Chapter 5: Den of the Hill Giants - Storm King's Thunder

Chapter 5: Den of the Hill Giants. In this chapter, adventurers match wits with Guh, a monstrously fat hill giant chief whose den lies on a branch of the Dessarin River in the hills northeast of Goldenfields. If the characters defeat Guh and obtain her conch of teleportation, they can use it to teleport to Maelstrom, King Hekaton's undersea citadel (see chapter 10, "Hold of the Storm Giants"). Obtaining the conch is their main goal here. They must be careful not to put the den on alert before eliminating key threats, lest they become overwhelmed by all of Grudd Haug's denizens. Hill Giants Before running this part of the adventure, review the information on hill giants in the Monster Manual. It will help you roleplay the giants in this chapter. Guh's Gluttony Chief Guh would like hill giants elevated above their traditional betters. But she's no brighter than a typical hill giant, so her plan is anything but inspired. She plans to eat until she grows so enormous that the gods take notice and show her favor. To her, the biggest giant rules. Guh's gluttony knows no bounds. She has been feasting for several months and has grown to such a size that she can no longer walk on her own. She spends her time slumped in a wagon with broken axles, surrounded by heaps of stolen loot and crying out for more food. The Hunt for Food Chief Guh has driven away all the other female hill giants in her tribe and taken their husbands as her own. She tasks her many husbands with bringing her food, and she doesn't care how they go about it. Some of her mates form marauding gangs. Others set out on their own, pillaging the countryside for anything edible. Farmers who live downriver from Grudd Haug have suffered the most from the giants' depredations. The first inkling of trouble was a sudden drop in the river's water level, caused by the dam-like structure of the hill giant den. Not long thereafter, Guh's husbands and their followers began plundering livestock from riverside farms, steal...