Session 12: Redneck's Raiders Ride to Hell

 

Redneck and his new allies ride forth to search for Zenabarithon's lair to exact vengeance for the destruction of the Lake People. They begin their quest at the Druid's cabin in hex 306.299 and I decide to randomly determine which direction they search, ignoring anything that forces a backtrack since Redneck is, you know, a ranger. I'll check for random encounters as they enter each hex so let's see what happens.

The very first roll sends them into hex 307.298 which results in an encounter with...120 brigands on the move and at a distance of 17". This will not go well.

I distribute arms and armor per MM with the following results:

Unit 1: 48 are equipped with Leather armor and shield, sword (40% of force)

Unit 2: 12 are equipped with Leather armor, light crossbow (10% of force)

Unit 3: 12 are equipped with Leather armor, glaive (10% of force)

Unit 4: 12 are equipped with Leather armor, short bow (10% of force)

Unit 5: 12 are equipped with Light horse, leather armor and shield, spear (10% of force)

Unit 6: 12 are equipped with Light horse, Leather armor, light crossbow (10% of force)

Unit 7: 12 are equipped with Medium horse, chainmail and shield, sword (10% of force)

Things are looking very grim for the Bros...

Surprise comes up with a 5 for both sides, so nobody gets the drop. Bandits win round 1 initiative by a decisive 6 to 1 and after a brutal exchange of missile fire, Bear Amblecrown lies dead, Alethras and Redneck are heavily wounded and Palk Mei is near death. All potential life saving spells are disrupted by the brigand attacks and Redneck kills 5 brigands, to little avail. We proceed to round 2.

Round 2 initiative is tied 3 to 3 so all attacks are resolved simultaneously (for all the good it does). Redneck, Palk Mei and Alethras attempt to make a fighting withdrawal, but the opposing brigands overwhelm them. They join Bear Amblecrown in the Realms of Bone as sun sets on this group of the Bros and Zenabarithon's atrocities continue unabated. We have our first TPK!!!

Thus ends the Saga of the Mighty Redneck, a hero who futilely fought Chaos and met an ignominious end in the Cold Wastes, his anonymous death a testament to Man's insignificance in the Black Seas of Infinity as the gods laugh.

Session 11 Downtime: Aftermath of the Battle of Fang Shrine

 After dividing the spoils with the rest of the bros, Brogallo convinces the party to share some with the remaining Brocenaries and the surviving janissaries and refugees. Common sense overcomes naked greed and all agree it's probably a good idea. I decide reaction rolls will determine disposition of the various groups and get the following results

• The Tallow Watch refugees are furious at the loss of their comrades and categorically reject Brogallo's blood money (11% reaction roll - hostile with immediate action). Disgusted with the state of the world, they quit the the encampment and melt into the forest, never to be seen again.
  
  
• The Brocenary Lancers are unsure about Brogallo's leadership during the battle, but gold soothes their hurt feelings and they elect to remain in service (58% uncertain but 55% positive - followed by a 16%)
  
  
• The three units of Old Brightwood Janissaries are satisfied with their vengeance against their former enslavers and the accompanying combat pay. They also decide to cooperate with Brogallo (76% friendly, immediate action)

Brogallo and Kleptikos "aggressively question" the remaining hobgoblin leaders about any remaining forces in the area and what interest they had in the Fang Shrine. After several hours, they learn that there are no other forces in the area and that the now deceased Chief obtained the magic shield and Dragon Slayer longsword during a solo delve into the upper levels of the shrine. They mysteriously die of uncontrollable blood loss shortly thereafter, much to Brogallo's snickering regret over "the sad brutality of war".

1. Brogallo takes the Brocenary Lancers and one unit of the Janissaries and goes to Old Brightwood to announce his victory. A reaction roll of 92% (friendly, immediate action) indicates the Bros are hailed as heroes. A separate roll of 60% for the rulers (uncertain but 55% prone toward positive followed by a 79%) indicates they can see which way the wind is blowing and decide to quickly exit the city (with the treasury's contents, of course) while the peasants are distracted by their impromptu celebrations.
   
   
2. Man Lee and No-Tiki go Tallow Watch with the second unit of Janissaries to announce the victory and receive a frosty welcome from the junta with a reaction roll of 68%(uncertain but 55% prone toward positive followed by a 59%). They likewise see the writing on the wall, and quickly slip away while their clueless advisors attempt to negotiate with Man Lee. I roll separately for the Janissaries and get a 16% (hostile with immediate action) and decide they kill the traitorous political sycophants, but are unable to stop the Junta from fleeing (with the treasury, of course, since all politicians are thieving bastards).
   
