Kondra the Giant

On your journey through the Jungles of Arimathea, you encounter a town that seems deathly still, yet, all the buildings are still standing. You enter the town and knock on the gates of the castle. You hear a soft, woman's voice say, "Go away! If you know what's best for you, you'll get out of here!" "What is wrong, Miss?" "Just go away. A great danger approaches." Do you listen to her and [[head for the town gates]]? Boldly state your willingness to [[take on any danger]]? Or, [[demand to be let inside the castle]], if something so dangerous is looming.

As you begin to head out of town, you damn the town and its cowardly occupants and reassure yourself that the next town will be more welcoming. However, when you are about 15 yards from the edge of town, a giant--literally a giant--appears ahead of you.... He resembles an alligator, except that he stands upright, on his hind legs. His tale is long and powerful and he seems to have an enormous number of visible teeth. Your perspective might be scewed, but from here he looks enormous! You were ill-prepared for this. You know nothing about this giant and his qualities and strategies. However, you recognize your duty to defeat that giant, for the sake of this town. Option 1: Stealth: Choose this option if you are stealthier than you are strong: Do you [[find cover]] in the hopes of a stealthy attack? Option 2: Face-to-Face approach Choose this option if you are stronger and well versed in weapons use. Do you [[face this beastly creature head on]] riding proudly toward him, lance raised? Option 3: Stand Your Ground Choose this option if your mental strength outweighs your physical strength and agility. Do you stand still, facing the giant, and using the time during his approach to [[study him and his ways]]?

You stand in the center of town and call out, boldly, "Whoever threatens this town stands no chance against me! Come out and fight, you cowards!" When the town has heard your cry, a few curious faces glance out their shutters and look out at you over the cresselations of the castle, but no-one approaches. "I said, come fight me in single combat!" you repeat louder....and then see see it...or is it him? A giant...creature...enormous. He has a long snout and numerous pointy teeth glinting in his mouth. His skin looks taught and thick and he has along powerful tail that drags along behind him. In sum, he resembles an upright alligator. This is the most terrifying opponent you have ever battled. You gasp in dismay. You had no idea THIS was what you were challenging. [[The Giant speaks]]:

"Whatever danger you face," you declare, "I can defeat it. But, if you do not let me in and explain what threatens you, I cannot help you. Please let me inside." "You are asking for a ship's worth of trouble, young hero," the maiden says and opens the portcullis for you to enter the castle. When you are through the gates, you look at the terrified residents and ask for information. The maiden comes down from her post and [[explains]]...

You duck into the shadows of a nearby thatched roof. Even in all your armor, even on horseback, you suspect that it would be hard to spot you in your corner. You watch the grotesque, lizard man waddle into the town. You notice now just how powerful his tail looks....and long....and...is that blood on it? You shudder. You really wish you knew more about this giant. What are his strengths and weaknesses? Most importantly, you wonder if you will be able to take him by surprise? At that moment something happens. The giant stops moving about 40 feet away from you, back toward you, facing the castle. He opens his mouth: Do you listen to [[the Giant speak]]? Or, do you use this opening (ha!) to make your [[stealthy approach]]?

"Ah! I find this town braver than I suspected--you send a champion to battle me. Though the champion is puny, I will not be insulted and will fight this young hero." He then gives a horrifying grin, revealing an even greater number of sharp, pointy white teeth than you had imagined possible and begins to sway his tail in a threatening display of strength. You have three options. Option 1) If you have weapons skills, and physical strength above 10, you [[throw your lances]] and any surrounding items at the giant as if they were javelins or spears. Option 2) If you have weapons skills and physical strength less than 10, you must roll a die. If you roll between 4-6, the results are as above. You may choose the [[throw your lances]] option. If you roll between 1-3, your throws are unsuccessfuly and do not hit the giant. You realize you need to find another [[vantage point]]. Option 3) If you do not have weapons skills, you realize that you better use this opportunity to better position yourself. Instead, you look around for a better [[vantage point]].

Not only is this beast enormous, but his appearance is so frightening and disgusting that you taste a bit of vomit in the back of your mouth. Just as you're about to give up, you notice that his eyes look cloudy, as if there were cataracts impairing his vision. In addition, he seems to make little use of his short upper arms. Perhaps, his poor vision and helpless upper torso are weaknesses you can take advantage of? You begin to plan your attack. Would it be best to: Option 1) Choose this option if your weapons skills are higher than your acrobatics skills and your physical strength outweighs your physical agility: Begin to [[throw your lances]] and other projectile weapons at the giant in an effort to distract him. Option 2) Choose this option if acrobatics is a strong skill for you, better than your weapons skill, and your physical agility outweighs your strength: Take the [[stealthy approach]] in the hopes of a surprise attack.

"I am Kondra," he announces. His voice is more like a rumble than human speech, but still, you can make out his words. "I have come to claim this town as mine own. Send your most beautiful maiden to attend to my needs and gather up all the livestock and children to feed me. If you do not do this immediately, I will start destroying your town. If you think you can resist me, send a champion my way! My powerful tail can destroy even the most able horseman with a single blow. I recomnmend that you submit to my demands now, however, if there is someone among you who is brave enough to take me on, I will delay my destruction of this town until I have won the fight." As he goes on, you... Option 1) Declare yourself the champion of the town and [[face this beastly creature head on]]. Option 2) Realize that this is the perfect opportunity to make a [[stealthy approach]].

