Giant Plots, Part 1
March 8th, 2011
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting Grave Plots, where we bring you new and exciting adventure ideas each and every week. This week we will be focusing on giants. Giants have long been a favorite monster of mine, and I think it’s time I give them some love. As a result I have put together a sample list of plot ideas for each regular (that is to say, featured in the Pathfinder Bestiary) type of giant; unfortunately, the list is too long for one article and so had to be broken down into two parts. Here’s part one – enjoy.
Cloud Giants
Skrymgard: The Sky City
It is said that cloud giants once dwelt among the very clouds themselves in great cities that watched over the earth and all that happened there. The cloud giants themselves speak of such places in the ancient lore of their tribes. Though the stories differ slightly from tribe to tribe, all cloud giants speak of a truly wondrous city in the clouds known as Skrymgard. Skrymgard, it is said, was a paradise where all of cloud giant-kind lived in peace, without need or want for material things, and reigned over all the lands and kingdoms of men. The cloud giants believe that long ago they angered their gods, who then cast them down out of Skrymgard. The cloud giants would be forever banned from Skrymgard’s shining walls so long as they remained unrepentant for their crimes. The giants are split down the middle as to the nature of this transgression, with half believing that they had grown too selfish and the other half believing that they had grown too complacent. Now, centuries later, the cloud giant Thiund has claimed to have viewed Skrymgard and is looking for a band of adventurers to help him reach the ancient home of his people, and return the cloud giants to the skies.
Clan Wars
Cloud giants are famous for a bitter division in their race’s alignment, with half being good, and half being evil. Normally, these two groups of giants don’t interact much, except for the occasional skirmish over territory. Now however, two rival clans of cloud giants who are dynamically opposed to each other are waging a generations’ long war that is growing ever closer to the township of Springbuck. Springbuck has hired the PCs to put an end to this feud, either through the use of diplomacy, convincing the giants to set aside their differences, or through the use of cold steel, killing the giants before they can kill the townspeople.
Fine Arts
Cloud giants are renowned for their love of fine crafts, exotic arts, and good entertainment. Now the giantess Frigalda has issued a public challenge offering 10,000 gold pieces for whoever can bring her the nicest piece of art or otherwise valuable item, or put on the best performance; the deadline is the upcoming High Harvest Fair. At the same time, the PCs have recently come into a 10,000 gp debt, and their only hope to pay it off is Figalda’s contest.
Fire Giants
The Hammer of Gragen
Well known for their rigid militaristic social structure and great fighting skills, fire giant mercenary groups are in high demand as elite soldiers in any large scale war. As such there are many such groups of fire giant mercenaries deployed in wars the world over. One such group is the Hammer of Gragen, so named for their fearsome leader Gragen, a fighter of immeasurable skill. In serving the Regalian king in his war against the Evinian people, the Hammer has developed such a reputation that now troops flee the battlefield, or even outright surrender, whenever they see the banner of the Hammer. As a natural result, the Evinian army is horribly demoralized and the war has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. Now, in order to save their country, the Evinian high council has hired the PCs for one desperate mission: kill Gragen.
Skorval, City of Giants
Long ago the fire giants of Skorval went on a campaign to conquer the world, and while they failed, they did succeed in scooping out a huge chunk of territory for their empire. Their new empire encompassed nations of elves, dwarves, humans and others. While the initial adjustment to life under the fire giants was somewhat harsh, after centuries of living with and fighting beside the fire giants, the various people have all become one, with society viewing a halfling and a fire giant as the same. Now the PCs, having spent their entire life outside of Skorval, have been sent into that strange land as ambassadors to observe that unusual culture and to improve relations between Skorval and the outside world.
Succession
All fire giants are unquestioningly loyal to a king, who makes all the major decisions for a given tribe. Without a king a fire giant tribe is nothing; so, after the death of the king of the Ejor, the largest fire giant tribe, the Ejor went to war with themselves in order to establish a successor. As a result, all the various nation states and kingdoms around Ejor’s territory have a stake in the upcoming succession, and each is more than happy to commit troops and resources to the war to make sure that the succession comes out in their favor. The PCs are one such group, working for the high lord of Drevier and acting as his agents.
Frost Giants
The Challenge
The leader among a tribe of frost giants is called a jarl, and he leads his tribe with absolute authority. Among the frost giant tribes of the White Planes there is one jarl, a giant called Ofrnir, whose strength and cruelty are well known throughout the region. Recently one of Ofrnir’s vassals, a giant called Skrimnr, has decided that he should be the jarl of the White Planes giants, and so has issued Ofrnir a challenge for his position. To ensure his victory, he has asked the PCs to help him cheat in exchange for lightening up on the merchants and peasant folk that pass through his territory.
The Avalanches of Skullshead Pass
Unknown to the travelers of Skullshead Pass, the rash of avalanches that have plagued that important trade route are actually being caused by group of fearsome frost giant raiders looking to prey on travelers through the pass. Despite their lack of knowledge of the exact circumstances, the frequency of avalanches in their pass suggests to the rangers who normally watch over Skullshead Pass that something is amiss, and so they have hired to PCs to find the source of the trouble and put a stop to it.
Ok, well that’s it for this week’s Grave Plots. We hope to see you again, and be sure to be on the look out for part two of Giant Plots, where we will cover the hill giant, the stone giant, and the storm giant. Until then, allow me to wish you all the best in your gaming endeavors.