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The Giant's Skull is another solid adventure module published by Fiery Dragon Productions. Like On Hallowed Ground, there are two scenarios within its covers. Unlike that module, these two are connected as the halves of a greater whole. The interconnection isn't absolute; a GM can axe either half without losing much from the scenario he keeps. Just the same, getting two scenarios is a steal and a big reason right there to get a copy.

As for the scenarios, they revolve around the struggle for possession of the titular item: the Giant's Skull, a magical artifact of great and terrible power. On one side, we have a veteran paladin with some serious racial issues. On the other side, we have an exceptional ogre magi with a vision and an axe to grind. The module suggests that the Ogre's Tale be played first, and then follow up with the Hero's Tale; I concur, if for no other reason than the ogre scenario makes for a good pick-up game which also allows the GM a little more time to find a way to integrate the Hero's Tale into his campaign.

The Ogre's Tale

The players take on the roles of pre-generated ogre or ogre magi PCs; these characters represent the heroes of an ogre tribe, including the tribe's visionary leader. This band of heroes returns from another quest to find the lair in tatters; a gang of experienced, well-armed humans raided the lair not long before and stole away with the Giant's Skull. Without the Skull, the tribe's dire predicament with regard to a nearby hill giant tribe (amongst other things) is certain to end in the tribe's bloody extinction. Therefore, the ogre PCs must immediately mount a retaliatory raid upon the humans' probable rendezvous point: the nearby Citadel of Solarien, under the command of a known human supremist: Sir Galen Walsh, a paladin of Solarien.

Retrieving the Giant's Skull is well within the capabilities of the PCs; the ogres are all 5th level in one class or another, while the ogre mage leader is a 1st level wizard. The problem is that the ogre PCs are, for the most part, stupid and of Chaotic alignment. These two facts make it very difficult to execute the raid in the optimal manner: a commando raid, ala Where Eagles Dare. The ogre mage leader will have his hands full in keeping discipline until the times comes to, as it were, unleash Hell.

The consequences of failure are rather obvious; the human garrison gets its act together and hacks the ogre PCs into so much kibble for the dogs, the tribe loses the Giant's Skull, the tribe's enemies get wind of their vulnerability and pound them into pulp and paste. This could be a wonderful reversal of the usual D&D adventure experience, or it could be a chance to engage in some cathartic tragedy; it could be both, but that's up to the GM and his players to decide.

As I said above, the ogre attack on the Citadel of Solarien is really a commando raid (a dungeon crawl with an emphasis on stealth and skill instead of strength and steel) and the use of the Alert Factor system makes that crystal clear. If the ogre PCs make too much noise or attack at the wrong time, then they will have the entire garrison put upon them; this will kill the ogre PCs if they don't run for it. The bulk of the scenario's text concerns the raid: the location key for the Citadel, the Alert Factor system rules and the aftermath of either success or failure. This isn't a complaint; the scenario does not need a lot of explaination, and the description of the premise up front is more than enough for the majority of GMs. There's plenty of room left so that GMs can easily work this scenario into a campaign.

If played as intended, regardless of success or failure, the end of The Ogre's Tale leads nicely into The Hero's Tale and marks the transition back to play the usual D&D characters for the GM and his players.

The Hero's Tale

In this scenario, the PCs visit the Citadel of Solarien on whatever premise that the GM finds necessary for his campaign. If played after The Ogre's Tale then the Citadel is in serious disrepair and the garrison is just as damaged. The commander, Sir Galen Walsh, is on hand to explain that a band of ogres raided the Citadel and stole away with a powerful magical artifact: the Giant's Skull. Unless he can retrieve it, some inhuman force will unlock its secrets and then unleash its power upon the good folk of the land. Sir Galen is, due to the raid, unable to pursue the ogres and reclaim the Giant's Skull; he asks the PCs to do this deed instead.

Whatever it takes, within reason (it is a damaged border keep led by a self-righteous paladin), for the PCs to accept the job will be done; he provides the PCs will a lead to a back door into the ogres' lair. The rest is a straight-forward dungeon crawl; the backstory behind the Giant's Skull could be learned during the execution of the raid, but only if the PCs are so inclined and have the means to talk to the ogres.

Again, the bulk of the scenario's text is given to the location key and all necessary gameplay notes. The vital stuff is in bold type and the read-aloud text is good enough to be used more-or-less as it is, usually. Unfortunately, it is but a skeleton--a frame--and the GM must invest some effort to make it conform to his needs. For the majority of GMs, I doubt that this will be a problem; for the few that remain, I suggest working more of the backstory into the visible scope of gameplay where the PCs are certain to encounter it. Then sit back and let them do most of the work for you.

The last dozen pages or so are references. The maps to the Citadel of Solarien and the ogres' lair, NPC stats, the stats for the Giant's Skull, and the full character sheets for the ogre PCs are all here. I must point out that, however, the sheets are in error; fortunately, Fiery Dragon caught this but not before going to print. The errata is at the Sword & Sorcery website in a PDF file, and this includes the correct character sheets. For good measure, and added convience, copies of the site maps for the citidel and ogre lair are included. (Do make the effort to download them.)

Conclusion

Oh get it already. Two adventures that nicely tie together is worth the price on the cover; two well-designed adventures that are easy to use together or apart, and are easy to integrate into an ongoing game are worth far more than this. By the way, the counters that you've come to expect in a Fiery Dragon product are also present as pullouts in the center. If that's not dedication to quality, nothing is.