   
3. Voon DeGoon joins Manderbro and the final Janissary unit to do the same at Orchard Hollow. The Lawful clerics and their paladin champions instantly distrust these shifty foreigner opportunists with a reaction roll of 38% (uncertain but 55% prone toward negative followed by a 35%). They coolly accept the news and suggest Voon and Manderbro leave immediately to send their thanks to the rest of the Bros. "Tell this Brogallo that perhaps we shall all meet in person shortly", Patriarch Sirenion says as the Bros are about to exit the audience chamber, his tone indicating that the meeting will be far from convivial. 

Kleptikos has enough XP to advance to level 7 and will be training and unavailable until 26 March 2025.

Session 11: Band of Brogallos Rock the Horde

Brogallo decides to try to break the hobgoblin siege and loot their camp, but needs more muscle. He makes contact with the remaining members of the Tallow Watch refugees to see if they'll come over to his banner. After some slumming and independent reconnaissance by Kleptikos, the Bros make contact with the local leaders and arrange a meeting.

Brogallo tells the group that Tazennarit is still alive and leading the remnants as they've resettled at Fort Rackham under the protection of Lady Kophyn Mizzar, after Brogallo's intervention and skillful negotiation to resolve the crisis. Brogallo rolls a 94 (!) for the reaction roll, so the crowd is deliriously happy at this news and agree to join his cause in anticipation of reunification with their loved ones. Of course, there's no need to cloud their joy with the inconvenient fact that Brother Sully did all the negotiation, but the small folk seldom understand the intricacies of diplomacy.

I give Brogallo 2 rolls on the expert hireling table to see what kind of troops he can levy. The results:

• Roll 1: 65 = (10) Light Horsemen AC7, 7hp, MV 12" (24"); leather armor & shield, composite short bow, spear, long sword; Lieutenant (L1 Fighter 7hp)
• Roll 2: 32 = (15) Light Footmen AC7, 7hp, MV 12" (24"); leather armor & shield, spear, long sword; Lieutenant (L2 Fighter 17hp)

Deciding that the group needs some reconnaissance on the latest hobgoblin activity, the Bros make their way through the forests surrounding the last known location of the hobgoblin camp. Leaving the Brocenaries and supporting refugee force at a safe distance from the camp, the Bros continue forward to gather intelligence on the current state of the hobgoblins.

Luckily, there are no encounter checks and they successfully spot the camp from the cover of the woods. Manderbro casts Invisibility on Kleptikos who then moves silently to survey the camp. Per PHB, Invisibility works against infravision so as long as Kleptikos doesn't attack he should be fine. 

Kleptikos successfully makes his way through the forested hills surrounding the hobgoblin encampment. His worst fears are realized as he sees the camp has been heavily fortified and expanded, with numerous siege engines nearly finished. He makes a successful Climb Walls (54%) check to scamper over the wooden palisades and slip into the camp itself. He estimates there are about 150 hobgoblins in total and makes note of their arms and disposition. 

Additionally, Kleptikos notes that the hobgblins have built the camp around an ancient shrine prominently featuring iconography of roaring dragons. He overhears someone refer to it as The Fang Shrine and marks its location for later investigation.

He sees the Janissaries from Old Brightwood, who are being kept in broken down shacks apart from the rest of the hobgoblin panoplies. He identifies the likely leaders and informs them of his invisibile state and that help is coming. A reaction roll of 78% plus his 30% Charisma bonus ensures that the janissaries are ready to turn on their oppressors and ultimately wreak vengeance on their traitorous overlords thereafter. Kleptikos works out the signals for when the Janissaries are expected to turn on the hobgoblins and quickly returns to Bros to report his success. 

I roll a d100 for the number of Janissaries and get a 90. Based on real-world Janissaries, I decide they're going to be medium horsemen with composite shortbows, chainmail and shield, sword and mace. Brogallo decides they've got a chance to break the hobgoblins with the Janissary betrayal and returns to the men-at-arms to begin the battle.

The combined force sets out for the camp, and I roll a random encounter. I decide that's really a hobgoblin patrol who promptly retreats to the camp to alert their comrades of Brogallo's underwhelming force making its way through the woods.

A quick reaction check for the hobgoblin chief comes back with an 11% (violently hostile), so I rule that the chief is offended at such a miniscule force being sent against him and decides to wait in full force just outside the palisades. These arrogant humans will be crushed! Tallow Watch and Orchard Hollow will feel his wrath soon enough!

