G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

Here we are, one of the most played and most loved modules of all time.  I've always heard about the Against the Giants modules, but never knew anything about them, so I'm excited to delve in and see what these first AD&D modules were like.  Let's do it then:

• The very first thing I note is that the hill giant chief in the background is named Nosnra, "a grossly fat and thoroughly despicable creature, sly and vicious, loving ambush and backstabbing."  The odd name and terrible description piqued my interest, and I immediately noticed that Nosnra backwards is fairly close to Arneson - as in Dave Arneson.  A little googling confirms my suspicions that this was a little character assassination on Gary's part.  I have to say my opinion of him has rather plummeted as a result of this project.
• Again, I'm surprised to find that this is a fairly high level module.  Given that AD&D was brand new, you would think they would want to start with some 1st level modules, like they ended up doing with the B series for Basic D&D (maybe by then they had learned their lesson).
• There's not much to say beyond that.  There's no story here beyond "giants have been attacking lately and causing problems, so go stop them."  The format is a simple dungeon crawl through keyed rooms.  There aren't a ton of traps, so it's a pretty straightforward fumigate-and-loot kind of place.  It's also surprisingly short.  Not that I was expecting much more, since the game is still in its infancy.  I do like the teases for the next module though - a paper with instructions signed by the mysterious "Eclavdra", and the magic chain which teleports the party to the location of the next module.

All three giant modules were released together, so stick with me as we go straight into the sequel, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl.