SG4 Saga of the Giants - Fire Giant Forge

[jdn2006]

It's called "Saga of the GIANTS." Maybe we don't need no stinkin' dark elves (or expys thereof) at all...

I'm going to have to read them all, and try to absorb the narrative that J.D. is creating. I need to understand where he is going before I suggest any course changes.

There's no real narrative embedded at present (in my opinion) - the vague idea of the giants with some over-arching goals as a thin excuse for adventures - and very simple plot connections. They peter out at the fire giants. I ran out of ideas and saw the cloud giants as a stepping stone to the storm giants with no ideas for a continuation (the cloud giants could use work, but what to do with them?). The general idea I have for storm giants is a floating castle in the sky, with fewer dungeons (basements and one or two big but simple dungeons?) since storm giants might work better outdoors where they can call storms and lightning...

Any connecting and continuation ideas and materials would help, especially in morphing the saga into something more unique. As much as I personally admire and enjoy some modules, I usually want something more, new and different - not a copy with the names and text changed.

[dymondy2k]

You know maybe the underlying plot would be to chase down pieces of a magical artifact that would allow anyone control over the giants, similar to the crown in 'Jack the Giant Slayer'.

[LibraryLass]

An artifact hunt could be a fun idea.
As to the Storm Giants... Don't they sometimes live under the sea? I think it would be fun if the adventure took place partly underwater, as long as it was done in a way that didn't render it impassible to those without suitable magic.

[chiisu81]

Oh man, an underground city ala Atlantis, sealed in from the ocean via untold magic. The players arrive (magic teleporter, elevator, ride inside a magical beast?). Wheels be a-turnin'...

[Solomoriah]

An undersea adventure in an environment like Rebma (from Nine Princes in Amber) might be very interesting indeed, especially with a castle scaled to the size of Storm Giants.

Now that I know that I'm not missing the plot, this may become easier. It's a series of adventures, sort of like a railroad (but let's go for something that's more a trail). In the traditional materials, Hill, Frost, and Fire Giants are generally "evil" while Stone and Cloud Giants are "neutral" and Storm Giants are "good."

But we don't have to play it that way.

Let's say that there is some plot going on, and discovering it will lead the players from adventure to adventure. Hill Giants are grunt labor and/or infantry, in the grand scheme of giantdom; it stands to reason that they don't know who the ultimate boss is, just who they report to directly. Stone Giants may be in it for pay rather than out of any urge to do evil; they might also not care to follow the chain of command to the top. Imagine for a moment that the Fire and Frost Giants are rivals, and believe they are doing whatever it is they are doing at the behest of some family of Cloud Giants. But only the Cloud Giants know that the real head of the operation is a Storm Giant, and he and his family run the show from their undersea fortress.

Or maybe she? No reason the bad guys have to be all guys.

So, two questions:

1. What's the plot? Are they slavers, as in the original inspiration, or are they up to something else? Could it be that they are actually planning the overthrow of some human or elvish kingdom? Or something else I haven't thought of yet...

2. Corollary to #1, how will the player characters learn of it?

NOW... we can certainly keep the Dark Elves/Svartalfar/whoever onboard, as advisors or assistants perhaps. Or we can dump them and stick to Giants (perhaps with giant animals and other nasties bolstering their ranks).

Ideas?

[SmootRK]

Undersea sounds fun.

Another possibility could be to combine Cloud and Storm Giant as one module/event (rather than as two) and even add in the air-folk idea of Solo... then again, if one wants to go the undersea route, perhaps forgo the cloud giants and use Storm Giant with some sort of sea-giant minions (new creature for BFRPG - but about the power level of cloud giants).

One part of the Slavers Modules that I really enjoyed (from the evil GM point of view) was the Evil Party encountered near the end of one module... a full on evil party is a tough encounter. I also rather like the idea of capture of the party (even via railroad methods), to have them mount an escape without their typical gear and such.

[Joe the Rat]

Undersea sounds fun.

Another possibility could be to combine Cloud and Storm Giant as one module/event (rather than as two) and even add in the air-folk idea of Solo... then again, if one wants to go the undersea route, perhaps forgo the cloud giants and use Storm Giant with some sort of sea-giant minions (new creature for BFRPG - but about the power level of cloud giants).

Do we have enough plot coupons to start a war? Not just Cloud and Storm Giants, but Cloud versus Storm Giants (Or Cloud Giant vs Sea Giant... or Storm Giant vs. Sea Giant). A fight that will brew up nasty weather, threaten coastal towns, and really mess with the silk trade (and that's terrible). If both sides are (nominally) good giants, then you have a nice range of options. Side with one, the other, neither, try diplomacy, or track down the third party that had awoken the sleeping giants in the first place.

[chiisu81]

- Title Page: lower-case "the" ie "Saga of the Giants"?
- Player Characters, correct to "well-equipped"
- Level One, 19c. Bedroom, 4th paragraph, change to "There is a great armoire to one side, inside which are twenty pieces of fairly ordinary noble clothing, both for men and women."
- Level Three, 16. Portal, 1st paragraph, correct to "suffer"
- Level Three, 21. End of Fire Giant Adventure, 2nd paragraph, correct to "More so" or just delete
- Level Four, 3. Hellhound Lair, correct to "dying"
- Level Four, 5. Orcs, correct to "There is also personal gear such as cloaks, blankets, 24 rations of food, and 24 quarts of water."
- Dark Elves description, 3rd paragraph, correct to "...and hence males often have"
- Dark Elves equipment, 2nd paragraph, correct to "lose" for both instances
- Dark Elves equipment, 3rd paragraph, correct to "other-worlders"
- Dark Elves equipment, 5th paragraph, correct to "lose"

[Solomoriah]

Okay, snagged all of that, and did some fixes of my own besides. And it's uploaded.

[jdn2006]

Downloading to do some corrections.