Dangerous Neighbors — Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

Session 93: Ritzvilles on the Veldt! | Winter

Steading of the Hill Giant Chief | Played on August 20, 2022

======

Party Members Present:

Avaunt
Ecco
-Zeehaw
-Bluepie
-Bree Yark
-Bluepie’s Boar Mount
Velxori
-Itty Bitsy
-Skelby (The Handskull)
-Unnamed Slime
-Big Round Beetle (no longer on a string)
-Purple Snail (Sunscreen Shell Enamel In Place!)

(Talking Horses)
-Annette
-Bqarbara
-Stacy

Party Members Absent:

Zaphira (Ava)
Glint
-Hibub Karate
-Bulgurd

======
DOWNTIME

The sesssion opened with a brief addendum to the late-Autumn downtime. News reached the keep that the mine that had become the Maw of Snails was being reopened! The party’s activities there had greatly reduced the number of snails, and the Dwarf Kingdom sent an expedition to clear out the rest and begin devling anew. Frow the Dwarf was put in charge of the operation. A position beneath his proper dignity, but he’s such a bummer that everyone just wanted to get him away from court.

Additionally, Avaunt and Velxori both comissioned some crafting.

======
CRAFTING:

Velxori has a magic dagger crafted for herself. When thrown, the dagger splits into 5 daggers mid-air. (Make an attack roll. One dagger rolls +1, one rolls +2, one rolls -1, one rolls -2. Each dagger that hits deals d4 damage. Can hit creatures that can only be hit by magic.) After 1 round of delay, the dagger magically returns to its its sheath on Velxori’s belt.

Avaunt has a magic polearm head crafted for himself. On an attack roll of 18+, the target becomes Medium Size for 1 Exploration Turn. (No Save)

-Avaunt has 1 Alchemical Steel Pomegranates as-yet unusued.
-Ecco has 1 Alchemical Steel Pomegranate as-yet unused.

Avaunt also visited the alchemist and purchased 3 “Alchemical Blanks” for 600g. When mixed with an alchemically potent object, these blanks will turn into a potion of some kind, determined by the object added to them.

======
Madeline, ruler of the Caves of Chaos, sent word to the Castellan of the Keep: The Empire of Giants is gearing up for an offensive against the human polity to the South. That bascially means The Keep will be their first target. She knows this because the Giants attempted to recruit the denizens of the Caves of Chaos to be their footsoldiers in the forthcoming war—apparently not aware of the peaceful relations between the two. Madeline managed to put them off, but her people cannot stand alone against the Giants. She needs the Keep to throw their weight into the fight, and the Castellan agreed.

A joint force from the Caves and the Keep was sent ahead to establish a basecamp near The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief Nosnra. He’d been given the task of leading the initial raids into Human territory, and if his household and retainers could be dealt with before the invasion begins it would be a great blow against the organization of the invasion!

The Castellan gave the party temporary comission as officers, entitling them to 800g pay each upon the completion of their mission against Nosnra’s steading. After equipping themselves and their wagon, the party set out on the 4 day trip Northward: along the broken road that leads past the Caves of Chaos, into the Veldt, and then into the hills on the outskirts of the Empire of Giants’ territory.

On their first day out from the keep, the party encountered Hibub Karate, now a 6th level fighter. He’d been out and about adventuring on his own for awhile, and was on his way to The Caves of Chaos where he intended to meet up with his old Lion Clan nerd buddies and toss a few back. The party informed him that his buddies weren’t there, as they were part of the advance force sent ahead to establish base camp.

Hibub offered to join the party for a full share of the treasure, but the party declined. Instead they offered to let him accompany them and just hang out at camp chilling with his buddies. Hibub agreed to do this, and turned back the way he’d just come to accompany the party.

The next day, just as the party was getting dinner ready, Blupie spotted a Plains Ritzville stalking there camp. There were 6 of them in all, and the encounter was brutal. Blupie demonstrated her new passion for trapmaking by setting fire to the dry vedlt grasses and killing one that Ecco had tangled with his ring of plant control. Avaunt found himself surrounded and had to hide in the wagon for a bit, emerging late in the battle to deliver a springing leap sneak attack that dealt 32 damage in a single blow. Everyone took some hits, but they killed 3 of the Ritzvilles, and drove the other 3 back out onto the Veldt to lick their wounds. All injuries were then restored during days of rest in the wagon.

On the third day, the party encountered some travelers out from Tuma. The travelers recognized Ecco the Enduring, and were seeking other LAWFUL GOOD settlements they could open trade relationships with. They were disappointed to learn the party didn’t know of any, and somewhat startled when Velxori popped her horned head out of the wagon. They went on their way peacefully.

