Hill 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.

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 10-1/2 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.

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.

Hill giants prefer to fight from high, rocky outcroppings, where they can peel 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): 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). The range increment is 120 feet for a hill giant’s thrown rocks.

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.