Dice Shame - 17 | 'The Old One-Two'

Episode Date: February 6, 2020

The giants are here, the first battle is about to begin... get psyched. Comedy, action and a whole lot of shaming come together in Dice Shame, an Actual Play Podcast of Storm King's Thunder by Wizards of the Coast! Join our GM Jo; her partner Harlan, his brother Alex & their best friends Justin and Rob as they tackle the daunting world of Faerun in this legendary adventure module! Like the games they play at home, they try not to take themselves too seriously. The show aims to be entertaining, inclusive, and irreverent, while still taking the rules (somewhat) seriously. New episodes EVERY WEEK on all major platforms; Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and more! If you haven't checked it out yet... what are you waiting for?!? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's take down these giants. They're throwing goblins at us. Flippity Fliperjits. The ordaining is coming. It's your time to shine. You are heroes. This is her strong stuff. Holy shit.

Oh my God, Red, take that off. Yeah, ma. More. You're basic. Yeah, we are. The old one, too, Red. Get ready. Oh, right, buddy.

Go for the giant on the left. Natural 20! No. Welcome back to Dice Shame, Episode 17, The Old One, 2. This week's MVP is Colin Burckhardt for his incredible Dice Shame memes. Keep them coming, buddy. And if you want to check them out, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you're looking for a throwback to the glory days of RPGs,

check out our friends at Frog God Games and their Kickstarter for Swords and Wizardry. If you never got to try old school D&D, and we're talking pre-first edition, or you're interested in a mashup of old and new, these guys are doing a right by making this retro clone. Beyond that, they're nice people, and it's a new way to play. So check them out on Kickstarter if that's your thing. Absolutely. Are we ready to go? Let's do it. So something really exciting happened last episode, and it is that Red found a bunch of gems.

Yes. I was so excited. I'm like playing with a gem as Liffraless is walking towards. the wall. Doran's been dying for some treasure. Oh, we've all been dying for some. And then you see the giants. I mean, it was exhilarating, but not quite

in the same way. No, and they saw us, too. We approach in this trimmed farmer's field, and on the horizon, we see the wall and silhouettes of giants. And in the dim moonlight, you can still see even the facial expressions of these massive...

It looks like trees moving in front of them. It almost messes with, like, your perception of the distance because they're so huge but they're so far away. How far away are they, Justin? 165 feet. All right, so you guys are 165 away. Why don't you guys roll initiative? All right.

Rolling for initiative. I got double digits, Joe. Oh, I'm so proud of you. Justin, what did you get? Kralof and Naxine got a 12. Harlan? Liverless and Red and the other tree boy has got 18. Alex, what did you get? Miros, what did you get?

I got a 19. That's what we got. Rob? Z and Jack got a 16. Okay. Miros and Doran, you guys get to start the round. What happened? Well, Miros and Doran have very limited range attack damages.

Yeah, despite the fact that you guys are sharing some javelins now, they are sort of more close-range, ranged weapons. So I'm really happy that actually I got this. initiative because Doran as the soldier he is and the officer in ranking kind of steps out in front and does a bit of a pull a bit of a brave heart scene you know and he says uh now's our time let's take down these giants we can do it if we work together bingo bango buddy and with that said he says red and using my commander's strike Okay, he says, red, fire on will. Who's Will?

All right. I'm going to roll a D8 to give you six extra points of damage. Nice. So you go ahead and attack. Absolutely. So because I have a sharpshooter, I also don't take any disadvantage at long range. So my longbow range is 150 or 600. So I'm outside of 150, no disadvantage.

Now, because it's not my turn, despite it. being my first, it's not my turn in combat, so I don't get advantage on this attack, I would say. I definitely don't get a bonus action either. So, but I'm just going to do a straight-up attack on this. I'm going to use my inspiration on this roll. All right, here we go. For all the beans.

And this is sharpshooter, so minus five. 14 to hit. Yeah, that hits. Oh, yes. All right. So that is three plus 18 is 21 damage. Well done Okay, so that was one of my attacks

The other attack of mine I'm just going to attack with my crossbow Yeah I'm within 320 I'm rolling with disadvantage That's right And so four Eight

No you miss Miros, do you do anything? Oh Meros actually also uses his So a four No that also misses Red and Liferluss I'm going to attack with advantage on the same guy I did previously,

I'm going to take my sharpshooter feat. So this will be at a negative five again. And you're attacking him with advantage because he's injured? No, because it is my first round in combat, and he has not gone yet. Right, right, right. Natural 20! That's so key.

