Giant

Giants combine great size with great strength, giving them an unparalleled ability to wreak destruction upon anyone or anything unfortunate enough to get in their way.

Giants have a reputation for crudeness and stupidity that is not undeserved, especially among the evil varieties. Most rely on their tremendous strength to solve problems, reasoning that any difficulty that won’t succumb to brute force isn’t worth worrying about. Giants usually subsist by hunting and raiding, taking what they like from creatures weaker than themselves.

All giants speak Giant. Those with Intelligence scores of 10 or higher also speak Common.

Combat

Giants relish melee combat. They favor massive two-handed weapons and wield them with impressive skill. They have enough cunning to soften up a foe with ranged attacks first, if they can. A giant’s favorite ranged weapon is a big rock.

Rock Throwing (Ex): Adult giants are accomplished rock throwers and receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing rocks. A giant of at least Large size can hurl rocks weighing 40 to 50 pounds each (Small objects) up to five range increments. The size of the range increment varies with the giant’s variety. A Huge giant can hurl rocks of 60 to 80 pounds (Medium objects).

Rock Catching (Ex): A giant of at least Large size can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or projectiles of similar shape). Once per round, a giant that would normally be hit by a rock can make a Reflex save to catch it as a free action. The DC is 15 for a Small rock, 20 for a Medium one, and 25 for a Large one. (If the projectile provides a magical bonus on attack rolls, the DC increases by that amount.) The giant must be ready for and aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.

Giant Society

Solitary giants are often young adults striking out on their own. Gangs are usually made up of young adults who hunt or raid (or both) together. Giant bands are usually large or extended families. Sometimes a band contains unrelated young adults that the band has taken in as mates, servants, or guards.

Giant tribes are similar to bands but have more members, plus contingents of guard creatures and nongiant servants. Hunting and raiding parties include guard creatures and may be made up of giants from different tribes working together.

About a third of the giants in a band or tribe are giant children, who can be formidable creatures in their own right. When a group of giants includes children, roll d% for each child to determine maturity: 01–25 infant (no combat ability); 26–50 juvenile (two sizes smaller than an adult, 8 fewer HD, –⁠8 Strength, –⁠8 Constitution, and 1 rank in each skill that an adult has); and 51–100 adolescent (one size smaller than an adult, 4 fewer HD, –⁠4 Strength, –⁠4 Constitution, and 2, 3, or 4 ranks in each skill that an adult has). Giant children can throw rocks if they meet the minimum size requirement (see above). Except when otherwise noted, giant children are identical with adults of their variety.

Giants’ Bags

Most giants carry big leather shoulder sacks to hold their personal possessions. It is a common myth that giants’ bags are stuffed with gold (always at least 1,000 gp, by some accounts). In truth, they usually hold a few battered and smelly personal items, a supply of throwing rocks, some less than fresh rations, and a few trinkets. However, giants sometimes carry magic treasures that are too small for them to use, and many adventurers find looting a giant’s bag to be worthwhile. The table below shows typical mundane items; roll d% or choose from the list. The number of items in a bag varies according to the giant variety (see each description).

Cloud Giant

This giant has a muscular humanoid build and handsome, welldefined features. Its skin is milky white tinged with blue, and it has silvery white hair.

Cloud giants consider themselves above all others, except storm giants, whom they regard as equals. They are creative, appreciate fine things, and are master strategists in battle.

Cloud giants’ skin ranges in color from milky white to light sky blue. Their hair is silvery white or brass, and their eyes are iridescent blue. Adult males are about 18 feet tall and weigh about 5,000 pounds. Females are slightly shorter and lighter. Cloud giants can live to be 400 years old.

Cloud giants dress in the finest clothing available and wear jewelry. To many, appearance indicates station: The better the clothes and the finer the jewelry, the more important the wearer. They also appreciate music, and most can play one or more instruments (the harp is a favorite).

Unlike most other giant varieties, cloud giants leave their treasure in their lairs. A could giant’s bag contains food, 1d4+1 throwing rocks, 3d4 mundane items, a modest amount of cash (no more than 10d10 coins), and a musical instrument. A cloud giant’s possessions are usually well made and maintained.