On the final day of travel the party met an old woman in the hills leading a donkey, a goat, and a chicken. She was off to visit her cousin the Alchemist (the very same the party has worked with!), and seemed somewhat scornful of his craft. Hers was the nobler and more practical skill, she said: future telling! For a mere 100 coins she would reveal some bit of information about a situation the party would find themselves in in the future, and give them some excellent advice about how to handle it. The party paid her 300 coins for 3 hints:

“When you encounter a fire that smokes too much, pay attention to where there is no fire at all.”
“When you encounter a place that is well kept, marred by a single bit of filth and mold, consider that illusion might be at play.”
“The beaten beasts will fear their master’s whip.”

Avaunt made a point not to listen to any of these, and also paid her an additional 100 gold to whisper into his Alchemical Blank, gaining a Potion of Fortune Told!

A few hours after parting with the old woman the party came to the cave where they’d established base camp. A safe and secret location, well furnished and stocked with provisions for several weeks. They also met the crew they were to command.

[NOTE: Each of these who comes home alive has an associated boon or gift that will be given to the party by grateful friends and family. If someone dies, the boon is lost!]

Hibub Karate, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan, Level 6 Fighter) (Not available for less than a share of treasure)
AC 17, Normal Move, HD 6 (hp 30), Atk (sword +5 for d8+2)/(polearm +3 for d10), Morale 11
Str 11, Dex 11, Con 11, Wis 11, Int 14, Cha 13
Equipment: Sword of the Rock (Legendary +2 Sword d8), Polearm, Magic Plate Armor +1

Flarn, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 17, Normal Move, 2+1HD (12hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 10
Slug, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 17, Normal Move, 2HD (10hp), Atk +2 (sword d8), Morale 10
Vilzz, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+2HD (11hp), Atk +1 (polearm d10/crossbow d12), Morale 10
Kigt, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2HD (7hp), Atk +1 (polearm d10/crossbow d12), Morale 10
Silspat, Kobold Sneak
AC 14, Fast Move, 1HD (5hp), Atk +0 (dagger d4), Morale 8
Sneak Attempt: 75%.
Chivyin, Kobold Warrior
AC 16, Normal Move, 1+1HD (7hp), Atk +2 (sword d6/crossbow d12), Morale 10
Pyst, Kobold Trapper
AC 10, Normal Move, 1HD (3hp), Atk +0 (dagger d4), Morale 9
Carries tools for quick trapmaking: triggers, spikes, and lynchpins and such. Can make a make a good trap in 1 Turn if local materials are favorable.
Ekta Swiftsword, Human Soldier (lvl 4 Fighter)
AC 18, Normal Move, 4+2HD (25hp), Atk +4 (sword d10+4), Morale 11
Andrew Holdfast, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (11hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 9
Tulio Strongarm, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (10hp), Atk +2 (sword d8), Morale 9
Rumnana Wallcraft, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 17, Normal Move, 2+1HD (12hp), Atk +0 (sword d8), Morale 9
Erin Holdfast, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (9hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 9
Linh Facepuncher, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (10hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 9

======
LOOT:

Contract for 800gp each for each party member who participates in the mission against the Hill Giant Chief Nosnra. (not yet paid!)

Potion of Fortune Told: When imbibed, the the imbiber will gain a semi-cryptic hint about the situation they find themselves in at that very moment.

3 Fortunes:

======
INJURIES:

Zeehaw has Tomb Crystal Poisoning level 1.

Session 94: Pranking of the Hill Giant Chief | Winter

Steading of the Hill Giant Chief | Played on September 3, 2022

======
Party Members Present:

Avaunt
Zaphira (Ava)
Ecco
-Zeehaw
-Bluepie
-Bree Yark
-Bluepie’s Boar Mount
Velxori
-Itty Bitsy
-Skelby (The Handskull)
-Unnamed Slime
-Big Round Beetle (no longer on a string)
-Purple Snail (Sunscreen Shell Enamel In Place!)

(Talking Horses)
-Annette
-Bqarbara
-Stacy

Party Members Absent:

Glint
-Hibub Karate
-Bulgurd

======

The party conferred with the troops to find out what they’d learned about the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief while they were here. First: the soil is loamy. Second: according to them, security is pretty lax at the moment. The compound is inhabited mostly by Hill Giants and their orc slaves. Also there are presently some visiting bigwigs, but they arrived at night, and the scouts couldn’t give away their position by investigating more closely.