Yeah, not to mention this is sharpshooter, so it's plus 10. Yep. So this is going to be 48 plus 13 damage after this. So here we go. 31 damage for the first hit and now my second attack

also with advantage natural 20 on Chester both on Chester oh yes my boy get pictures of that nice love they can be redeemed

they can be let Chester be the standing example of always being able to come back so again 48 No, Colossus Slayer does not apply on my second. Just once. Yes, correct. 22 damage.

Good shot, Red. Thank you. Not even bloody. And that was Red's turn. I'm going to not move. And I'll move one of the other awakened trees up so that spellcasters have a little bit of a cover when they need to. C and Jack, it's your turn. Jack dashes up behind the tree that just moved there, moves 30 feet in that direction.

Pulls a piece of copper wire out of his pocket, wraps it around his finger, points it at the one who was not hit by the arrow and sends a message into that one's brain in giant. Look behind you. He's weak now. Assert your place in the ordaining. Become the boss. You're the new boss. Turn on him. Be dominant. It's your time to shine. I love it. What a great idea. And that is a what? I don't know. That's just me talking. I used message to put a message in their brain, and that was the message I sent. They get to whisper a message back to me if they like.

But maybe that's a persuasion? I would say. Yeah, roll persuasion for me With disadvantage All right, nine. Okay, anything else? Z is going to run up behind the tree as well And take some cover.

I love where you're going with that. We got some giant turns. Watch your fireballs because we're staying in a weed field. Oh, right, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's been harvested already. Yeah, but still there's remnants of weed everywhere. Yeah, that's right, that's right. Man, we're all fucking high.

Doing massive blunt damage. Both giants start traveling across this field. They move 40 feet towards you, eating up the distance easily with their huge legs. The one pulls up a big boulder from the field and throws it at the closest awakened tree. 15 to hit? Yep.

23 damage. It's a bludgeoning? Yes. It's resistant. 11 damage. All right. The large tree sort of like takes the hit square in its trunk and like leaves shake off of it slightly. Splinters shatter a bit.

The other giant, the one who was so thoroughly injured by red, tries to aim a rock into the tree where red is hiding. You have partial cover. 16 to hit? Nope. Thank you. And this is you? And new armor. I'm at 18 now.

Wait. Does this hit Liferless? But for the cover, it would have hit you, correct? But my AC... Oh, you said 16? Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, it would have hit.

Yeah, it would have hit. Liferless takes 13 bludgeoning damage, so that's six. Oh, wow. Because he's resistant, right? Is that all you've got? As the rock sails through Liferliss's branches, you see silhouetted on the top of the wall, two goblins climb, and then they turn around, and they start shrieking down. phrases in goblin at creatures on the other side of the wall.

Can I hear what they're saying? They're saying, three awakened trees. Oh, and there's about six of them, maybe 200 feet away right in front of you. Yeah, I'm not going to worry too much about them. And then all of the ogres on the other side of the wall launch projectiles directly at all of you. These are flying, spinning balls of metal and two of them launch projectiles directly at Jack.

10 to hit? Nope. 15 to hit? 15 would hit, but Jack sees the boulder coming. The first one lands at his feet, holds up for the second one, puts both hands in the sky to sort of brace it and stops, and you can see like the boulder push on the shield

and like dirt follow up behind him and like, is he, like, is left a foot or two in the ground. As this quote, unquote, Boulder hits your translucent shield, blood comes out all over and sprays the ground around you as you realize these are goblins being launched through the air. These are goblins with spiked helmets that are basically just being used as cannon fodder. And I picture Jack, not really unfazed, but you're not scared or anything. You're kind of like...

Concerned. And the spray of blood, like, around, in the fields around him, not great, but he's not, like, deterred. And these are fly balls. They go way high. They totally clear the wall easily, hundreds of feet into the air, and they come down on you, not across at you at all. They're throwing goblins at us. One of them targets Miroz. No.

Eleven to hit. He misses, thanks to my armor class increase. Thank you, Red. You're welcome, buddy. The final one targets Maxine, but we. with a five misses her easily. Just bounces off into the field, this bloody pulp. Do we think that without those goblins on the wall, their shots would go wide?

I mean, mortars only work if someone is telling you where to hit. Because otherwise you're just shooting blind. There's no way to know. That's right. Kralothan, next scene, it's your turn. I'm going to cast a spiritual weapon. Yeah, and then when you cast the spell, you can make a melee attack against a creature within five feet of the weapon. Do it, Coward?

It's going to take five points of damage. Oh, it's dead. Just kidding. I was going to say, what the hell? Okay, what does Maxine do? What does Maxine do? What does her range on Firebolt? Do you guys know what?

