connection to the Witch and vice versa - it was a story they both agreed on).
Given the goose and harp are most famous, both could be artifacts or relics of some kind. The Witch could be trying to figure out how to use the harp to produce nasty effects while the goose simply supplies funding.