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Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition
Storm King's Thunder
Take a stand against the giants in this adventure for the world s greatest roleplaying game
Giants have emerged from their strongholds to threaten civilization as never before. Hill giants are stealing all the grain and livestock they can while stone giants have been scouring settlements that have been around forever. Fire giants are press-ganging the smallfolk into the desert, while frost giant longships have been pillaging along the Sword Coast. Even the elusive cloud giants have been witnessed, their wondrous floating cities appearing above Waterdeep and Baldur s Gate. Where is the storm giant King Hekaton, who is tasked with keeping order among the giants?
The humans, dwarves, elves, and other small folk of the Sword Coast will be crushed underfoot from the onslaught of these giant foes. The only chance at survival is for the small folk to work together to investigate this invasion and harness the power of rune magic, the giants weapon against their ancient enemy the dragons. The only way the people of Faerun can restore order is to use the giants own power against them.
To defeat giants, you need to be giant!"
Giants have emerged from their strongholds to threaten civilization as never before. Hill giants are stealing all the grain and livestock they can while stone giants have been scouring settlements that have been around forever. Fire giants are press-ganging the smallfolk into the desert, while frost giant longships have been pillaging along the Sword Coast. Even the elusive cloud giants have been witnessed, their wondrous floating cities appearing above Waterdeep and Baldur s Gate. Where is the storm giant King Hekaton, who is tasked with keeping order among the giants?
The humans, dwarves, elves, and other small folk of the Sword Coast will be crushed underfoot from the onslaught of these giant foes. The only chance at survival is for the small folk to work together to investigate this invasion and harness the power of rune magic, the giants weapon against their ancient enemy the dragons. The only way the people of Faerun can restore order is to use the giants own power against them.
To defeat giants, you need to be giant!"
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2016
56 people are currently reading
689 people want to read
About the author
Wizards of the Coast
431 books432 followersWizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC /ˈwɒtˌsiː/ or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. Originally a basement-run role-playing game publisher, the company popularized the collectible card game genre with Magic: The Gathering in the mid-1990s, acquired the popular Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game by purchasing the failing company TSR, and experienced tremendous success by publishing the licensed Pokémon Trading Card Game. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Renton, Washington in the United States.[1]
Wizards of the Coast publishes role-playing games, board games, and collectible card games. They have received numerous awards, including several Origins Awards. The company has been a subsidiary of Hasbro since 1999. All Wizards of the Coast stores were closed in 2004.
Wizards of the Coast publishes role-playing games, board games, and collectible card games. They have received numerous awards, including several Origins Awards. The company has been a subsidiary of Hasbro since 1999. All Wizards of the Coast stores were closed in 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
August 29, 2016
This is a very ambitious module, spanning a huge section of the Faerun coast, with tons of opportunities for side adventures and diversions, making it a difficult project to approach and to run as a DM. For all of that, I think it is the finest module yet produced for D&D 5e. For the first time, DMs and players are truly encouraged to become intimate with the setting, adventuring back across previously explored terrain, and bridging multiple sources flawlessly. The encounters are challenging and frequently well balanced, the magic items are very flexible, and the module is finally well supported by Wotc. On the more basic level, the book has great artwork, some compelling characters, a few nice story twists and surprises, and a very strong sense of the culture and style of the creatures involved. Having previously read Against the Giants, for me it is amazing to see how far production values and expectations have come in the 40+ years of D&D's existence!
November 24, 2022
I really enjoyed running this one. My players were kids/teens, and I ran it more or less exactly by the book, with a little bit of massaging around the book's casual racism to make it less... racist.
However, there's a ton of space in here to add in your own side adventures and NPCs and stuff. It desperately needs a few more maps, though.
Personally, I think this is one of WOTC better adventures.
However, there's a ton of space in here to add in your own side adventures and NPCs and stuff. It desperately needs a few more maps, though.
Personally, I think this is one of WOTC better adventures.
May 27, 2019
(Some spoilers ahead) Annam the All-Father, supreme god of the giant races, has done away with the ordning and the various giant races compete against each other in an attempt to raise their hierarchy status when the new ordning is enacted. This 1-10th level epic adventure allows the Player Characters (PC) to join in the drama, intervening in the machinations of the various giant factions and influencing future relations between giants and small-folk. If I could, I would probably give this 3.5 stars.
Pros:
* This adventure offers a lot of unique well mapped giant-centric locations , and non-giant related, that PCs can explore. The giant lairs especially offer some interesting takes, appropriate to the giant-types that inhabit them.
* Good treasure rewards. A lot more treasure than I’ve noticed in previous 5th ed. modules and the random generation of magic items (dictating which table to roll on in the DMG is a nice touch).
* There are several areas of the Forgotten Realms that are described, some in more detail than others (over 100-pages worth of the 256-page book).
* The new magical items (giant runes) are not too bad and the ability to inscribe them onto a normal non-magical item to give it a magical trait is neat.
Cons:
* The story isn’t bad but it isn’t that well developed (in my opinion). There are parts of it that would require some extra set-up work to get the PCs invested in the ordning and the conflict between the giants and dragons. The build-up to Maelstrom and the PCs arrival seems lacking in how they would work out how Iymrith’s and Hekaton’s two older daughters are up to no good. The author provides some slip of the tongue moments that are supposed to clue PCs in, which seems a little weak to me. I also found it odd that the PCs have the option of raising Hekaton’s wife from the dead but Serrisa (with all her compassion for the small folk and what I’m assuming are some important powerful connections as the now leader of the giants) cannot find someone to cast the spell on her mother to find out what happened. Perhaps her councilors decided against it (which still seems weak). These are only two areas (of maybe five) where I think the adventure was a little lacking in explanation or transitioning.