The forces are arrayed as follows:

Per the AD&D MM, hobgoblins are equipped as follows:

Hobgoblins

• Unit 2: (30) are equipped with Long sword and composite bow (20% of force)    Archers
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant 2HD (17hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant Assistant 2HD (15hp)

• Unit 1 Rear Rank: (45) equipped with Glaive-Guisarme (30% of force)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant 2HD (13hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant Assistant 2HD (11hp)
• Unit 3 Front Rank: (30) equipped with Morning star (20% of force)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant 2HD (15hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant Assistant 2HD (14hp)

• Unit 4: (15) equipped with Long sword and spear (10% of force)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant 2HD (11hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant Assistant 2HD (14hp)

• Unit 5: (15) equipped with Spear (10% of force)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant 2HD (11hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant Assistant 2HD (7hp)

• Chief
• (1) Hobgoblin Subchief 3HD (20hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Chief 4HD (22hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Chief Bodyguard 3HD (15hp)

• Unit 6 Chief Honor Guard: (8) equipped with Long sword and morning star (5% of force)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant 2HD (12hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant Assistant 2HD (16hp)

• Unit 7 Chief Honor Guard: (8) equipped with Long sword and whip (5% of force)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant 2HD (8hp)
• (1) Hobgoblin Sergeant Assistant 2HD (16hp)

The Band of Brogallos

• Brocenary Unit 1: (10) medium horsemen; banded mail and shield; light crossbow and longsword
• Brocenary Unit 2: (10) medium horsemen; banded mail and shield; lance and longsword

• Janissary Unit 1: (30) medium horsemen; chainmail and shield; composite longbow and longsword
• Janissary Unit 2: (30) medium horsemen; chainmail and shield; composite longbow and longsword
• Janissary Unit 3: (30) medium horsemen; chainmail and shield; composite longbow and longsword

• Refugee Unit 1: (15) light footmen; leather armor and shield, spear and long sword
• Refugee Unit 2: (10) leather armor and shield, composite short bow, spear and long sword

I'll be using standard AD&D combat rules with 1:10 figure scaling for the battle. If you're unfamiliar with this concept, see Jeffro's post, Macho Mandalf's post and Jon Mollison's epic AD&D series and accompanying AD&D blog posts from March 2023 for more information. 

I roll a 14" encounter distance and there's no surprise since both sides know this battle was coming. We dive straight into combat:

HG = hobgblin unit

JU = janissary unit

RU = refugee militia unit

BRO = brocenaries

Unless explicitly mentioned, the unit misses in the combat round and we're only reporting hits since this post is pretty long as it is.

Round 1: Hobgoblins win 6 to 1

I decide the Janissaries will act on the hobgoblin side for round 1 and then switch to the Band of Brogallos. Their vengeance is fierce as they turn on their oppressors!

JU2 hits HG1 for 10 casualties

JU3 hits HG1 for 20 casualties forcing a morale check

HG4 charges RU1 and miss

HG5 charges RU2 and hits for 4 casualties forcing a morale check

HG6 and HG7 guard the chief and wait

BRO1 hits HG1 with crossbows for 4hp

Ah-so, Brogallo and Kleptikosattack the HG4 Sergeant, killing him

Man Lee casts Sleep at HG4, getting 6 casualties and forcing a morale check

Manderbro hits HG1 with Fireball, killing 6

No-Tiki and Voon hit HG4 elite for 4hp

HG1 passes morale check

RU2 fails morale check and flees in panic

Round 2: Band of Brogallos win 3 to 1

JU1, JU2 and JU3 all hit HG1, wiping them out completely

BRO1 hits HG3 with crossbows for 3hp

Man Lee casts Sleep at HG4 again, getting 4 casualties and forcing a morale check

Manderbro hits HG3 with Fireball, killing 6

No-Tiki and Voon hit HG4 elite for 11hp, killing him

HG5 hits BRO2, killing 5

HG1 hits JU2 with composite long bows, killing 10

HG4 fails morale check and flees in panic

Round 3: TIED 3 to 3; all actions simultaneous

HG2 hits JU2 for 3hp

HG7 charge JU1 and miss

HG6 charge JU2 and miss

JU1 wipes out HG7

JU2 hits HG6 for 10hp

JU3 wipes out HG6

Man Lee casts Sleep at HG5, getting 3 casualties

Manderbro casts Invisibility on himself

No-Tiki and Voon hit HG5 sergeant, killing him

HG2 and HG3 pass morale

HG5 fails morale and flees the killing fields

Round 4: Band of Brogallos win 4 to 2

JU1 and JU2 hit HG2, wiping them out completely

JU3 charges HG3 and hits for 4hp

BRO1 hits HG3 for 10 casualties

The PCs charge the hobgoblin chief in a bid to wipe him out and break the enemy. No-Tiki and Voon hit the Chief for 17hp