Combat

Cloud giants fight in well-organized units, using carefully developed battle plans. They prefer to fight from a position above their opponents. A favorite tactic is to circle the enemies, barraging them with rocks while the giants with magical abilities confound them with spells.

Rock Throwing (Ex): The range increment is 140 feet for a cloud giant’s thrown rocks.

Oversized Weapon (Ex): A cloud giant wields a great, two-handed morningstar (big enough for Gargantuan creatures) without penalty.

Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day⁠—levitate (self plus 2,000 pounds), obscuring mist; 1/day⁠—fog cloud. Caster level 15th.

Cloud Giant Society

The majority of cloud giants dwell on cloud-shrouded mountain peaks, making their lairs in crude castles. They live in small groups but know the location of 1d8 other groups and come together with some of these other tribes for celebrations, battles, or trade.

Good-aligned cloud giants trade with humanoid communities for food, wine, jewelry, and cloth. Some establish such good relations that they come to a community’s aid if it is endangered. Evil-aligned cloud giants raid communities to get what they want.

Legends tell of rare cloud giants that build castles on magical cloud islands isolated even from other cloud giants.

Cloud islands are reputed to be fantastic places with giant-sized gardens of fruit trees.

Cloud Giant Characters

Most cloud giant groups include a sorcerer or a cleric. Good-aligned clerics have access to two of the following domains: Good, Healing, Strength, or Sun. Evil-aligned clerics have access to two of the following domains: Death, Evil, or Trickery.

Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 120.

Fire Giant

This giant resembles a mammoth dwarf with coal-black skin, flaming red hair, and a prognathous jaw that reveals dirty ivory teeth.

Fire giants are brutal, ruthless, and militaristic.

Some fire giants have bright orange hair. An adult male is 12 feet tall, has a chest that measures 9 feet around, and weighs about 7,000 pounds. Females are slightly shorter and lighter. Fire giants can live to be 350 years old.

Fire giants wear sturdy cloth or leather garments colored red, orange, yellow, or black. Warriors wear helmets and half-plate armor of blackened steel.

A typical fire giant’s bag contains 1d4+1 throwing rocks, 3d4 mundane items, a tinderbox, and the giant’s personal wealth. Everything a fire giant owns is battered, dirty, and often singed by heat.

Combat

Fire giants heat their rocks in a nearby fire, geyser, or lava pools, so that they deal extra fire damage. They favor magic flaming swords in melee (when they can get them). They are also fond of grabbing smaller opponents and tossing them somewhere very hot.

Rock Throwing (Ex): The range increment is 120 feet for a fire giant’s thrown rocks.

Fire Giant Society

Fire giants dwell only in hot places. They prefer volcanic regions or areas with hot springs. They live in well-organized military groups, occupying large castles or caverns. Tribal leaders refer to themselves as “king” or “queen.” Fire giants usually engage in ongoing military campaigns to subjugate the areas around them and often receive tribute from creatures living nearby.

Fire giants like to take captives. For each ten adult giants in a tribe, there is a 30% chance that the lair has 1d2 captives. These prisoners can be any sort of creature.

Fire Giant Characters

Most groups of fire giants include clerics. A fire giant cleric has access to two of the following domains: Evil, Law, Trickery, or War (most choose Trickery or War, some choose both).

Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 121.

Frost Giant

The statistics block below contains details for more than one shape, size, or type of this creature. Use the horizontal scrollbar below it to display the desired one or select from the links below that.

Frost Giant • Frost Giant Jarl

This giant looks like a beefy, muscular human with snow-white skin and light blue hair and eyes.

Frost giants are justifiably feared as brutal and wantonly destructive raiders.

A frost giant’s hair can be light blue or dirty yellow, and its eyes usually match its hair color. Frost giants dress in skins and pelts, along with any jewelry they own. Frost giant warriors add chain shirts and metal helmets decorated with horns or feathers.

An adult male is about 15 feet tall and weighs about 2,800 pounds. Females are slightly shorter and lighter, but otherwise identical with males. Frost giants can live to be 250 years old.