120 feet. Oh, beautiful. She's going to move forward. One, two, three. And she's going to move right beside the tree. She's going to cast, which one was attacked already? The one on the north side is more severely injured. She is going to cast Firebolt against the more severe.

severely injured one. Okay. And it is a ranged spell attack. They're both boy giants, by the way. She's going to aim for the nuts. And she's going to fail. That's a two. She has not hit with fire bolts this session.

She's a bit rusty. Top of the round, Miros and Doren. Meros is going to go first, and he's just going to make a, let's get within range, shall we? Let's get this started. No one joining me on that. So Miros is now within 100 feet, right? This is a big, big map. And he's going to make a range weapon attack.

So, here we go. 19 to hit. Oh, yeah. A nine points of damage. On the injured one? Yeah, the injured one. Well, they're both injured. Yeah, the bolt flies out of the darkness and collides with his bicep as he's hefting another rock and he goes,

moor. He's like, owie, there's something hit me. And then I'm going to pull another commander strike. do it. And I'm going to give it to mirror. No, I'm just kidding. Oh, no. Okay.

It's going to Red, obviously. And Doran in his way, as usual, says, Come on and hit him, Red. Okay. Go for the giant on the left. Oh, righty? I don't have advantage anymore. I don't think I should try a sharpshooter

because it's going to be pretty drastic. And right now, I think hitting it's more important than hitting it hard. So I am going to roll. But it does have, it is hurt. so we'll take Colossus Slayer damage. That's right. No, natural one!

Chester! Chester, what? Betrayed, is this the final battle? You turn on us? I don't know, though, because Chester gave me 2.20s last round. He's so all over the place. He's like me and my grades in high school. Penalty box?

Nothing? I have to find out if he's just being angry. I'm going to attack with the crossbow as my second attack here, and he misses so. And it's too much blood in your eyes. Damn. Red, it's your turn. Red, on top of Liferless, sees the two goblins on the wall, orchestrating the mortar team that has been firing on us.

Red shouts down at Dornan, if I take out those goblins, do you think maybe the attacks would stop or at least be delayed? Focus on the giants at hand. Fair enough, buddy. I mean, who knows? This one could be close to... You know what? I agree. I'm going to attack that same one. Red's going to just focus fire down that big boy. The one that's the most injured?

Yeah. The giant who's screaming in pain. Exactly. I'm going to make this first one a sharpshooter attack just to see what happens. Yes. 22 to hit. That'll do it. The arrow flies through the air.

16 damage. He flinches away from this tiny bolt. Does he look bloodied? Yes. All right. I will attack again normally. He's got blood coming out of his eye sockets. And I'm going to do Chester this time because that wasn't Chester.

was a bit nervous to try him. Oh, two, bastard, which is a ten. No, you miss. Chester, I think Chester's in timeout. You know better. You've got a one, but it's a shame. For shame. Shame on you.

Oh, Chester. Shame, shame. Shame, shame. Then Lifilis, again, will do nothing. I'm going to move up the other tree, so it's sort of in line with the other one to perform more cover. And Liferlis will stay back, I think. I'm the only one using him for cover and the only one using him for height.

So I think it makes the most sense right now. Z and Jack, it's your turn. Z is going to fire a sling bolt at the giant just in the off chance that it can connect and take the thing out. She's far enough away. It's a disadvantage, but we'll see how it goes. And that's a one on there. Oh, no.

And it just lands in the dirt at her feet. Yeah. What does Jack do? Meanwhile, Jack is racking his brain for anything he could say or shout, either project really loud with a minor illusion or whisper into one of these giant's minds. He's studied giants. He's been to architectural digs of giant places. He knows things about giant kind.

He's looking for any angle. He could turn these big, dumb creatures against each other, anything that would, like, jump to his mind. He's just trying to get a good idea, if there's anything that would get in his head about why they're here standing in this field when everybody else came ahead of them, just trying to figure anything out.

Make an intelligence check. Do you like history or anything for that? Just up and down intelligence, I think. Cool. 11. It certainly is strange. that these two giants seem to have waited until this time to make their attack. You're not sure that you can piece together why, but it stands out to you as odd.

Yeah, there's nothing there I can do with that. So I will pull from my bag, my orb, and look into it and imagine a ball of flame on the field and conjure a flaming sphere and roll it right beside the scythe, and they can make me a dexterity save. Looking for 15. Yeah, that's a four, so that doesn't. Five fire damage. He sort of stumbles back a little bit afraid of the fire.