* The idea to have the players use the NPCs in the opening battles was intriguing but (in my opinion) I think it will just become more of a burden. Battles already take a lot of time. Adding more characters to the mix is just going to extend it out further. The NPCs could still give out their quests. I just don’t see this being all that great, other than giving the PCs some NPC body armor or allowing the players to play character types they don’t normally go for.
* The gazetteer section I described as a Pro earlier is also a Con. A lot of these places are already described (maybe in not as much detail) in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. Seeing how much page count is devoted to that in this book, the pages you get of adventure is nearly half of the total page count. Of course, a lot of the locations described will likely be visited by the PCs during the adventure so it makes sense to provide some background information on them but sometimes I wonder if a more complete setting guide of the Forgotten Realms, and shorter (cheaper) adventure modules would have been a better idea, especially considering those who use a home brew setting that might like the adventure idea but not need 100+ pages of setting information they won’t use.
Pros:
* This adventure offers a lot of unique well mapped giant-centric locations , and non-giant related, that PCs can explore. The giant lairs especially offer some interesting takes, appropriate to the giant-types that inhabit them.
* Good treasure rewards. A lot more treasure than I’ve noticed in previous 5th ed. modules and the random generation of magic items (dictating which table to roll on in the DMG is a nice touch).
* There are several areas of the Forgotten Realms that are described, some in more detail than others (over 100-pages worth of the 256-page book).
* The new magical items (giant runes) are not too bad and the ability to inscribe them onto a normal non-magical item to give it a magical trait is neat.
Cons:
* The story isn’t bad but it isn’t that well developed (in my opinion). There are parts of it that would require some extra set-up work to get the PCs invested in the ordning and the conflict between the giants and dragons. The build-up to Maelstrom and the PCs arrival seems lacking in how they would work out how Iymrith’s and Hekaton’s two older daughters are up to no good. The author provides some slip of the tongue moments that are supposed to clue PCs in, which seems a little weak to me. I also found it odd that the PCs have the option of raising Hekaton’s wife from the dead but Serrisa (with all her compassion for the small folk and what I’m assuming are some important powerful connections as the now leader of the giants) cannot find someone to cast the spell on her mother to find out what happened. Perhaps her councilors decided against it (which still seems weak). These are only two areas (of maybe five) where I think the adventure was a little lacking in explanation or transitioning.
* The idea to have the players use the NPCs in the opening battles was intriguing but (in my opinion) I think it will just become more of a burden. Battles already take a lot of time. Adding more characters to the mix is just going to extend it out further. The NPCs could still give out their quests. I just don’t see this being all that great, other than giving the PCs some NPC body armor or allowing the players to play character types they don’t normally go for.
* The gazetteer section I described as a Pro earlier is also a Con. A lot of these places are already described (maybe in not as much detail) in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. Seeing how much page count is devoted to that in this book, the pages you get of adventure is nearly half of the total page count. Of course, a lot of the locations described will likely be visited by the PCs during the adventure so it makes sense to provide some background information on them but sometimes I wonder if a more complete setting guide of the Forgotten Realms, and shorter (cheaper) adventure modules would have been a better idea, especially considering those who use a home brew setting that might like the adventure idea but not need 100+ pages of setting information they won’t use.
December 23, 2018
This is a huge and sprawling epic adventure. I would actually give this more like 4 and a half stars if I could but that's not an option on this site. The characters are really cool and the fights look to be of epic proportions. I am looking forward to running this with my players. My one issue is that I think chapter 3 is a bit daunting both for DM's and players as other reviews have noted. I can see the potential for derailing the entire story line in that chapter. But then again if your players go off on a tangent but are having a ton of fun, it's still a win for DM and players.
November 15, 2020
A well-written, ambitious adventure. The amount of lore and world-building in this book is nothing short of impressive, and the high-resolution details on each area of the campaign are also well done.
I'm running this campaign at the moment, but as a fan of both D&D and Forgotten Realms, I'd have read this for its story alone. Also, as with all of the WotC books I've bought so far, the artwork is just great.
I'm running this campaign at the moment, but as a fan of both D&D and Forgotten Realms, I'd have read this for its story alone. Also, as with all of the WotC books I've bought so far, the artwork is just great.
January 14, 2022
Overall, it's an interesting adventure. If you want to just run something by the books, this is not it. If you're going to run this, prepare to plan and write your own content and encounters since this book leaves a lot unwritten.
May 29, 2023
Another fifth edition adventure set in the Forgotten Realms, this time the theme are Giants, all kind of them, from stupid Hill Giants, to regal Storm Giants and everything in between, this is funnily a kind of sequel to other adventures, particularly Tyranny of Dragons.
Her the events of Tyranny of Dragons have an effect that ends up putting the Giant's Ordning, their social structure in upheaval, as different clans and kind of Giants start jostling for position within that social structure they ends up coming into conflict with each other and the little people, like the player characters, who get thrust into the middle of war, courtly backstabbing, impostors and a murder mystery.
Full of possible side-quests and loads of information about the part of Faerun where it is set, Storm King's Thunder is quite possibly the best of the early 5e adventures, just because it crams so much in it. Definitely worth getting, not only if you want to run it, but if you want more info on the North or just have a general interest in the giants of the Forgotten Realms.
