The first official adventure module published by TSR, it is the first of many, many such modules, now that Gary Gygax finally realised that people wanted these modules. He wrote this as a way to take a break between writing the Monster Manual and the Player’s Handbook so it actually came out before we even had a PHB for AD&D. 

This is a very barebones adventure, clocking in at some 8 pages, but it’s still a beloved adventure, frequently coming very high on “best adventure” lists and this is not only due to a nostalgia or historical factor. This is an adventure that rewards lateral thinking and planning, as the adventurers have to raid a Hill Giant Fortress inhabited by a large number of giants and their servants/slaves, if they go in “guns blazing”… well “swords blazing”… this is going to be a hard adventure to get through. The feasting hall near the entrance is chock-full of powerful giants and even a cave bear which will leave a party either dead or severely depleted before they even get to the dungeon level. Sneaking around is definitely the smart option here, also seeing as the treasure is mainly in treasure rooms and armories and not with the giants themselves. Remember that in early AD&D most XP came from treasure and not killing monsters.

As the PCs get to the dungeon level they will uncover a number of potential allies that they should really use to facilitate their progress an by the end of the adventure they will have a pointer towards the next part of the campaign, G2’s The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, which we will cover next post. A great start to a long and influential campaign in only 8 pages! Well done Gary.