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AESIRHAMAR
Design by Roger E. Moore
Running a high-level AD&D®
game
campaign involving deities and demigods is
a very tricky business. In low-level and
medium-level campaigns, deities are best
kept out of sight. They would rarely have
any interest in ?average? adventurers, and
the campaign has lots of other things to
keep characters busy. At levels of play from
9th on up, it is more likely that player char-
acters may legitimately meet and deal with
deities and demigods, carrying out their
missions and winning favors from them.
Who or what will high-level characters
fight when they go on such missions? Hav-
ing characters duke it out with the gods
themselves is not a solution. If the gods are
properly and carefully played, and if the
DM hasn?t been handing out artifacts and
levels to characters left and right, then
fighting a god is just an easy way to die.
However, there are beings around who can
give even gods headaches. What if the gods
want their higher-level followers to deal
with such beings for a while, to give the
gods a rest?
It goes without saying that running a
high-level adventure that involves both the
Outer Planes and the deities upon them will
be a lot of work. But it can, if properly
done, provide hours of entertainment for
everyone, and give powerful player charac-
ters a chance to match their skills against
the best ? and the most dangerous ? of all
opponents in the AD&D game system.
The following adventure includes most of
the information that the referee will need,
but in some places the DM will have to
insert material of his own. These ?open-
ings? were left because of our space limita-
tions, and also to give the DM a chance to
take a larger hand in working out the ad-
venture. Many DMs feel that prepared
modules lead them by the hand too much;
certainly a DM should be given the oppor-
tunity to flesh out an adventure as he likes.
The specific details about encounters in
this adventure are also left up to the referee
to develop, giving the DM a chance to
inject his own conception of how the inhab-
itants of Gladsheim act. The basic frame-
work for an adventure is given here; what
the DM provides are the details and trim-
mings that personalize the adventure for his
campaign.
Background for the DM
The story begins with a mountain
giant
named Hargnar Left-Hand, who carries a
grudge and a streak of evil in his chaotic
mind. Mighty even for a giant, Hargnar
was feared by his fellows for his savagery
and strength. He said little to anyone, but
was fond of quoting an old giant proverb on
revenge: ?Two eyes for an eye, with a rock
through the head as well.?
Hargnar lived in a rocky cavern near the
edge of Jotunheim?s mountains. For years
only his six brothers visited him; he would
abide no other company but them and his
assortment of troll servants and helpers.
The less he saw of the outside world, the
happier he was (and the happier the world
was, too).
Because they caused a great deal of trou-
ble in Asgard, Hargnar?s six brothers were
slain by Thor in a mighty battle a year ago.
Hargnar heard the news from a passing
frost giant and promptly killed the messen-
ger, then went back into his cave to brood
and beat his servants. For months no one
heard or saw anything of Hargnar, and
many giants came to think that he had died.
Finally, after almost a year of thinking
about how to get revenge on Thor, Hargnar
came up with a good idea.
Hargnar searched the mountains until he
found a magic-using dwarf, who was on a
personal mission from Midgard. He carried
the protesting and frightened dwarf, named
Brokkir, back to his cave and made him an
offer the dwarf could not refuse. The giant
said that if Brokkir could make a weapon
for him that was as powerful as Mjolnir,
Thor?s hammer, Hargnar would reward
him with a shipload of gold and silver ?
and would give him Thor?s mansion,
Bilskirnir, for his own.
It didn?t take the dwarf but a moment to
figure out what Hargnar intended to do
with the weapon; the reward ? plus his fear
of Hargnar?s rage ? helped him to over-
come any reluctance he had about under-
taking the project. With the bargain made,
the dwarf hurried out of the cave, pleased to
have survived the encounter. (He had not
had time to get his spells ready before
Hargnar caught him.)
Brokkir finished his business with another
giant (whom he had come to see in the first
place) and left Jotunheim, crossing the river
Iving by ferry and setting off for Bifrost. He
was allowed to pass by Heimdall, and de-
scended the Rainbow Bridge into Midgard
and his home caves. There he discussed
Hargnar?s offer with his brother Dwalin,
hammers rang against their anvils for
hours. The brothers cast spell after spell
into the metal, working it into shape and
filling it with power. Brokkir wanted noth-
ing more than to have a god?s mansion for
his own; he cared little for the ship?s load of
gold Hargnar also offered. Unfortunately,
Dwalin felt the same way ? he also wanted
nothing more than to have Bilskirnir for
himself, and silently drew up plans against
his brother even while they were working
together.
When the Aesirhamar was completed,
Brokkir caused it to shrink (see the section
on the hammer?s powers near the end of
this text), then wrapped it up in leather and
furs. He left the hammer in the care of his
brother and went to see some acquain-
tances. While Brokkir was gone, Dwalin
uncovered the hammer and pronounced a
curse over the weapon: Any non-dwarf who
touched it would slay the first dwarf he saw
thereafter, either using the hammer itself or
another weapon ? but the second dwarf the
wielder saw would be greatly rewarded.
Dwalin then made plans to follow his
brother back to Jotunheim while invisible,
so he would be present when the giant
seized the hammer and smashed his brother.
Then Hargnar would reward Dwalin when
he abandoned his invisibility and appeared
before the giant?s eyes.
While Dwalin was away packing his bags,
Brokkir returned and unwrapped the ham-
mer himself while he thought about prob-
lems that could crop up. What if Hargnar
had lied and really intended to keep
Bilskirnir for himself? What if the giant was
planning to dispose of the dwarf when he
got his hands on Aesirhamar? And to make
matters worse, Brokkir didn?t completely
trust Dwalin; ever since Brokkir had men-
tioned that the god?s hall would be part of
the reward, his brother had started acting
quite cool toward him. Brokkir decided that
Dwalin might be planning to follow him
into Jotunheim while invisible or otherwise
hidden from view, and bring about
Brokkir?s death so he could steal the reward
for himself.
Well, that problem could be fixed easily
enough. Brokkir cast a final enchantment
over Aesirhamar, so that any non-dwarf
who grasped it would greatly reward the
first dwarf he saw, but would have an undy-
ing hatred for the second dwarf he saw and
would kill that dwarf at once.
This done, Brokkir took the hammer (still
in reduced size) and set off for the place
where Bifrost regularly appeared on his
world. He waited only a short time before
the Rainbow Bridge appeared, and he made
his way to Gladsheim. Behind him, silent
and unseen, crept Dwalin.
Everything would have gone as planned
except that Heimdall, sensitive to the moods
of those who passed by him, noticed that
Brokkir was much more secretive than he
should have been, a sign that he was up to
something. Brokkir also seemed to be some-
what afraid of Heimdall for no particular
reason, as if he?d committed a crime of
some sort. Then, of course, there was the
invisible dwarf following Brokkir that
Heimdall noticed immediately.
Heimdall, curious but wishing to avoid
angering the dwarf unnecessarily, sent one
of his valkyries to investigate the dwarfs
home cavern and see what he might be up
to. If nothing else, it would be an amusing
tale to tell the other Aesir later. The valkyrie
returned the next day with bad news: The
dwarfs cave was littered with materials used
to build a major weapon, possibly equal to
those of the gods. And, as Heimdall already
knew, Brokkir was headed for Jotunheim.
Heimdall immediately took this news to
the other Aesir gods. Thor was away fight-
ing giants in a remote part of Jotunheim
and could not be found, and Odin was on
one of his long journeys through the Prime
Material Plane in disguise. None of the
other gods were able to locate the dwarf or
his invisible companion with their divina-
tory powers; they deduced that the dwarves
were probably using mind blank spells to
hide themselves. Only Odin could have
found the dwarves by using Hlidskialf, his
All-Seeing Throne, and Odin wasn?t availa-
ble. So, the gods tried to reason out what
was happening.
It was logical that if Brokkir was deliver-
ing a weapon to the giants, the weapon
would most likely be used against the Aesir,
probably Thor himself. The Aesir were not
cowardly, but they were very cautious.