Her the events of Tyranny of Dragons have an effect that ends up putting the Giant's Ordning, their social structure in upheaval, as different clans and kind of Giants start jostling for position within that social structure they ends up coming into conflict with each other and the little people, like the player characters, who get thrust into the middle of war, courtly backstabbing, impostors and a murder mystery.
Full of possible side-quests and loads of information about the part of Faerun where it is set, Storm King's Thunder is quite possibly the best of the early 5e adventures, just because it crams so much in it. Definitely worth getting, not only if you want to run it, but if you want more info on the North or just have a general interest in the giants of the Forgotten Realms.
July 19, 2020
Yeah, I'd run this! There are definitely parts that I'd run differently or skip (I think treatment of enslaved people and tribal people needs a little more care than this book managed, for one), but those parts would not be difficult to skip, because this is a HUGE book with a ton of stuff in it. Very sandbox-y, very road-trip-around-the-whole-world-to-save-it. A good map for the players would be invaluable.
March 21, 2020
Gonna start running this game next week!
A very epic story. Love how huge and sprawling this is, and I love giants vs. dragons.
I'm having a hard time seeing how the middle part connects the beginning and the ending. But I have time to figure that out!
A very epic story. Love how huge and sprawling this is, and I love giants vs. dragons.
I'm having a hard time seeing how the middle part connects the beginning and the ending. But I have time to figure that out!
March 7, 2024
Looks like a fun and challenging adventure. The maps look great and take the characters through all environments. Lots of information about locations in the north of Faerun. A good re-imagining of "Against the Giants".
July 27, 2023
Definitely an intriguing campaign. There is SOOO much content. You definitely need to pick and choose where to allow your characters to go or to really widely prepare for each next step to be ready for the free world version. If you try to play more than the streamlined and straightforward approach of the content, it becomes too much and confuses the direction and purpose of the campaign. I’ve now played through chapter 10/12 at the TTRPG table, and excited to see the final two chapters unfold!
August 21, 2025
fuck random encounter tables, all my homies hate random encounter tables
September 11, 2017
I was a bit undecided as to whether to give this 3 or 4 stars - I would have given it 3.5 if I had the choice.
Like most of the D&D 5e hardcover adventures, this is a long and fairly detailed campaign that will take beginning characters through to 11th (or higher) level. The basic premise is that the giant races in the northern part of Faerun are getting warlike, and the PCs need to find out why, and try and solve the problem. This will probably involve doing a fair bit of travelling, and this is simultaneously the best and worst bit of the adventure.
This is a sandbox adventure, with plenty of scope for exploration - and one of the best parts of this book is the detail it provides for the Sword Coast and the rest of the northern reaches of Faerun. Combined with the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, this provides a reasonably comprehensive gazetteer for this area of the Forgotten Realms setting. However, this is also where the adventure tends to be at its worst - there is not really enough provided for a time-poor DM, and the campaign can tend to lose energy through the middle part of the adventure. This may also happen with player groups that like to have a bit more direction given to them.
As is to be expected in an adventure of this size (256 pages), there is plenty of variety provided in the challenges, and there is plenty of opportunity provided for players to get themselves into trouble, and possibly even come to a sticky end. There is also plenty of opportunity for them to get a large amount of loot.
On the whole, the writing is quite good, and the interior artwork and cartography are up to the usual very high standards that one would expect from a Wizards production.
Like most of the D&D 5e hardcover adventures, this is a long and fairly detailed campaign that will take beginning characters through to 11th (or higher) level. The basic premise is that the giant races in the northern part of Faerun are getting warlike, and the PCs need to find out why, and try and solve the problem. This will probably involve doing a fair bit of travelling, and this is simultaneously the best and worst bit of the adventure.
This is a sandbox adventure, with plenty of scope for exploration - and one of the best parts of this book is the detail it provides for the Sword Coast and the rest of the northern reaches of Faerun. Combined with the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, this provides a reasonably comprehensive gazetteer for this area of the Forgotten Realms setting. However, this is also where the adventure tends to be at its worst - there is not really enough provided for a time-poor DM, and the campaign can tend to lose energy through the middle part of the adventure. This may also happen with player groups that like to have a bit more direction given to them.
As is to be expected in an adventure of this size (256 pages), there is plenty of variety provided in the challenges, and there is plenty of opportunity provided for players to get themselves into trouble, and possibly even come to a sticky end. There is also plenty of opportunity for them to get a large amount of loot.
On the whole, the writing is quite good, and the interior artwork and cartography are up to the usual very high standards that one would expect from a Wizards production.
Read
July 18, 2025The newest adventure released by Dungeons & Dragons®, Storm King’s Thunder, takes an ad
venturing party on a trip that covers a large portion of the Sword Coast, and tasks them with putting an end to the havoc being caused by all varieties of giants. If you have ever readany of the books chronicling the adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden and wondered about the area that he calls home, this book is for you. It will put you in some of the same towns, have you walk the same roads, and let you face off against the same threats he came across. Perhaps you are big on classic fantasy literature, like 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or The Iliad, or The Odyssey. You will notice some of your favorite elements from these stories as well. Add encounters and challenges that aim to take players from levels 1-10 (suggested), and you have a great adventure book that can be easily run as Dungeon Master’s first published adventure or simply added into any homebrew setting. Here are some highlights.
ORGANIZATION MAKES IT VERY SIMPLE
At the very start, there is an Adventure Flowchart that lays out the intended progression of the story. What sets this chart and the forthcoming story apart is the ability jump right into content if you aren’t starting at level 0. If the players or adventuring party is brand new, the book provides early direction and story to catch them up to speed.
