The * Frilond * Campaign
Revised Hill Giant

The various true giant races are among the iconic monsters of Dungeons and Dragons, most having been in the game since those original three booklets way back in 1974. The G, or Giant, series of modules (1978) were some of the most popular adventures ever published for 1st edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The 2nd edition AD&D designers decided that giants needed a significant boost in order to justify their fearsome reputation, as well as to provide readily available monsters for higher level characters, since demons had been removed from the game. So the true giants were all given additional HD to make them tougher for 2nd edition. This power boost was preserved in the 3e revision.

Daniel R. Collins provides a pretty persuasive analysis that 3e giants have too many HD for their type and size, at least when compared to other 3e monsters. I would further argue that, in 3e, where all monsters get ability scores and can readily take character classes, the additional HD are unnecessary and actually limiting. A standard 3e fire giant, for example, has 15 HD and a level adjustment of +4, making it very nearly an epic character right out of the gate. I say better to scale the base HD back to more reasonable levels and thus give DMs and players more opportunities to add classes and templates to these monsters.

Dan did a very nice 1st edition conversion of the true giants for 3e. I've built on this work, updating the monsters to 3.5e and adding advanced versions that are comparable to the 3e Monster Manual versions, for those DM who want to have their cake and eat it, too. The following text is Open Game Content:

Hill Giant CR 5

Often CE Large giant

Init -1; Senses low-light vision; Listen +2, Spot +3

Languages Giant

AC 16, touch 8, flat-footed 16
(-1 size, -1 Dex, +5 natural, +3 hide)

hp 68 (8 HD)

Fort +10, Ref +1, Will +2

Spd 30 ft in hide armor (6 squares); base speed 40 ft.

Melee* greatclub +10/+5 (2d8+11)
or 2 slams +10 (1d4+7)

Ranged rock +5 (2d6+6)

Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft

Base Atk +6; Grp +16

Atk Options Cleave, Improved Bull Rush

Special Atk rock throwing (40 ft increment)

*1-point Power Attack

Abilities Str 23, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 7

SQ rock catching

Feats Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack

Skills Climb +6, Jump +6, Listen +2, Spot +3

Environment temperate hills

Organization solitary, gang (2-5), band (6-9 plus 35% noncombatants), hunting/raiding party (6-9 plus 2-4 dire wolves), or tribe (20-24 plus 1-6 hill giant brutes plus 35% noncombatants plus 12-30 dire wolves, 2-4 ogres, and 12-22 orcs)

Treasure standard

Advancement by character class; Favored Class barbarian

Level Adjustment +4

Rock Throwing (Ex) Adult hill giants are accomplished rock throwers and receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing rocks. A hill giant can hurl rocks weighing 40 to 50 pounds each (Small objects) up to five range increments of 40 feet.

Rock Catching (Ex) A hill giant can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or projectiles of similar shape). Once per round, a hill 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 hill giant must be ready for and aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.

Hill Giant Brute CR 8

Hill giant warrior 4

CE Large giant

Init -1; Senses low-light vision; Listen +2, Spot +3

Languages Giant

AC 16, touch 8, flat-footed 16

hp 102 (12 HD)

Fort +13, Ref +2, Will +3

Spd 30 ft (6 squares)

Melee* greatclub +14/+9 (2d8+16)

Ranged rock +9 (2d6+7)

Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft

Base Atk +10; Grp +21

Atk Options Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder

Special Atk rock throwing (40 ft increment)

*3-point Power Attack

Abilities Str 24, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 7

SQ rock catching

Feats Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (greatclub)

Skills Climb +9, Jump +9, Listen +2, Spot +3

Possessions hide armor, greatclub

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 10-1/2 feet tall and weigh about 1,100 pounds. Hill giants can live to be 200 years old.

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.

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.

  • +12 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 eight levels of giant, which provide 8d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +6, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +6, Ref +2, and Will +2.
  • Racial Skills: A hill giant's giant levels give it skill points equal to 11 x (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Climb, Jump, Listen, and Spot.
  • Racial Feats: A hill giant's giant levels give it three feats.
  • +5 natural armor bonus.
  • Natural Weapons: 2 slams (1d4).
  • Special Attacks (see above): Rock throwing.
  • Special Qualities (see above): 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.