The party left their crew behind and travelled to the Steading on their own to investigate it at night. Ecco, acting as scout, used his stairstep boots to easily reach the roof. At the peak of the main building were vents for smoke to escape. The holes were large enough to climb into, but too smoky to see through. Ecco lowered first his eye, and later his ear, into the room. This was the great hall! Within were several dozen giants, including ogres, and some Stone Giant and Frost Giant guests. They were enjoying a raucous time together, while orc slaves scurried around to satisfy everyone’s whims. There was feasting, but also wrestling, singing, and all manner of merrymaking. Ecco listened for some shouted names, and got the layout of the room.

To the North was a small courtyard, in which Ecco spied a pack of 14 dire wolves being taunted by a hill giant cracking a whip. They whimpered before him, and the hill giant laughed. He then declared loudly to the wolves that he was “off to find some pussy,” slung the whip over his shoulder, and left. Ecco then returned to his companions.

The crew then moved to the North, towards the Steading’s single outbuilding. Scouting first with ecco’s eye on a fishing line down a pair of chimneys, the party saw two nearly identical barracks for Hill Giant soldiers. One had a special sleeping nook for a higher ranking soldier, and so the party descended down the chimney into that one. (Zephira then used her sand supplies & powers to clean the party free of soot, so they wouldn’t leave tracks everywhere they went.

Turn 1 (no Encounter)

Ecco: Serch 2 of the Hill Giant Sergeant’s chests. Find nothing.
Blupie: Search Hill Giant Sergeant’s wall sack. Find a stash of gold and gems!
Velxori: Thoroughly pick through and examine the junk in the room, finding nothing of value.
Avaunt: Remove high value cards from a deck of playing cards Velxori found. Place them in the pockets of a nearby pair of pants to imply that person is a cheater.
Zaphira: Use SAND SEARCH to see if anything in the sergeant’s cubby was missed. There’s a sack beneath his cot. It’s full of dented helmets.

Turn 2 (no Encounter)

Velxori: Search 2 of the soldier’s personal chests. Find nothing of value.
Itty Bitty: Move under the doorway to the South to watch for any approaching guards.
Zaphira: Search the last chest in the Sergeant’s cubby. The only thing in these is spare clothes for the troops. Zaphira writes “Kick me” on all the pants butts.
Avaunt: Peer into the Southern room to get a good look at what’s there.
Ecco: After hearing Avaunt’s report, opens the door to the Southern room.

Turn 3 (No encounter)

This new room was where the guard’s weapons were stored, and also a horn rested on the table.

Ecco: With soot from the fireplace, jam up the horn’s mouthpiece a bit to slow down anyone trying to blow it.
Avaunt: Using spring legs, take the horn back up the chimney and leave it on the roof. (Bluepie thinks this is hilarious)
Zaphira: Used SAND SEARCH on the East wall, but found nothing. It’s very sturdy.
Velxori: Using her ooze and her snail, left trails of unpleasant slimy gunk on many of the weapons.

Turn 4: (Encounter!)

The party heard a group of Ogres appraoching!

Avaunt: On the roof, got a good look at the group. There are 3 of them, talking about how they need to find a Guard to help them with something.
The rest of the party retreated together into the room they’d come in from. With everyone working together they were able to close the heavy giant’s door quickly and quietly enough not to alert the Ogres. They then started climbing up the rope. Only half of them made it up during the first round, but fortunately for the party, the Ogres investigated the other guard room first, giving them just enough time to all get up the rope and pull it up behind them.

The party rested for a moment, then moved along the roof to the South, where a guard tower rose up above the roofline. The arrow slits that allowed the tower to function were too narrow to fit through. Maybe you could get your head in, but you’d need to dislocate something to get your shoulders through. Within was a sleeping Hill Giant wearing a gold belt buckle studded with gems. Velxori’s unnamed ooze and Ecco’s hand slipped in and worked together to steal the belt from the sleeping giant (they did not wake him).

The party the moved back along the roof’s edge to investigate some chimneys they’d passed. One had a fire going in it, but two others did not. Using Ecco’s eye on a fishing pole the party discovered that the first (room 8) was a sitting room filled with trophies that included human and dwarven heads mounted on the wall. The next (room 6) was the bedroom of someone important. Perhaps one of the guests, or the sub chief, or the chief himself?

Both rooms were empty, and the party decided to descend into the bedroom.