A chapter by chapter flow makes the story easy to follow and easy to present. Scenery details, maps, and roleplaying suggestions all seem to fall into the right place to cut down on flipping through pages or tracking needed information down elsewhere. The one exception is the “Items in a Giant’s Bag” random table that comes in very handy due to all the treasure the players will collect.
DELICATE BALANCE OF STORYTELLING STYLES
If the first page you open in Storm King’s Thunder was to the Adventure Flowchart that I mentioned above, you might be led to believe that the adventure is entirely linear. The chart does have a top to bottom series of arrows outlining the story. An experienced DM might look at the potential “railroading” and put the book back on the shelf. I had my doubts seeing this as well.
However, as you dig into the story and read through the chapters, there are several places carved out that provide the players with the ability to explore the greater world, travel to a new location, or even get lost in the vastness of the Sword Coast. An entire chapter is dedicated to letting the players explore the “sandbox” world the writers have created! Beyond that, there is no time restriction with the story events. Players have the opportunity to finish more than one side quest or branch of the story before moving on to the next chapter.
This adventure has its fair share of NPCs to bring to life. But one unique feature Storm King’s Thunder offers is the ability to have players role-play as NPCs. It even rewards the players for finding way to keep the NPCs alive and fulfill their side quests.
One thing that this published adventure does not suffer from is exposure to legendary monsters. I find that even experienced DMs utilize creatures like giants, kraken, or dragons sparingly, wanting to save them for a big reveal or arch-villain. If you want to use or fight them more, play through this story and you won’t be disappointed. Obviously, giants are a big part of the adventure, but who doesn’t want to fight a dragon or a creature just as big every step of the way? The fights are very deadly, as an adventurer might expect when dealing with huge monsters, but there is ample time to heal and strategize so the party is capable of finishing the story.
If the party is in a hurry and wants to rush headlong into every battle, there are several places where a helping hand is provided, and likely needed. A wide variety of creatures, both big and small, are available to help the adventurers along. But like all good stories, some might not be what they seem.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
I have mentioned epic tales that provide some of the inspiration for story elements. I have told you of the dangerous monsters that inhabit and stalk the lands. There is plenty of evil beasts to fight in Faerun. But maybe a player or two doesn’t enjoy that as much as others. There is more than one chance to dig into some of the politics of war, meeting kings and queens while completing the journey. Every dungeon the party encounters has areas to inspect and thoroughly explore if that is a favorite play style. Finally, a sneaky rogue or charismatic sorcerer might find the chance to do a bit of gambling while looking for information.
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
I have tried to give broad bits of information up to this point, giving away very little. But I want to point out a few things that made me get super excited about running this campaign or laugh at the thought of coming across such a thing during an adventure.
The artwork in this book is superb, continuing the wonderfully high standard since the release of the Dungeons & Dragons® Fifth Edition Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manuel. Maps are detailed and unique. Two page spreads depict giants squaring off with sword and ax, leading the imagination to devastation along every turn in the road. I want to highlight one specific page of artwork that references the ability to use miniatures during combat. The drawings of the individual giant lords are extremely detailed, and they are to scale. The book even includes templates that represent the size of the bases of minis for these giants to use on a gridded map. As someone who still uses miniatures for combat, I am overjoyed to see this included.
wo39t9lrs62xvicns4ec_goblin_huckerVery few of the encounters in the story seem the same. They each have their own traits and are designed to use the terrain and features surrounding them. One battle introduces the “goblin hucker”, as it is named. Think of a mobile catapult with live goblins as the ammunition. The best part is that the goblin has to load itself into the bucket, volunteering to be launched hundreds of feet over a siege wall. I simply love this.
A topic that has been gaining popularity recently is underwater adventures and combat. Toward the end of the story, the players are introduced to the possibility of such a thing. Personally, I have not tried to run an aquatic adventure yet. I appreciate that Storm King’s Thunder gives direction and suggestions for doing so. It takes the trepidation out of trying to come up with rules and reasoning by myself.
I tend to believe that fantasy role-playing might as well have plenty of magic in it. Otherwise, why call it fantasy? Storm King’s Thunder has plenty of unique magic items. Some are meant to only be used in this adventure. Some are so big that player characters likely won’t be able to use them. All of them make the story fun, and give those collectors something to search for.
CONCLUSION
I have been gushing about all the great things in Storm King’s Thunder to this point. I have to admit that there are a few low points. Typos are there, which is not surprising from a first printing. The high amount of magic could also be considered a negative, as some DMs just prefer magic to be a sacred thing. I described the possibility to “railroad” players above, which is also a commonly-discussed and under-appreciated tool. There is little to explain the reasoning behind the main story, focusing instead on the journey itself. That might put off some players that like deep story and thorough investigation.
But the flaws in Storm King’s Thunder seem insignificant compared to the design and fun of the journey. I think that the Dungeons & Dragons® team did a wonderful job of creating a new adventure. New players will have fun with the story and the monsters. Experienced players can appreciate the lore and deadly encounters. Any player that loves fantasy will recognize the inspirations behind it. Whether as a DM or a player, there is plenty of enjoyment and excitement packed into these pages. I am sure that no-one at the gaming table will be disappointed.
venturing party on a trip that covers a large portion of the Sword Coast, and tasks them with putting an end to the havoc being caused by all varieties of giants. If you have ever readany of the books chronicling the adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden and wondered about the area that he calls home, this book is for you. It will put you in some of the same towns, have you walk the same roads, and let you face off against the same threats he came across. Perhaps you are big on classic fantasy literature, like 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or The Iliad, or The Odyssey. You will notice some of your favorite elements from these stories as well. Add encounters and challenges that aim to take players from levels 1-10 (suggested), and you have a great adventure book that can be easily run as Dungeon Master’s first published adventure or simply added into any homebrew setting. Here are some highlights.
