Giant Monster Card art by Ciela Tsan

Giant Culture, Psychology, & Lore

by Rett Weissenfels

“My axe gleams in the moonlight. My hearth warms your flesh. My teeth chew the bones of your lord. Get back to work, little mage. Any more disrespect and you can join him.”

– Re’Nog, Frost Giant, Jarl of Forenberg, to Epidemus, former Wizard counsel to Lord Powell (deceased).

Culture and Psychology

“The Giants are much like us. They build, they trade, they defend their borders, and they destroy those who vex them. They are not all of them dim, savage, and uncompromising. To think less of them is to invite disaster on your expedition.”

-Baelen the Smuggler, in a letter to the Merchant Lord of the Free City of Karkün.

Giants, or Jötnar in the common Giant tongue, are massive humanoid creatures who have inhabited of the Known World since before the first Elvish records were scribed during the Age of the Sun. Their origin is unknown, but some Giant clans insist they are direct descendants of Odin, Alfödr. Giants are a long-lived species, with lifespans ranging from 200 to 900 years, and in some cases longer, depending on race.

Each Giant race has its own culture, largely informed by the lands they inhabit. When compared to the smaller humanoid races, Giants occupy a wide range of habitats: Active volcanoes, frozen tundra, deep valleys, thick forests, and lush riverlands. The unforgiving polar regions occupied by Frost Giants support little life, forcing them to hunt whales and to embrace a raider’s lifestyle when they tire of whale flesh. The temperate climes favored by Hill Giants allow some groups to farm and hunt. While the trope of Giants terrorizing villagers occurs often enough to reinforce the familiar narrative, many clans resort to raiding and pillaging only when pressed for food.

All Giants live in constant search of food, and they need a lot of it to sustain themselves. For many clans, food security is not guaranteed. The availability of game, proximity to settlements, predominant climate, and a clan’s resourcefulness as farmers and traders all play a role in Giant food-seeking behavior. Giant territories span hundreds and sometimes thousands of leagues. During low food months, Giants may be extremely protective of their borders, and may travel well beyond them to secure food resources for the clan.

Giants’ strength makes them excellent builders and craftsmen. Their dwellings vary in size and complexity. Hill Giants often reside in caves or rough houses made from hand-hewn timber and large rocks. Well-established Hill Giant settlements resemble rough wooden forts. Frost Giants are typically found in keeps made from fitted blocks of ice and stone, but Re’Nog, the Frost Giant Jarl of Forenberg, built a castle into the living stone of Forenberg Mountain, with tunnels that extend for miles beneath the surface. Stone Giants occupy huge underground caverns, and are also known to construct massive structures from boulders and slabs of rock. The Elven King Ragolad writes of his time spent in a floating city of the Cloud Giants. The varied races of Giants inhabit many types of dwellings, limited only by their crafting ability and the materials at hand.

Some Giant clans maintain a sense of civility with outsiders, but there are less-civilized clans as well. Some Giants live close to the bone, or else at the fringes of the Known World. The Jarl of Forenberg may greet his visitors in court, but reclusive or destitute Giants will not often waste the time required to appraise and engage with potential threats. Instead, they attack, then skin their prey for a quick meal, rarely interrupting the process to ask questions. Encounters with these feral Giants are extremely dangerous.

Giants cast out from their clans and those with solitary spirits make their own way in the world. Some take up study of the arcane, become prolific builders, or even create works of art. Others stew with hatred and make it their business to murder travelers along the highways, raid towns, or haunt the steps of adventuring parties in the wilderness. In his journals, the renowned smuggler Baelen writes of the Stone Giant hermit Khel’dag, living deep within the Reach. Khel’dag played a mandolin made from the trunk of a 2000-year-old tree, sang songs of eerie beauty, made maps of the stars, and painted landscapes with such skill that Baelen could not bring himself to steal them.

The most ancient and established Giant clans are known to forge fine steel. This craft has been passed down through the centuries, and only Dwarven smiths can produce its equal. Giants wielding weapons of Giant-forged steel cherish them as heirlooms, and such weapons are always given names. Some have passed from father to son, or from mother to daughter for long ages, and may have killed hundreds or even thousands of foes. Giant-forged steel is extremely durable, and holds a razor edge. As a result, it is prohibitively expensive. Some Dwarves openly trade raw ores and other goods to Giants in return for finished steel.