A frost giant’s bag usually contains 1d4+1 throwing rocks, 3d4 mundane items, and the giant’s personal wealth. Everything in a frost giant’s bag is old, worn, dirty, and smelly, making the identification of any valuable items difficult.

Combat

Frost giants usually start combat at a distance, throwing rocks until they run out of ammunition or the opponent closes, then wading in with their enormous battleaxes.

A favorite tactic is to lay an ambush by hiding buried in the snow at the top of an icy or snowy slope, where opponents will have difficulty reaching them.

Rock Throwing (Ex): The range increment is 120 feet for a frost giant’s thrown rocks.

Frost Giant Society

Frost giants live in frigid, arctic lands of glaciers and heavy snowfall. They make their lairs in crude castles or frigid caverns. Tribal leaders call themselves “jarl.” Frost giant groups depend on hunting and raiding, though they sometimes make trading and defensive alliances with neighboring giants.

Frost giants like to take captives. For each ten adult giants in a tribe, there is a 20% chance that the lair has 1d2 captives. These prisoners can be any sort of creature.

Frost Giant Characters

Many groups of frost giants include clerics. A frost giant cleric has access to two of the following domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, or War (most choose Destruction or War, some choose both).

Frost Giant Jarl

A frost giant leader is often a barbarian, cleric, fighter, or sorcerer, but some of the most evil and ruthless frost giants become blackguards. Ambitious and domineering, they quickly rise to rule their tribes, and then lead their fellows further and further into cruelty and wickedness.

The frost giant jarl described here has all the qualities and abilities of a typical frost giant, as well as other abilities (see the statistics block) from being a blackguard. Details on some of these abilities follow.

Aura of Despair (Su): This jarl radiates a malign aura that causes enemies within 10 feet of him to take a –2 penalty on all saving throws.

Aura of Evil (Ex): This jarl radiates a strong aura of evil (see the detect evil spell) as an 8th-level cleric of an evil deity.

Command Undead (Su): This jarl can command and rebuke undead as a 6th-level cleric.

Dark Blessing (Su): This jarl applies his Charisma modifier as a bonus on all saving throws.

Detect Good (Sp): At will, this jarl can use detect good as a spell-like ability, duplicating the effect of the detect good spell.

Poison Use: Blackguards are skilled in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.

Smite Good (Su): Twice per day, this jarl may attempt to smite good with one normal melee attack. He adds his +4 Charisma modifier to his attack roll and deals 8 points of extra damage (1 per blackguard level) if the attack hits. If he accidentally smites a creature that is not good, the smite has no effect but it is still used up for that day.

Typical Blackguard Spells Prepared (3/1; save DC 11 + spell level): 1st⁠—​cause fear, doom, magic weapon; 2nd⁠—​bull’s strength.

Possessions: +2 frost greataxe, +2 full plate armor, cloak of Charisma +2, ring of minor energy resistance (fire), 2 doses of bloodroot poison. (Benefits of these items are included in the statistics block.)

Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 122.

Hill Giant

This giant has an oddly simian appearance, with overlong arms, stooped shoulders, low foreheads, and thick, powerful limbs.

Hill giants are selfish, cunning brutes who survive through hunting and raiding.

Skin color among hill giants ranges from light tan to deep ruddy brown. Their hair is brown or black, with eyes the same color. Hill giants wear layers of crudely prepared hides with the fur left on. They seldom wash or repair their garments, preferring to simply add more hides as their old ones wear out.

Adults are about 10½ feet tall and weigh about 1,100 pounds. Hill giants can live to be 200 years old.

A hill giant’s bag usually contains 2d4 throwing rocks, 1d4+4 mundane items, and the giant’s personal wealth. These possessions tend to be well worn, filthy, and stinky. The items are usually crude and often jury-rigged or salvaged from some similar item. Examples include a hand chopper made from a broken battleaxe head, a wooden bowl and spoon, or a drinking cup made from a big gourd or a skull.

Combat

Hill giants prefer to fight from high, rocky outcroppings, where they can pelt opponents with rocks and boulders while limiting the risk to themselves.