ORGANIZATION MAKES IT VERY SIMPLE
At the very start, there is an Adventure Flowchart that lays out the intended progression of the story. What sets this chart and the forthcoming story apart is the ability jump right into content if you aren’t starting at level 0. If the players or adventuring party is brand new, the book provides early direction and story to catch them up to speed.
A chapter by chapter flow makes the story easy to follow and easy to present. Scenery details, maps, and roleplaying suggestions all seem to fall into the right place to cut down on flipping through pages or tracking needed information down elsewhere. The one exception is the “Items in a Giant’s Bag” random table that comes in very handy due to all the treasure the players will collect.
DELICATE BALANCE OF STORYTELLING STYLES
If the first page you open in Storm King’s Thunder was to the Adventure Flowchart that I mentioned above, you might be led to believe that the adventure is entirely linear. The chart does have a top to bottom series of arrows outlining the story. An experienced DM might look at the potential “railroading” and put the book back on the shelf. I had my doubts seeing this as well.
However, as you dig into the story and read through the chapters, there are several places carved out that provide the players with the ability to explore the greater world, travel to a new location, or even get lost in the vastness of the Sword Coast. An entire chapter is dedicated to letting the players explore the “sandbox” world the writers have created! Beyond that, there is no time restriction with the story events. Players have the opportunity to finish more than one side quest or branch of the story before moving on to the next chapter.
This adventure has its fair share of NPCs to bring to life. But one unique feature Storm King’s Thunder offers is the ability to have players role-play as NPCs. It even rewards the players for finding way to keep the NPCs alive and fulfill their side quests.
One thing that this published adventure does not suffer from is exposure to legendary monsters. I find that even experienced DMs utilize creatures like giants, kraken, or dragons sparingly, wanting to save them for a big reveal or arch-villain. If you want to use or fight them more, play through this story and you won’t be disappointed. Obviously, giants are a big part of the adventure, but who doesn’t want to fight a dragon or a creature just as big every step of the way? The fights are very deadly, as an adventurer might expect when dealing with huge monsters, but there is ample time to heal and strategize so the party is capable of finishing the story.
If the party is in a hurry and wants to rush headlong into every battle, there are several places where a helping hand is provided, and likely needed. A wide variety of creatures, both big and small, are available to help the adventurers along. But like all good stories, some might not be what they seem.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
I have mentioned epic tales that provide some of the inspiration for story elements. I have told you of the dangerous monsters that inhabit and stalk the lands. There is plenty of evil beasts to fight in Faerun. But maybe a player or two doesn’t enjoy that as much as others. There is more than one chance to dig into some of the politics of war, meeting kings and queens while completing the journey. Every dungeon the party encounters has areas to inspect and thoroughly explore if that is a favorite play style. Finally, a sneaky rogue or charismatic sorcerer might find the chance to do a bit of gambling while looking for information.
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
I have tried to give broad bits of information up to this point, giving away very little. But I want to point out a few things that made me get super excited about running this campaign or laugh at the thought of coming across such a thing during an adventure.
The artwork in this book is superb, continuing the wonderfully high standard since the release of the Dungeons & Dragons® Fifth Edition Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manuel. Maps are detailed and unique. Two page spreads depict giants squaring off with sword and ax, leading the imagination to devastation along every turn in the road. I want to highlight one specific page of artwork that references the ability to use miniatures during combat. The drawings of the individual giant lords are extremely detailed, and they are to scale. The book even includes templates that represent the size of the bases of minis for these giants to use on a gridded map. As someone who still uses miniatures for combat, I am overjoyed to see this included.
wo39t9lrs62xvicns4ec_goblin_huckerVery few of the encounters in the story seem the same. They each have their own traits and are designed to use the terrain and features surrounding them. One battle introduces the “goblin hucker”, as it is named. Think of a mobile catapult with live goblins as the ammunition. The best part is that the goblin has to load itself into the bucket, volunteering to be launched hundreds of feet over a siege wall. I simply love this.
A topic that has been gaining popularity recently is underwater adventures and combat. Toward the end of the story, the players are introduced to the possibility of such a thing. Personally, I have not tried to run an aquatic adventure yet. I appreciate that Storm King’s Thunder gives direction and suggestions for doing so. It takes the trepidation out of trying to come up with rules and reasoning by myself.
I tend to believe that fantasy role-playing might as well have plenty of magic in it. Otherwise, why call it fantasy? Storm King’s Thunder has plenty of unique magic items. Some are meant to only be used in this adventure. Some are so big that player characters likely won’t be able to use them. All of them make the story fun, and give those collectors something to search for.
CONCLUSION
I have been gushing about all the great things in Storm King’s Thunder to this point. I have to admit that there are a few low points. Typos are there, which is not surprising from a first printing. The high amount of magic could also be considered a negative, as some DMs just prefer magic to be a sacred thing. I described the possibility to “railroad” players above, which is also a commonly-discussed and under-appreciated tool. There is little to explain the reasoning behind the main story, focusing instead on the journey itself. That might put off some players that like deep story and thorough investigation.