Turn 5 (no Encounter)

Ecco: Searched the clothes hanging on the wall. They were well kept and well mended. He found a well shaped throwing boulder in a sling, and a satchel with 3 giant sized caltrops. He left these all alone.
Velxori: Climbed up on the giant chair in the middle of the room and investigated the tun of wine on the table. It was fine. It’d get you drunk well enough, but wasn’t anything special. She considered trying to poison it in some way, but couldn’t think of anything.
Zaphira: Filled the bed with juuuuust enough sand to be really irritating.
Avaunt: Got his hands sticky with marmalade and touched a bunch of stuff, leaving a trail of marmalade that would hopefully attract ants.

The party retreated back to their cave hideout to consider their next move. So far they have left no trace that would suggest intruders to the Hill Giants.

======
PRANKS

-Stole Hill Giant sergeant’s money.
-Made one Hill Giant guard cardplayer look like a cheater.
-Wrote “Kick Me” on many pairs of guard pants.
-Hid & soot trapped the alert horn.
-Drenched many of the guard’s weapons with mucousy slime.
-Stole sleeping guard’s sexy sexy belt.
-Sand in the important person’s bed.
-All the important person’s stuff is sticky.
-Ants in the important person’s bedroom? (Yes)

======
CREW

[NOTE: Each of these who comes home alive has an associated boon or gift that will be given to the party by grateful friends and family. If someone dies, the boon is lost!]

======
FORTUNES

======
LOOT:

1400 gp
8 gems worth 100gp
sexy belt buckle worth 1400 gp

Total: 3500 gp, or 875 gp/xp each for Velxori, Avaunt, Zaphira, and Ecco

-A collection of names overheard by Ecco. The only one that certainly applies to a specific individual is “Nosnra,” the chief himself.

======
INJURIES:

Zeehaw has Tomb Crystal Poisoning level 1.

Session 95: Thankfully, Zaphira’s Alignment is the Correct One | Winter

Steading of the Hill Giant Chief | Played on September 17, 2022

======
Party Members Present:

Avaunt!
Zaphira (Ava)
Ecco
-Zeehaw
-Bluepie
-Bree Yark
-Bluepie’s Boar Mount
Velxori
-Itty Bitsy
-Skelby (The Handskull)
-Unnamed Slime
-Big Round Beetle (no longer on a string)
-Purple Snail (Sunscreen Shell Enamel In Place!)

(Talking Horses)
-Annette
-Bqarbara
-Stacy

Party Members Absent:

Glint
-Hibub Karate
-Bulgurd

======

The party returned to the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief on the following night, and found the Giant’s fete still going on! Using the same methods as before they got up to the roof, and descended down a rope through another unlit chimney, coming out into Room 14. Zaphira cleaned soot off everyone with her sand powers, the rope was left for a quick escape. The marching order was Zaphira in the Van, and Avaunt! in the rear.

Investigation revealed this room to be a somewhat nice guest chamber. Velxori found a great many odds and ends in the pockets of coats and in satchels hanging on the walls. Some f these she took, and everything else she put back in the wrong places. Notably, one of the room’s torches sputtered and smoked more than normal, while another torch was completely unlit. Remembering the words of the fortune teller they’d met on the road, the party took down the unlit torch, thereby dispelling an illusion which caused it to immediately transform into Head Robber, an intelligent sword of Giant Slaying. It was very happy to no longer be in the posession of a Frost Giant, and even more happy to be wielded by Zaphira whose alignment matches its own.

Sneakily, the party moved out of the room into a series of hallways. They found an empty barracks room which they ignored, used Head Robber (“Headdy”) to learn that there was a group of Giants to the North (they later identified it as the kitchen, filled with Orc slaves and a few Giant chefs.) They turned to the East, and while pausing to decide where to turn next they were alerted by Head Robber that a Giant was approaching. The party darted through a door into an armory in the hopes of avoiding an encounter—but unfortunately that’s exactly where the encounter was coming from!

The party was able to win initiative over the drunken Hill Giant, and two swift surprise attacks from Avaunt! and Velxori felled the creature with a spear wound in his belly, and a dagger wound in his eye. The problem now was how best to avoid causing an alert to be raised, now that one of the Steading’s residents had died! The party made a perfunctory attempt at disguising the creature’s death as an accident (a drunken stumble into a rack of spears in the room), but he was too large for the party to move easily, so they didn’t put too much effort into hiding their sloppy coverup. Instead, Velxori went back to the guest room where the Frost Giants are staying and retrieved the broken sandal. Hopefully it would point suspicion at the Frost Giants for the deed.

