I could swear there was a discussion about this topic somewhere in the forum, but I can't find it, so I'll just ask: Does any of the Tolkien afficionados here know if there is a fixed place for the giants in middle-earth cosmology? Are they necessarily evil? Are they in some way related to Ents?

I'm asking because I want to write a giant adventure for a small convention, and I would like it to be in line with the setting. At the moment, it is only a very general idea:

SPOILERs (for a scenario not yet written)
The PCs are sent into the Misty Mountains by a group of Woodmen to investigate why the small river coming down from them has carried foul waters for weeks. In the end, they find a big, old giant who lies dying in a gorge, the pus from her wounds poisoning the river. The characters could probably kill her (yes, I'd like it to be a her, a big, old, ugly, man-eating hag of a giant!), but they could never get her body out of the riverbed, so it would lie there for months to come, still spoiling the water. however, the giant might be able to stand up on her own and go somewhere else to die, if the PCs can convince her - the idea being to highlight the encounter system and making it the crux of the adventure.
I don't know the details yet - how did the giant end up in the gorge? What it her story, what could the PCs offer her to sway her? Was she fighting someone, maybe even trying to save someone? What other parties could be involved (orcs and eagles come to mind, but also trolls ...).

Some suggestions regarding the other elements of the scenario would also be great!

A relevant thread:
http://cubicle7.clicdev.com/f/index.php?tr...&showtopic=3307

Thanks, that's the thread I was looking for!

I like the idea for this adventure - it sounds very in keeping with the Hobbit rather than LotR, which is nice!

Some thoughts to your questions, off the top of my head...

Perhaps she was attacked by trolls/goblins? Is that possible - just how tough are giants in Middle Earth? Or someone/thing clever tricked/trapped her to deliberately use her to poison the river? I prefer that option as it means there's more of a hidden mystery to uncover rather than just a straightforward attack.

Maybe a combination of the two...

A particularly evil giant poisoned her and working with some clever goblins lulled her to the mountains over-looking the river and caused her to fall. The poison now seeps into the water - the real mischief that the goblins wished to cause. Why didn't they just poison the river directly? Perhaps its a herbal potion that requires a giant's blood to become active and on such a large scale? That may sound a bit too silly though or does it?

See above...

Maybe the giant was her betrothed so she trusted him but he longs for greater power and rulership. He has been promised such a thing by the agent of the Necromancer should he aid the goblins of the mountains.

I like the idea of simple things convincing the giant. What are they known to like in Tolkien's lore... Thunderstorms? Rain? Hmmm. How could the players achieve that? Maybe using them as memories of better times when trying to convince/motivate her? ... Perhaps they like sweet cakes or chocolate though? Or have never tasted them before but when she does it fills her with hope - such sweet tastes!

Could the giant be healed of the virulent poison/wounds? I'd like to think so. A visit to Radagast, maybe - giant with them?!!? One last effort for survival, motivated by the PCs and fed the sweet cake/chocolate to keep going? Or if that seems too silly, perhaps the PCs have to race back to Radagast to obtain his aid/herbs and get back in time before the giant dies?

Goblins and maybe their leader - perhaps a strange unseen-of-before breed of troll? Or just a clever, but evil, man? The PCs/giant could be attacked by goblins that are observing their handiwork and want to stop them from foiling their evil schemes?

... Hope some of that brain dump is useful!

EDIT: Also posted these thoughts before looking at the giant discussion thread - so depending on what you go with from there the above may largely be a no-go.

Thanks, lots of good ideas! I wouldn't tie the adeventure into any greater schemes, though, because its supposed to be a one-shot.
However, I really like the idea with the husband and actually think that I could just switch their roles: for some reason, the Giantess has pushed her husband into the gorge (well, he must have done something),[I], were he lies moaning and bleeding, beset by scavengers. he can't get out by himself - but his wife could get him out, if the characters convince her to take him back.
Maybe the giant lost something that was very special to his wife, or gave it away in exchange vor something else? Then the PCs would have to get it back.

That's a nice idea as well, I like it! Prefer it to mine - much better plot for a convention game, which I missed when reading your OP.

Very amusing - the PCs are marriage counsellors of Middle Earth!

That's a good one and lends itself to some great opportunities for role-playing.

That certainly has a Tolkien feel to it Very fitting to the Hobbit era.

Cheers

Kev

Part 1 of 3

Hmmm... you said it has to be a one-shot, but can parts of the story be tied back into The Hobbit canon without causing a problem? So we've got a giant couple - Mr and Mrs Giant....