It's the giant's turns. They are going to each pick up boulders and throw them. That giant's going to aim at red again. No. And throws a rock. No. Jerk.

That's a 20. Dirty 20, sorry. Yeah, that hits me. Someone's going to have to run to heal me. 18 bludgeoning damage. The other giant. is going to try and take out some of this cover. So he's going to attack the awakened tree that has been injured already.

16 to hit? Yep, it does hit. 18 bludgeoning, so that's nine damage altogether. All right. So these ogres with goblin huckers, huck their goblins at you. You mother hucker. Too many motherhuckers. Hucking with my shit.

They're going to huck some gobbins at you. They're going to attack Jack again. 12 to hit. Misses. And, oh, that's a critical miss. Both of them bounce away from you in the field and roll and just they stay still because they're dead. The other two just fly totally wide hitting nobody. Kraloth and Naxine.

It's your turn. Maxine is going to run forward and she is grumbling to herself. She is frustrated that she has not hit a thing with this firebolt spell. So she's going to get up nice and close to this big guy who is stumbling, forward, limping, and she's going to cast fireball, or firebolt, rather. One more time. That's a natural one. Oh, no.

Oh, my God. Shame on you. I thought it was a seven. Shame this die. Shame this die that has not helped me once in combat. Shame. Shame on you. Shame.

Shame. Shame. I was a second ago. This die, slightly tan. And this is Mike Dyson. And it was not, he didn't treat me well. Boo. Boo Dyson.

Yeah. She shouts into the sky. Flippity Fliperjits! Kralath. Okay, first of all, he's going to use his bonus action. You should just run over to the giant and then lie down. Oh, that's a good idea. Right?

It's going to confuse them. I love it. But you know what I'm going to do instead? I'm going to move my spiritual weapon first. And I'm going to attack, melee attack. That is a 19. Oh, yeah, that's more like it. Plus three, so 22 to hit.

How much damage? It's going to take force damage equal to five points of damage. Yeah, oh. Not bad. And then Kralath is going to step next to next scene, and he's going to cast sacred flame on the same monster. I have to make a dex save. You have to make a dexterity save. Five.

Six points of damage plus. Just six points of damage. Yeah. All right. Miros and Doran. Miros is going to fire his crossbow at the injured giant with a seven. No, that misses. Sorry, nine.

Oh, that still misses. Doran, what do you do? So this is going to be an attack with a javelin. 18? Oh, yeah. So six, nine points of damage. Nicely done. Red and Liferous.

Oh, right. Red will attack that big old giant boy. The same one that just got hit by a javelin? Bingo. Sink. And I will do it with my paladin die. And I will do it with a sharpshooter disadvantage. So minus five.

No, that's nine. You miss him. Well, I'll attack again without the sharpshooter disadvantage because we need to hit. And that is going to hit with a 21. Mm-hmm. And I'm going to do Colossus Slayer. Yes. I'm going to do my regular 1.D8 damage.

13 damage. Nicely done. Oh, boy. These are giants. They're really big and really scary. Scatter! I'm going to move the other trees up so that they are in range. And then I'll attack the one that has not been hit yet.

Well, has only been hit a little bit. Sorry, just a little boy. Ten to hit. No. And then he'll attack again. 18 hit. That'll do it. 15 damage.

Good stuff. Then the second tree will attack is well on the same guy. That's 20 to hit, dirty. Ooh. That's good. That's 16 plus, that's 20 damage. And that's 9. That's 13 to hit.

Exactly. Ooh, yes. And that's going to be 9 damage. Good stuff. Jack and Z, you're up. Jack calls the flaming sphere rolling across the build into the one that's injured putting it between the two giants so that they're stuck near it but they don't have to make a deck save on this they do well the one who i rolled it into

because it stops when it hits the guy sure uh does need to make me a dexterity saving is that the more or less injured one more injured one to the north six decks save eight fire damage he's looking really bad now jack is going to strafe across the field running north and then going to to hold out his sphere and try from that those new crisp burns to like where that sizzling smoke is pull the soul out of this thing once and for all. Wisdom save, please. 16. That does it.

You had the dice in your hand. I had the dice in my hand. I was ready. What does Z do? She is going to take a step or two to the side, line up a real good shot at that injured giant and like David versus Goliath do something. How's a 15? That'll do it.

How do we like six damage? Okay. Stone in the eye. Which giant is that? To the injured giant. The North giant. Giant time. Giant time, giant time.

So the two giants race forward. The one... We're racing, yeah, we are. So the one giant that's up against the two awakened trees tries to crush them with a huge fist. 21 to hit? Yep. That's 12 bludgeoning and 26 to hit.