Dwarves from Midgard could make incredi-
bly powerful weapons; Mjolnir itself was
constructed by dwarves, as was Odin?s
spear, Gungnir. Any weapon a dwarf would
make for a giant would be equally powerful,
and might be capable of slaying a god ? an
eventuality to be avoided at all costs.
Uller suggested a solution. Some power-
ful mortals would have to be summoned to
Asgard and given a quest to recover the
weapon that Brokkir possessed before it fell
into the hands of the giants. If possible,
Brokkir should be questioned, the dwarf
following him should be found and ques-
tioned, and, if either was guilty of plotting
against the Aesir, they should be returned to
Asgard for punishment.
The other gods agreed. All that was left
was the selection of adventurers to take up
the quest. They made their decisions
quickly.
Characters
The optimum number of player charac-
ters for this adventure would be 3 or 4; all
of them should be of 9th level or higher. At
least some of the characters who go on this
mission should be worshipers of Norse gods.
It is strongly recommended that at least one
of the characters on the mission be a cleric
of a good or neutral Norse deity so that the
party may have the benefit of healing spells
after engaging in combat on Gladsheim.
None of the adventurers can be evil.
If no helpful clerics exist, the DM may
use the character given below as an NPC to
accompany the party. It would be assumed
that the Norse gods commanded the cleric
to go with the characters and support them
with healing spells and advice. The DM
could also let a player run the cleric as a
character, if someone in the playing group
has no character of sufficiently high level. If
this is done, the character?s name and sex
may be altered as desired.
Spell selection for the cleric and further
details of the character are left up to the
DM or anyone running the character. Note
that the power of some of the character?s
magic items will change when the character
reaches Gladsheim (as per the accompany-
ing article on that plane of existence).
Hreidmar the Hunter
12th-level cleric/7th-level fighter
HP: 68
MV: 12" in armor
Str: 15
Int: 14
Wis: 17
Dex: 15
Con: 12
Cha: 13
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Deity: Uller
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Possessions: +2 longbow, +3 chainmail, +4
sword (defender), two scrolls with 4 spells
each (DM?s choice), girdle of hill giant
strength, a necklace of prayer beads (none
capable of summoning), and an assortment
of non-magical equipment, as the DM
chooses. Hreidmar has 30 gp and 20 sp on
his person, and a pouch on a leather thong
under his armor containing 35 assorted
gems (roll values randomly).
While no upper limit is given for charac-
ters who can participate in this adventure, a
good rule of thumb would be to disallow
characters of higher than the 20th level of
ability. In game terms, these characters are
generally too powerful to deal with comfort-
ably in almost any prepackaged scenario.
The selection of magic items the characters
bring along should not be so extensive as to
overshadow the powers of the gods them-
selves. Of course, the spell and magical
alterations of Gladsheim may take care of
any possible problems in having an over-
powered group, but the referee should also
make sure the group isn?t under-powered,
either. This is a matter the DM will have to
arbitrate personally, to make sure the
adventure isn?t beyond the group?s capabili-
ties.
Two interesting possibilities remain for
getting characters together for this adven-
ture. One of them is to have one of the
players role-play a valkyrie,
as detailed in
the DEITIES & DEMIGODS? Cyclopedia.
This should only be done if the rest of the
characters in a group are roughly equal in
power to the valkyrie. The valkyrie should
not be allowed to use any magical items or
weapons, though she may ride her pegasus
if the rest of the group has mounts ? and it
is highly recommended, if not imperative,
that characters bring along light horses for
the long journey from Heimdall?s hall to the
mountains of Jotunheim.
The second option is for the DM to allow
player characters who worshiped a Norse
god and were slain in a previous adventure
to become Einheriar, and thus join the
?living? adventurers for a brief period of
time. This is a nice way of bringing back a
favored character for one last mission. As
an Einheriar, a character becomes immune
to all fear spells or effects. Initially, he is
given only leather armor, a shield, and a
broadsword, as well as the usual items of
clothing (boots, belts, etc.). All items the
character previously owned as an adven-
turer are lost. Though the gods will not give
the character anything more, other charac-
ters may help equip the Einheriar character
with more powerful weapons and armor. If
an Einheriar character is slain during the
adventure anywhere in Gladsheim, his body
will disappear in 1-4 turns (unless he is
promptly raised or resurrected), and the
warrior will be ?reborn? 12 hours later in
the hall of Valhalla.
These last two options are suggested for
use only if the playing group lacks enough
powerful player characters to take up this
mission. ?Live? player characters are pre-
ferred. Valkyrie and Einheriar characters
gain no experience points for this adven-
ture and must return to Valhalla to resume
their normal duties when the adventure
ends.
Starting the adventure
Player characters will be contacted by
servants of the Norse deities in a variety of
ways. Each will only be contacted once; if
the character refuses to go on the adven-
ture, then another character will be selected
and contacted. Strong (but not totally exclu-
sive) preference will be given to characters
who worship good or neutral Norse
gods.
The DM may have the characters receive
dreams, telepathic messages, strange scrolls
delivered by unknown couriers, or similar
communications. In all cases, the messages
will be alike. The character is asked (or
commanded, if he is a worshiper of a Norse
deity) to make his way to a certain location
as quickly as possible. The message will
imply that an adventure awaits, but will say
nothing about what the mission concerns.
The location given will be in a relatively
secluded place outdoors.
Once all the involved characters reach a
particular location, they will see a rainbow
form in the sky and extend from a high,
misty cloud down to a point on the ground
nearby. The rainbow is Bifrost (see the
geographic glossary in the accompanying
article on Gladsheim). If necessary, it will
switch from one location on the Prime
Material Plane to another to pick up player
characters from different places. Such a
switch takes only a few turns. Bifrost?s
movements are commanded by the god
Heimdall. Characters will be expected to
approach the rainbow and climb it (which
can be done without ropes or other climbing
gear) while leading their horses. The rain-
bow will not wait for longer than three turns
once a character reaches the base of it be-
fore it begins to rise into the sky again.
Once all of those involved in a single
?pickup? have climbed Bifrost and reached
the misty cloud at the end of the Rainbow
Bridge, the cloud will part before the char-
acters to reveal a tall man standing on the
bridge 60 feet away, a longsword in one
hand and a curved horn at his side. The
man appears to shine with a white light that
makes it difficult to look directly at him,
and he inspires extreme awe in all who see
him (causing characters of 8th level and
below to be stunned into immobility). This
figure is the god Heimdall. He will sound
his horn before he greets adventurers, then
ask each his business. Heimdall is wise
enough to detect any lies or alterations of
the truth. Though he has a solemn de-
meanor, he will not be unfriendly. Once
each adventurer states his business, he is
escorted by Heimdall to his immense lodge,
Himinbjorg, next to the Bridge?s exit. All
characters involved in the adventure will be
gathered here within three hours from the
time of the first pickup.
The adventurers will be well treated in
the great hall and will be given food and
drink if necessary. Heimdall will tell the
adventurers what little the gods know of the
dwarf Brokkir and his possible plans. The
group is to track down Brokkir, who has
already left Asgard for Jotunheim, and find
what item it was that he made, what it is to
be used for, and where it is to be delivered.
If the adventurers find out that Brokkir was
intending to give the item to a giant and
that it is meant to be used against the gods,
then the group must bring Brokkir and the
item back to Heimdall?s hall. The group is
also instructed to contact and question the
dwarf who is following Brokkir, and bring
him back as well if he has any connection in
the matter at hand. Finally, the adventurers
must find out the identity of the giant for
whom the item is intended (assuming the
gods? suspicions are correct), locate the
giant, and slay him if possible.
The adventurers will be sent on their
quest within an hour after they all reach
Himinbjorg. Valkyrie and Einheriar PCs (if
any are used) will join the group during
their stay in Heimdall?s hall. No time limit
is given to complete the mission, but speed
is obviously of the essence. Heimdall and
his servant valkyries will not offer the group
any magic items or treasure to take along
on the quest, though they will give over any
non-magical items requested, within reason.
The DM should make some notes about
Heimdall?s spell lists before this encounter
occurs, and may assume that Heimdall has
access to some psionic disciplines as well.
