Page 192 - Tales from the Yawning Portal

HALL OF THE FIRE G IA ~T but do not allow this reaction to temper what you have
before you. Likewise, do not set about to entrap the
KING characters in a hopeless situation-allow their actions to
dictate their fate.
Just as the trail led from the Steading of the .ill Gian
Remember also that these giants are not only the
Chief to the frozen wastes wherein wa fou e Gla-
toughest so far encountered but also have the best ad-
cial Rift of the Frost Giant J arl, so the adven·ure i. e
vice immediately available to them. As soon as the party
latter place has led (or transported) the inrrepid parry
strikes and then retires, the attack will be assessed
to what they hope will be their last challenge. They
and countermeasures taken. Even when the party first
are about to venture into the hot and smokin barren
enters the hall, you will have to gauge the reaction of
which are in effect Muspelheim, the home of the fire
the giants if and when they learn that intruders are
giants. In the vast rocky halls of the fire giant · dou he y
within. How will they react? From whence will they call
liege lord, the dread King Snurre Iron Belly. they hope
in guards? Where will Snurre go? Most assuredly, he
to find not only great treasure but the answer to the
will not remain seated upon his throne when an attack
question of what or who is behind the strange alliance of
is in progress! You have not ceased being a Dungeon
many different types of giants. Surely here in the strong-
Master by using this prepared scenario; you have simply
hold of the fire giants will be encountered the evil genius
had some details handled for you so that you can better
or geniuses controlling the uprising and planning the
script the more important material.
well-executed attacks, for Snurre is said to be far stron-
When the party retires from the hall to rest, the fire
ger than smart.
giants will lay whatever traps and ambushes they are
It is a sad fact that the characters can expect all
able to prepare under the circumstances. Lights will be
encounters here to be worse than those the party has
smothered, sentries posted, and so forth. In the original
faced elsewhere, for fire giants are ferocious opponents,
playtest, the giants who survived the first foray by the
and their associates and helpers will undoubtedly be
(exceptionally strong and well-played) party set several
proportionately stronger and more fearsome than those
ambushes, each surprise being timed to allow them to
of the lesser hill and frost giants- a sobering thought
retreat quickly behind a turn in a passage or through
indeed! Surely the rewards for success cannot fail to
a set of doors, gradually falling back to the corridor to
be greater, for the fire giants- and their masters, per-
the lower level. While the characters offered no quarter
haps?- have more loot for the taking.
and slew every giant or other creature encountered with
If the party (or one or more members thereof) has
absolute ruthlessness, their opponents fought with reck-
been to the other two places, the characters will know
less abandon and self-sacrifice.
that there is a charge upon them to report definite infor-
How you manage this conflict in your game must be
mation to the rulers who have sent them forth to inflict
based on knowledge that only you can have. The upshot
punishment on the rapacious giant raiders. Their mis-
of this whole series of adventures is a fight to the finish.
sion: to slay fire giants and all who associate with them.
Only the leaders and those they take with them will
Failure means death, not from the nobles, but from the
normally seek to move to a place of safety; the rest will
monsters the party must face. Success means the right
stand fast and battle to the end.
to keep all the loot they find, plus the possibility of re-
ward from the rulers of the lands being ravaged by the
ADVENTURE START
giant bands.
And now the adventurers stand before the black The party might have arrived before the huge obsid-
and smoking slag hill that holds the Hall of the Fire ian valves that bar entrance to the hall by means of
Giant King. They have penetrated near the heart of the transporter found in the lair of the frost giant jar!.
the matter- into a fell realm where even the strongest In this case, they will have to search to find a place of
need beware! safety to rest and recover their strength between forays
into the hall.
RUNNING THE ADVENTURE If the group journeyed hence by some other method,
they will have noted such a place of refuge about two
As with the previous adventures in this series, it is up to
miles distant from Snurre's sooty palace. This hidden
you to add to the considerable detail given herein, filling
site should initially prove to be safe from detection
in any needed information to color the whole and bring
as long as the characters leave no plain trail to it and
it to life. You, as Dungeon Master, must continue to im-
as long as they are not followed to it. There is a limit,
provise and create, for your players will certainly desire
though, to how far they can push their luck. Each time
more specifics, seek to do things not provided for herein,
they venture forth from their refuge to raid the fire gi-
and generally defy expectation. The script is here, but
ant hall, there is a 10 percent cumulative chance that
you will direct the whole, rewrite parts, and sit in final
the hidey-hole will be found by the giants (a 10 percent
judgment on characters' actions.
chance after the first raid, 20 percent following the sec-
If you have already taken your players through the
ond, and so forth).
first two adventures, be particularly mindful of how
A nearby ravine leads directly from the safe cave to
their behavior there will have altered what is described
the spiny, broken heap of slag indicated on the char-
here. Use the parameters given to design your own epic.
acters' map as the site of the hall. A wide, well-trod
Be disinterested, and be just. This is a very difficult
path winds its way across the barren land up to two
scenario, and the players might rue thoughtless actions,
great slabs of black stone- the obsidian portals that
CHAPTER 6 I A(,AINSTTHE GIANTS