"A horrible giant lizard-man, who is called Kondra, has been destroying nearby towns and doing unspeakable harm in the process. One of my scouts has informed me that he is nearing our gates and threatens to destroy this town if we do not give him a beautiful maiden to bed and children to eat." "Well," you declare, "What makes this giant so ferocious? Why hasn't your champion stepped forward to fight him?" "He...he..isn't like anything anyone has ever seen before. He is almost a dragon---he has a huge, powerful tail and hundreds of sharp teeth. His snout his ugly and long. We have no-one who is brave enough to face certain death." This speech give you pause. What would be the best approach to take in battling this giant? Should you: Option 1) Choose this option if your stealth is more likely to help you achieve success than your weapons skills or your physical strength... Take the [[stealthy approach]]. Option 2) Choose this option if your physical strength and weapon skills outweighs your stealth... [[face this beastly creature head on]].

As the giant taunts and rages in the center of town, while the townspeople cower in their homes and workshops, you dismount as quietly as you can and tell your horse (or horse-like mount) to stay still and be quiet. If animal communication or handling is one of your skills, you can be sure [[your mount will listen to your instructions]]. If animal communication or handling is NOT one of your skills---it's a 50/50 chance that the animal will obey this time. Toss a coin to see what will happen: if it comes up heads, [[your mount will listen to your instructions]]; if it comes up tails, [[you have a disaster waiting for you ahead]].

Your blows distract the giant and he tangles himself up in his tail. His short arms cannot stop the onslaught. He gnashes his teeth threateningly, but seems trapped to his spot. He wobbles and collapses. When he has tumbles to the ground, you grasp his enormous alligator snout and cut off his head. You raise up the head to the cheers of the townspeople, who seem to have materialized out of thin air. This is the end of your story! You have demonstrated wisdom and strength, slain a giant and will soon be made a knight in King Arthur's court. Congratulations.

It hard to find a way to get out of range of that stupid giant's tail. You decide to run around behind him and manage to rain down [[blows to Kondra's massive tail]]

You approach the giant with quiet but long strides, quickly approaching the back of his horrid body. Do you attempt to kill Kondra with a [[sword blow through the torso]]? Or, do you attempt to weaken the giant with weakening [[blows to Kondra's massive tail]]?

You hold your sword in quiet preparation for the blow. If you believe in religion, you whisper your most fervent prayers. If you have stealth and phsyical strength that exceeds 10, you ram the sword clean through [[the giant's belly]], slicing vertically along the spine, as if you were gutting a fish. His small upper arms flail pathetically. If you have stealth, and physical strength less than 10, roll a die. If you roll 1-3, your sword thrust pierces the giant, but [[only manages to go about half-way in]]. If you roll 4-6, your sword makes its way clean through the [[the giant's belly]] If you do not have stealth, the giant [[turns toward you]], before you can strike the first blow.

Frantically slicing at the giant's nearly impenetrable tail is exhausting for you and has riled the giant to new levels of anger. He [[turns toward you]] and nearly trips you with that same tail in the process.

Fatally wounded, the giant lets out a blood curdling cry and collapses on the ground. You climb up on top of Kondra, retrieve your weapon and slice off his head. Congratulations! You have saved the town, slain a giant and are ready for knighthood! Your story ends here, for now.

Now the lizard man is both enormous and angry. He glares at you with menace in his eyes and raises his tail for another strike. You quickly sidestep the blow of the tail--you miss the brunt of the blow, but receive a sharp, searing pain on your shin---where its tip brushed against you. You will have a scar there, forever. Gritting your teeth against the pain and before he can strike again, you leap head-on towards Kondra and lunge at his chest with your sword outstretched. It deals him a [[fatal blow]].

He slowly opens his giant mouth wide and leans over you. As he's about to close his maw around your head... Your [[mount]] comes running at him, distracting him. OR With his midsection exposed, you throw your javelin into [[the giant's belly]].

The sound of the horse's (or horse-like creature's) heavy breath and galloping hoof distracts the giant alligator and he turns around again to face the horse. This time, with his back towards you, you will not make the same mistake twice. You thrust your lance deeply through Kondra's spine. Fatally wounded, the giant lets out a blood curdling cry and collapses on the ground. You climb up on top of Kondra, retrieve your weapon and slice off his head. Congratulations! You have saved the town, slain a giant and are ready for knighthood! Your story ends here, for now.

You approach the giant with quiet but long strides, quickly approaching the back of his horrid body. Do you attempt to kill Kondra with a sword [[blow through the torso]]? Or, do you attempt to weaken the giant with [[weakening blows to Kondra's massive tail]]?

You hold your sword in quiet preparation for the blow. If you believe in religion, you whisper your most fervent prayers. If you have stealth and phsyical strength that exceeds 10, you ram the sword clean through [[the giant's belly]], slicing vertically along the spine, as if you were gutting a fish. His small upper arms flail pathetically. If you have stealth, and physical strength less than 10, roll a die. If you roll 1-3, your sword thrust pierces the giant, but [[only manages to go about half-way in]]. If you roll 4-6, your sword makes its way clean through the [[the giant's belly]] If you do not have stealth, the giant turns [[toward you]], before you can strike the first blow.

Frantically slicing at the giant's nearly impenetrable tail is exhausting for you and has riled the giant to new levels of anger. He turns [[toward you]] and nearly trips you with that same tail in the process.

He slowly opens his giant mouth wide and leans over you. As he's about to close his maw around your head... [[Your mount]] comes running at him, distracting him. OR With his midsection exposed, you throw your javelin into [[the giant's belly]].

The sound of the horse's (or horse-like creature's) heavy breath and galloping hoof fails distract the giant. He brings down his upper jaw over your head. You are paralyzed with horror...as the maw closes over your head. It seems you have made a mistake. Please return to the "[[you have a disaster waiting for you ahead]]" page and make a more heroic choice.