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:
Often CG Huge giant
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Listen +12, Spot +12
Languages Giant, Common, Draconic, Elven
AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 18
(-2 size, +2 Dex, +5 natural,
+5 breastplate)
hp 209 (15 HD)
Immune electricity
Fort +15, Ref +7, Will +8
Spd 50 ft (10 squares), swim 40 ft
Melee* greatsword +18/+13/+8 (4d6+20/19-20) or
2 slams +18 (1d6+13)
Ranged composite longbow (+11 Strength bonus) +11/+6/+1 (2d8+11)
Space 15 ft; Reach 15 ft
Base Atk +11; Grp +30
Atk Options Awesome Blow, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th):
1/day-—call lightning (DC 15), chain lightning (DC 18)
2/day—control weather, levitate
*2-point Power Attack
Abilities Str 33, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 15
SQ rock catching, freedom of movement, water breathing
Feats Awesome Blow, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Power Attack
Skills Climb +15, Concentration +14, Craft (any) +11, Diplomacy +10, Intimidate +18, Jump +23, Listen +12, Perform (chant, drama, harp, recorder) +10, Sense Motive +11, Spot +12, Swim +19
Environment warm mountains
Organization solitary or family (1-3 plus 1 elder plus 35% noncombatants plus 1 sorcerer or cleric of 7th-10th level plus 1-2 rocs, 2-5 griffons, or 2-8 sea cats)
Treasure standard coins; double goods; standard items
Advancement by character class
Level Adjustment -
Freedom of Movement (Su) Storm giants have a continuous freedom of movement ability as the spell (caster level 16th). The effect can be dispelled, but the storm giant can create it again on its next turn as a swift action.
Rock Catching (Ex) A storm giant can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or projectiles of similar shape). Once per round, a storm 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 storm giant must be ready for and aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.
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 warrior 4
CG Huge giant
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Listen +12, Spot +12
Languages Giant, Common, Draconic, Elven
AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 18
(-2 size, +2 Dex, +5 natural,
+5 breastplate)
hp 199 (19 HD)
Immune electricity
Fort +19, Ref +8, Will +9
Spd 50 ft (10 squares), swim 40 ft
Melee* greatsword +22/+17/+12 (4d6+24/19-20)
Ranged composite longbow (+11 Strength bonus) +15/+10/+5 (2d8+12)
Space 15 ft; Reach 15 ft
Base Atk +15; Grp +35
Atk Options Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th):
1/day—call lightning (DC 15), chain lightning (DC 18)
2/day—control weather, levitate
*3-point Power Attack
Abilities Str 34, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 15
SQ rock catching, freedom of movement, water breathing
Feats Awesome Blow, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Power Attack
Skills Climb +20, Concentration +14, Craft (any) +11, Diplomacy +10, Intimidate +22, Jump +28, Listen +12, Perform (chant, drama, harp, recorder) +10, Sense Motive +11, Spot +12, Swim +24
Possessions breastplate, greatsword, composite longbow (+11 Strength bonus)
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 use weapons and spell-like abilities instead of throwing rocks. Their composite longbows have a range increment of 180 feet.
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