Colossus, Arise! (5e Conversion)

Conversion of the DCC adventure for my own 5e game. Used this as a replacement for G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King.

Fire Giant

Use a “standard” fire giant (modified for my large group, link) for all generic “sons of the second age” giant references.
For the ranger/slave hunter giants use a firemane angels as the base creature with the following changes:
- Master Goat as written, no wings (or Fly speed), uses a cat-o-nine tails.
  - Barbed Cat-of-nine tails does piercing damage, becomes entangled (restrained) and pulls the target towards the giant. He then may use his his brutally spiked mace (bludgeoning and piercing) as a reaction to hit the entangled target.
- Prentice Lion
  - No Fly speed, but 50 feet land Speed.
  - Blood-Chilling Roar (Recharge 4–6). The Prentice Lion lets out a terrifying roar audible out to 300 feet. Any creature within 30 feet of the liondrake that can hear its roar must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of the Prentice Lion for 1 minute. A creature that fails the save by 5 or more is also paralyzed for the same duration. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to this Prentice Lion’s Blood-Chilling Roar for the next 24 hours.
- Prentice Bear
  - 300 hps
  - Uses claws (no change to damage etc).
  - Bear Hug. On a successful hit with both claws can bear hug. The target takes automatic damage at the start of his turn (as listed for the firemane angel but all the damage is bludgeoning). The target begins to suffocate if he is Large or smaller or if he has less STR than Prentice Bear.
- Prentice Stag
  - Charge. If Prentice Stag moves at least 10 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away and knocked prone.
  - Gains a Gore attack. This attack can be used as a bonus action when Prentice Stag lands both attacks with his sword.
- Prentice Wolf
  - No Fly speed, but 50 land feet Speed.
  - Add the Keen Smell trait.
  - Pack Tactics. The wolf has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
- Prentice Hawk, as written with Fly speed/wings.
- Prentice Crow, as written with Fly speed/wings.
- Prentice Bull
  - Uses a greataxe (no change to damage, to hit etc).
  - Reckless. At the start of his turn, Prentice Bull can gain advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls it makes during that turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until the start of his next turn.
  - Charge. If Prentice Bull moves at least 10 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away and knocked prone.
  - Gains a Gore attack. This attack can be used as a bonus action when Prentice Bull charges or lands both attacks with his greataxe.
- Each has 200 hps.
- All are proficient in the Survival skill and have advantage when tracking
- The prentices fight with fauchard-forks and crude, cleaver-like swords. On an attack roll of a natural 17 or better, the prentices can use the polearms to pin a foe; a trapped target loses all actions and suffers the firemane’s standard longsword attack damage at the start of the pinned target’s turn (Escape DC 18).

Failed Sons

Use ogres.
On a hit the failed son bear hugs the target. The target takes 13 bludgeoning damage at the start of his turn until the failed son is killed or escapes (Escape DC 14).

Daughters of Cadixtat.

- - Link.
  - Note, female fire giants are taller than males (males stand 12 feet tall and look like beardless dwarfs, females 14 feet) and unlike their looking husbands are beautiful, tall and lithe by human (and giant!) standards.

The Prophetess

As a daughter of Cadixtat, but her melee attacks do not disarm but instead ignite the target (unless the target is immune to fire damage). i.e. the target is burning. The burning effect persists until extinguished by water (1 gallon of water per die level of burning damage). The burning damage triggers at the start of the targets turn and each time they take an action with (extra attack and movement counting as individual actions). The burning damage starts at 1d4 but increases each time it is triggered (e.g. 1d5, 1d6, 1d7, 1d8, 1d10, etc., to 1d30).
She also has fire-shield active (cold) that does 2d8 cold damage to anyone striking her in melee. This has the burning trait (q.v.).
The prophetess does not wield a polearm, but can use ray of fire twice (it acts and looks like a burning whip. This has the burning trait (q.v.).
A target hit by the whip of fire attack is also teleported into the Crystal Idol of Imix.

