The giants rise. Their purpose is unknown, but in their wake lays death and destruction. City elders have done all they can and now turn to a group of adventurers for help. Their job is to find the cause that brings different giants together, unites them, and sends them against the world. Somewhere behind it all must be a reason; can the PCs find it and prevent further raids?

Against the Giants is the sixth adventure presented in D&D’s Tales From the Yawning Portal from Wizards of the Coast. Originally published in 1981, it collects the earlier giant-themed series of three adventures from 1978, another of the various modules presented in this book from the earliest days of Dungeons & Dragons. So early are they that Gary Gygax was working on them at the same time as he was working on the 1st Edition D&D rules.

Having seen other early adventures already, you would be forgiven for thinking that there was something basically wrong with early D&D. That somehow none of the stuff from the first days of D&D bears any resemblance to the way things are now. You might have the idea that early adventures were a mess, solely intended to kill PCs by the binder full and provide giggles of delight to the more sadistic DMs of the world, with much the same result as pushing character sheets through a paper shredder. The adventures we’ve seen so far, The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan and White Plume Mountain, are unconnected to larger stories and seem to exist as one off events that no reasonable GM would make part of an ongoing campaign.

You’d be correct of course, but it is important to remember that Tamoachan and White Plume do represent something different and out of the ordinary even compared to what D&D was like in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. They were special or tournament modules, meant to provide different sorts of challenges suitable to a much different purpose than regular, every day, play.

Against the Giants, however, was absolutely intended for regular, ongoing play with a regular cast of PCs. Not only were all three of the G-series modules meant to work together to tell the story of a giant uprising, at the conclusion they lead into yet another series of adventures which continue the story and discoveries made here. So, it is fair to evaluate them from that perspective and makes, arguably, more sense to include them in Yawning Portal than those earlier examples.

DMs wishing to run Against the Giants will have their work cut out for them, though. It doesn’t take DMs by the hand and gently walk them through their paces. By the time you have a party ready to take on the adventure, it expects DMs to be ready to face it with all their DMing skills honed to near-perfection. It’s not the sort of module you bring out on a whim to fill in a gap. Preparations must be made, and made carefully, as it will expect as much work from the DM as it does from the players in order for maximum fun and challenge to be had.

Each section of the adventure, broken down into the contents of each original module, gives clear, precise instructions on what a DM will need to take into account to run that particular portion of the adventure. Don’t skip this. If the DM isn’t ready to handle all the moving pieces of each sub-adventure, from movement of NPCs, to random encounters, to preparing the party, the PCs will not have nearly as much enjoyment as is intended. Crucial pieces of information for both the PCs and the DM are laid out here, information that can have great bearing on the party’s overall success. Or, at least, chances for it.

Further advice for customizing the encounters is also given in order that PCs don’t simply encounter a series of similarly armed combatants over and over again. Not only is variety good for these encounters, it also allows the DM to tailor individual encounters for the capabilities and interests of the PCs; challenging their strengths or exploiting their weaknesses.

The other thing DMs are likely to notice immediately is the lack of flavor text for any of the encounters. Sure, there is some description of each encounter and its participants, but nothing to specifically read to the players. Remember, these are 11th level PCs by now and presumably brought to this level by the same DM, a DM who should be more than capable of coming up with flavor text that presents necessary information and provides engaging descriptions and details that appeal specifically to the party at the table. Do some of the players take more interest in architectural and furnishing details; are some concerned solely with targets and their positioning; are others attempting to spot key features necessary to turn the tide of battle? Whatever their interest, the DM should take the time to go through the adventure beforehand and note specifics likely to matter to the PCs and craft a description that reveals those — perhaps on simple 3x5 cards. Doing so presents an adventure that feels like it was made just for them.

While taking such notes, the DM should prepare to track the movements of major NPCs as this will matter in subsequent portions. Rooms that might otherwise seem empty fill up when it is realized that survivors of earlier encounters might congregate in them. And sometimes the degree to which they fill may pose serious, game ending, problems for the PCs; it’s essential for the DM to know when and where that happens and who may or may not be there in order to prepare properly for it.

Against the Giants is a tactically serious adventure. That is, the tactics the players use as they approach not only each sub-adventure, but each encounter, will matter. A total party kill is never more than one injudicious action away for most of the adventure. Fortunately, careful thinking by both the players and their PCs is well rewarded with easier encounters and greater options for dealing with them successfully. It is never wrong to stop and think carefully before engaging.

Equally important and rewarding are the tactics the DM chooses to employ while running these encounters. Numerous NPCs would prefer not to fight or run away if attacked or damaged sufficiently. Some are indifferent to the PCs and their current problems, others still will join forces with the party if given the opportunity and proper conditions. It’s up to the DM to make all these options possible and to signal the nature of the encounter appropriately, while still making sure that combat encounters run as intended and as seriously as possible. Again, skimping here lessens the experience for the players.

Since I’ve harped on the maps throughout the reviews of Yawning Portal, it would be poor of me not to mention that most of the maps in Against the Giants are the best so far offered in the book. Only one really suffers from dark on dark printing and all of them convey information and details at a size that is easy to see and understand. Must be something to do with giants.

Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

The Upper Level of Steading of the Hill Giant Chief presents an interesting introduction to the whole of Against the Giants. It is well set up for a party of adventurers to get familiar with the requirements of the adventure and what they might be expected to face. The sparsely populated corridors allow for careful exploration at a pace the PCs are comfortable with, allowing them to probe and then retreat if necessary. The occasional random encounter keeps them on their toes and at the same time allows them to draw foes out of the main problem of the level. That being the Great Hall, where the majority of this levels NPCs are gathered. There are twenty-seven combatants gathered here, of which twelve are giants of one sort or another, assuming the PCs have not managed to encounter any of them earlier. A deadly encounter by any definition.

Waiting patiently, or proceeding with care, may reveal further opportunities to take out these giants in smaller groups as individuals retire for the evening or move elsewhere in the keep, but it is all too easy to stumble into a situation that can bring most of the giants on this level, or other threats, down on the party’s collective head. At that point, the only survivable course of action may be to retreat from the Steading to their secure location nearby. After that, of course, the location of the giants within changes and they become more alert. But at least they aren’t all grouped up in one spot anymore.

The Dungeon Level is where the PCs can begin collecting soldiers in their small army of allies. Using them wisely for the remainder of Against the Giants could mean having a much easier time during some of the later encounters. However, if the DM runs all the possible allied NPCs during the course of the adventure, this will bog down play significantly. Sharing responsibility among the players to run some of these allies is recommended, but it is still going to lead to very long encounters and sessions where not much actually gets done. Just between areas 12 to 14 it is possible to pick up twenty-eight orc combatants along with other low combat followers. Having cards available to summarize these groups and rolling die rolls for them as groups will help.

Unless the PCs have brought numerous empty carts or a number of hired hands to deal with things, there’s more treasure than the party can likely carry. Especially if they insist on collecting giant-sized weapons. This situation does not improve throughout the rest of the adventure. Expect lots of time spent changing their loads; dumping silver in favor of gold, dumping gold in favor of platinum, dumping all that in favor of jewels… that sort of thing. I mean, DMs do keep track of encumbrance, right? Hopefully that incentivizes them to be thorough searches, because if they aren’t, they won’t know where to go next or how to get there for the next leg of the adventure.

The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl