The various true giants are 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.
Back in 2002 Daniel R. Collins wrote a persuasive analysis that suggested 3e giants had 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 built on this work, updating the monsters to 3.5e and adding advanced versions that were comparable to the 3e Monster Manual versions, for those DM who wanted to have their cake and eat it, too.
5e increased the size of all the true giants, moving the hill giant from Large to Huge size. I understand the impulse to make giants really “giant” and it’s not without precedent: the old Cook/Marsh Expert set also boosted the size of giants compared the AD&D versions. But that said, I prefer to keep the giants smaller—if only because my miniatures are all based as Large creatures. Below is a smaller version of the 5e hill giant.
These two hill giant miniatures were an option to the Reaper Bones 4 Kickstarter. Both of these figures were sculpted by Bobby Jackson and consist of the Hill Giant Lowland Warrior and the Hill Giant Lowland Chief. These were a lot of fun to paint.
The following text is Open Game Content.
Hill Giant
This creature appears to be a gigantic, primitive human dressed in rough hides and furs. Its filthy, warty skin is deeply tanned and its shaggy hair is pitch black.
Reckless Brutes of Incredible Strength but Little Wit. Hill giants 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.
Boulder Throwers. Hill giants prefer to fight from high, rocky outcroppings, where they can pelt opponents with rocks and boulders while limiting the risk to themselves.
Towering Bullies. 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.
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.
3.5e
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
Special Attacks rock throwing (40 ft increment)
*1-point Power Attack
Str 23, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 7
Base Atk +6; Grp +16
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 Giants as Characters
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.
Advanced Hill Giants
Hill Giant Brute CR 7
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
Special Atk rock throwing (40 ft increment)
*3-point Power Attack
Str 24, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 7
Feats Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (greatclub)
Skills Climb +9, Jump +9, Listen +2, Spot +3
Base Atk +10; Grp +21
SQ rock catching
Possessions hide armor, greatclub
5e
| Large giant, chaotic evil | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor Class 14 (natural) | |||||
| Hit Points 95 (10d10 + 40) | |||||
| Speed 30 ft. | |||||
| Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha |
| 21 (+5) | 8 (-1) | 19 (+4) | 5 (-3) | 9 (-1) | 6 (-2) |
| Skills Perception +2 | |||||
| Senses passive Perception 12 | |||||
| Languages Giant | |||||
| Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) | |||||
| Actions | |||||
| Multiattack. The giant makes two greatclub attacks. | |||||
| Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage. | |||||
| Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 60/240 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage. | |||||
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.
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