While elaborate base preparations began at the base of the mountain, the party dispatched high altitude dragon-bombing runs with magically miniaturized blocks from the mountain dig-out. A handful of the blocks, enchanted to return to full size during descent, soon created a cratered lanscape in the glacial rift, smashing ice and a couple giants and destroying the peculiar ice dome at the sound end.
This strategy wasn't without risks, as the giants soon learned to anticipate aerial assault and to use their great horns as a general alarm to summon a dragon of their own -- a huge creature that dwarfed Viserion in size. Still, the annoyance of a local threat was at least good for setting bait into the trap being constructed several thousand feet below.
Within a few days the giants were ready to retaliate. Scouts witness a massive column of giants ascending out of the rift, primarily frost but with a few allied giants from stone and fire clans, a squad of ogre-mages with ogre guards, and even a cloud giant (head and shoulders above the rest). Huntmasters among the frost giants were leading teams of winter wolves, snow leopards, and huge white cave bears. The ancient white dragon circled them from the air, to ward off bombing runs. In principle, the force could probably have leveled a small city.
In practice, the giants really would have been better off facing a city. Instead, they first met a host of Herrohnin's skeleton suicide bombers carrying miniature blocks from the hollowed tunnels, activiated with magical proximity fuses. As the insane skeletons hit the front of the line, the blocks (several dozen of them) all returned to full 10'-cube size, erupting into a massive cascade of stone ejecta comparable to an orbital asteroid strike. The front of the column was buried by highly accelerated multi-ton stone projectiles, and a fountain of launched blocks rained down over the next few seconds, slamming down on the majority of the ogre mages and squashing them flat. (A stroke of good luck, as it turned out, given their potent lightning bolts.)
Still, over two dozen giants remained, and they crashed angrily into the outer walls of the party's makeshift stronghold, smashing past the gate and occupying the courtyard. The party had long since retreated through the tunnels (or a secret back entrance) into the panic room at the end of their newly-excavated tunnel complex behind the battlements.
Giants began pounding into the tunnels in single file. The first batch of giants walked directly between a skeletal pike ambush screen, taking modest damage, and then charged forward to engage them... directly through the trapped far entrance.
After clearing away the ambush and licking their wounds, the giants advanced to the first tunnel intersection, where the next portion of the trap was already in motion. Skeletons from all three sides, this time in heavy armor, began charging down the halls bristling with polearms. Even smashing them as fast as possible was little use, as additional ranks stepped forward to replace them.
Meanwhile, Zelmar and Oin advanced through the rubble from the rear, having circled around from out of the hidden back entrance (and narrowly dodged the dragon) -- right into the collection of oversized beasts. The winter wolves unleashed a volley of frost breath, badly injuring the attackers and forcing them back into the tunnel. Oin was knocked unconscious, and one of the ogres (fleeing the disaster in the tunnels ahead) stuffed him into a sack on the way out. Unforunately, the ogre plowed right through a trap, injuring himself but brutally maiming the unconscious Oin.
Archery-based attempts to stop the escaping ogres by Sir Robin merely alerted the dragon, who swept down to seize the elf in his talons. Only some last-minute heroics with a remaining miniaturized block prevented him from escaping with his prey.
Roster
- Zelmar Krackiss, 5th-level fright knight
- Anatolia, 4th-level bladedancer
- Adoniram Hewer, 3rd-level mage
- Frigodria, 5th-level paladin
- Viserion, 4th-level white dragon
- Oin "Dirtface" Orinson, 5th-level dwarven sapper
- Sir Robin Silverfall, 5th-level spellsword
- Herrohnin, 5th-level summoner, and his scads of spooky scary skeletons
- Sir Rock Boulder Fist, dwarven 5th-level summoner
Not appearing in this adventure:
- The very young white dragon, Namazu, reporting back on the frost giants
- Thorvald, 5th level spy
- Tu'a'than, 5th level spriggan
Casualties
Oin Orinson, stuffed into a sack by a giant and then dragged through his own lethal trap. When you're a sapper, it's only a matter of time before you end up hoist on your own petard.
Treasure
None. That's the drawback of letting the giants come to you.
Total gold per member: 0 gp
Experience
Killed: 1 cloud giant [1200], 4 fire giants [4x1000=4000], 10 frost giants [10x850=8500], 4 stone giants [4x700=2800], 4 hill giants [4x600=2400], 6 ogre magi [6x570=3420], 14 ogres [14x140=1960], 4 cave bears [4x320=1280], 6 winter wolves [6x570=3420], 13 snow leopards [13x80=1040]
Total: 30020 xp
Total experience from treasure: 0 xp
Total experience from kills: 30020 xp
Total experience from exploration: 0 xp
Total experience: 30020 xp
Total experience per member: 4289 xp
Oin Orinson, stuffed into a sack by a giant and then dragged through his own lethal trap. When you're a sapper, it's only a matter of time before you end up hoist on your own petard.
Treasure
None. That's the drawback of letting the giants come to you.
Total gold per member: 0 gp
Experience
Killed: 1 cloud giant [1200], 4 fire giants [4x1000=4000], 10 frost giants [10x850=8500], 4 stone giants [4x700=2800], 4 hill giants [4x600=2400], 6 ogre magi [6x570=3420], 14 ogres [14x140=1960], 4 cave bears [4x320=1280], 6 winter wolves [6x570=3420], 13 snow leopards [13x80=1040]
Total: 30020 xp
Total experience from treasure: 0 xp
Total experience from kills: 30020 xp
Total experience from exploration: 0 xp
Total experience: 30020 xp
Total experience per member: 4289 xp
