Date: 6/8/2025
In Game Date: 5/4/2025
Weather: Wet, warm.
Characters
Chop, human cleric (362 points)
Duncan Tesadic, human wizard (346 points)
Hannari Ironhand, dwarf martial artist (360 points)
Persistance Montgomery, human knight (322 points)
Thor Halfskepna, human knight (358 points)
Vladimir Luchnick, dwarf scout (318 points)
We picked up where we left off - the PCs had a knocked-out storm giant and a lot of wounds to heal.
I started the time going and they got to work. Vlad carefully searched the giant and found an alchemical amulet - a human-sized one - on a small chain attached to proper chain around the giant's neck. He took it. Chop healed and healed and healed, Hannari policed up the area and weapons, Thor took the giant's club out of easy reach, and Percy stood around guard. He also vetoed Chop's suggestion that they just kill the giant.
There was a plan to use Create Earth to make dirt manacles (seriously), then make them stone manacles, then make them metal. They forgot this until, oh, 15+ minutes in when the giant was waking up.
The giant mumbled something as he woke and sat up, and Chop put Gift of Tongues on Duncan.
Duncan chose the unusual tactic of being honest with the giant - they won, they'd win again if he tried anything, and they were willing to let him bargain for his life. The giant seemed amused by getting beaten by "children" and allowed that he'd never met such strong little ones. Amongst other things, they learned:
- the giant's name is Cumulon er-Statos (symbol of er-Stratos - two bird heads facing away from one another)
- the fairy tale castle is a neutral ground meeting area
- the giant was here for business, which isn't their damn business, thank you
- the amulet he had conveys some kind of authority or office
- the giants rule the skies, and raid and extract treasure, loot, and the amusement of battles from the little people below
The giant offered them all his available cash in return for his life, and a magic hatchet taken from some really little person in return for his amulet. He didn't want to deal with the hassle and effort it would take to regain the lost rank - or maybe it was lost prestige - from losing it.
The PCs agreed. The giant kept his end - he limped inside, wounded, came out much less wounded but with a bit more treasure than he'd said he had. It turned out to be 27,000 sp, 575 gp, and 45 gems with an average value of 100 sp each. The hatchet turned out to be a fine quality climber's hatchet with Puissance 3 on it.
All that settled, they left. The giant took to his roc to watch them go, and observed them rest at the gate for 15 minutes before going through with Walk on Air.
The PCs headed home once they made it into Felltower.
Notes:
Excellent, very short session - 2 hours?
MVP was Duncan for very effective negotiation. He managed to avoid the usual self-justification of adventuers - you know, "technically, we were defending ourselves from attack by these evildoers whose home we invaded looking for heads and plunder and they owe us everything they own." He bargained from strength but with consistent and reasonable expectations. The giant seemed amused at getting beaten up and then having to ransom himself. Naturally, he took the word of a "fellow master of the supernatural arts" and was impressed that Duncan's minions so handily trashed his summoned servitors.
Total look was ~8k each. MVP was Duncan for negotation.
I just had my group beat a frost giant and then negotiate with him afterwards, discovering that the person who sent them after the giant was not quite who he seemed to be.
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