Yeah. 11 bludgeoning, so that's five. Okay. So 11 total. The other giant closes the distance between himself and Doran then leaps into the air and comes down on him. Oh, no. 11 to hit. Hey, he misses.

Doran, you're ready for this giant. And as he jumps into the air, tries to come down on you, you roll away. And he lands prone behind you. It's the goblin mortars turns. A goblin. Sails out of the. this guy at Z. That's 18 to hit her.

Definitely hits, yeah. That is 10 piercing damage. Oof. One of them comes down on Kralath's head. 13 to hit. That is a miss. One of them comes down at Miros. Mios.

12. That's a hit. Oh, no. You hit me. That's seven piercing damage. You have to me. And Doren. No.

natural one. Mist. All right. Can't hit the dwarf. Kralath and next scene. Kralath's going to move forward and he's going to move up in front of the standing giant and say, the old one too, Red, get ready. All right, buddy.

And he's going to cast Path to the Grave, which will give Red double damage on him. That's awesome. Can you read that out for us? As an action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you cursing it until the end of your next turn. The next time you or an ally of yours, hits the cursed creature with an attack. The creature has vulnerability to all that attacks damage.

And then the curse ends. Massive, okay. And next scene, she's going to cast suggestion on the prone ogre. Okay. And you want to do finger painting. You want to die. Oh, no, she doesn't speak giant. Oh, that's right.

You know what, in that case, what I'm going to do is I'm going to cast magic missile as a second level. So you target the prone giant. with your magic missile. So he's going to take 14 damage, force damage total. You kill the giant. All right. Maxine, giant slayer. So all of these magical darts fly into the air and take a much wider art and they begin to circle down towards them.

And before Doren's eyes, they see these darts pierce through the giant's body coming out through the other side, sending a spray of blood with arcane dust around it. Next up, we have. of Miros and Doren. Yes. So Miros takes his shot. I'm going to aim at one of these goblins on the wall. Okay. I'm going to shoot with my crossbow with a 15 to hit.

Yeah, you do. All right. 10. Oh, it's a damage. Yeah, you kill one. Finally. Bagger vats. Goes up and puts a butt of his big heavy crossbow in the ground.

And it goes off and. Every golfer hits a bagger vance shot. Doren, what do you do? Would you accept that an action is chopper? through the neck of this dead giant and rolling it, the head? Is that one action, would you say? No, this is a hefty boy. Yeah, you're going to be able to get through the neck in an action.

I'm just going to roll to shoot with my crossbow, because that's within 320, but it's still disadvantage, to hit the other goblin on the wall. And so Doren, in his mind, sees Miros do this, and he's like, oh, good idea. But he misses. Okay. Red and Liferous. All right.

Red, taking the note from Krayloff about attacking this big boy is like, yeah. And I'm going to cast Hunter's Mark now that I'm within range on this big boy. And what's that for? Do you have advantage? I don't. So Krayloff is going to use his inspiration to mutter a prayer to Klemvore to guide the arrow. Thank you. The second advantage I've got.

That's a great idea. Great strategy. Okay. Now, I will leave this up to. Kralath or Justin to decide. I'm going to roll this paladin die. Should I crack Chester out of dice jail? I'm saying, Chester gets off so easy.

He's put in there like two rounds of combat, if that. Chester has rolled more natural 20s than any dye in the same. If Chester comes up a one in there for a long time. You know what? Chester's like a spoiled child. If we hit on this, I'm going to do a 1D8 for regular, a 1D8 for Colossus, a 1D6 for hunters, and I think I'm going to make this a sharpshooter. Because it'll double all damage, right?

Let's do it. Do that how it works? I think, yeah, it doubles all damage. So whatever damage you do with your sharpshooter and everything like that, he gets vulnerability to it. And then it's going to double. All right. Cross your eyes. 22.

Oh! All natural ones. You almost psyched me out there. I know. All right. That's four, five, six, six. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, plus 10 is 22, doubled. Nicely done.

So that would be 44 damage. The old one to, buddy. Wow. Tell me what that looks like. I take one of the arrows out of my quiver and then stop, knowing that Kralov has blessed this attack, and I take a second arrow as well. I put them side by side with my teeth.

I bite one of the fletchings off, and I pull back on the string as two arrows sing out and thug-f-boop. Both into one eye of the giant as he belches a scream in pain. He's bloodied. And I'm going to attack again. I'm going to do sharpshooter again. 19 to hit.