But the flaws in Storm King’s Thunder seem insignificant compared to the design and fun of the journey. I think that the Dungeons & Dragons® team did a wonderful job of creating a new adventure. New players will have fun with the story and the monsters. Experienced players can appreciate the lore and deadly encounters. Any player that loves fantasy will recognize the inspirations behind it. Whether as a DM or a player, there is plenty of enjoyment and excitement packed into these pages. I am sure that no-one at the gaming table will be disappointed.
November 25, 2017
Plot hooks are uninspired, to say the least, but when it gets going, it's a great adventure. There's lots of space and things to do and we're presented with a decently fleshed-out North. Still, I'm a bit disappointed with how chapter 3 is handled and about the choice of the final villain and it's plan.
July 2, 2023
3.5 Stars. I ran this module over the course of 8 months. In all honesty it is half a campaign with the other half being a location guide with very minimal information. The story itself is fun to read and playthough although there are several better moduals to run. I will say the most enjoyable scenes were the encounter with the Eye of Anam, and the final fight in the desert. I'm happy I was a part of the story but am in no hurry to repeat it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2016
A really strong take on the "Against the Giants" story that has been a recurring favorite in each edition of D&D. A lot of neat aspects that I've not seen before, some fun twists, tie-ins to previous campaign arcs, clear and clever writing, all combine to make this a campaign I really look forward to running.
December 24, 2016
Excellent, well written adventure.
January 9, 2020
If you are familiar with the various Norse heathen myths of frost giants and other forms of giants who were at odds with the Norse gods than a lot of this book's mythos will not be too familiar. If you are familiar with the general sense of D&D as a game and the way that it freely adapts the heathen myths of cultures into adventures for role playing gamers, this particular book will not be too surprising, as it shows some good giants and some neutral giants and some evil giants all fighting over their place in the general order and also dealing with old and new enemies and pondering the ancient history of areas like Waterdeep. Although this is by no means a very large book, to play this book out based on its contents could take a very long time and could lead to someone's character being leveled up from 1 to over 10 without any great difficulty. As for me, giants aren't the sort of enemies that I would most want to deal with so this particular book wasn't all that appealing to me, but if you want a campaign that seeks to defuse tensions between Giants and dragons, this is certainly a way of doing it.
This book is a bit more than 200 pages long and is divided into 12 chapters and various other materials. The introduction shows the giants and their struggles and the disappearance of King Hekaton as well as a synopsis of the adventure. After that there is a discussion of the giant upheaval that this campaign involves (1) and the rumblings in various areas that require the protection of special NPC's (2). A very large chapter shows the peoples of the north and a suite of random encounters in all kinds of places that offer considerable challenges to parties (3). After that the campaign provides an adventure to the eye of the All-Father (4), a fight in the den of the Hill Giants (5), a fight in the canyon of the Stone Giants (6), a frozen city of the Frost Giants (7), a forge of the Fire Giants (8), a castle of the Cloud Giants (9), and a hold of the Storm Giants (10) to provide even more combat opportunities to advance the characters. After all of this there are additional aspects to the campaign involving a fight against the Kraken (11) as well as an attack on a dragon in the desert (12). In addition to that there are appendices which provide linked adventures (i), magic items (ii), creatures (iii), and special NPCs (iv), as well as various figures and maps for the party to use.
Even if this isn't the sort of campaign I would find most interesting for a D&D party I was involved in to run, I have to respect the sheer ambition of the people who made this book in thinking of how to integrate the problem with giants and their wars and struggles into the standard world. That ambition is sometimes breathtaking when one sees the sort of random campaigns that are planned for parties that go virtually anywhere in the game during this campaign, and certainly makes for compelling content that provides one with friends and enemies and the potential to gain considerable power (including the building of a tower if one does one of the quests well; if you know me you know I'm all about the property investments). In reading this book I was struck by the way it was elegant in offering a lot of action but doing so with very little space, which means that this book would likely require having other books around as well to run the campaign, which most GMs would have anyway, it must be admitted. I can think of at least some people who would want to run this adventure and for whom it would take quite a bit of time to do so.
This book is a bit more than 200 pages long and is divided into 12 chapters and various other materials. The introduction shows the giants and their struggles and the disappearance of King Hekaton as well as a synopsis of the adventure. After that there is a discussion of the giant upheaval that this campaign involves (1) and the rumblings in various areas that require the protection of special NPC's (2). A very large chapter shows the peoples of the north and a suite of random encounters in all kinds of places that offer considerable challenges to parties (3). After that the campaign provides an adventure to the eye of the All-Father (4), a fight in the den of the Hill Giants (5), a fight in the canyon of the Stone Giants (6), a frozen city of the Frost Giants (7), a forge of the Fire Giants (8), a castle of the Cloud Giants (9), and a hold of the Storm Giants (10) to provide even more combat opportunities to advance the characters. After all of this there are additional aspects to the campaign involving a fight against the Kraken (11) as well as an attack on a dragon in the desert (12). In addition to that there are appendices which provide linked adventures (i), magic items (ii), creatures (iii), and special NPCs (iv), as well as various figures and maps for the party to use.