Shield Warriors

Use fire giant dreadnaughts with the following note and changes/additions.
The Prophetess can not be attacked while a shield warrior is alive, any attacks targeting the prophetess is intercepted and halved by the a shield warrior.
A shield charge from these warriors will knock targets into the flame triggering the the burning trait (q.v.).
As a normal fire giant (q.v.) they roll 1d24 to hit and score a critical on 20+
They may use a bonus action to ignite themselves. This is effectively equivalent to a wall of fire that is centered on the giant and shaped around the giant.
They each have 300 hps.

Worm-Men (The Root)

I really didn’t like these. They don’t seem like a world-ending threat. So I converted them to The Root from Remanent (and I was planning on doing this before Remanent 2 came out!). The blight is a plant based hive mind monstrosity that destroys all non-plant life on a planet. It can infect and convert creatures as well. The Root can take many forms, so in game terms they are just plant versions of an Monster. For this specific encounter use 484 Swarm of Limbs with the following changes:

All damage is automatic for any creature that shares a space with The Root.
Convert necrotic damage to poison damage. If a target takes poison damage equal to its HD number it is infected with blight rot – the target is permanently Poisoned until the condition is removed via magic. A creature that dies while poisoned rises as a Root of similar shapes and abilities as the original, except it is now a plant and is chaotic evil.
The Root is effectively immune to damage, trakc the number of strikes to determine if the Root is killed.

Handmaiden of Cadixtat

As Daughter of Cadixtat but wielding the tentacle staff instead of the standard polearm (phase 1).
When reduced to 0 hit points she reveals her true form – Matron Mother Eclavdra, the mastermind of the entire ToEE and Against the Giants schemes (phase 2). Even if killed here, she will be resurrected for Vault of the Drow.
She can access both spells and legendary actions in both forms.
She also wields a tentacle staff in both forms.

Chaos Champion (King Snurre).

The influence of Eclavdra and the Elder Elemental Eye has turned King Snurre into a chaos champion. Specifically a creature of hedonistic pleasure through sound. However he will do everything in his power to make sure the ritual is completed. King Snurre has his own custom statblock.

Martyrs

As Daughters of Cadixtat.
The martyrs have AC 9 (they are just wearing robes) and want to die.
Each daughter also only wields a dagger – no fire damage and no disarming attack.

Titan Brain

If you have access to Monster Manual Expanded 2 (pg. 199) use the Ancient Elder Brain, otherwise, use a standard elder brain. In either case use the standard Lair Actions.
The brain also makes 12 tentacle attacks on its turn.
He may use its Psionic abilities as bonus actions. However, it does not have the planeshift spell and can use dominate at will.

Chaos Titan

Mostly play as is. The only change is that all non-insta-kill attacks do 50 damage bypassing all damage reduction. This is so the damage is scaled for 5e (a party of 8 level 12 characters)

Tactical Notes

During any encounter where multiple creatures have legendary actions, the DM can pool them and choose which one to use on an action-by-action basis to a maximum of 3 (or the highest number of Legendary Actions any individual monster has).

Extra Treasures

Each giant also carries a giant sack filled with treasure type E (link to generate on the fly).

Other Notes

To more strongly link this back to Temple of Elemental Evil I made Cadixtat a former proxy of the Elder Elemental Eye and the Daughters of Cadixtat was a cult started by Eclavdra. She in fact appears as the Sister Superior of the cult polymorphed into a fire giant. I also made the giants in the original adventure all fire giants – the conversion ritual explaining why they have such a large force and dominate the giant alliance. King Snurre is in on the entire thing. Eclavdra is trying to resurrect the proxy of the Elder Elemental Eye in the hopes of freeing the EEG and gaining power over the other drow and surface world. Failing that she plans on releasing the “men of the fourth age” to “nuke” the surface world allowing her and her giants much easier time of conquering and controlling (albeit a post-apocalyptic surface world).

The fire giants in this adventure are significantly tougher than a normal giant because compared to the original adventure their numbers are much lower (at least the practical numbers the PCs will face).

Area 1-5 doesnt make much sense with the Daughters being in front of the trap hence preventing the PCs from entering the trap area but also triggering it. I moved them to the end of the hall.