Yeah, you hit. Why do you keep doing that? He just like psyching people out. All right. Hit him in the balls. I'll do it for the balls. 26 damage. This could be the end.

First tree will attack. Nine. No. And second attack, 23. Yes 13 damage Okay Then the second tree attacks

14 Yep 16 Okay And finally He's looking so dizzy He's so bloody Is 10

No you miss But we still got Jack And Z Watch Z kill him Yeah okay So it's got to be Z with the rock first Yeah Let's see it happens

So Z rolls To hit with her Sling and arrow and gets a 16. That hits. For six damage with a stone. What does it look like when Z topples the final giant?

Z throws the stone. It goes right inside this giant's eye and rattles around the brain. And Jack, knowing that communicating on a battlefield is the most important thing, builds up this minor illusion and this spell

shouts out in giant, the giants are dead. Flee, the giants are dead, and announces it to all of them in giant trying to get everybody to understand. the situation and run. You see the goblin that was on top of the wall, calling the shots for the ogres, hopped down, and you hear the shouts and the receding footsteps of a formidable force.

They just get quieter and quieter. Doran, on top of that, yells, The ordaining is coming! He's hyped. He's hyped about this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We just took it. The ordering is coming!

Ah, run away, why don't you? That's right. That's right. Like, we're doing this. We are re-aligning shit. Yeah. Yeah, Jack goes over and sort of gives Z a pat and just sort of like a side hugging me.

Oh, holy fucking shit. Oh, God. We all do. This is a remembers the Titan moment. I was going to say more like, Ewox, like everyone's zugging around like, the pedal's like slow motion. Z-Lang giant slayer.

People start pulling out their pan flutes and little drums. Tamborine. Unless it's the special edition and they cut that out. Wait a second. I just want to be king. I just can't wait to be going from Lion King. You recognize that, eh? I was like, oh, I got to stop that.

That sounds too much like a Disney song. Naxeen's like, well, that was really something I've been in a fight like that. Well, I ever, honestly. It's a good spot, wasn't it, Doreem? Yes. Although, I would have really loved to take off that giant's head. I just didn't have a chance. Why don't we go back to my apartments and decompress a little bit?

over some breakfast together. Are we sure the rest of the town is safe? There might still be fighting on the other side of Goldenfields. We've got to at least let the Abbott know to ring the bell and organize a search to make sure it's all clear. Goblins are notoriously tricky for hiding and staying in places and waiting to ambush. Z nods her head.

She's like, yes, we'll have to tell somebody about all this. Red's like motioning at Kralath, like raising his eyebrows and like eyeing towards the giants. He's like, well, I mean, that's a good idea. You know, Kratelof and I will catch up with you. We'll just make sure there's nothing on these giants to, you know, explain why they might have attacked. These giants might have resources that we can make use of and also a reason for why they targeted a golden field. And gold. And they might have some gold as well, which is always useful.

I mean, it's very weird that they, the way they attacked, there was something about it. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something was very strange about how and why they came here. There might be some clues on them that are worth trying to find. Yes, very strange indeed. So I guess we begin walking towards the abbot. Okay. And on the way, with Jack's words in mind, Doren is kind of like, as he sees people, he's saying, stay vigilant. You know, he's holding his axe still.

It's not she. He's covered from head to toe and basically blood and guts. Yeah, you meet a retinue of guards as we're on our way back to the abbey. We impart all of the happenings. Tell them what's up and they're like, cool, cool, cool, cool. Keep an eye for goblins, yada, yada, yada. Yeah, back at the bodies. of the Giants.

Red and Kralath both expressed interest in searching the bodies. I'm picturing you like, you're like, help me lift this. It's buried under it. I'm like, Kralov, like, holding up this corpse. I can't hold it much longer. Just pick the guy's pocket. I'm doing notes of the whack.

I'm the one lifting it. Oh, Ryan, good call. And I'm like taking this stuff out of his pocket. On the first giant's corpse, you find the following. On the first giant's corpse, you find the following. A silver chalice set with moonstones. were 750 gold pieces, a six-foot-long wooden fence post.

Ooh, a giant red. Oh, my God. A dented steel shield and a giant-sized necklace made of humanoid bones. Oh, my God, Red, take that off. I want to wear it. Like, Red's wearing this comically large.

There's like a femur hanging down. And I'm like, oh, fine, I take it off. On the second dead giant, you find some really cool stuff. you find a box of turquoise animal figurines you would value at 250 gold a silver necklace with a gemstone pendant you would value at 250 gold a large golden bracelet you would value at 250 gold dented steel shield the second of the pair I suppose a wagon wheel and a giant sized drinking horn oh I like the giant sized drinking horn how heavy is it roughly it's not going to blow it it into the other universe. 499,000 pounds. It's pretty heavy.

Okay, don't worry about it. I mean, you can carry it with you. What animal do you think that came from? Probably a sister-fonged it is dist. There are 130 gold pieces worth of gemstones that you can recover from the bug bear's bodies and a variety of macabre ornaments from the goblin's bodies, and that's it. Jack had noticed something weird about

this attack and why the attack and where the attack. Having a couple of minutes to investigate the scene now and the giants to see if they've, is there anything more he can determine about why? I hear why now? What's up with them? No, not really. Okay. All right. So we have done some minor investigation, some pillaging, and we've spoken with some guards. So on the way back to the center of town where North Fro's End is and the stables and the abbey, the sky is starting to grow light. You hear an excited chattering of people as small clusters of folks are standing around in the

Village Square, looking at all these bodies, people are sort of looking at the ogre corpses that you guys have dispatched, poking them. Well, Doran, you're one hell of a commander. We made it through that without a single loss. Well, and he spins around and he embraces your hand, you know, a big, friendly wrist shake. Yeah. Well, here, here. It was a team effort. And we couldn't have done it unless we had all work together in the way that we did. And before anything else happens, I need to get a nap in or something. Yes, my apartments are quite comfortable, if you like. Perfect.

I'm wondering, though, if maybe we shouldn't say something to these people, maybe put their minds at ease for a moment. Oh, please be my guest. Here's a soapbox. I'll put it right in the middle of the square. And Red, like, stands up the soapbox three inches taller and says, excuse me, ladies and gentlemen of golden fields. And liverless, like, they're still talking, and liffer's like,

like, quiets them all, and they're all like quiet. Ladies and gentlemen of Goldenfield, we understand that you have suffered severe losses, and we feel for you. Know that this attack is vanquished. The giants that have broken your walls are no more. However, it is important to stay vigilant and aware. We do not know what threats may come back to Golden Fields, but use this as an opportunity to grow and build and repair and strengthen yourself not just as a people's, but as a city. And even though High Harvest might be dead,

Remember, there are always leftovers. And I point towards the bar as like, people come out with like leftover turkey. No, no, no. You look at the crowd and you see that there are a lot of red rimmed eyes, a lot of hangovers in the making. Most people sort of drag themselves back to bed. There's kind of like a silence, I think, among the crowd as everything kind of dies down from the speech. And some of the, in the word giant kind of settles in. And they're like, fucked off.

Fuck. Naxine leads you to the inn, North Forreau's End. She heads around back of the building to a large stable house. You estimate could house up to 50 horses. It's a really big building. A separate entrance leads to a flight of stairs above which opens a lavishly furnished suite. Naxine's apartments are a haven of the esoteric. Despite the fact that she's been here under a year, every wall is hung with paintings and sea charts and diagrams of oddities.

A low divan and several stuffed armchairs are. are arranged around a lacquered coffee table, under which stacks of books are piled according to size. She gestures you all to sit. The four of you, plus Miros, who is with you, and Z, she gestures you to sit, then rings a small bell attached to the wall by a golden hook. Moments later, a stable boy pokes his head into the stairwell, and to him she says, a large pot of Verbein and rose tea, a large pot of coffee, a dozen cinnamon rolls, oh, and some of that lovely white cheese, Matthias. Hell, why not some of this?

Cornmerian cherry fire. She walks to a black wood cabinet and pulls a small dusty bottle off a shelf inside. I'm not much of a drink, but I think we could all use something to settle on nerves. That was quite the battle, and I have to say I'm impressed. Well, for all those who have faith in the balance, it will work out. She gets out a couple of small, delicately wrought crystal glasses and pours everyone a finger of this red liquid. Your contributions to that battle were also stunning. The spells you were throwing around lightning and furious fabulous.

Yes, you are a brilliant tactician that scene. No, I must sincerely give all of the tactical aplomb. to Doran here. You did an excellent job. Well, and I, perhaps that has earned me some meed. Oh, sir, just yell out the window. I'm sure Matthias can... Mead!

We acted as a team, a true team. And once everybody's got a drink, he holds up his glass. And here, to, two more, to whoever you honor. To us. And he holds a glass and he clings. To us. And then you almost. see a tear as he says

you are all you are all my friends and he drinks morning bless you Doran this is a strong stuff holy shit well I only break it out of for special occasions

I like it now tell me how did you come to meet how long have you been journeing together and to what purpose I need to know all about you well uh Kralath and I I met, how long ago? Maybe I'm two months now.

