Prokres

The giants of old crafted many marvelous relics that now lie lost in Xen’drik’s crumbling ruins. Intrepid explorers seek out these treasures, but many do not realize that the descendants of those giants hunt for them as well. Prokres, a cruel death giant, seeks a mighty artifact—and he requires help.

Hooks

Relatives of one of Prokres’s victims might contact the PCs, begging them to find a way to release their kin’s soul. Alternatively, the PCs might be searching for a particular item in the same area that holds Prokres’s shard, or could simply run into the giant by chance.

A week earlier, Prokres encountered a band of explorers and attempted to gain the party’s assistance. The adventurers refused and tried to flee, but only one escaped. This man, a human explorer named Jedal (NG warrior 1/expert 1), saw Prokres drain the others’ souls from their bodies and add them to his protective whirlwind. Jedal’s sister Lisel is now one of the trapped souls. Jedal encounters the PCs in Stormreach or some jungle outpost, where he tells his story.

Adventure

Prokres, a gray-skinned giant surrounded by a swirling cloud of incorporeal spirits, lurks near the entrance to the tunnel system. He does not attack the PCs, because he needs someone small enough to retrieve the shard for him.

Prokres hails the PCs and asks if they are interested in helping him. Despite his huge size and horrific appearance, an his enormous bloodstained greataxe, the giant does his best to put the characters at ease, promising not to attack if they hear him out. A PC who succeeds on a DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check recognizes Prokres as a death giant, a rare and incredibly powerful being. A DC 33 Knowledge (nature) check is required to learn specific facts about death giants, such as their ability to suck souls out of the weak and dying. Even without specific information, however, the nimbus of screaming soul-faces continually circling Prokres should warn the PCs that Prokres is extremely dangerous.

Initially, Prokres acts in a friendly manner. He explains that he desires an artifact hidden in the tunnels and offers the PCs a reward if they fetch it for him. The giant’s first offer is startling: He will release one of the souls orbiting his body if the party fetches the dragonshard he seeks. If the PCs don’t care to free any trapped souls, Prokres praises them as “practical types” and offers them gold instead—100 gp times the average party level per PC for low-level parties, or 500 gp times the average party level per PC for mid-level parties. Prokres might sweeten the deal with a minor magic item, but he hints strongly that the party will regret any attempt to cheat him.

If the PCs flee, Prokres chases them and attempts to grapple one (he has a bonus of +37). He then carries the grappled PC to area 1 of the Honeycomb Caverns map and drops the character in, telling the others that their friend won’t last long in the tunnels alone.

If the party attacks, Prokres first tries to overcome and drop a PC down the shaft as detailed above. If the PCs continue to fight even when it becomes obvious they are outclassed, Prokres decides he cannot count on such foolish help. He might slaughter the entire party, kill just one or two members (perhaps hirelings or cohorts), or drop all the PCs down into the tunnels before stalking off. The overall tone of campaign should determine the giant’s course of action.

Once he has reached a deal with the PCs (or flung them all into the dungeon), Prokres retreats to a safe position and watches for their return

Prokres keeps a sharp eye on all exits from the caverns, and unless the PCs have teleportation magic at their disposal (or are extremely clever), the death giant spots them when they emerge. Prokres demands the shard of arcane endowment, and if the PCs give the item up, the giant keeps his end of the bargain. He offers up three souls—a young female human (Lisel, one of the explorers who refused to aid Prokres), a young male gnome (a child whose family’s ship sank off the coast of Xen’drik), and an elderly male human (a paladin of Dol Arrah who fell in battle against the death giant). The PCs must choose which one to set free. Prokres then takes the shard and disappears into the jungle.

Prokres as a Patron

If the PCs perform adequately and return the shard of arcane endowment to Prokres, he might see them as useful tools. Prokres dismisses any requests the PCs make of him, but he expects them to fulfill his demands.

The PCs should never know how to contact Prokres. The giant appears from time to time with a new mission for the group. Each time, he uses his trapped souls to manipulate the PCs, promising to free one more poor spirit if they do his bidding. (Of course, Prokres adds many new souls to his collection between missions.)

Good-aligned PCs will undoubtedly hate being manipulated in this fashion, but will also be unwilling to leave souls in Prokres’s aura who could be freed. Prokres enjoys their discomfort. If the PCs refuse to serve him, he laughs and departs, with a mocking comment that he will enjoy not having to give up any more of his “guardians.”