Even if this isn't the sort of campaign I would find most interesting for a D&D party I was involved in to run, I have to respect the sheer ambition of the people who made this book in thinking of how to integrate the problem with giants and their wars and struggles into the standard world. That ambition is sometimes breathtaking when one sees the sort of random campaigns that are planned for parties that go virtually anywhere in the game during this campaign, and certainly makes for compelling content that provides one with friends and enemies and the potential to gain considerable power (including the building of a tower if one does one of the quests well; if you know me you know I'm all about the property investments). In reading this book I was struck by the way it was elegant in offering a lot of action but doing so with very little space, which means that this book would likely require having other books around as well to run the campaign, which most GMs would have anyway, it must be admitted. I can think of at least some people who would want to run this adventure and for whom it would take quite a bit of time to do so.
June 6, 2022
This was my first adventure purchased after my return to DnD after many years away. I chose it based on reviews, and because of fond 1st edition memories of Against the Giants.
Ironically I ended up running it after 2 short home brew adventures and Water deep: Dragonheist when the players were 7th level to begin with. That necessitated some chopping and changing, and many ways that was a good thing.
So 'straight out of the box' the adventure is fairly epic, with some great villains (Iymrith especially), great settings (Fire Giants, Cloud Giants, and Frost Giants especially), and a great sandbox chapter. Its first chapter covering levels 1 to 5 is pretty weak, and I'd suggest running either Dragon heist, Lost Mine, or the Tiamat one (or home-brew).
The pivotal chapter of giant attack are all good fun, and best selected according to what route you think would be good in the next chapter (I like Triboar).
I really liked the sandbox chapter but it needs work, and for me the over arching plot struggled with coherency and common sense. I did a fair re write, wanting to keep the concept, the freedom of the chapter, and the tour of the Sword Coast and Silver Marches, but tying it to character background, building up the Giants, and throwing in clues about Iymrith (with some brief near miss encounters). DMs often use some of the on-line advice, or Eventyr stuff from DMS Guild.
The EYE, and the lairs are great, as is the Maelstrom. The finale is great too, with some tweaks.
Overall this is a great adventure campaign, with some re-working needed to rationalise and get the best out of it. Accordingly it may not be optimal for brand new DMs (I think Rime, Witchlight, Princes are the best for that; Avernus has great flavour, as does Tomb and Strahd). But if you don't mind some work, it's still in my top 5 of the 5e adventures.
Ironically I ended up running it after 2 short home brew adventures and Water deep: Dragonheist when the players were 7th level to begin with. That necessitated some chopping and changing, and many ways that was a good thing.
So 'straight out of the box' the adventure is fairly epic, with some great villains (Iymrith especially), great settings (Fire Giants, Cloud Giants, and Frost Giants especially), and a great sandbox chapter. Its first chapter covering levels 1 to 5 is pretty weak, and I'd suggest running either Dragon heist, Lost Mine, or the Tiamat one (or home-brew).
The pivotal chapter of giant attack are all good fun, and best selected according to what route you think would be good in the next chapter (I like Triboar).
I really liked the sandbox chapter but it needs work, and for me the over arching plot struggled with coherency and common sense. I did a fair re write, wanting to keep the concept, the freedom of the chapter, and the tour of the Sword Coast and Silver Marches, but tying it to character background, building up the Giants, and throwing in clues about Iymrith (with some brief near miss encounters). DMs often use some of the on-line advice, or Eventyr stuff from DMS Guild.
The EYE, and the lairs are great, as is the Maelstrom. The finale is great too, with some tweaks.
Overall this is a great adventure campaign, with some re-working needed to rationalise and get the best out of it. Accordingly it may not be optimal for brand new DMs (I think Rime, Witchlight, Princes are the best for that; Avernus has great flavour, as does Tomb and Strahd). But if you don't mind some work, it's still in my top 5 of the 5e adventures.
August 7, 2018
By-and-large this is a fantastic "sandbox" style adventure and I look forward to DM'ing it.
There are a few negatives that keep it from being perfect. To begin, maps for the adventurers should have been included. True we can scan many of them, but it would have been simple for the publisher to exclude DM information from player's map copies.
Bottom line, this adventure has a solid start, an expansive, simply fantastic middle, and a weak ending. When I run it I suspect I'll write my own ending.
--------------------- SPOILERS ---------------------
Second issue, the five giant strongholds are not equal in difficulty. Not even close. True, as DM we can select an appropriate challenge for our players, but that stronghold might not mesh with the story line up to that point in the adventure.
Third, the last adventures/chapters of the book are a little weak. There's a small ship with huge crew and an unconscious giant circling around waiting for the adventurers to find it? And then in an hour an unbeatable kraken shows up? Then off to the desert to battle an ancient blue dragon that somehow matters? Oh, and I forgot that queen Neri's daughter doesn't seem to be able to summon a cleric with a resurrection scroll ...
As I've said, a great adventure with a weak ending.
There are a few negatives that keep it from being perfect. To begin, maps for the adventurers should have been included. True we can scan many of them, but it would have been simple for the publisher to exclude DM information from player's map copies.
Bottom line, this adventure has a solid start, an expansive, simply fantastic middle, and a weak ending. When I run it I suspect I'll write my own ending.
--------------------- SPOILERS ---------------------
Second issue, the five giant strongholds are not equal in difficulty. Not even close. True, as DM we can select an appropriate challenge for our players, but that stronghold might not mesh with the story line up to that point in the adventure.
Third, the last adventures/chapters of the book are a little weak. There's a small ship with huge crew and an unconscious giant circling around waiting for the adventurers to find it? And then in an hour an unbeatable kraken shows up? Then off to the desert to battle an ancient blue dragon that somehow matters? Oh, and I forgot that queen Neri's daughter doesn't seem to be able to summon a cleric with a resurrection scroll ...
As I've said, a great adventure with a weak ending.
Read
May 12, 2020First things first - I didn't read this book cover to cover. I am hoping to play the campaign someday so I avoided most of the story points. I focused instead on the extra information given about giants, the new magical items, the newly introduced creatures, and the information on the various towns and settlements in the Sword Coast.
I enjoyed the new insights into the giants and the settlements around the Sword Coast. I REALLY appreciated the maps. I have done a few of the D&D published adventures so I liked seeing how it all interconnected. Plus it sounds like it would be a really cool adventure to play.
I got REALLY excited about the yak people - because - YAK PEOPLE. I'm a little sad that they are evil dictating overlords but I'll make my peace with that because they are adorable (in a scary way).
Also ... tressym ... I think my wizard needs one. I feel a find familiar ritual coming on!
There are some gems hidden in this book that are well worth uncovering,.
And as always - you should read the disclaimers!
I enjoyed the new insights into the giants and the settlements around the Sword Coast. I REALLY appreciated the maps. I have done a few of the D&D published adventures so I liked seeing how it all interconnected. Plus it sounds like it would be a really cool adventure to play.
I got REALLY excited about the yak people - because - YAK PEOPLE. I'm a little sad that they are evil dictating overlords but I'll make my peace with that because they are adorable (in a scary way).
Also ... tressym ... I think my wizard needs one. I feel a find familiar ritual coming on!
There are some gems hidden in this book that are well worth uncovering,.
And as always - you should read the disclaimers!
April 14, 2020
This is a strange campaign book. Some areas of it are rather vanilla (the first chapter) and some have little or few connections to the rest of the story (e.g. having a whole section hinge on making friends with one NPC and receiving a small McGuffin to progress), making for frustrating reading and the need to adapt a lot in play. On the other hand, other parts really shine and make the book worth having despite the weaknesses elsewhere. In particular the sandbox of the Savage Frontier in chapter 3 actually does a far better job of providing playable setting material for the Sword Coast than the Sword Coast Adventurers' Guide ever does. The various giant lairs are also all interesting dungeons in their own right. Overall, a mixed bag of a book.
December 24, 2023
This was quite a disappointment, when you pick up a canned adventure book like this, you want to be able to run adventures for your gaming group with less preparation than if you make up your own stuff. This book makes more work for the game master. It is a muddled mess that isn't sure if it wants to be a campaign getting or a series of adventures and does a poor job of both. The adventures are strung together in a contrived way that doesn't make much sense. Again, this book will make more work for the game master who tries to run it; generating maps, gathering monster stats, and figuring out how to run the scenarios in a way that doesn't end in the characters getting curb stomped by a bunch of giants. Best to leave this on on the bargain bin shelf.
March 10, 2021
Sigh. The adventure is more of a framework of an adventure...and basically includes almost everything that SHOULD have been in Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. I'm not sure what the writers were trying to accomplish with this adventure, but an easy-to-use adventure this is NOT. It is poorly set up for new dungeon masters, and about half of the adventure will never be used (five chapters are set up so the players only go through ONE of them.) Honestly, I wish Chris Perkins were a better adventure designer; he seems to know his lore and rules well enough, but his adventure design always leaves me wondering what he was thinking.
Read
August 21, 2021Stunningly boring. People talk about the huge chapters in here that give an overview of a large section of the Forgotten Realms, with dozens of locations and things that can be going on therein. This is true, but there are two problems: (a) the Forgotten Realms is a tedious setting; (b) most of the encounters are just "oh some giants attack." The main plot isn't interesting, the encounters aren't spicy, and the sandbox aspect doesn't give you anything useful to work with. Possibly the worst 5e adventure book I've read thus far.
August 4, 2018
I haven't DMed in over 25 years, and I have a lot less free time on my hands these days to prep; hence, a purchased adventure seems appropriate. I haven't had a chance to run it yet, but for the most part it looks pretty good. I have a feeling there will still be quite a bit of work on my part, especially with the wide open sandbox in the third chapter. I'll update my review of my initial impressions turn out to be erroneous.
January 18, 2021
I found this volume a bit of a mixed bag.
I most definitely enjoyed the details of the Savage Frontier, a large portion of the North in the Forgotten Realms world. Chapter 3 outlined this well and included a nice map along with potential plot hooks for random encounters.
The main plot revolving the giants’ community is okay if that interests the GM and the party. The flowchart seemed a bit tight so could be tough to keep a party on focus (to tie into their level progression).
I most definitely enjoyed the details of the Savage Frontier, a large portion of the North in the Forgotten Realms world. Chapter 3 outlined this well and included a nice map along with potential plot hooks for random encounters.
The main plot revolving the giants’ community is okay if that interests the GM and the party. The flowchart seemed a bit tight so could be tough to keep a party on focus (to tie into their level progression).
September 19, 2021
Storm King's Thunder is really a bit more of a "setting" than a campaign. It features some interesting locales, but a lot of the book would be unused in any playthrough if run as written. It might be necessary to run some of the Adventurer's League content as well as do fairly extensive modifications in order to make it work as a campaign. Still, it does have quality content and ideas and takes players to unusual locations including an underwater fortress.
October 17, 2021
Storm King Hekaton is "mysteriously absent from the Forgotten Realms, freeing the giant races he normally controls to unleash an invasion across the realm.
Storm King's Thunder (PDF-Online Reading-Download-Summary-Review): https://www.toevolution.com/blog/view...
Storm King's Thunder (PDF-Online Reading-Download-Summary-Review): https://www.toevolution.com/blog/view...
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