HG2 hits JU2 for 1hp

HG3 hits BRO1, wiping them out completely

Chief hits Brogallo for 6hp

Chief bodyguard hits Ah-so for 4hp

Round 5: Hobgoblins wins 3 to 2

Hobgoblins all miss

Brogallo hits Chief for 10hp killing him

Kleptikos hits Subchief for 5hp

Manderbro casts his final Sleep spell, getting the subchief and remaining bodyguards

HG3 fails morale check and flees in panic

The Band of Brogallos are victorious! They secure the subchief and bodyguards for interrogation and loot the camp, finding a total of 7,350gp and gems and jewelry worth a total of 20,390gp. The slain Chief had a Potion of Superheroism, a +2 shield and a Sword of Green Dragon Slaying. This is quite the haul and downtime division of spoils will be interesting...

Session 10 Downtime: The Blasti-bros

 

"You look like shit", Marsh said as he entered Blastikus' study and quietly closing the door behind him.

"You would too if you had a wraith's finger up your ass", Blastikus replied. He closed the book before him and looked at Marsh, "Although I am obligated to you for saving our asses with the Haste spell."

"Enlightened self interest, but I can't use that trick too often or we'll be joining the wraiths far, far, too prematurely", he replied, chuckling softly. "That does raise the point of my visit, however."

Blastikus cocks an eyebrow and said "Which is?"

"We've both been studying the runes on this place. It's clearly very old, very powerful. There's a reason someone bound the elemental below. Very curious that the so called 'Shrine of Evil Tablets' is so close by, wouldn't you agree?"

"Hmph. Why do you think I wanted to explore these ruins? There's power aplenty for the both of us, here and nearby. What did you have in mind?"

Marsh sat down in the divan opposite Blastikus' workbench. He paused a moment, considering his words. "You've already set up a respectable laboratory here. There's sufficient other devotees of The Art in the nearby cities, even with the hobgoblin legions scaring away prospects. I say we recruit an alchemist and start fortifying our little group. We have muscle aplenty but we'll need more to crack the secrets here."

"I've been thinking along the same lines. The wraiths indicate the barriers are thin here, probably more than we suspect. Minimally, we can have the alchemist alloy our weapons with silver and help us brew some likely enhancements. We'll need more funds as well. We'll have to plan our next expedition when we're fully recovered. I think we should follow the map we got from the Oni - there's enough loot there for all of us."

Marsh nods in agreement. "Good. We're of the same mind. I'll go with Brother Sully and Krall to Old Brightwood to start making arrangements."

Blastikus looks at Marsh sharply. "We are clear that I have laid claim to this tower and the alchemist is mine to command?"

"Of course, my dear friend. I have my own studies to pursue and have no real desire to live here as anything other than your guest. You've been a most generous host. The scrolls in the Oni hoard will keep me happily occupied for quite some time."

"I agree to share my knowledge if you will do the same and allow you access to the alchemist when I have no need of him. Do we have a compact?", asks Blastikus.

"We have a compact. It's much more lucrative for us to cooperate, don't you agree?", said Marsh.

"Most assuredly, my friend", Blastikus says as he leans back into his chair, silently contemplating just how long he will maintain this collegiality. 

Blasti-bros Recharge

It's a busy downtime session for the bros:

• The next expedition will be to the nameless ruined city in hex 311.304 in pursuit of the Oni's treasure hoard
  
  
• Blastikus expands his current workshop into an alchemical lab for 1000gp and hires Methikles the Twitchy as his resident alchemist for 300gp a month with an additional lab upkeep cost of 100gp per month. I decide that it will take 3 weeks to get everything up and running so the alchemist will be available on 1 April 2025.
  
  Blastikus also pays 500gp to have the tower repaired to livable standards. This is twice the normal cost since he had to overcome the workmen's fear of the place. He spends an additional 100gp to replace the door leading to dungeon level 2 with a reinforced iron door, just in case something tries to sneak up from the depths.
  