If the adventurers appear very reluctant
to go on the quest, Heimdall will simply
geas them and send them on their way. If
the geas spells fail to take effect (Heimdall
can tell if they did or not), and if the group
appears especially afraid of going on the
adventure, then he will angrily send them
out of his hall and off down the Rainbow
Bridge. None of the reluctant group mem-
bers will be allowed into Asgard again
thereafter, if Heimdall can help it. Any
clerics in the group who worship Norse gods
will lose all spell abilities over 2nd level for
one month as punishment for their coward-
ice, and must go on a quest of the DM?s
choosing thereafter.
One thing that the group will not be
given is complete information on the effects
that the environment of Gladsheim has
upon spells and magic items. Unless he is
asked about this, Heimdall will not mention
it at all, since he doesn?t believe in giving
mortals too much help. If he is asked,
Heimdall will answer only briefly, telling the
characters that no contact can be made with
most other planes outside Gladsheim and
that many spells which affect a ?natural?
environment will not work here.
Heimdall is not in the mood for joking or
receiving abuse from adventurers; he is very
concerned about the fate of the Aesir and
may seem a little touchy. Though he is a
god, Heimdall (and nearly all other Aesir
and Vanir deities) are also very human in
their personalities.
Heimdall will not harm the party as long
as they do not try to harm him. Anyone
who insults Heimdall in his hall will not be
attacked, since it is bad manners for Heim-
dall to harm a guest. But Heimdall will ask
the offending character to leave and will
have nothing to do with the character there-
after unless he performs a great sacrifice or
tribute (DM?s option as to what). If Heim-
dall is insulted outside of his hall, the deity
will curse the offending character to always
be surprised in combat and to never be
able to surprise anyone under any circum-
stances. Only divine intervention will re-
move this curse.
Any character who is slain during this
adventure and whose body cannot be recov-
ered will be raised in Valhalla one day after
the death occurs. The character must be of
4th level or higher and must worship an
Aesir or Vanir deity (excluding Loki and
Hel). Such a raised character will have
become an Einheriar and will generally not
be available for further adventuring as a
player character.
The route to Jotunheim
Players may be given a copy of the map
on p. 55, which shows the general layout of
Asgard and Jotunheim. Heimdall will
direct the characters to the ferry on the river
Iving as the best way to cross the channel,
but can give them no help once they reach
?Giant Land.? He suggests that the charac-
ters search the mountains and try to ques-
tion those they see as to the whereabouts of
Brokkir and his invisible companion.
The encounter table given in the accom-
panying article on Gladsheim may be used
to determine what sorts of beings may be
met on the way to Jotunheim. Some specific
examples of encounters might include
Einheriar on patrol, hunting for giants who
might be coming toward Asgard; a small
flight of valkyries on pegasi, who will ques-
tion the party only if they appear suspicious
(i.e., if there is a giant or someone who
looks like a giant among them); and various
sorts of deer, giant stags, goats, wild horses,
and wolves (which will attack only 20% of
the time). Specific encounters may be se-
lected that enhance the tension and excite-
ment of the adventure, to keep characters
on their toes.
The river Iving
The characters will eventually reach the
river Iving if they head toward Jotunheim.
The Iving is a slow-running and shallow
river that has a special magical property ?
it will never freeze. (See the companion
article on adventuring in Asgard for de-
tails.) The river is some 250 yards wide and
about 10 yards deep in the middle. The
river has an assortment of fishes and other
river life in it, but rarely has any true mon-
sters lurking beneath its surface.
The characters will notice a collection of
foot and hoof tracks leading along the bank
parallel to the river. These tracks were made
by giants, horses, and men following the
river?s edge to the place where the ferry is
located. The ferry is an enormous log raft,
90 feet square, manned by two giants,
Thaungalyr and Mumar. Thaungalyr is a
frost giant (CN, AC 4, MV 12?, HD 10+4,
hp 63, #AT 1, D 4-24 or special) who car-
ries a 6? long club on his belt and a 30?
pole with which to move the raft. Mumar is
a mountain giant (CN, AC 4, MV 12?, HD
12, hp 77, #AT 1, D 4-40 or special) who
carries only another 30? wooden pole. Both
giants appear well-dressed, wearing close-
fitting suits of leather and furs. When the
group reaches the ferry site, the giants will
be 49% likely to be on either the near or far
shore, and 2% likely to be in the process of
poling a giant, god, or group of humans
across the river.
Both of the ferry operators are reserved
and distant; they will say little to anyone
aside from stating the fee for crossing (50 gp
per person). They have transported hun-
dreds of beings across the Iving, and they
care nothing for their passengers? align-
ments, intentions, or races. When paid, the
giants will pocket the money (each has a
bag of holding of largest size) and proceed
to ferry the customers across. The ferry
takes five minutes to cross from one side to
the other.
If they are attacked, the giants will wade
out into the water to waist height (for
them), standing some 20? from shore, and
will attack with their poles. If hard pressed,
the giants will use their spell powers;
Thaungalyr is an 11th-level magic-user and
Mumar is a 13th-level illusionist. (See the
notes on giants in Jotunheim, in the en-
counters section of the Gladsheim article.)
Both giants are fully aware of how spells
work in Gladsheim, and will choose and
cast their spells for maximum effect. (The
DM should select spells for the two giants
carefully, taking the special nature of the
plane into consideration.) The giants will
have all necessary material components for
their spells.
If the river crossing is made, the giants
will allow the passengers to leave and will
not bother them. They will fail to answer
any questions about a dwarf who took pas-
sage with them, answering only with shrugs
and stares, unless each is paid a bribe worth
at least 500 gp. Then they will point across
the great desert of Jotunheim toward the
mountains, one of them will utter the name
?Smoke-top,? and then they will turn away
from the group. Nothing further may be
learned from them.
The desert
Rangers and barbarians may attempt to
use their tracking skills to follow the paths
of the two dwarves; any characters with
forester or hunter skills may also try to track
the dwarves, with a base chance for success
of 30%. If tracks are located, the two sepa-
rate sets of dwarven footprints may be
followed out to a point halfway across the
desert. There the tracks cease, blown away
by the wind and lost. They were heading in
the direction of a group of mountain peaks,
but the tracks do not point directly to any
particular peak.
Divination spells will not be able to locate
either of the dwarves, because both are
using mind blank spells to prevent their
detection by the Aesir. However, divination
spells can be used to reveal the route the
dwarves are taking.
Jotunheim?s desert is a barren wasteland
best crossed by horseback. It is not hot but
is very dry, magically so. The desert air
itself drains moisture from those who dare
cross it. No life inhabits the desert, which
stretches along the banks of the river Iving
for as far as the eye can see. Though the
mountains initially appear to be close, only
perhaps an hour?s walk away, this is a mi-
rage. The mountain range is actually 100
miles away at the closest point to the river.
Exhaustion should be considered on any
trip across the desert on foot. If water is not
at hand, the travelers will start to experi-
ence great thirst and tiredness after six
hours of walking (one hour of hiking while
lightly encumbered will cover about 5
miles). For every turn thereafter, each af-
fected character will lose one hit point from
dehydration and exhaustion. Rest will
forestall the loss of hit points, but not enable
the character to regain them. The loss of hit
points will resume immediately after the
march begins again. Characters may carry
other exhausted characters to let them rest.
Any cure spell will restore lost hit points,
as will a potion of healing or similar magic.
If a character drinks a quart of water every
two hours (one waterskin holds one quart),
the loss of hit points can be completely
prevented during those two hours. Any hit
points lost up to the time the character
drinks will not be restored by drinking
alone. Rest (after leaving the desert) or
magical curative spells will help.
There is only a 5% chance per journey
across the desert of an individual or group
meeting any other travelers. No animals
will dare cross the desert unless goaded into
it. Any encounter (only one is possible) will
either be with a single deity (who will be
unaffected by the desert?s moisture-draining
power), a giant, or another adventuring
group (mounted on light horses). Encoun-
tered beings might seek the party?s water
and food more than their treasure. Note
that it is possible for some ?men? encoun-
tered in Gladsheim to be wandering slaadi
from Limbo or similar extra-planar mon-
sters that are polymorphed.