What if Mr Giant is the Mr Giant of boulder blocking Goblintown fame? So he's Gandalf's "more or less half-decent giant" that was willing to act for the forces of Good. So right from the start if the characters bother to talk rather than attack, their is a vested interest in saving Mr Giant. Whether the players want to admit it or not, they know their is a war coming and a friendly Giant is, quite literally, "a friend indeed". And they can see that he is already "a friend in need." But not too much of a friend, Gandalf was going to have to convince him after all. So assume he's like 50% Good, maybe 35% Neutral and only 15% Evil (by this I mean his chance of responding to stuff falls into these categories this often).

But Mrs Giant, well, she's much less civilized than her husband (but that's ok, he likes them feisty). She's more like 30% Good, 45% Neutral, 25% Evil. So when she finds the Company of Adventurers on her doorstep, she responds more negatively/chaotically. Perhaps instigating a fight where the PC's cannot attack her affectively and still help Mr Giant. Mr Giant would warn them of course, but players do their own thing.

Mr and Mrs Giant are not going to be enough for this adventure though. So assume they had a domestic dispute of some kind. But to do that justice, you have to know the backstory. Otherwise it's not in context and might not make sense.


Note: I continue to use the names "Mr Giant" and "Mrs Giant" in the following messages just so you know who is whom, even though at the time they're not married.

Part 2 of 3

Backstory:
Years ago, while still an unmarried lass, Mrs Giant came across a slaughtered caravan in which she found a unique and remarkable treasure - giant sized needles! She was quite handy herself and an excellent seamstriss (well, for a giant) so on finding these incomparable things, she took all 5 of them. It took her quite some time to gouge an eye into the needles, but she managed it. Setting to work with one of her new, remarkably sharp needles, made the task of sewing so very much easier. Between her skill, and these irreplacable treasures, she became moderately famous for her sewing skills among the giants.

In fact, it was part of the reason she managed to win such a capable husband. Mr Giant was quite the catch. Big, tall, strong and eminently capable in those skills which are of value to giants (I don't know... Hunting, Throwing, Crafting (Masonry), Combat?), he didn't look twice at her - until he learned of her sewing skills. Mr Giant had recently obtained some leather and wanted it sewn together to make soft shoes for another Giantess that he was courting. Mrs Giant complied, requiring his assistance in desiging and crafting them - but they ended up too small (Mr Giant didn't know how to measure properly) and caused friction between the courting giants.

In a few months though, things were patched up between the humongous couple, and Mr Giant returned to Mrs Giant, asking that she sew a bearskin hat for the Giantess. Mrs Giant agreed and, stalling, she was quite particular in choosing only the best pelts, lingering in Mr Giants' company. But she had to finish the project at some point, no matter how she felt, because Mr Giant kept asking about it. This time, Mr Giant chose not to try and surprise her, but to have the Giantess go in for fittings. Mrs Giant "accidentally" pricked the Giantess, several times, causing her to lose her tempter and, in a fit of rage, to damage the hat and spurn it as a gift while berating Mrs Giant. The Giantess stomped off and refused to have anything to do with Mr Giant for over a year.

During that time, Mr Giant tried to think of a way to regain the Giantess' affection. She like pretty and soft things - relative to a giant's stature of course. Until the incident with the hat, the Giantess had sought to obtain anything Mrs Giant should craft. It had become a mark of distinction among the giants to have such items. But now, he wasn't sure what to do.

Mrs Giant suggested a coat, a special coat. It could be made with bearskin on the outside but with rabbit fur on the inside. Working with such a tiny creature's pelt would show just how much Mr Giant loved the Giantess. Especially if it was patterned, just so, with only the absolute best pelts that matched exactly in color and quality.

Mr Giant immediately agreed, thinking that such a remarkable coat would be the envy of every female giant and could not but help to win him the affection of the giant who wore it. Getting enough fur took forever - nearly two years. It took nearly a year for the Giantess to even look at him. A few months later she finally spoke to him. He was constantly coming too and fro from Mrs Giants home, trying to match up the last of the rabbit pelts. Why, he nearly caught every rabbit for miles around! If they didn't breed so fast, their still wouldn't be any in the area today.

But all this time and attention spent in the company of Mrs Giant started to make the Giantess jealous. The Giantess started to think that perhaps Mr Giant wasn't as constant a lover as he claimed. One day, seeing Mrs Giant go out, the Giantess stole inside and finding Mrs Giant's precious needle safely put aside, the Giantess bent it into a tangle that couldn't be used again!

