Chapter 2: Rumblings - Storm King's Thunder

Chapter 2: Rumblings. A settlement in the north comes under giant attack. You decide which location to use: the walled town of Bryn Shander in the cold heart of Icewind Dale; Goldenfields, a fortified farming settlement and abbey northeast of Waterdeep; or Triboar, a frontier town and caravan rest stop in the Dessarin Valley. This chapter includes a map and a detailed overview of each settlement. The attacking giants have a specific goal. If the characters help defend the location against the giants' onslaught and succeed in defeating or driving off the attackers, the characters are rewarded with quests that lead them deeper into the adventure. Be warned: these encounters are designed to test the party's leadership and tactical skills, and characters who don't exercise some degree of caution will likely perish. Special NPCs In this chapter, each player runs not only a player character but also an NPC who has ties to the settlement that the characters are defending. Once you've determined where the adventure begins, make photocopies of the six NPCs corresponding to the location you've chosen. These NPCs are gathered in appendix D. Each NPC comes with a brief description, personality traits (a bond, an ideal, and a flaw), and a stat block. When the giant attack begins, give one NPC to each player and tell the player where the NPC is at the start of the encounter, as noted in the encounter description. If your group has more than six players, one or more of them won't receive an NPC, and that's okay. (Let the players decide who gets one and who doesn't.) If your group has fewer than six players, give one NPC to each player and put the extra NPCs aside. These leftover NPCs don't participate in the battle. After giving out the NPCs, read the following explanatory text to the players: In addition to your character, each of you has received a special nonplayer character with ties to the location where the adventure begins. Take a moment to review your NPC's personality...