gamegoblin

There are several different clans of Cloud Giants, and these clans are loose gatherings of family units that form the basis of Cloud Giant society. They have a caste-based society which is based on the type of clouds they call home- the higher the cloud, the higher the social status. Cumulus clouds are the second-lowest clouds, and that gives you a rough idea where the Cumulus Clan falls in Cloud Giant Society.

The Cumulus Clan is quite large, and has family groups living on clouds almost everywhere. Here is an example of one such family. They can be introduced into a campaign easily enough- just have their cloud castle float into the area, and the Cumulus hunters begin to loot the countryside. Giants have appropriately enormous appetites, and herds of cattle make an irresistibly easy target for such a large stomach.

The Cumulus Clan presented here is typical of Cloud Giant family groupings- the family is run by the female of the house. In most cases, there are many more males in a domicile than females, and the males compete for her attentions, with gifts, food, and so on. When push comes to shove, and decisions need to be made, however, the females wield unquestioned authority.

The head of this particular family is named Cordelia. She is an attractive, matronly woman as far as giants go. The males of the family are her consorts, guardians and providers. Cordelia has one child, a daughter named Corinda. Corinda is spoiled tremendously by her mother and fathers, and is quite used to getting her way.

Cordelia Cumulus

HD 11(d8), HP 51, Size L (14 ft), Move 40ft, AC 20, Attacks:2 fists (2d8) or Bastard Sword +1 (1d10+5) or Giant Club (4d6), Special: Rock Throwing (540ft, 2d10), Levitate, Twilight Vision, Scent. Saves: P, INT Average. AL ne, Type: Giant

Cordelia almost never leaves the castle. She oversees all the domestic functions of the home, such as cooking and cleaning. When encountered at home she can be found doing all manner of domestic chores, such as sewing and mending. She is no stranger to combat, but prefers to leave such things to the males. She keeps her war club propped in the corner, while she carries a magical human-sized bastard sword tucked in her belt, which serves as her dagger. One thing that is sure to bring her out of the house is if her daughter is in danger or has been abducted. Cordelia also carries a Potion of Cure Disease in her belt pouch, which she is saving in case Corinda becomes ill.

Corinda Cumulus

HD 4(d8), HP 21, Size L, Move 30ft, AC 16, Attacks: slam(1d10) or longsword +1 (1d8+4), Special: Twilight Vision, Scent. Saves: P, Int: average. Al ne, Type: Giant.

Corinda has been indulged endlessly by the adults around her, and is prone to throwing tantrums when her will is defied. She comes across as the penultimate spoiled little girl, and has a nasty streak a mile wide. She is not old enough to have developed her levitation powers yet, but she often prevails upon one of the males to carry her down to the surface to play. The males watch her fairly closely on these forays, and will take any threat to her safety quite seriously.

The Cumulus Hunters

HD 14(d8), Size L, Move 50ft, AC 25, Attacks: 2 fists (2d8) or Giant Club (6d6), Special: Rock Throwing (690ft, 2d12),Levitate, Twilight Vision, Scent. Saves: P, Int: avg, AL ne, Type: Giant.

There are seven males of the household. Competition amongst them is fierce, and each one goes through stages of being the favorite, with the most attention going to the one who brings back the best loot and food from his “hunting trips.” Since competition is so fierce between them, it is rare for them to collaborate. The only thing that will bring the males together is defense of the Cumulus Castle, and protecting Cordelia and Corinda. The names and respective hit points of the males are:

• Chester (69hp)

• Charles “Call me Chuck” (63hp)

• Corwin (62 hp)

• Cal (60hp)

• Cab (55hp)

• Caleb (53hp)

• Chauncey (51hp)

Treasure: The family keeps all of its valuables at the homestead. The males have no need for currency, so almost never bring it home. However, Cordelia has an eye for fine gems and jewelry, and shows much favor to the males that bring these things back to her. Currently the family hoard consists of:

• 5 gems: Tiger’s Eye (25gp), Green nephrite (250gp), White Moonstone (100gp), Bloodstone (50gp), Peridot (250gp).

• 6 extraordinary items: wooden holy symbol (50gp), Expert dagger (20gp, +1 dmg), Hair shirt (1gp), Pewter Goblet (2gp), Expert Halberd (100gp, +1dmg), Crystal vase (71gp).

• 3 magic items: Longsword +1 (carried by Corinda), Bastard Sword +1 and Potion of Cure Disease (carried by Cordelia).

This an example of a puzzle that a CK can use to stump his players. It can be placed anywhere you need it, usually securing a door or chest from intrusion. This puzzle should be considered easy to medium in difficulty.

Read the following out aloud to the players:

“You see before you a closed door.  In front of the door is a pedestal with twenty numbered buttons on it. Below the buttons an inscription reads:

Nine Prime
All the Pairs
Two Sets of Three.”

The solution to the puzzle is three distinct steps, each described by the lines in the inscription. As each of the buttons is pressed, they remain in place unless a mistake is made, in which case the buttons all reset themselves.

Nine Prime: Press the prime numbers (1,2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19)

All the Pairs: The remaining buttons that are multiples of two (4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20)

Two Sets of Three: the final two buttons are 9 and 15 (both are divisible by three, hence sets of three)

This puzzle should not be too hard to solve through trial and error or process of elimination.  If you feel the PCs need a little extra pressure, then you can set a consequence for them if an incorrect button is pushed.  For example, maybe the person pushing the wrong button is shocked for an appropriate amount of damage.

I first started playing Dungeons & Dragons around the age of five.  Initially, my dad was the Dm and my mom played with my brother and me. Our first forays were less than impressive, as we played pretty much by the rules at the time.  Character mortality was high, but we were loving it nonetheless. As time went on we also had a few characters continue to survive, and they continued to rack up small amounts of XPs.

Then, one day, something magic happened. One of them became 2nd level. It was my
brother’s veteran character, a fighter named Spider (he was 7- cut him some slack).  He
got more hit points and everything, and I was amazed and a little jealous (little brothers
are like that).  It also became clear to me why we had been writing down those XPs at
the end of each night- until then I had just that was how we kept score.  I thought, “You
mean our characters actually get better?”  The game that I already loved had just
hooked me even deeper.

It wasn’t much later that I finally had a 2nd level character. I was so happy, I felt like I
had just passed some sort of milestone. His name was Fruit Fly the Elf. Not only was he
the first character of mine that survived to 2nd, but he was the first character to own a
magic sword, too.  These were old-school low-level games, so we had 3 or 4 magic items in the entire party.  A magic sword, even a +1, was a pretty big deal.

It completely changed the scope of the game, and the concepts of campaign and character development and ongoing stories worked their ways into my young brain.  Each of the characters began to develop their own stories, and experiences.  We began to
make up stories for them, and tie them together in various ways.  One of my other early
success stories was Fruit Fly’s younger brother, Strawberry.  Strawberry was special
because he had died while at first level, but had been restored to life through a ring of
wishes, after which he survived to second level.

We continued to play, and I remember that Spider, followed by Fruit Fly, went on to become our first 3rd level characters.  This marked another milestone, because that was
when Dad decided to bring home the Expert OD&D boxed set. The original boxed set only gave details for characters up to 3rd level, so Steve and I had rather felt like we had “won” the game.  The Expert rules allowed our characters to advance to 14th level, and even mentioned that the maximum level possible was 36th.  It was truly engrossing, to think back on all of the adventures that we had undergone, and to think about what adventures lay ahead of us. It was exciting, and even a little intimidating to think about
the length of time it would take to get there.
That facet of the game, ongoing character development, was certainly the primary feature that made the game so special to me.  The characters that survived were the ones that you grew to love and appreciate, and they seemed more real with time. You had history with them, and could refer back to that for their thoughts and opinions on
things.  It was a whole lot more fun than Monopoly.

Who else remembers their first character to survive to 2nd level?  Post a reply and let us
hear your story, too!