Mrs Giant, finding the ruined needle on returning, was quite distraught. Obtaining the needles was a remarkable stroke of luck that might never occur again. To have one purposely destroyed was unthinkable. Mrs Giant was so distraught that she wept. Mr Giant, arriving shortly after the discovery, tried to console Mrs Giant and - worried for his own pending project - promised to find another needle for her. Mrs Giant, surprised by this show of affection, stopped crying and admitted that she had another needle that could be used. But the loss of even one needle was a terrible blow, she could not imagine who would do such a thing. Everyone wanted her sewing.

Relieved that Mrs Giant had anoher needle which had been placed in a separate and more secure , Mr Giant was very glad that their was only a short delay. He spent several hours in her company, trying to cheer her up and catering to her a bit. After all, she was the only giant who could help him win his love. Any negative impact on her was a blow to him.

So both Mr and Mrs Giant were stunned in two days when, while both were out on their separate tasks, Mrs Giant returned to find another of her precious needles had been crushed into a mangled tangle of metal once again. Now two of the needles were gone, destroyed beyond hope of recovery. Mrs Giant wailed and her cries echoed through the mountains, scaring game off for miles around. It didn't take long for Mr Giant to learn of the malign action against Mrs Giant. He couldn't understand these actions though. Mrs Giant was a decent sort and was willing to assist others so who could be so callous? Not once, but twice?

Mrs Giant came up with a plan. Mr Giant, seeing that the completion of his project was endangered, readily agreed to it or he might never win his love. He would continue to act as normal and recommended that Mrs Giant do the same. However while they were out, he to hunt more rabbits (despite his efforts he could not seem to find just the right color of rabbit pelt), and she to do those womanly things no home is without, they would hide in the vicinity of Mrs Giants home, so they could watch who came and went. It was in this manner that they saw, in just over a week's time, the Giantess enter Mrs Giant's home, coming out with a bundle of rabbit pelts that she threw over the edge of a nearby cliff. Mr Giant was stunned into silence, Mrs Giant nodded, knowing who the culprit must have been.

Part 3 of 3

This leaves us with the following adventure...

Having earned the enmity of the Goblins, Mr and Mrs Giant are forced to move time and again to avoid them. Which is causing Mrs Giant to become quite cross as her efforts at homemaking keep getting interrupted. This is the 18th time she's begun to establish a new, comfortable (to a giant at least) home only to have to leave it all behind and flee. Again!

One day while both the giants are out, the goblins once again find them, or rather their home, and in ransacking the place they find Mrs Giant's precious needles. There are only two left now, one was lost as they initially fled the first goblin attack.

Except these are not needles, but some kind of enchanted weapon (Spear of Bladorthin? Or similar magical weapon - Sorry, books not handy ATM) but in a giant's hands, they're much smaller items and, being ignorant of Man's weapons, she saw them as sewing needles.

So when the Giants return and Mrs Giant finds her needles gone, she is beyond distraught. It is absolutely the final straw! Enraged with no one else to take it out on, Mrs Giant fights with her husband, injuring him. He takes off, allowing the Missus to calm down, not aware he's pretty seriously injured.

Worse, he encounters the Goblins, who use poisoned weapons against him. Injured, poisoned and ill from infection, Mr Giant crawls into the river chasm to protect himself. It is the best he can do.

Mrs Giant has since calmed down but is worried for her husband who has not come home in a few days. She has no idea where he is. When the PC's arrive, in her distraught condition, she mistakes the tiny things for more Goblins and attacks them.

Finally settling things with Mrs Giant and getting her to come to Mr Giant's aid, the Company arrives just as the Goblins are launching a final offensive against Mr Giant who is now too weak to defend himself adequately. It's up to the Company and Mrs Giant to be heros.

Oh, and Mrs Giant is going to want her needles back, make no mistake about that.

Wow!
You did all my work for me - in terms of tone and backstory, that is pretty much what I was trying to come up with!
With your permission, I'll translate the backstory into German and build the rest of the adventure around it. And when I play it on the con, I'll certainly mention this message board and the name "Garn"!

Awesome posts there, Garn. Kudos mate.

Jakob,
Sometimes I get really lucky and inspiration strikes. This is probably the closest I've ever come to successfully writing a Faerie Tale.

You're quite welcome to use the idea for the con. I would love to see it as well, if possible. While I can't read German, one of the translation websites will help me to read through. Just so I can see what you ultimately made of the idea.


Rich H,
Thanks. Honestly, I quite enjoy coming up with ideas and it is really fun to share them. Bouncing ideas back and forth.

I'm glad that you both liked the story idea.