Hill giants love to make overrun attacks against smaller creatures when they first join battle. Thereafter, they stand fast and swing away with their massive clubs.

Rock Throwing (Ex): The range increment is 120 feet for a hill giant’s thrown rocks.

Hill Giant Society

Although hill giants prefer temperate areas, they can be found in practically any climate where there is an abundance of hills and mountains. Individuals and bands tend to be aggressive and prefer taking what they want over trading. Tribes (and some bands) often trade with other giants or with groups of ogres or orcs to get foodstuffs, trinkets, and servants.

Hill Giants as Characters

Reckless brutes of incredible strength but little wit, hill giant characters are never truly accepted into society. Yet they do well on its edges and frontiers, forging a strong and profitable existence. Despite their rugged appearance and great size, their basically humanoid shape makes it easy for them to relate with more civilized folk.

Hill giant characters possess the following racial traits.

• +14 Strength, –⁠2 Dexterity, +8 Constitution, –⁠4 Intelligence, –⁠4 Charisma.
• Large size. –⁠1 penalty to Armor Class, –⁠1 penalty on attack rolls, –⁠4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
• Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
• A hill giant’s base land speed is 40 feet.
• Low-light vision.
• Racial Hit Dice: A hill giant begins with twelve levels of giant, which provide 12d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +8, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +8, Ref +4, and Will +4.
• Racial Skills: A hill giant’s giant levels give it skill points equal to 15 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Climb, Jump, Listen, and Spot.
• Racial Feats: A hill giant’s giant levels give it five feats.
• +9 natural armor bonus.
• Special Attacks: Rock throwing.
• Special Qualities: Rock catching.
• Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A hill giant is automatically proficient with simple weapons, martial weapons, light and medium armor, and shields.
• Automatic Languages: Giant. Bonus Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Orc.
• Favored Class: Barbarian.
• Level adjustment: +4.

Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 123.

Stone Giant

This giant resembles a lean, muscular human. Its hard, hairless flesh is smooth and gray. It has gaunt facial features and deep-sunken, black eyes that makes it seem grim.

Stone giants have a largely undeserved reputation as rock-throwing hooligans. In fact, they tend to be somewhat shy around strangers.

Stone giants prefer thick leather garments, dyed in shades of brown and gray to match the stone around them.

Adults are about 12 feet tall and weigh about 1,500 pounds. Stone giants can live to be 800 years old.

Stone giants may tend to be shy around strangers, but they are by no means timid. Many stone giants have an artistic streak. Some draw and paint scenes of their lives on the walls of their lairs and on tanned hide scrolls. Some are fond of music and play stone flutes and drums. Others make simple jewelry, fashioning painted stone beads into necklaces.

Most stone giants are playful, especially at night. They are fond of rock-throwing contests and other games that test their might. Groups of giants often gather to toss rocks at each other, the losing side being those who are hit more often. Travelers’ reports of such contests have given stone giants their reputation for wildness.

A stone giant’s bag usually contains 2d12 throwing rocks, 1d4+6 mundane items, and the giant’s personal wealth. A stone giant’s possessions are neither particularly clean nor particularly dirty, but most of them are made from stone.

Combat

Stone giants fight from a distance whenever possible, but if they can’t avoid melee, they use gigantic clubs chiseled out of stone. A favorite tactic of stone giants is to stand nearly motionless, blending in with the background, then move forward to throw rocks and surprise their foes.

Rock Throwing (Ex): The range increment is 180 feet for a stone giant’s thrown rocks. It uses both hands when throwing a rock.

Rock Catching (Ex): A stone giant gains a +4 racial bonus on its Reflex save when attempting to catch a thrown rock.

Skills: A stone giant gains a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks in rocky terrain.

Stone Giant Elders

Some stone giants develop special abilities related to their environment. These giant elders have Charisma scores of at least 15 and spell-like abilities, which they use as 10th-level sorcerers. Once per day they can use stone shape, stone tell, and either transmute rock to mud or transmute mud to rock (DC 17). The save DC is Charisma-based. One in ten elders is a sorcerer, usually of 3rd to 6th level.

