DM TACTICS: Against the Giants (Steading of the Hill Giant Chief)
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- A walkthrough guide for dungeon masters filled with tips and lessons learned while running Against the Giants (Steading of the Hill Giant Chief). This is the 5e edition from Tales of the Yawning Portal.
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I played this in First Edition as a kid in the 70-80’s and it was incredibly fun. Gary was a genius, and this trilogy was very fun and kept us playing every week. We were blown away when it lead us into the Underdark, and the city of the drow, with the Vault of the Drow. Others have commented, but it’s pronounced stead-ing as in ‘head’. Her name is pronounced E-clavdra. Keep going, you can only get better.
In 1st Edition D&D, you scored the most XP for finding treasure (including magic items). Then you got XP for defeating monsters, but at risk to life and limb. The reason the valuable magic items are hidden, is searching carefully for treasure is a focus of play. There were no skill check rules -- you just said how your character was interacting with the environment, and the DM told you what happened/what you found based on what you said you were doing, though there were detection rolls for secret doors.
And though not as intense in this series, traps did half the killing in many dungeons.
About the secret doors -- the module was one of the first tournament modules for D&D, so it's designed as a player skill test. Note that if the players are mapping, hidden rooms can be revealed as blank spots on the map. Also, they can take prisoners, who could bargain for their lives by leading them to the treasure room, or tell them about Eclavdra and the teleporter.
Consider for the secret door that the manticore cloak might be moving slightly due to the draft of air moving through the door's cracks which should be significant enough for it to stand out among the other decorations.
I find it amusing the complaint about no story line. The early modules were made this way the DM could create the storyline to fit their world and creativity. The further refinements of this and the other two modules of the series is given more in later versions. Even then it was left open enough for the DM to use the Mojo appropriately. It’s not like the 5e modules that are overly done with storyline.
Plus, the characters are supposed to be finding the hidden hand that's guiding the giant raids. So not just combat.
Yep. That's why they are called Modules. They are supposed to be modular or plug and play into any game setting.
Good run through of the story, thanks in particular for highlighting the shortcomings and points of difficulty with character decisions.
A typical shield is less than 1/2 inch thick, so Detect Magic should very much work to find the magic item behind it.
good video & Great tips.
I am running it now. Had the player characters magically teleported by a wild mage who appealed to the cosmos for heroes. They set a recon of the Steading first, and stalked and killed some small hill giant raiding parties departing from their base. The characters met some of the local villages being raided, and made some friends. They did a good job of sneaking around and finding good tactical opportunities for combat. They are heading downstairs next.
Good review!
FYI, steading is pronounced like "heading" not "steeding."
Also, it's E-clavdra (one L), not EL-clavdra (two Ls).
Yes, think: "Homestead"
@@jeffadams584 or steady
Thank you!
Not to mention he screwed up the names of the next 2 modules as well. 😆
Can’t wait to use this when my group runs this dungeon.
You should consider doing other modules! Maybe start with Tyranny if Dragons?
I really love your format. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.
As far as searching goes i used to give the players a description of the room with the obvious features and they would invariably ask for more details which i would provide along with some hints. If they said something like i search the room I’d ask for more details, like what are they hoping to find where are they looking, how are they going about it, etc.
Depending on the response i would decide how long the search takes, what treasures or secret doors they find and roll for random encounters. They would usually find the biggest treasures and the most obvious concealed doors plus anything in/on/under the specific items they mentioned. That would cover the 7th shield thing. It would only take a few minutes for the players but the characters would be searching for an hour or more.
I think actually describing how and where your looking sort of kicks in your sense of adventure and is more rewarding when you actually find something, than “I rolled a 20 what did i find?”
Old school groups used to check everything and every item as they knew they had too. Woe to the lazy character.
The 5e conversion for the drow modules that follow the giant modules are on DM's Guild.
Good tip, thanks for sharing.
I’m currently running this module. I’m concerned that my players are going to get combat fatigue playing it, but this is the conundrum with 5e and the lack of tier 3 adventures. Other observations: none of the exterior doors are locked! My party went in through the east door and funnelled the dire wolves, killing them outside the compound. Also, the secret doors are crude so only a perception of 12 (or a passive 15) is needed to spot them.
Good stuff, I'm planning on tacking on the ADQ series following the portion of the Saltmarsh series I'm running for my group.
Well in answer to your question of did he expect characters to do X. Yes, yes he certainly did. It was a different age and his attitude was a little different than what we have today.
Helpful and well presented - thanks 👍
meh. the 'story' emerges from the actions of the players. modules with a canned storyline inevitably end up as railroad fests so that the DM can stick to the modules storyline.
If you reward them, even if small, for checking every nook and cranny then they will check all the things.
Even if it’s a silver spoon worth 3gp
Yeee get it GIMP!
Much of your concern about the lack of story was that the G-series were originally tournament games. So you didn't extensive set ups...
Ha! I’m the 1000th subscriber.
🥳🥳🥳
So many claimed they just burned it down and if so their DM failed to actually read the module.
Could you upload a picture of the map with the enemies in it? It'd be super helpful to have.
my players finally finished the Hill Giant Steading and found pretty much nothing. they chose to burn down the house to kill as many giants as quickly as apossible. i allowed them to burn it down, but it resulted in no such free kills. i also proceeded to grant no available loot on the ground level in the rubble... but they never even went looking.
Unless the shield are made of lead detect magic would work just fine. Steel shields are like sheet metal thick. Wooden shields aren’t even a full inch
I’ve never listened to you before. It really sounds like you are used you players who don’t work very hard and aren’t adventurous
Search everything leave no stone or board unturned. Always attempt to play monsters against each other especially recruit and free slaves. It’s why you have persuasion! As far as the teleportation circle. Supposedly they are an adventuring party! Not very adventurous if they won’t go through the circle ready to blast what ever they find !
What would you recommend for the group (5 players lv 11) to start with equipment on this adventure. How much money, magic item, potions, scrolls etc
It is pronounced like 'stedding' as in rhymes with sledding, not 'steeding' 8>D
Steadily dying. GL on your campaign 8>D
@@gimpzilla Thanks! Ran this a fair few times over the years. My latest and hopefully last worldbuild recently finished (the basics anyway, first party starting soon!) I just used the skeleton of G1 and removed Hill Giants entirely, making it an Ogre Chieftain's seat.
I can tell you're a 5th edition player.
What is this supposed to mean?
@@bagamer13 wanting the story to already be written instead of realizing the players create the story
@@adampender2482 Well, I’d argue it’s more of a collaborative effort between the players and the DM rather than it strictly being the players who the create the story. Your comments come across with a sort of gate keeping attitude.
I agree total 5e player. Wants to roll play instead of role play. Then when called out he hides behind the skirt of gatekeeping.
St-ee-ding? Really. The word is pronounced so as to rhyme with head not need.
Exactly, as in homestead.
From reading some of the modules and watching these vids i feel that 5e is a “Roll” playing game not a “Role” playing game. I don’t really understand the perception rolls, shouldn’t the players be perceptive? If the characters can hear or smell something the DM should just tell them and leave it up to the players to work out what it could mean.
I watched a game and the player asked the DM what his character thought of the situation, the DM said make a roll????? Don’t ask me its your character what do you think!
Don’t players have to think anymore? Just roll the dice and listen to the story! One supposed DM said a secret door was stupid because it was at the bottom of a pit and covered with rock coloured paper. Oh how are the PCs supposed to find that? I don’t know, how about poke it with a stick?
As for treasure, your supposed to earn it, not just have it handed to you. Thats why the old adventures had tons of stuff the average party would only find 10 or 20% of it, and magic items weren’t identified right away you had to work it out through trial and error or pay a sage to do the hard work for you.
Sadly I agree a lot with what you're saying. Ive only played 5e but I talk about this in my tomb of horrors video, how no one in the modern age will approach dungeons how they would in earlier editions. Thanks for watching
@@gimpzilla . No worries i value other peoples opinions because everyones got something i could use to help me be a better DM. My son has just convinced me to start DMing a 5e game and some of the rules trigger the old crusty DM in me😁 I’m trying to convert it back to a more 1stish game.
I was reading G1 and the descriptions had the giants mostly in the great hall and it all seemed very static, which is fine the first time the players arrive but what happens if they leave and come back? How long are they going to stay in there, don’t they sleep? So i was thinking about timetables and creature movements, then i thought I’d look around and see how other people handled it.
Cheers mate.
Edit. It was G1 not D1