Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff (1999)

After TSR died and was brought back to an undead half-life by Wizards of the Coast, there came a set of adventures that returned to classic 1e adventure sites. The first was 1998’s Return to the Tomb of Horrors box set (which I covered a while back). It was followed a trio of “silver anniversary” branded books and modules, first of which was Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff (1999). I know Geoff is a dutchy or whatever in Greyhawk, but I still have a hard time with the title because it sounds like it should be a novel about a guy named Geoff’s sexual awakening, possibly written by D. H. Lawrence.

Anyway, Geoff was invaded and subjugated by giants. You need to kick ‘em out. The first section of the book presents the original G-series modules, updated to 2E. That’s followed by a general sort of sourcebook on Geoff, which is further divided into a collection of adventure sites which are basically towns subjugated by various evil humanoids—orc town, ogre town, wererat town. The three main locales (each accompanied by a couple minor locations) form up three additions G-series modules, sorta. There’s G4: Mount Rungnirheim (more frost giants?), G5: Castle Thrasmotnir (more fire giants?) and G6: Cloud Islands of the Sakhut (cloud giants). It is odd to me that we got more frost and fire (god, just typing that out, I heard it sung by Cirith Ungol) when the stone giants and storm giants are out there, getting no love. The second batch of frost giants at least are prone to having multiple heads, which seems weird but also I like it.

And that’s…basically it. If you want more giants, you got more giants! The book mostly shrugs at the original G-series sub-plot involving the drow—if you finished G3, the plot’s been disrupted, the caves collapsed, the drow in retreat for however long it takes them to build up their nerve again. I’m OK with that!

Brom on the cover. Wayne Reynolds inside. It’s a good-looking module.

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