Stone Giant Society

Stone giants prefer to dwell in deep caves high on rocky, storm-swept mountains. Usually, groups live fairly close together (no more than a day’s travel apart) for a sense of community and protection. Most stone giant lairs have 2d4 neighboring lairs. Some older stone giants choose to live in solitude, meditating and creating artwork. Many of them become elders after several decades.

Most groups of stone giants subsist by hunting, gathering, and herding mountain animals such as sheep or goats. They trade with any other nearby communities, exchanging foodstuffs and stone goods for cloth, pottery, and manufactured items. Groups of evil giants often go raiding or extort tolls from mountain travelers.

Stone Giants as Characters

Strong, silent loners, stone giant characters are a rare sight in human lands.

Stone giant characters possess the following racial traits.

• +16 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +8 Constitution, +2 Wisdom.
• Large size. –⁠1 penalty to Armor Class, –⁠1 penalty on attack rolls, –⁠4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
• Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
• A stone giant’s base land speed is 40 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet and low-light vision.
• Racial Hit Dice: A stone giant begins with fourteen levels of giant, which provide 14d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +10, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +9, Ref +4, and Will +4.
• Racial Skills: A stone giant’s giant levels give it skill points equal to 17 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Climb, Hide, Listen, and Spot. A stone giant has a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks in rocky terrain.
• Racial Feats: A stone giant’s giant levels give it five feats.
• +11 natural armor bonus.
• Special Attacks: Rock throwing.
• Special Qualities: Rock catching.
• Automatic Languages: Giant. Bonus Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Orc.
• Favored Class: Barbarian.
• Level adjustment: +4.

Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 124.

Storm Giant

This giant resembles a well-formed human of enormous proportions. It has light green skin, dark green hair, and glittering emerald eyes.

Storm giants are gentle and reclusive. They are usually tolerant of others but can be very dangerous when angry.

Very rarely, storm giants have violet skin. Violet-skinned storm giants have deep violet or blue-black hair with silvery gray or purple eyes. Adults are about 21 feet tall and weigh about 12,000 pounds. Storm giants can live to be 600 years old.

Storm giants’ garb is usually a short, loose tunic belted at the waist, sandals or bare feet, and a headband. They wear a few pieces of simple but finely crafted jewelry, anklets (favored by barefoot giants), rings, or circlets being most common. They live quiet, reflective lives and spend their time musing about the world, composing and playing music, and tilling their land or gathering food.

Storm giants usually carry their bags attached to their belts instead of as shoulder sacks. Each of these bags holds a simple musical instrument (usually a pan pipe or harp) and 2d4 mundane items. Other than the jewelry they wear, they prefer to leave their wealth in their lairs. A storm giant’s possessions are usually simple (if not downright primitive), but well crafted and maintained.

Combat

Storm giants use weapons and spell-like abilities instead of throwing rocks. Their composite longbows have a range increment of 180 feet.

Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day⁠—​call lightning (DC 15), chain lightning (DC 18). Caster level 15th. 2/day⁠—​control weather, levitate. Caster level 20th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Freedom of Movement (Su): Storm giants have a continuous freedom of movement ability as the spell (caster level 20th). The effect can be dispelled, but the storm giant can create it again on its next turn as a free action.

Water Breathing (Ex): Storm giants can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use their spell-like abilities while submerged.

Skills: A storm giant has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. Storm giants ignore all weight penalties for gear carried when swimming.

Storm Giant Society

Storm giants live in castles built on mountain peaks or underwater. They live off the land in the immediate vicinity of their lairs. If the natural harvest is not enough to sustain them, they create and carefully till large gardens, fields, and vineyards. They do not keep animals for food, preferring to hunt. Land-dwelling storm giants usually are on good terms with neighboring copper dragons and good-aligned cloud giants, and cooperate with them for mutual defense. Water-dwelling storm giants have similar relationships with merfolk and bronze dragons.

Storm Giant Characters

About 20% of adult storm giants are sorcerers or clerics. A storm giant cleric has access to two of the following domains: Chaos, Good, Protection, or War.

Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 125.