  
• Luisa is in recovery and prayer dealing with her level loss. Hopefully the Chaos Lords can strengthen her faltering resolve.
  
  
• Marsh advances to Level 8 magic-user and is in training until 18 March 2025.
  
  
• Mog seethes with anger over his level loss and flight from battle. His warrior blood burns with the need to redeem his honor. He decides to hire some mercenaries for some additional muscle on the sortie into the ruined city. They all need more funds and planning before destroying the wraiths. Vengeance, must like the wraith's touch, must be served cold. He journeys to Old Brightwood and recruits some new mercs. Rolling on the table on DMG pg 30, he secures 10 medium horsemen and kits them up with sword, mace, lance and banded mail. He names them Mog's Madmen and puts them under command of Lt Hassan.
  
  
• All party members upgrade their weapons to silver versions as part of the purchases when recruiting the alchemist. Mog follows suit and upgrades the Madmens' weapons as well, just in case...
  
  

Session 10: The Wrath of Wraiths

 

The Bros are feeling pretty good after their last delve and decide to keep rolling while they're hot (HA! See what I did there?). They decide to investigate the Shrine of Evil Tablets in Hex 303.297 and things...did not go well. 

I followed my now familiar procedure and got another 3 level dungeon with a starting difficulty of 6th level monsters. They explore the first three rooms which all come up empty using Appendix A. Enough time has gone by so I roll for wandering monsters and get...12 wraiths. They've got no magic or silver weapons so the pegasus shit has definitely hit the fan.

Neither side is surprised so we proceed to combat with a tied initiative (4 to 4). All actions are simultaneous so this is going to be cute.

Blastikus fires off Magic Missile with minimal effect (8hp total) because that's basically the only attack he has against these horrors.

Marsh casts Haste on the party (aging everybody by one year in the process)

Sully successfully Turns Undead...on 2 of the 12. Luisa fails in her attempt because the Chaos Lords are, of course, fickle.

The wraiths, seething with power of the Endless Void all strike, and fortunately only hit 3 times total, draining one level each from Blastikus, Luisa and Mog. Luisa clearly has a lot to deal with today.

Round 2 goes to the party 3 to 1 and they wisely use their cocaine fueled state to run like the wind from the wraiths. The slowest party members move 9" normally, but Haste doubles that and they easily outpace the wraiths' 12" move rate.

The delve was a debacle and the group retreats to the Obsidian Tower to lick their wounds and regroup. Sully, Krall, and Marsh have earned enough XP to level, so they'll be out until 18 March 2025.

Downtime should be interesting...

Session 9: Blasti-bros Assault on the Obsidian Citadel

 

We now have three competing parties after The Sundering of the Bros, so we need to decide who will be the focus of this session. I roll a d6 and get The Blasti-bros, led by Blastikus. As outlined in Session 8 Downtime: The Winter Blast Bros, the party relocated to Old Brightwood to avoid the Mighty Redneck's rage and find some coin in the process. Blastikus sends the hench-orcs out on a scouting mission to check the wilderness to the east, while the rest of the group tries to get some intel on the current situation. I use Appendix B of the hallowed AD&D DMG to populate the 6 mile hex with the following results:

OK - so some interesting bits here. I reckon Blastikus and friends are looking for some quick hits and will focus on the sites closest to Old Brightwood. I build a random table based on the likely features and local rumors:

1. Hex 303.297: The abandoned Shrine of the Evil Tablets
2. Hex 304.296: The abandoned stronghold - Obsidian Tower of the Deep Ones
3. Hex 305.294: The ruined city of Hraden; need laborers and men-at-arms
4. Hex 303.295: The ruined city of Bleak Quarry; need laborers and men-at-arms
5. Hex 301.294: The hobgoblins have turned the old ruins west of Orchard Hollow and Old Brightwood into a fortified village with ramparts, guard towers and ballistae. They have been seen building siege equipment for a final push into Orchard Hollow. The people are terrified but are penned in by stealthy hobgoblin death squads that haunt the surrounding hills.
6. Hex 306.297: Nameless ruined village; rumors of a wizards lab

Another d6 roll give me a 2, so we're exploring the Obsidian Tower. Blastikus needs a new base of operations so the tower is of particular interest, especially if it's not in total shambles. I roll a d100 to see how damaged the tower is and get a 16. This means it's shabby, but habitable with some upkeep and minimal repairs. DMG pg107 has 6 types of towers listed (how awesome!) and a d6 roll gives me a 3 meaning we have a 40ft diameter tower that's 30ft high with a 1600gp cost. Let's assume that's 10ft per level so we have 3 above ground levels in the tower itself. Repair costs are 1600 * .16 = 256gp to bring the tower itself back to habitable condition if the Bros can claim it from whatever nasties might be present.

I decide the tower, though abandoned, must have some dungeons (because how can The Obsidian Tower of the Deep Ones not have dungeons???) and follow my previous procedure of d4 for number of levels (I get a 3) and a d10 for a starting dungeon level of 6. Three d20 rolls result in 4 rooms for level 1, 16 rooms for level 2 and 18 rooms for level 3. I'll randomly generate the dungeon using Appendix A and stock it using the MM2 monster tables. 

The Bros travel from Old Brightwood with no wandering monsters encountered and survey the stronghold. As the group breaks from the hilled forests outside of Old Brightwood, they stare into the fractured badlands surrounding the black monolith of the Obsidian Tower. Though it is early morning, the tower seems to absorb the sunlight itself and radiate the utter darkness of a starless void. Every inch of the tower itself is covered in phosphorescent sickly mauve glyphs that seem alive and writhing in agony unimagined. Though the surrounding badlands are dried, broken chunks of rock and sand, the tower itself is perpetually damp with a disturbing briny smell reminiscent of the pelagic depths. This is clearly a Place of Power, and Blastikus silently smiles at his good fortune.

The party readies itself for combat and quickly finds an entrance to the tower. Wandering monster checks all come up empty for the 3 tower levels, so the place is truly abandoned (at least above ground). Time to delve with Appendix A!

Level 1 basically came up empty on the dungeon gen. The wandering monster checks likewise came up with a Grell (weakling with only 9hp - bad rolls). No surprise and the Bros easily dispatch the abomination in round 1 after winning initiative. Onwards to level 2!

We hit action immediately as I roll a monster encounter for room 1 (3 hill giants 52hp, 54hp, 63hp). The Pct in Lair roll shows they have made this area their home, so they'll have Treasure type D. 

The Bros win surprise by a whopping 5 to 2 so they get 3 segments of surprise attacks, including a backstab by Kraal the assassin. The Bros concentrate their fire on Hill Giant #1, dealing a total of 36hp damage.

Round 1: Bros win 5 to 3

Blastikus uses his Wand of Frost for 27hp damage. All the Hill Giants fail their saves, so #1 is a frosty corpse and the other two are feeling pretty miserable. Sully hits HG #2 for 3 points and everybody else whiffs. The giants likewise get some terrible rolls and do nothing this round.

Round 2: Bros win 3 to 1

Blastikus casts forked Lightning Bolt for 28hp against both giants who make their saves and take 14hp damage. The remaining Bros all miss in melee. HG #2 smashes Blastikus for 5hp but HG #3 lands nothing.

Round 3: Bros win 4 to 3

I make a morale check for the giants which they pass easily so they're still in the fight. Blastikus hits HG #2 with Magic Missile for 10hp, Sully hits him for another 5hp. Marsh casts Burning Hands for 7hp against both giants and Mog hits HG #3 for 5hp. The giants are rocked and do nothing in retaliation. 

Round 4: Bros win 6 to 4

Giants again pass their morale check so they're clearly pissed off and staying in the fight. Blastikus again uses his Wand of Frost for 28hp damage. HG #2 saves, but is dead anyway. HG #3 fails and takes the full brunt of the Cone of Cold. Mog hits him for another 4hp and our chilled out giants misses on his turn.

Round 5: Hill Giant wins 6 to 5

The remaining giant fails morale by 15% so he executes a fighting withdrawal with a swing and a miss at Mog. The Bros all miss on their turn.

Round 6: Bros win 4 to 1

Blastikus goes back to the trusty Wand of Frost for 22hp damage and the giant fails his save. Mog hits the brute twice on his 3/2 attack for 15hp, killing him.

A quick search of the room finds some coffers containing the giants' treasure: 3,728gp and 3 pieces of jewelry (per Treasure Type D rolls). A quick check of DMG pg 26 and some incredibly lucky rolls yield a total jewelry value of 55,422gp - a king's ransom! 

The Bros elect to continue onwards and find a largely empty level until they come to the last room (monster plus treasure). A random roll comes up with an 8HD air elemental. The Bros win surprise 4 to 1, quickly slam shut the door and beat a hasty retreat to the surface. This is a problem for another day...

The expedition has proven to be very lucrative and yielded a new base of operations for the Bros.