The Hare and the Hill Giant

[Majestic]

So who has seen Gygax magazine, specifically issue #2 with the TOR adventure "The Hare and the Hill Giant"? If you have, is it any good? Is it made for newer adventurers, or adaptable for an experienced group? What region or area is it set in?

I'm trying to decide if I should spend $5 for the PDF of it.

[Majestic]

I see from the preview that it's set in the Dale lands and meant to occur a few years after the Battle of Five Armies.

I'm also curious how many pages it is, and how many adventurers it's geared for?

[SirGalrim]

I have it, but have only skimmed it, not read it fully yet. Might run it in my campaign later on. I imagined the adventure would be more fitted to the setting and system. I so far feel it is a bit generic fantasy. Though that don't mean it can't be good. I am not sure yet how good it is.

I dare to copy some of the heading for the adventure. I think that should be informative for potential buyers, and hopefully not cause any copyright infringements.

When: This adventure is set a few years after the Battle of Five Armies.
Where: A fortified village somewhere east of the Long Lake.
What: A hill-troll moves back to a hill that his people once occupied before the coming of Smaug, and demands tribute from a village that has sprung up nearby. [Further text cut out]
Why: Glory! Fame! A village is threatened and the companions are there to protect it! If that’s not good enough, there’s a chance they will come into a troll-hoard worth of treasure.
Who: The companions meet the leaders of the village and, eventually, the captains from Dale and the Lonely Mountain.

I don't see any guidelines for the size of the adventuring party.

[MattG]

I have that issue and played that adventure with online group a coupe of years ago.
IMO, it is worth a few bucks, definitely. If not for the plot (which really isn't bad, not sure if 100% canon), then for the ideas. The settlement is fleshed out nicely, a lot of interesting NPCs and dynamics in the village, rules for the hare hunt, etc.. It is not very long, several pages; one shot taking place in the east Dalelands, if I remember correctly; a few days of travel away from Esgaroth; a few years after the Battle.
We played with only 3PC and it was tough. In the end the company was defeated and the village destroyed but that was mostly due to not so good player's choices and a lot of bad luck. If I run it again with only 3 PCs, I would scale down the Giant's familly by one less or maybe shortened the distance away from the Dale.

[Majestic]

Thanks, all. It sounds like it's at least worth a few $.

[Lifstan]

I played recently that scenario. It was lots of fun.

One thing: in this scenario the Trolls are not afraid of the light. They can fight in broad daylight. I don't know how canon is that fact... My players were a little bit surprised by that, but I just explained that they were different types of Trolls and that not all Trolls are afraid of the daylight.

The scenario propose to handle the problem without fighting the Trolls, but at the end the battle seems impossible to avoid. The players mostly have to buy time. They were looking for a weakness, but they don't have any. It's just a question to wait for help to arrive... I don't know if it's a big issue, but maybe it's possible to imagine a weakness...

[Otaku-sempai]

One thing: in this scenario the Trolls are not afraid of the light. They can fight in broad daylight. I don't know how canon is that fact... My players were a little bit surprised by that, but I just explained that they were different types of Trolls and that not all Trolls are afraid of the daylight.

Canonically (since you brought it up) I am fairly certain that the only Middle-earth Trolls who should be able to withstand full sunlight are the Olog-hai that first appeared near the end of the Third Age. They were so unlike other Trolls that they could be mistaken for huge Orcs. All older breeds should be considered Trolls of the Twilight.

[Rudio]

I played recently that scenario. It was lots of fun.

One thing: in this scenario the Trolls are not afraid of the light. They can fight in broad daylight. I don't know how canon is that facts about virlity ex here as well... My players were a little bit surprised by that, but I just explained that they were different types of Trolls and that not all Trolls are afraid of the daylight.

The scenario propose to handle the problem without fighting the Trolls, but at the end the battle seems impossible to avoid. The players mostly have to buy time. They were looking for a weakness, but they don't have any. It's just a question to wait for help to arrive... I don't know if it's a big issue, but maybe it's possible to imagine a weakness...

Seems like an interesting twist with the trolls. I like it and it makes it a bit more challenging.