The mountains
As characters approach the immense wall
of mountains at the desert?s edge, they will
notice that one of the mountains appears to
be a volcano. Steam and smoke drift away
from the open summit, and occasionally
rumbling sounds may be heard from deep
within the mountain. The DM may play up
these events, but there is no danger of the
volcano erupting during the adventure. The
characters may put two and two together
and decide that the volcano is the place they
should be heading for, especially if they got
the information from the giants about
?Smoke-top.? If the adventurers did not
bribe the giants and do not seem inclined to
head toward the volcano on their own, the
DM should make every effort to guide them
in that direction, perhaps by planting an
additional clue for them to discover (such as
a map that Brokkir dropped or discarded en
route).
The mountains of Jotunheim are ragged,
mighty, and cold. Little vegetation can be
found among the gray rocks and debris that
line the bare slopes. It will become obvious
to almost any adventurer that a pass must
be found in order to safely enter the moun-
tains. Fortunately, this is not difficult. The
movement rate through the mountain trails
near Smoke-top while lightly encumbered,
whether on foot or mounted, is about 3
miles per hour, which translates into a
movement rate of 9" (90 yards) per round.
This rate should be reduced accordingly for
characters or horses which are more than
lightly encumbered.
Numerous giant footprints may be found
along the base of the mountains, running
parallel to the border with the desert in a
huge footpath. At whatever point the char-
acters reach the mountains, they will en-
counter the footpath and may follow it to
one of the four passes in this region of the
mountain range. A description of this area
of Jotunheim follows, keyed to the map on
p. 49.
The party will arrive at the Smoke-top
giant community only two days after
Brokkir and Dwalin got there. By this time,
Brokkir has already given the Aesirhamar to
Hargnar ? and the ?random curse? on the
weapon has already taken effect. (See the
description of Aesirhamar at the end of this
text.) Hargnar immediately slew Brokkir
with one blow of the hammer; Dwalin
dispelled his invisibility and came forward
to lay claim to the promised reward of
Thor?s estate and the gold, but Hargnar
attacked and wounded him as well. Terrified
of the weapon?s power in the hands of an
apparently insane giant, Dwalin has gone
into hiding, hoping to find a friendly party
to help him escape from the giants (see the
section on encounters below).
The four passes leading into the Smoke-
top giant community are described briefly
hereafter. The encounter areas are detailed
enough to allow for easy running in an
adventure, but specific details such as trea-
sures, cave layouts, and so forth have been
left to the individual DM to flesh out as
desired.
A) The Pass of the Serpent ? This pass is
in the form of a giant staircase that winds
up into the mountains. Each step is roughly
2 feet high, which will slow a party down
enormously when adventurers attempt to
climb the stairway. No guards appear to be
about, though a huge snakelike rune is
engraved on a cliff face by the bottom of the
stairs.
One hundred feet up the staircase is a
cavern of which the entrance is covered by a
permanent illusion to make it appear to be
part of the rocky cliff sides. Inside the rela-
tively short tunnel system sleeps a large,
snakelike dragon known as a fire wyrm (AC
-1, MV 6?, HD 10, hp 70, #AT 1, D 8-32,
breath weapon 2x per day). Fire wyrms are
not uncommon in Jotunheim and some-
times can be bribed or forced into serving as
guardians. A fire wyrm looks very much
like a huge, orange-red serpent up to 40?
long, with a head similar to that of a red
dragon. Fire wyrms are of average intelli-
gence and use no spells, but are chaotic evil
and vicious in nature. Twice per day a fire
wyrm can breathe out a cone of fire with the
same dimensions as a red dragon?s breath
weapon, doing as many hit points of dam-
age as the fire wyrm has at full strength. If
it doesn?t use its breath weapon, a fire
wyrm will bite for 8-32 points of damage.
The fire wyrm here will awaken at the
approach of any metal-armored or noisy
characters. Elves and halflings who wear no
metal armor, and thieves who successfully
move silently past the entrance (if the en-
trance was detected), will not awaken the
wyrm. Otherwise the wyrm, who sleeps
with its head very close to the entrance of
the cave, will lift its head and see if those
who pass by leave it an offering of treasure
(at least 100 gp per character) to ensure
their safe passage.
If the group walks past the entrance and
disturbs the wyrm (whether or not the
entrance was detected), the creature will
become enraged and attack, breathing fire
twice on the group and attacking all survi-
vors with its bite. If the creature is slain, its
cave may be searched for treasure (wyrms
have treasure type H in their lairs).
B) The Pass of Trophies ? A broad ave-
nue that slopes up into one of the main
giant communities in this area, the Pass of
Trophies contains numerous gruesome
mementos from past battles that the giants
have fought with other residents of Jo-
tunheim. Several dragon skulls, armored
human skeletons, weapons and skulls of
other giants, and items from other large
monsters are carefully set to the sides of this
passageway for all who come here to admire
and take warning from.
The pass is guarded by four bored frost
giants who wear normal armor and have an
ample supply of large boulders for throwing
(AC 4, MV 12?, HD 10+2, hp 51, 56, 58,
66, #AT 1, D 4-24, immune to cold, throw
rocks out to 20? for 2-20 damage). Though
they are bored, there is only 1 chance in 12
of surprising these giants if an approach is
made from the desert, and they will spot
man-sized opponents at a range of 140-340
yards ((4d6 x 10) + 100) if not surprised.
They will hail all who approach and will
throw boulders at anyone who fails to stop
and be questioned at 100 yards distance.
If they are approached in a non-
threatening manner, the giants will demand
to know why the enter the pass. Telling
them the truth about Aesirhamar will im-
mediately invite attack, since these giants
would dearly love to see a giant take on
Thor and defeat him. The DM may decide
whether or not any other excuses the group
offers seem reasonable. If the giants are
asked if they have seen a dwarf enter the
pass recently, they will nod and describe
him, but they have no idea where Brokkir
was heading. None of the giants are aware
that Brokkir was being followed; they know
him as a powerful spellcaster who is gener-
ally left alone.
C) The Pass of Trolls ? This pass begins
as an old, huge lava tunnel that climbs
along the side of Smoke-top the volcano and
eventually emerges deep in the mountains.
The tunnel is 40? wide and 30? high at the
entrance, and remains roughly at those
dimensions for its entire length (having
been enlarged by generations of giants
passing through it).
The tunnel has become the lair of a band
of giant trolls (see the FIEND
FOLIO®
Tome), 11 in number. They are not particu-
larly friendly with other types of giants and
trolls in the area, but will not usually attack
anyone if left alone or paid a good bribe.
The giant trolls (AC 4, MV 12?, HD 8,
hp 28, 29, 31, 32, 39, 41, 44, 44, 47, 52,
54, #AT 1, D 2-16, regenerate 2 hp/round,
10 hp from fire must be inflicted on them to
slay them) permit no one to use the tunnel
except themselves, regardless of treasure
paid to them or threats made against them.
The tunnel is filthy and littered with debris,
bones (both giant and human), and their
treasure (type C), which is scattered
throughout the trash. Recovering the trea-
sure will be time-consuming, taking at least
a full day of searching. The tunnel has no
interior lighting, and the giant trolls will
attack anything that brings light into their
lair.
D) The Pass of the Blue Giants ? This
pass is a narrow, 20-foot-wide path with
solid rock walls rising up 50-80 feet on
either side. The pass extends for 100 yards
into the mountains before rising into the
open within the range. The path is free of
debris and appears to be well maintained
and well used.
Out of view, on the top of one of the rock
walls, is the stone and timber hall of a fam-
ily of cloud giants (AL NE, AC 2, MV 15?,
HD 12+5, hp 21, 33, 52, 56, 61, 90, #AT 1,
D 6-36, throw rocks out to 24? for 2-24
damage, levitate twice per day, surprised on
a 1 on a d6) who control the pass and make
sure only giants use it. Three of the giants
are females (the first, third, and fifth ones
from the list of hit points above); two are
young (the first two from the list of hit
points) and attack as hill giants. The two
adult females attack as fire giants.
The cloud giant family is governed by
Gariod the Destroyer, an ill-tempered giant
who is all in favor of an immediate attack
upon Asgard by all giants who can be gath-
ered at a moment?s notice. Patience and
careful planning are not his strongest
points, but his strength and size make up
for his lack of foresight. Gariod is a
medium-level spellcaster, having the abili-
ties of a 7th-level illusionist.
Gariod usually defends his pass by send-
ing one of the family members out to sit at
the top of the pass with an invisibility spell
upon him or her. If a non-giant is seen
back and warn Gariod so that he can be
ready to meet the intruder. The unwanted
visitors are allowed to enter the pass and get
as far as 30 yards inside the defile before
Gariod, with the help of his family, hurls
rocks and boulders down from above.
If the party makes a successfully surprise
roll, they will hear noises from above as
Gariod sends whispered orders to his family
on how to attack the party. This allows only
1-4 rounds of warning before the attack
begins, but this might be enough for the
group to escape the trap in some manner. If
the party is surprised, each of the six giants
will hurl a rock before initiative is deter-
mined and the party can react. Escaping the
pass will be difficult, because Gariod and
his family will move along the sides and
continue to hurl rocks down until the party
flees out of reach of their missiles and back
into the desert. However, Gariod will not
bombard humans or similar small beings if
they?re in the company of one or more
giants; he will assume (from his giant-
superiority point of view) that the ?little
people? are captives or servants of the
giant(s) they are accompanying.
Gariod?s hall is exceptionally large, a
one-story structure set in the center of a
circular flat plain in the mountains. Numer-
ous cattle are kept around the area to feed
the giant clan, and Gariod often has to go
hunting with his sons in order to kill more
food in the mountains. Gariod is also quite
rich and has treasure type A scattered
throughout his hall.
Encounters at Smoke-top
In the vicinity of Smoke-top are a num-
ber of inhabited caves, giant halls, and
other lairs; the Smoke-top area is a huge,
loosely structured community with no cen-
tral government. The community came
together because of the attraction of living
next to a volcano. (Jotunheim giants enjoy
the hot springs ? frost giants less so than
the others, however.)
Specific encounters within the Smoke-top
area are given below; roll a d10 every 3
turns (30 minutes), with a 1 indicating that
an encounter has taken place. Certain crea-
tures will not be met again if slain; these are
marked with an asterisk (*). If the same
encounter is rolled after the creature in
question has been slain, treat it as if no
encounter occurred.
| d20 roll | Encounter |
| 1* | 1 ettin (from area 1) taking two dire wolves for a walk. |
| 2-5 | 1-6 frost giants on patrol, each with two boulders. |
| 6-7 | 1-4 mountain giants taking a stroll. |
| 8* | 1 fire giant (from area 9) taking a finished weapon, suit of armor, or helment to another giant. |
| 9-12 | 2-5 frost giant children (50%) at play, with sticks (clubs) and rocks. |
| 13-14 | 2-5 hill giants (60%) or 1-3 stone giants (40%) on some sort of errand. |
| 15 | 1-2 frost giant females carrying supplies to other giants. |
| 16* | Hargnar Left-Hand, searching for some dwarves to kill (see below). |
| 17 | 2-7 ogres on a mission for their master. |
| 18 | 1-4 trolls (50%) or 1 giant troll (50%), wandering through the area. |
| 19 | Wandering pets; 30% likely to be 1-4 dire wolves, 30% likely to be
1
giant lizard, 20% likely to be a brown bear, and 20% likely to be a lion. |
| 20* | Dwalin the dwarf (see below). |
Hargnar appears to be searching for
something, and is drawing a few curious
stares from local giants as he wanders
around the community. In his left hand he
holds the weapon Aesirhamar in its giant-
size form; before Brokkir gave the weapon
to him, the dwarf foolishly explained how to
use it, and Hargnar knows all of its powers.
Hargnar will not respond to any questions
and will only react if attacked or if he sees a
dwarf. If he is attacked, other giants will
immediately come to Hargnar?s aid. (They
don?t like him, but they hate giant-killers
even more.)
Hargnar?s statistics are as follows: AC 1,
MV 12?, HD 16, hp 113, #AT 1, D special
(using Aesirhamar). He is exceptionally
large for a mountain giant, reaching a
height of 16 feet and having a strength of 24
(equal to that of a storm giant). His armor
class and saving throws are +3 from Aesirha-
mar?s powers. If somehow deprived of his
weapon, he can hurl rocks as a mountain
giant for 5-50 points damage.
Someone once tried to teach Hargnar
how to cast spells, but was not very success-
ful; he has an intelligence of 9 and was only
able to become a 1st-level magic-user. He
managed to learn the spells read magic and
magic missile, and he carries magic missile
as a stored spell (it?s good against giant
rats). He wears a suit of heavy furs and
some giant-sized boots. Hargnar knows that
a dwarf escaped him and is probably still
around the Smoke-top area somewhere, and
he wants to kill it before it escapes,
Aesirhamar has absorbed two 5th-level
spells and one 7th-level spell from Dwalin,
who tried to attack the giant when he him-
self was attacked. Hargnar plans to use the
spell powers to attack anyone who attacks
him, using the stored energy in the form of
a single 17th-level magic missile spell. He
will direct this attack at the first dwarf he
sees, or at anyone else who attacks him with
spells.
Dwalin is a neutral evil 7th-level fighter/
17th-level magic-user, who originally had 53
hp but now has only 15 left. He wears
bracers of AC 4, a cloak of protection +3,
and carries a shortsword +2, giant slayer; all
of his items are enchanted to retain their
powers on any plane. He is AC -1 and
moves at 6?. Dwalin has cast a second
invisibility spell upon himself, his last one,
and desperately wants to flee. Unfortu-
nately, he doesn?t dare start out across the
desert without his decanter of endless water,
which was broken when Hargnar attacked
him. He is wearing boots of speed (as did
Brokkir), which enabled him to make the
long trip to Smoke-top on foot.
Dwalin?s remaining spells are: read magic
(x3), comprehend languages (x2), web,
wizard lock, detect invisibility, slow (x2),
protection from normal missiles, suggestion
(x2), minor globe of invulnerability, confu-
sion (x2), wall of fire (x2), transmute rock
to mud, and power word stun. He used
some of his upper-level spells against
Hargnar before he realized that the giant
was absorbing them into Aesirhamar. He
still has his mind blank spell in effect, and
continually renews it for his own protection;
the spell book he carries with him has only
this spell within it.
If he sees a group of humans or other
adventurers, Dwalin will get their attention
without becoming visible and will ask that
they help him escape. He will promise each
character a total of 10,000 gp in gems and
jewels if they will help him get safely back to
Bifrost (but he won?t keep his promise). He
does not want the Aesirhamar near him
and wishes for it to be left in Jotunheim
forever. He will not admit that he knows
anything at all about the Aesirhamar or its
powers unless he can be successfully ESP?ed
or charmed, in which case he will tell all
(giving most of the details of the referee?s
background), but will blame everything on
his brother Brokkir. He will claim to be a
friend of the Aesir, but this is a lie; he
would sell his own mother for gold, and, in
fact, he once did just that.
The halls of Smoke-top
The major halls and lairs of the Smoke-
top community are briefly described below.
There are a number of smaller lairs and
homes inhabited by minor giants (hill and
stone), trolls, or ogres; these are marked on
the map with asterisks (*) and may be
detailed by referees as desired.
Because of space limitations, the halls and
caves will be described in general detail
only. The major inhabitants, treasure types,
and other special features of the lairs are
given; any special information that might
be gained from questioning the inhabitants
is also listed.
Note that magic items used by the giants
were made on Gladsheim and will function
normally there (losing their powers if
brought to the other planes). However,
some weakly magical or non-magical items
in their treasure hoards might prove very
magical on the Prime Material Plane, hav-
ing been taken from adventurers from that
locale.
Note that if a lot of noise is generated in
the encounter with the giant Hargnar and
his Aesirhamar, other giants will more than
likely come to his aid with all of their weap-
ons and resources, spreading the word
throughout the giant community about the
assault on one of their number.
1) Two-Heads Hall ? Three ettins (hp 45,
53, 65) share a huge but poorly kept hall
with eight dire wolf pets. The ettins know
no magic, but one of them owns a mattock
of the titans and hires himself out as a
ditch-digger for the community. One of the
ettins is a female (hp 53); the smallest one is
her son. The ettins have treasure types C
and Y buried beneath the floor of their hall.
They hate humans, dwarves, and elves, and
will answer no questions except from other
giant-types. They are not aware of
Hargnar?s strange behavior.
2) Winterland ? An extended family of 14
frost giants inhabits a massive cave and hall
complex. Five of the giants are young (hp
10, 13, 14, 17, 25), and the rest are adult
females (hp 32, 33, 33, 38, 45) and adult
males (40, 42, 47, 55). These giants are
chaotic neutral or chaotic evil in alignment,
but not necessarily unfriendly toward hu-
mans (if bribed). The giants have managed
to get a brown bear (hp 32) ?for the kids to
play with.? The mountaintop complex is
chilly but tolerable to humans and other
giants. The complex has treasure types B
and C scattered within it and guarded by
traps. The giants here have noticed that
Hargnar the mountain giant has been act-
ing very strangely since he got a new ham-
mer, but no one knows what his problem is
or what the hammer can do.
3) Great Stone Caverns ? The former
home of Hargnar?s six mountain giant
brothers, this cave complex is now used as a
storage site by some of the other giants in
the area. It has a number of crates and
barrels of food, skins, and the like scattered
throughout it, each marked with a rune to
identify who owns it. A pair of frost giants
(hp 54 and 60) guard the entrance and live
here while they work. The larger of the two
giants has noticed that Hargnar has a new
weapon and that he mumbles to himself
about ?that dwarf.? He thinks Hargnar has
lost his mind from the loss of his brothers
last year. Both giants dislike humans, but
do not mind talking to dwarves. Each giant
has treasure type Kx10, Lx10, and Mx10
on his person, but no other treasure.
4) Thunderpeak Hall ? A family of seven
mountain giants, all adults, live here. Three
are females (hp 46, 49, 63) and the others
are males (hp 44, 45, 59, 60). Though
aware that Hargnar has been acting
strangely, they assume he?s practicing for a
battle with Thor. (This was an informed
guess on their part, based upon Hargnar?s
hatred of that deity and the sudden appear-
ance of the hammer, which they assume was
made to fight that god.) The giants will
speak with no one but other giants and will
attack humans and dwarves. They have
treasure type E in their immense hall and
have a huge brewing facility as well that
makes superb (by giant standards only)
beer.
5) Dragonskull Manor ? Four mountain
giants (hp 64, 67, 76, 81) live here and are
regarded as heroes of the Smoke-top com-
munity. Three years ago a red dragon
dropped down from the sky and tried to
take over part of the region, intending to
drive the giants away from the volcano. The
four giants took up their weapons and
fought the dragon until they killed it; the
dragon?s whitened skull sits on a block of
stone at the cave?s entrance.
The giants own several large magic weap-
ons, including a +1 giant club, +4 vs. rep-
tiles, a maul of the titans, a +2 giant shield,
and a returning boulder. The magic club
applies the ?to hit? modifiers to damage as
well; mountain giants will do normal (4-40)
points damage with it, plus magical bo-
nuses. The shield lowers the armor class of
the giant using it to AC 1. The returning
boulder can be thrown once per round and
will return after hitting a target to the
thrower, who can catch it automatically.
The boulder does 2-20 points damage and
can only be used by beings at least 10? tall
and having a strength of 20 or greater.
The four giants do not mind talking to
humans or anyone else, but will give out
little useful information unless they are
bribed. They have heard that Hargnar is
hunting for something, but assume he lost
some coins. The giants have treasure type A
in their well-kept manor cave.
6) Hargnar Left-Hand?s Cave ? The first
thing someone will notice as he approaches
this rather isolated cave is the body of a
dwarf (Brokkir), sprawled out on the rocks
in front of the entrance. The killing blow
seems to have come from a large blunt
weapon. Nothing useful will be found on
the dwarfs body, which also seems to have
been searched after being struck. There is
evidence of another mighty blow having
landed on some nearby rocks. A few
smashed items, one shaped like a shattered
vase or decanter, lie nearby.
The entrance to the cave is open. Within
it, resting in the shadows, are 9 trolls,
Hargnar?s servants (hp 29, 34, 40, 42, 45,
47, 49, 52, 53). Hargnar is not home and
has been roaming the Smoke-top commu-
nity for a day now, searching for Dwalin.
The trolls know nothing of what is happen-
ing, except that Hargnar is not home,
which means that they can goof off. The
trolls hate all other life except for Hargnar,
and will attack and chase anyone out of the
cave, even other giants. Treasure type C (no
magic) is within the cave, as is Hargnar?s
simple spell book.
7) Smashfist Mountain Hall ? The only
inhabitant of Smashfist Mountain Hall is a
frost giant sorcerer (hp 43). Though he
appears smaller and weaker than other frost
giants, Hergir the Mage is an accomplished
spellcaster having the abilities of a 14th-
level magic-user and a 12th-level illusionist.
His hall is littered with sorcerous materials
and experiments, though he has few magic
items as such (DM?s choice). His hall con-
tains treasure type G.
Hergir is evil, but supports the giant
community and makes magic items for
some of the richer and more powerful gi-
ants. He will act in a friendly manner to-
ward humans, but will attempt to capture
them for his experiments. Dwarves he will
not harm, because he feels they might make
magic items for him in the future. Hergir
has guessed that Hargnar?s hammer is
cursed, and is deciding whether to try to
?uncurse? it or not.
8) Frost-Mist Cave ? A family of five frost
giants (hp 13, 20, 35, 49, 68) lives here with
a pet white dragon (small young adult, hp
20). They have treasure type C, being
rather poor for giants.
None of these giants knows anything
about Hargnar?s recent behavior, and all of
them hate humans, dwarves, and all other
smaller races (including ogres and trolls).
9) Smoke-top Hall ? The only two fire
giants in the vicinity live here in a lava cave
in the side of the volcano. The giants (hp
66, 84) make a living creating giant-sized
armor and weapons for customers, and are
famed throughout this area of Jotunheim
for the quality of their workmanship. The
sorcerer giant at area 7, Hergir, is able to
enchant some of their better pieces. The fire
giants have treasure type E in their cavern
hall.
The fire giants are lawful evil, an anom-
aly in the community (most of the locals
regard the fire giants as ?too darn strict, all
work and no fun?). They are treated with
respect, however. Both giants wear suits of
+2 giant chainmail (AC 1) and use +2 giant
swords (5-30 +2 hp damage). They will talk
with humans, but they hate dwarves. The
fire giants know that Hargnar has a new
hammer, but are only concerned with figur-
ing out where he got it, and do not care
about his current behavior.
10) Jotunhalla (?Giant?s Hall?) ? This
immense aboveground hall is large enough
to hold the entire giant community, making
it a truly enormous structure. Currently it is
unoccupied and unguarded. A huge bath
built over a hot mineral spring is inside.
11) Temple of Thrym the Frost God ?
This temple hall is a large aboveground
building dedicated to the frost giant god
Thrym. The temple is occupied by a 7th-
level frost giant shaman (hp 65) and his two
4th-level assistants (hp 44 and 49). The
temple has numerous hides, furs, and items
of jewelry scattered about it, and is well
cared for. Treasure types H and Qx20 are
within it.
In the temple?s courtyard are two huge
white dragons, one ancient (hp 56) and one
old (hp 42); both use spells. The dragons
will attack anyone who is not a frost giant
and will obey the 7th-level shaman com-
pletely. The frost giants and dragons are
unhelpful to the party; they are not con-
cerned with Hargnar?s behavior and they
hate all who are not frost giants.