The Giant's Skull
The Giant's Skull Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 12/11/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) A module that allows the players to play the bad guys in a prologue, has a paladin for a villain, and contains two solid dungeon crawls is a very good thing. Get yourself a copy right away. Product: The Giant's Skull Author: James Bell Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Fiery Dragon Productions Line: Sword & Sorcery Cost: $9.95 (US) Page count: 40 pages Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-58846-175-0 SKU: WW16001 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 12/11/01 Genre tags: Fantasy	The Giant's Skull is another solid adventure module published by Fiery Dragon Productions. Like On Hallowed Ground, there are two scenarios within its covers. Unlike that module, these two are connected as the halves of a greater whole. The interconnection isn't absolute; a GM can axe either half without losing much from the scenario he keeps. Just the same, getting two scenarios is a steal and a big reason right there to get a copy. As for the scenarios, they revolve around the struggle for possession of the titular item: the Giant's Skull, a magical artifact of great and terrible power. On one side, we have a veteran paladin with some serious racial issues. On the other side, we have an exceptional ogre magi with a vision and an axe to grind. The module suggests that the Ogre's Tale be played first, and then follow up with the Hero's Tale; I concur, if for no other reason than the ogre scenario makes for a good pick-up game which also allows the GM a little more time to find a way to integrate the Hero's Tale into his campaign. The Ogre's Tale The players take on the roles of pre-generated ogre or ogre magi PCs; these characters represent the heroes of an ogre tribe, including the tribe's visionary leader. This band of heroes returns from another quest to find the lair in tatters; a gang of experienced, well-armed humans raided the lair not long before and stole away with the Giant's Skull. Without the Skull, the tribe's dire predicament with regard to a nearby hill giant tribe (amongst other things) is certain to end in the tribe's bloody extinction. Therefore, the ogre PCs must immediately mount a retaliatory raid upon the humans' probable rendezvous point: the nearby Citadel of Solarien, under the command of a known human supremist: Sir Galen Walsh, a paladin of Solarien. Retrieving the Giant's Skull is well within the capabilities of the PCs; the ogres are all 5th level in one class or another, while the ogre mage leader is a 1st level wizard. The problem is that the ogre PCs are, for the most part, stupid and of Chaotic alignment. These two facts make it very difficult to execute the raid in the optimal manner: a commando raid, ala Where Eagles Dare. The ogre mage leader will have his hands full in keeping discipline until the times comes to, as it were, unleash Hell. The consequences of failure are rather obvious; the human garrison gets its act together and hacks the ogre PCs into so much kibble for the dogs, the tribe loses the Giant's Skull, the tribe's enemies get wind of their vulnerability and pound them into pulp and paste. This could be a wonderful reversal of the usual D&D adventure experience, or it could be a chance to engage in some cathartic tragedy; it could be both, but that's up to the GM and his players to decide. As I said above, the ogre attack on the Citadel of Solarien is really a commando raid (a dungeon crawl with an emphasis on stealth and skill instead of strength and steel) and the use of the Alert Factor system makes that crystal clear. If the ogre PCs make too much noise or attack at the wrong time, then they will have the entire garrison put upon them; this will kill the ogre PCs if they don't run for it. The bulk of the scenario's text concerns the raid: the location key for the Citadel, the Alert Factor system rules and the aftermath of either success or failure. This isn't a complaint; the scenario does not need a lot of explaination, and the description of the premise up front is more than enough for the majority of GMs. There's plenty of room left so that GMs can easily work this scenario into a campaign. If played as intended, regardless of success or failure, the end of The Ogre's Tale leads nicely into The Hero's Tale and marks the transition back to play the usual D&D characters for the GM and his players. The Hero's Tale In this scenario, the PCs visit the Citadel of Solarien on whatever premise that the GM finds necessary for his campaign. If played after The Ogre's Tale then the Citadel is in serious disrepair and the garrison is just as damaged. The commander, Sir Galen Walsh, is on hand to explain that a band of ogres raided the Citadel and stole away with a powerful magical artifact: the Giant's Skull. Unless he can retrieve it, some inhuman force will unlock its secrets and then unleash its power upon the good folk of the land. Sir Galen is, due to the raid, unable to pursue the ogres and reclaim the Giant's Skull; he asks the PCs to do this deed instead. Whatever it takes, within reason (it is a damaged border keep led by a self-righteous paladin), for the PCs to accept the job will be done; he provides the PCs will a lead to a back door into the ogres' lair. The rest is a straight-forward dungeon crawl; the backstory behind the Giant's Skull could be learned during the execution of the raid, but only if the PCs are so inclined and have the means to talk to the ogres. Again, the bulk of the scenario's text is given to the location key and all necessary gameplay notes. The vital stuff is in bold type and the read-aloud text is good enough to be used more-or-less as it is, usually. Unfortunately, it is but a skeleton--a frame--and the GM must invest some effort to make it conform to his needs. For the majority of GMs, I doubt that this will be a problem; for the few that remain, I suggest working more of the backstory into the visible scope of gameplay where the PCs are certain to encounter it. Then sit back and let them do most of the work for you. The last dozen pages or so are references. The maps to the Citadel of Solarien and the ogres' lair, NPC stats, the stats for the Giant's Skull, and the full character sheets for the ogre PCs are all here. I must point out that, however, the sheets are in error; fortunately, Fiery Dragon caught this but not before going to print. The errata is at the Sword & Sorcery website in a PDF file, and this includes the correct character sheets. For good measure, and added convience, copies of the site maps for the citidel and ogre lair are included. (Do make the effort to download them.) Conclusion Oh get it already. Two adventures that nicely tie together is worth the price on the cover; two well-designed adventures that are easy to use together or apart, and are easy to integrate into an ongoing game are worth far more than this. By the way, the counters that you've come to expect in a Fiery Dragon product are also present as pullouts in the center. If that's not dedication to quality, nothing is.