NOWHERE LAND
The Giant's Shadow

The Giant's Shadow

"The giants remember when the world was warm and kind. They remember who murdered that world."
Jotun proverb, carved into a glacier

Scenario Overview

Sessions

3-4 (12-16 hours)

Focus

First contact, travel, philosophy

Structure

Hexcrawl + parley + trials

Stakes

Earn giant trust or spark a war; learn the Ymir secret

Travel Pointcrawl

Frostbridge

An ancient bridge of ice runes. Tests patience and precision.

  • Decode runes to lower wind (Lore).
  • Carry supplies across with pulley rigs (Craft).
  • Leap and climb; risk falling into rune-etched chasm (Grit).

Hollow Grove

Trees shaped like runes hum with latent magic.

  • Harvest rune-bark for spells; risk waking a guardian elk.
  • Ask the grove questions; answers in visions about the Æsir betrayal.
  • Leave an offering to gain a temporary ward versus cold.

Basalt Steps

Vertical ascent carved for giants. Tiny beings must improvise.

  • Build a winch; takes time and resources.
  • Ride a friendly hawk (if earned in Volsprung).
  • Free climb; exhausting, but faster.

Giant Parley (Three Voices)

Debates ethics of deicide. Offers perspective: gods are administrators turned predators.

Win her trust with stories of mortal agency; lose it with boasts of conquest.

Trials of Worth

Strength

Move a glacier tooth to free a trapped mammoth. Proves you are more than fragile humans.

Wisdom

Solve a rune logic puzzle carved into ice mirrors. Reveals Ymir's heartbeat sound.

Compassion

Save a wounded troll child or deliver it to giants. Choice defines future alliances.

Defiance

Refuse a small demand from a giant noble to show you are equals, not subjects.

Clocks and Consequences

Trust of the Jotun (6)

Earned via trials and respect. At 4, Brynd offers forge access. At 6, giants march with you later.

Troll Rage (4)

Harm trolls or steal too much; at 4, troll warbands attack Volsprung.

Æsir Gaze (4)

Use divine favors or speak blasphemy; at 4, Odin sends a raven omen that shadows you into the god-hunt.

Printable Cards

Use these table cards to track favors, tools, and lore fragments players can carry forward.

Object

Giant Forge Slot

One slot to craft a god-killer haft; redeem after earning Trust 4+.

Power

Philosopher's Favor

Spend to reroll a social check with giants; on failure, raise Æsir Gaze.

Tool

Rune Logic Mirror

Portable mirror that reveals rune puzzles; grants advantage on lore decipher rolls.

Rule

Troll Mercy

If the party spares troll young, gain a future ally token usable in God-Hunt.

Lore

Ymir Heart Map

Play to access a safe rest in Ymir's pocket—or to destabilize terrain in the finale.

Rewards and Leads

  • Forge slot for one god-killer weapon (combine leviathan scale + giant steel + runes).
  • Prophecy fragment: where the first god bleeds easiest (used in God-Hunt).
  • Giant ally (philosopher, smith, or seer) accompanies or sends aid later.
  • Map to Ymir's heart, a domain pocket usable as sanctuary or bomb.

"We are not myths. We are witnesses. Will you stand with witnesses or with the feeders?"

Hroka, Philosopher of the Glacier Courts