Against the Giants: Session Two, Part Two

Well, now, here we are again.

June, 2009

Giants have long been a mighty foe in human mythology, particularly of northern Europe. Surtr, of the Norse wielded a flaming sword to cleae the world in twain at Ragnarök. He was king of the Jotunns, the Norse Giants, and though he was depicted as swarthy and wielding flame, most giants were seen as smaller, and more associated with the cold and arctic. English giants such as Jack and the Beanstock have long permeated the British Isles, even to the Irish, Welsh, and Scots. Finn Maccooul was one such giant of Ireland. The Fomorians were an ancient race of Irish giants that populated the island before Man came.


Dungeons and Dragons takes all of these mythological creatures, distils them, then separates them into many different races.



There are Hill Giants; 8-12 feet tall, usually armed with clubs and draped in skins and capes. These are depicted after English and Welsh giants.







Frost Giants are modeled after the Norse Jotuns, and are at an average of 15 feet in height, are coloured light blue or purple, and inhabit cold,hills or Arctic biomes.











Fire Giants are what an entire race of Surtr would be. They stand an average of 12 feet, and are unusually broad for a giant, almost like an elongated dwarf. They inhabit large volcanoes and other hot, dry biomes. There are other races of giants too, such as Stone or Cloud Giants. Above all of these are the Titans, a proud and ancient race, yet few in number; each Titan has his own place in mythology.

As might be expected, giants are a mighty foe for any adventuring party. Their thick hides and renowned strength gives them incredible endurance in close quarters combat, they can usually turn a sharpened blade with naught but their forearms, and can swat an armoured man as though he were a kitten. However, their relative size gives them clumsiness when fighting the goodly humanoids (elves, humans, dwarves, and their ilk) and they are not renowned for their intelligence with the exception of the Cloud and Storm giants, and the Titans. Thus, it is more productive to counter them with magic or ranged fire, whilst the warriors of a given party hold them off with spear, pike, and shield.

The Ranger class, then, is the most useful for specifically dealing with giants and their kin. As I've said before, Aragorn is the archetypical Ranger. A Ranger is a warrior, makes his home in the wilderness, though is not of it, (that wilderness defender would fall under the purview of the Druid) He is sworn to defend civilized society from the ravages of evil and monstrous outsiders, who make their homes in the forests and untamed hills of the wilds. He is an outcast of civilization, and an unwelcome guest of the wilderness. He has no true home, but, he has his duty all the same. Whilst lacking the pure skill at arms of the Fighter, or the holy grace of the Paladin (the two other warrior classes) the Ranger has his own skills. Rangers have a bonus to sword and bow fighting, due to their extensive background in both, and have a list of enemies that they daily fought in their training. These may range from orcs, to trolls, to gnolls or giants. Against these creatures, due to his extensive and long career in fighting them, the Ranger gains a very large bonus in damage and extra attacks.











This was reflected in the Rangers of our group. We had two, Rhonda and Kenneth, and both had listed giants are their favoured enemy.Every round of combat they poured out a hail of arrows to the tune of 30+ damage, whilst our fighters held the line and I misdirected and separated large groups. Darkness, Spectral Forces, and Phantasmal Force are my most useful spells, with Wraithform serving as a panic button and Mirror Image my protection, as well as a pair of AC 6 Bracers and my Robe of Blending (I refer to it as my active camouflage.)

Now, back to the Hill Giant complex, sometime in early June. The party at this time consists of Tovena'ar, the 6th level Grey Elf Illusionist, Duorddon the Halfling Gentleman, who is 9th, Rhonda the Greyelf Ranger/Cleric/MU, 2/2/2, Valxian the High Elven Druid, 2nd level, Leia, a 4th level Human Cavalier, Kenneth, a 6th level Human Ranger, "Prince" Coleth, a 9th level Half-Orc Fighter, Hwonalon, a Gnomish Fighter/Thief, I believe 7/6, Great Scott, a 11th level Half-Orc Fighter, and Cared, a former Human Fighter. (He converted to Cleric after praying to his god to save a party member; his god answered, with the stipulation Cared become a 1st level cleric in his name, but that was a long while ago, and by this time Cared has reached 9th level This was Cared's last session before going to see family in LA for three months, and he only got back one or two sessions before I did.) And there is Spugnoir the human wizard, 9th level with alot of scrolls and miscillenious magical equipment that I can't use

My last post may or may not have gotten the incident across, but basically the gnome walks up and talks to a couple of bugbears who are guarding a gong and several doors. He says to them that he is their king and they will obey him. They say okay and then walk over to the gong and ring it. The DM has us roll for initiative and the bugbears are cut down. We all spend the next round yelling at the guy who plays the gnome, because apparently we were standing right outside of the bugbear barracks: out each door dozens of bugbears stream forth like a clown car, and I notice another company of goblinoids marching down the corridor that leads to the main room with the staircase, as I recall about 40.

The fighters and clerics are all having a grand melee attempting to stem the immediate flow from the barracks, so only a single magic missile and a few arrows fly towards this new threat. I’m afraid I don’t remember where the other wizard was at this time.

So I throw down a phantasmal force in front of the bugbear company, an illusion of the ground morphing to quicksand. The first few ranks get ‘stuck’ and the rest seem a bit afraid of following. Still, I’m right in front of them, and it’s only a matter of time before they get wise, as a small handful do two rounds later, making my quicksand spell moot. Shortly after this our wizard comes back into my memory again as a lightning bolt rips through the packed bugbears and the brawlers finish mopping up with the clown car barracks. As combat ends I keep throwing phantasmal forces, thinking that each casting would only have one spell effect; I.E after I use my phantasmal force to make a quicksand pit I would have to use another to make arrows fly or rocks fall. The DM sits confused for a few seconds, then I explain my intentions. He explains that, in fact, I am wrong. He explains it as a “rolling movie”, I can keeping “shifting” the phantasmal force to different effects. So, I became a bit wiser that day, using phantasmal force instead of color spray.

As the battle ends a few bugbears are able to take flight. I turn invisible and race after them, trailing them past a few corners before I head back to the group, where Great Scott the Half-Orc Fighter activates his rod of security.