12) Leviathan Lands ? A mixed group of
giants inhabits this rambling old hall, mak-
ing a living by herding cattle and selling
them as food to other giants. The giants
include two mountain giants (hp 67, 88),
three frost giants (hp 45, 46, 48), a hill
giant (hp 39) and twelve ogres (various hp).
Between them, these giants have only trea-
sure types O and P, with no magic or gems,
and they are considered the ?lower class? of
the community.
The giants here know many rumors and
generally do not mind sharing them with
strangers, even humans and dwarves. How-
ever, nearly everything they know is wrong
or so exaggerated as to be worthless.
Hargnar is a popular topic of conversation
at the moment.
13) Cloudy Ridge Hall ? Two frost giants,
a father and daughter (hp 61, 40), live here.
The father is a run-of-the-mill giant, but his
daughter is startlingly beautiful, even by
human standards. Anyone seeing her will
lose one round of action if viewing her
within 120?, being surprised and awed by
her appearance. The daughter is chaotic
neutral and bored with life in the commu-
nity, and dreams that some handsome giant
will come along and take her away to a
nice, colder place.
The father has managed to save a trea-
sure hoard of type D for his daughter?s
dowry, and he hopes that his daughter will
find a rich young giant so that he can retire
and live it up. Neither giant minds talking
to humans or dwarves, but for some reason
neither of them can stand elves. They are
both aware that Hargnar is acting oddly,
but then again, they feel he has always
acted oddly and this is nothing new.
14) Gilli the Short?s Cave ? Gilli the
Short is an unusually small storm giant who
is only 15? tall, squat-looking and broadly
built. However, he has normal storm giant
strength and all the other normal powers of
that race. Gilli is pleasant and friendly, but
will not stand to see anyone attack another
giant, and will summon all his might to stop
such an occurrence. Gilli is handsome de-
spite his height, and has pale violet skin. He
will be reasonably helpful to anyone asking
his help; he knows that Hargnar has a
grudge against Thor and that he has also
been acting strangely lately. Gilli has also
seen an invisible being in the vicinity, about
the size of a human or dwarf, and wonders
if that person was responsible for Hargnar?s
behavior. He noticed the being because of
his high intelligence and hit dice (as per the
DMG, p. 60). He has treasure type E.
15) Abandoned Cave ? This cave has
partially collapsed and is not used by any
giants. Seven giant spiders have made their
lair within the cave, feeding upon some of
the giant rats that roam the area. No trea-
sure is present.
Aesirhamar
The superweapon made by Brokkir and
Dwalin has an assortment of special powers
that make it exceptionally dangerous to
opponents. Aesirhamar is a huge mithril-
steel warhammer, with a head four feet
across and a handle six feet long. The entire
hammer is elaborately carved with scenes of
broken skulls among flowering ivy, and the
handle is wrapped in the leathery hide of a
type II demon, trimmed with mastodon fur.
The massive weapon weighs 5000 gp.
Aesirhamar has a +4 magical bonus to hit
opponents, but can only be wielded by
beings having a strength of at least 23 and a
height of at least 12?. It can be used in
melee combat or it can be hurled; if thrown,
it will return to the thrower in the same
round it was cast. However, because the
hammer is somewhat unwieldy, it can only
be swung at an opponent once per round,
and it also requires one round to ?wind up?
for a throw.
Aesirhamar?s damage and range as a
thrown weapon depend upon the strength of
the being using it. Those with a strength of
23 will do 12-36 (8d4 +4) points of damage
with this weapon and can hurl it up to 180
yards. A +5 strength bonus ?to hit? applies
if such a user throws the hammer. Beings
with a strength of 24 will do 14-44 (10d4 +4)
points of damage and can cast the weapon
up to 210 yards (with a +6 bonus ?to hit?).
For every point of strength over 24 that the
hurler possesses (titans have a strength of
25, and certain gods can achieve greater
strengths through magical powers), add
another 2d4 to the hammer?s damage,
another +1 ?to hit? when hurled, and an-
other 30 yards to the range.
Aesirhamar has several other powers that
add to its destructive abilities. It acts as a
rod of absorption, able to contain up to 50
levels? worth of spells. It will absorb spells
even when it is being used to attack; the
user does not have to concentrate to activate
the absorption power. However, the ham-
mer cannot absorb spells while any of its
stored-up magical power is being used.
Upon the utterance of a command word
(?Vengeance!?), the hammer will glow with
power for 3 rounds; if it strikes a target
during this time, the victim suffers the
effects of a symbol of stunning. Beings who
normally have more than 160 hit points but
who are currently at this total or below are
subject to this effect. This stunning power
may be used three times per day.
Aesirhamar also bestows a +3 bonus to the
saving throws and armor class of the
wielder, as per a ring of protection, +3. This
bonus is cumulative with other magical
protections.
Brokkir the dwarf added a special en-
chantment to the hammer so that it could
be made to shrink down to the size of a
regular warhammer (for ease of carrying).
In this reduced size, the hammer still has its
+4 ?to hit? bonus, which will also apply to
damage, but none of its other powers. A
special command word (?Brokkir?), spoken
while the hammer is touched, causes the
shrinking power to function. The Aesirha-
mar returns to giant size when the word
?Hargnar? is spoken while holding it. All
of the hammer?s powers are multiplanar in
nature and will work anywhere.
Because of the conflicting enchantments
put upon the weapon by Brokkir and his
brother, any non-dwarf who touches the
weapon will automatically become cursed
(no saving throw) with a strange form of
insanity. There is a 50% chance every time
that a dwarf is encountered that the user of
Aesirhamar will want to kill him; the user
will become enraged, gaining an additional
+2 bonus ?to hit? and on damage done.
The attacks do not have to be made with
Aesirhamar if it cannot be used by the
affected figure. If the user doesn?t attack the
dwarf, he will immediately give the dwarf
everything he owns except the hammer, and
will become his best friend and protector.
Note that either state (hatred or friendli-
ness) will only last for 10 rounds in the
presence of any one dwarf before the user?s
opinion of the dwarf changes completely. In
other words, if someone has been friendly
with a dwarf for 10 rounds, he will attack
the dwarf for the next 10 rounds; if the
dwarf survives, then the user of Aesirhamar
will become that dwarfs best friend again,
and so forth. This insanity will persist even
after the character ceases to use Aesirhamar.
Only a wish will remove this curse from a
character.
Completing the adventure
If the group manages to bring Aesirha-
mar back to Heimdall?s hall or to another
Aesir or Vanir deity, it will immediately be
given any lodging, food, and medical atten-
tion it requires. Valkyries will assist
if needed in serving the characters? needs.
Other gods will shortly arrive, summoned
by messengers, and they will hold a confer-
ence to decide what to do with the weapon.
Though Aesirhamar is not quite as pow-
erful a weapon as Mjolnir (Thor?s ham-
mer); the gods will be quite pleased to have
it out of the way. They will decide that the
hammer is to be kept (untouched by the
gods) until Thor returns, when he can crush
the weapon with a few well-placed blows
from Mjolnir.
If the party returns with Aesirhamar, the
gods will grant one wish to each player
character in the group. If Dwalin is brought
back alive for further questioning, that act
is worth another wish for each player char-
acter. (Dwalin will never be heard from
again if he falls into the hands of the gods.)
If Dwalin is returned dead (whether he was
slain by the party or by someone else), the
reward will be devalued to a limited wish;
the same applies if Aesirhamar is destroyed
instead of being brought back to Asgard.
Any of these rewards can be taken by any
player character at any time, immediately
or in the future. Of course; the DM should
moderate all requests for fulfillment of
wishes or limited wishes, making sure that
each request is reasonable and will not
disrupt the balance of the campaign. All
reasonable requests will be honored by the
gods to the best of their abilities; unreasona-
ble ones will be simply refused, and the
character will be asked to make another
request. If any character makes three re-
quests that cannot be granted, the gods will
withdraw that character?s reward.