Oh, not too long ago, though it does feel like longer, doesn't it? Yes. We met two months ago just after our travels brought us here to Fyroon, and we've been friends ever since. He's a very, you know, he's a fun guy to be around, and he's pretty handy in combat, as you noticed. Oh, certainly. And Cray lot's pretty handsome.

Why, well, yes. Why are the four of you here in Goldenfields? Well, you know, last night I was telling you about the Uth excavation where I'd found that thing. So I needed some help getting there and ended up hiring Red and Kralath to escort me there. And afterwards, they were looking for work. And I had a friend in Nightstone and we ended up finding Doran. And he was also looking for the next thing. And so we'd found ourselves in Nightstone last week. And since then, it has been a really breakneck sort of ride with giants and prophecy and an uncertain future.

I don't know if you know this, but Doran is one of the best blacksmiths in all of the land. We didn't just pick him up as a random dwarf. His steel is legendary. And I pull it like an arrow, my last one. And I show her the head. And I'm like, this head, look at it. It's so good.

She pulls her half-moon spectacles. One of the lenses is broken, and she just kind of seems to realize it now. she takes her spectacles off and takes the arrowhead, peers closely at it. Is this iron fists, do you? Yes, it is. And you can see the insignia. It's like a D with an eye inside.

And it's kind of drawn to look like a little hammer inside of the D, even though it's obviously an eye. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Well, thank you. What Jack says, it's true. I was simply on the road selling my wares. And I was heading back to the Great Peak Mountains when they proposed that I come for a bit of an adventure. And I would say that this has been a

welcome vacation other than the fact that well, no, it has been a welcome vacation. You say he's with like blood and his beer. He's like... Tripping viscera on her nice floors. This brings back memories.

I'm surrounded by people that I have come to love. I'll be honest right now. I'm very concerned about what these two giant attacks on golden fields has in store for us and for the rest of phaeroon i've heard rumblings other towns and cities have been impacted by the sudden appearance and activity of giants not just hill giants but stone giants fire frost and cloud as you said with nightstone these are happening with more frequency throughout the countryside and now is not the time for half measures, boys. She stands up and moves to the window. Long ago, the thousand-year war raged between dragonkind and the giant kingdom of Astoria.

An avatar of the dragon god Garrix led a flight of dragons to attack the giant nation, after which a deadly blood feud was born. All races of dragonkind and giant-kind contributed to the carnage, and the battles raged, were such insane calamity, that it will never be forgotten. As it happens, with two equally matched forces, they tired each other's spirits and bodies so much that after a thousand years a truce was formed. Both the giants and the dragons were reduced to shadows of their former selves.

Most of the ancient dragons were destroyed, and the giant nation of Astoria vanished from Feroon. I believe that the power of the giants is returning After the dragon war several years ago Their power has been diminished such that I believe the giants Are looking for any opportunity And here, now we have proof I must stay here in golden fields

And fulfill my duty to water deep By protecting this city I urge you to seek out a powerful good dragon and convince it to contact the other good dragons such that they will form a force to combat this new giant threat. Do you know of any good dragons? No, not personally, but I know someone who you can talk to about this. I suggest you speak with an acquaintance of mine in Waterdeep. His name is Charles Loth, the Aaghorn.

And he lives in the North Ward, and a tall stonehouse with a mage tower in one corner. He will help you find one such dragon, I'm sure of it. Sounds good to me. Ultimately, if we need to fight these giants, having dragons on our side would be pretty good. A dragon, though, I mean... Yeah.

The creatures of legend, I never thought... Yes. In my wildest dreams that I would ever have the opportunity to. Yes, Kraylon. But you yourselves are becoming creatures of legend. You are heroes. Naxene, I think that's a good lead for us to follow up on. I would love to take you guys to Water Deep.

I know exactly where you can stay. A really special person to me runs a feast hall. I'm sure you could put us all up, treat you to a really nice food. Sure. The page, Matthias, the stable boy, comes to Naxine's staircase, bearing a very wobbly and full tray of. of the requested foods, the mead, the cinnamon rolls. As Kralath sees the food come through the door,

his eyes go wide and you can almost see him salivating, and he says, well then, it looks like our chorus is set for us. First, we eat. Next, we travel to water deep. Giants, pah, nothing more than a big sack of meat. My shame is now the top-rated Actual Play Podcast on Pod Chaser So thank you for giving us a positive review

See you soon Don't Don't worry, I'll put the full Backing track behind you Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-ha Let's get this started. Flipper Jets!