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:
Usually N Large giant (earth)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision; Listen +6, Spot +6
Languages Giant, Common
AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 18
(-1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural,
+3 hide)
hp 76 (9 HD)
Fort +10, Ref +5 (+9 to catch a rock), Will +5
Spd 30 ft in hide armor (6 squares); base speed 40 ft.
Melee* greatclub +11/+6 (2d8+12) or
2 slams +11 (1d4+8)
Ranged rock +8 (2d6+10)
Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft
Base Atk +6; Grp +17
Atk Options Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Special Atk rock throwing (60 ft increment)
*1-point Power Attack
Abilities Str 25, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 11
SQ rock catching (+4)
Feats Iron Will, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot
Skills Climb +10, Hide +1 (+9 in rocky terrain), Listen +6, Spot +6
Environment temperate mountains
Organization solitary, gang (2-5), band (6-9 plus 35% noncombatants), hunting/raiding/trading party (6-9 plus 1 elder), or tribe (20-24 plus 1-6 champions plus 35% noncombatants plus 1-3 elders and 3-6 dire bears)
Treasure standard
Advancement by character class; Favored Class barbarian
Level Adjustment +4 (elder +6)
Rock Catching (Ex) A stone giant can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or projectiles of similar shape). Once per round, a stone giant that would normally be hit by a rock can make a Reflex save with a +4 racial bonus 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 stone giant must be ready for and aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.
Rock Throwing (Ex) Adult stone giants are accomplished rock throwers and receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing rocks. A stone giant can hurl rocks weighing 40 to 50 pounds each (Small objects) up to five range increments of 60 feet. It uses both hands when throwing a rock.
Skills A stone giant gains a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks in rocky terrain.
Stone giant warrior 5
N Large giant (earth)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision; Listen +6, Spot +6
Languages Giant, Common
AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 18
(-1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural,
+3 hide)
hp 132 (14 HD)
Fort +15, Ref +6 (+10 to catch a rock), Will +6
Spd 30 ft (6 squares)
Melee* greatclub +15/+10/+5 (2d8+14)
Ranged rock +13 (2d6+10)
Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft
Base Atk +11; Grp +22
Atk Options Combat Reflexes, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Special Atk rock throwing (60 ft increment)
*2-point Power Attack
Abilities Str 25, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 11
SQ rock catching (+4)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot
Skills Climb +15, Hide +1 (+9 in rocky terrain), Jump +12, Listen +6, Spot +6
Possessions hide armor, greatclub
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 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.
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.
Strong, silent loners, stone giant characters are a rare sight in human lands. Stone giant characters possess the following racial traits.