In the adjacent room the party found two human-sized warhammers lying behind giant-sized shields resting against the wall, then decided to turn around rather than travel any closer to the Great Hall where the party was happening. They went back up the rope and over the roof. As they passed over the Great Hall they heard a hubub below, and lowered Ecco’s ear and Head Robber on a fishing line to hear what was going on: the “murder” tableu had been discovered, and discord was breaking out among the giants! They had fallen for the party’s trick! Murder was suspected, and fingers were being pointed this way and that. There was no word yet as to whether particular suspicion had fallen upon the Frost Giants.

Dropping down another chimney into Room 10, the party found a space covered in pelts, with a council table, and a map depicting the Giants’ plan of attack against the Keep and the Caves of Chaos. The party made records of everything they found. Avaunt looked under the table and found a crossbow hanging in a leather sling, accessible from the chief’s chair. Presumably for shooting someone under the table if they offended him. Avaunt! fiddled with it so it would go off as soon as it was jostled by a careless bump of the knee.

The party skeedaddled at this point, returnhing to their cave to rest and recuperate. Silspat, the Kobold Sneak, was sent back home with all the information the party had gathered about the Giant’s plans.

======
PRANKS…?

A carving of a dick was hidden (but not TOO well) on the Chief’s char in the war planning room.
The coats and satchels in Room 14 were rifled through. Some things taken, others put back in the wrong spots.
Coratus the Hill Giant was slain by the party. They disguised it as an accident, but did so with intentional sloppiness to suggest a murder by the residents of Room 14.
Fiddle with the Chief’s under-table crossbow, so it’ll go off whenever it’s bumped.

======
CREW

[NOTE: Each of these who comes home alive has an associated boon or gift that will be given to the party by grateful friends and family. If someone dies, the boon is lost!]

Flarn, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 17, Normal Move, 2+1HD (12hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 10
Slug, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 17, Normal Move, 2HD (10hp), Atk +2 (sword d8), Morale 10
Vilzz, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+2HD (11hp), Atk +1 (polearm d10/crossbow d12), Morale 10
Kigt, Orc Warrior (Former Nerd of the Lion Clan)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2HD (7hp), Atk +1 (polearm d10/crossbow d12), Morale 10
Silspat, Kobold Sneak (Away from camp, delivering messages!)
AC 14, Fast Move, 1HD (5hp), Atk +0 (dagger d4), Morale 8
Sneak Attempt: 75%.
Chivyin, Kobold Warrior
AC 16, Normal Move, 1+1HD (7hp), Atk +2 (sword d6/crossbow d12), Morale 10
Pyst, Kobold Trapper
AC 10, Normal Move, 1HD (3hp), Atk +0 (dagger d4), Morale 9
Carries tools for quick trapmaking: triggers, spikes, and lynchpins and such. Can make a make a good trap in 1 Turn if local materials are favorable.
Ekta Swiftsword, Human Soldier (lvl 4 Fighter)
AC 18, Normal Move, 4+2HD (25hp), Atk +4 (sword d10+4), Morale 11
Andrew Holdfast, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (11hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 9
Tulio Strongarm, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (10hp), Atk +2 (sword d8), Morale 9
Rumnana Wallcraft, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 17, Normal Move, 2+1HD (12hp), Atk +0 (sword d8), Morale 9
Erin Holdfast, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (9hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 9
Linh Facepuncher, Human Soldier (lvl 2 Fighter)
AC 16, Normal Move, 2+1HD (10hp), Atk +1 (sword d8), Morale 9

======
FORTUNES

======
LOOT:

80gp
40′ of good rope
100′ of good rope
Wineskin
Pewter spoon
Knife
Detailed information about Chief Nosnra’s battle plans.
“Head Robber,” an intelligent Sword of Giant Slaying
One-Handed Warhammer +2
One-Handed Warhammer with a minor magical enchantment of uncertain purpose (Room 13 of the Steading)

Total: 80 gp, or 20 gp/xp each for Velxori, Avaunt, Zaphira, and Ecco

======
Head “Headdy” Robber
Neutral Good
Intelligent One-Handed Sword of Giant Slaying
(INT 14 + EGO 8 = WILL 22) v. Zaphira’s Will (STR + WIS = WILL 25)
+2 Att/Dmg (+4 v. Giants)
Able to detect the presence of giants within 60′. Detection is binary: giants are present, or not. Cannot identify which direction they’re coming from or how close they are.
Able to speak aloud, and can speak/read common, Neutral Good Alignment Language, and all dialects of Giantish

https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Sentient_Swords#Control_Checks

======
INJURIES:

Zeehaw has Tomb Crystal Poisoning level 1.