If Dwalin is allowed to escape, or if
Aesirhamar is left in the hands of the giants,
the Aesir will become enraged and will
immediately order the characters to return
to Jotunheim and finish the mission without
further delay. Refusal or inability to do so
will result in the characters? expulsion from
Gladsheim, and they will not be favorably
regarded by the Aesir for the rest of their
lives.
Any character who tried to take Aesirha-
mar for himself or tried to betray or harm
his fellow adventurers with bad intentions
will be turned out of Asgard and sent back
to his home plane immediately, perhaps
after being forced to pay a price demanded
by the rest of the adventuring group for his
treachery. The gods will enforce this pen-
alty, but will not necessarily take action
against the characters themselves, prefer-
ring to let them resolve most of their own
difficulties.
If the characters wish to continue explor-
ing Asgard and surrounding countries (and
if the DM doesn?t mind), then the Aesir will
not object. Heimdall will allow any charac-
ters who want to go back to the Prime Ma-
terial Plane to do so, and will escort them to
Bifrost after holding a feast in their honor.
The DM may elect to have aftershocks
from this adventure come down in later
adventures. The gods of the giants will
probably hear about the adventurers? strike
into Jotunheim and may plot revenge
against them for it. The Aesir might ask
their worshipers who did well on the quest
to go on other quests. The characters might
decide to visit Midgard and see what this
alternate world looks like. The campaign
can expand in many ways using this adven-
ture as a foundation.
Other adventures in Gladsheim
Many other adventures may be arranged
that involve the gods of Asgard or require
exploring the dangerous lands of Jo-
tunheim. A careful reading of Norse myth-
ology reveals that intrigue, rivalry,
adventure, treachery, and danger were all
too common among the gods and goddesses
of Asgard and Vanaheim. Mortals could
find themselves caught up in the quests for
power, safety, riches, revenge, and knowl-
edge that the deities were involved in. Even
the most powerful gods are not all-powerful,
and some things are better handled by third
parties (as in the adventure above).
Some possible adventuring ideas that the
DM might want to consider adding to his
high-level campaign are described here.
An army of giants could be gathered
upon a world in the Prime Material Plane,
led by one or more giants from Jotunheim
who possess special magical powers. The
giants would be heavily armed and
equipped, and their goal would be to con-
quer all local kingdoms and enslave or
destroy all humans, demi-humans, and
humanoids they encounter. This situation is
very much like that given in the G-series
modules written by E. Gary Gygax (col-
lected in the TSR® module pack Against the
Giants), only on an even larger scale. The
ultimate goal of the adventurers would be to
destroy the giant armies, capture or destroy
the leaders, and track down those on Jo-
tunheim who were ?behind the scenes," so
to speak. Because Surtur, Thrym, and other
giant gods are fated to live until Ragnarok,
the DM should avoid having them be slain
by high-level characters. Their underlings,
however, are not so ?protected.?
The Aesir and Vanir gods often became
enamored of beautiful female or handsome
male humans, elves, or even giants, and
were known to send messengers to these
persons asking them to come to Gladsheim
for a visit (perhaps to stay). It wouldn?t be
too surprising for a high-level cleric, lighter,
or other worshiper to be sent off on a quest
to win the heart of a mortal for a deity?
and it wouldn?t be unusual to find that the
mortal has no intention of meeting that
particular deity, or has many powerful allies
who would not like to see such a meeting
take place. The Aesir and Vanir, though
they knew they would have to fight the
giants in the end, still conducted business
with giants and even intermarried with
them at times.
A very complicated adventure could be
created around Yggdrasil, the World Ash
that stretches through the Astral Plane. A
relatively minor demigod or powerful mon-
ster in astral space might be damaging the
World Ash, and player characters might be
ordered to stop the monster from causing
serious and permanent damage.
In such an adventure, the characters
would discover some of the unusual wildlife
of astral space (see DRAGON® Magazines
#67 and #89 for information on possible
encounters there) and some of the strange
wildlife that inhabits Yggdrasil itself.
Among other things, four deer-like crea-
tures raced among the branches of Yggdra-
sil, a giant eagle roosted within it, and an
intelligent squirrel named Ratatosk scram-
bled up and down its length, carrying in-
sults to the giant eagle from an evil dragon
in Hades who chewed on the root there.
Finally, to add other religions to the fray,
followers of another deity on the plane of
Gladsheim might discover that some major
relic of their god has been stolen. Evidence
might indicate that one of the Norse gods
was the thief (probably Loki, who stole it
for himself, on a bet, or just to cause trou-
ble). The other god might send high-level
adventurers after the item, with additional
instructions to destroy anyone or anything
that gets in the way of the mission. Hope-
fully, then, Loki won?t be so tempted to pick
up things that don?t belong to him, and the
Aesir gods will put more restraint upon him
to avoid starting a war between, pantheons.
If the wonders of Asgard and Vanaheim,
the beauty of Alfheim, and the dangers of
Jotunheim start to pale (not likely if they
are handled carefully, but still possible),
then the DM may expand Gladsheim and
allow adventurers to visit the desert temple
complex of Bast, the misty valleys and
beautiful pagodas of Hachiman and Oh-
Kuni-Nushi, and the immense Indian pal-
aces and gardens of Karttikeya.
Gladsheim is the home of many gods
and is filled with many sights. There is
adventure enough there for many episodes
of high-level campaigning.
Dear Dragon,
In the "Aesirhamar" module, you use Dwalin
as the name of Brokkir's brother. I have never
known you to copy a name before, but Dwalin is
the name of a dwarf in the Tolkien trilogy, Lord
of the Rings. Why have you tarnished your
record?
Brian E. Geppert
Lacey, Wash.
(Dragon #92)
The name Dwalin was chosen without our
awareness that it was used by J.R.R. Tolkien,
and the Dwalin of the adventure obviously has
nothing to do with Tolkien’s character. After
checking with the people at Iron Crown Enterprises,
we ascertained that the name “Dwalin”
the dwarf is considered the exclusive property of
Elan Merchandising, the company licensed to
produce Tolkien's materials in game form.
We thought we were being original in the
choice of Dwalin for a name. We regret the
unintentional intrusion, and we hope it won't
happen again.
— RM
(Dragon #92)
Different dwarves
-
Dear Dragon,
The section in the Aesirhamar module (#92) (#90)
describing Dwalin says that he is a neutral evil
7th-level fighter/l7th level magic-user. But the
chart on page 14 of the Players Handbook <UA: CHARACTER
RACE TABLE I.: CHARACTER CLASS LIMITATIONS>
that dwarves cannot be magic-users, even as
NPCs. Could you please explain this?
Ricky Rushing
Killeen, Tex.
(Dragon #94)
We already did. The module’s companion
article, “Plane facts on Gladsheim,”
points out
that dwarves native to Gladsheim (specifically,
Midgard) “are not dwarves as described in the
AD&D® game.” They can cast
spells, but they
lose a “normal” dwarf's special resistance to
magic — and they cannot be used as player
characters without breaking the rules of the
game.
— KM
(Dragon #94)
THE FORUM
A reader wrote to you in issue #92 about your
using the name "Dwalin" in your Norse
mythology-based module "Aesirhamar"
when
the name was also used in J. R. R.
Tolkien?s
work.
On page 125 of Daniel Grotta-Kurska?s biography
J. R. R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle Earth,
it says: "The names of the dwarfs in The Hobbit,
for example, were not invented by Tolkien, but
lifted intact from The Elder Edda. In that work,
the dwarfs' names were Durin, Dwalin, Dain,
Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Nori, Thrain, Thorin,
Thror, Fili, Kili, Fundin, Gloin, Dori, and Ori
(there was even a Gandalf)."
The same book quotes Tolkien as saying, ?I
gave the dwarfs actual Norse names which are in
Norse books.?
Since the name of Dwalin was invented centuries
before Tolkien ever used it, how can there be
anything wrong or illegal about using it?
Roy Cozier
Rupert, Idaho
(Dragon #92)
* * * *