Female Giants carry their pregnancies between 9 months to 2 years, depending on race, with longer terms for the larger races. Pregnant Giants are usually well cared for in communal dwellings, and Giant young are typically reintegrated with the clan by the time they are weaned. Hill Giants do not waste much time rearing their young once they can walk, and expect them to kill their own game as soon as they can wield a club. This occurs at 4 to 5 years of age, by which time Hill Giant kids weigh as much as grown men. Frost Giants routinely leave their young to fend for themselves in the frigid elements to ensure the long-term strength of the clan. Stone Giants have particularly strong family bonds, with multiple generations living and working together from birth until death.

Special Tactics

Adventurers should not expect each Giant race to fight in the same way. Hill Giants, though the smallest of the Jötnar, wield their size with impunity. They relish in dominating smaller foes, and think nothing of terrorizing the weak. Most Frost Giants are known both for their cruelty and for their tactical competence. When raiding, they use winter storms to hide their approach and even attack with surprise when they can. Stone Giants may stand quietly against cliffs as adventurers approach, then hurl huge boulders or trigger rock slides to bury their victims.

Many Giants respect martial strength above all else and will attempt to slay the PCs who are physically largest first. Many Giants favor all-out assault over finesse, as this tactic so rarely fails them. Against smaller foes, they may recklessly expose themselves to land devastating blows that end combat quickly.

During protracted war, Giants build defenses to aid them. Their ability to move heavy materials gives them a huge advantage when erecting walls, digging moats, creating barriers, and placing siege equipment. Wealthy and powerful lords sometimes hire teams of Giant builders when fortifications or machines of war are needed quickly.

Ogres are often pressed into the service of Giants, and have been observed hauling lumber, quarrying stone, and even cooking and cleaning for clans of Giants who bully and berate them. Many adventures have reported defeating a gang of browbeaten Ogre shock troops just before a clan of jeering Giants takes to the battlefield.

Qualities

Prideful. Most Giants see themselves as superior to the smaller races. They believe they were descended from superior bloodlines, as is clearly evidenced by their massive strength and size. At times this ancestral pride is evident in arrogance and poor judgment. Giants often underestimate the smaller races and leave themselves vulnerable as a result. Insults to a Giant’s bloodline, craftsmanship, tactical prowess, or strength are all grave offenses, and most Giants become enraged and vengeful over such words.

Power Hungry. Most Giants see themselves as the rightful lords of the lands they inhabit. They do not brook intruders, and will seek to subjugate other settlements within their borders, often demanding tribute. Frost Giants often prize magical artifacts, while Stone Giants are known to enjoy large gifts of food such as whole bears or herds of cattle. Hill Giants prey on the weak, razing small villages and trade caravans for a good meal and a small tribute of fear.

Territorial. Giants like to remain the biggest game in town, and they need a lot of food. Between farm land, hunting grounds, and raids on neighboring villages, Giants cover a large territory necessary for their survival, and they are keen to protect it. Sturdy defenses, well-hidden traps, and aggression toward trespassers are common ways Giants guard their land. These are costly lessons for would-be explorers, who may find themselves suddenly at the bottom of a pit, crushed by boulders, or cornered by ornery Giants. Wise travelers heed the warnings of those familiar with the land: “Cross not the Feather River, nor stray into the Winter Hole, for there live Giants, and they eat travelers whole.”

Resourceful. The Jötnar are not dimwitted, at least not all of them. Even Hill Giants have their learned seers. But many Giants are masters of the land. They divert streams to water their crops, bend trees to snare big game, quarry stone to build keeps, and use the earth’s volcanic warmth to heat their homes. And experienced travelers know: Most Giants are crafty, in more ways than one. They commonly set man-traps in their huge dwellings, just as smaller humanoids set traps for rodents. They use ambushes when abroad. In negotiations, Giants use the threat of their great strength to secure good deals. When treating with a foe who can divert a river with relative ease, or reduce your village to rubble in a matter of minutes, it pays to be open-minded.

Weaponry

Melee 1. Greatclub. Many Giants prefer to use primitive greatclubs fashioned from fallen trees or from the bones of massive creatures. These commonly available weapons have Reach 10 and deal 3d8+STR damage.

Melee 2. Giant-Forged Steel Weapons. Frost Giants in particular have a gift for smithing high-quality weapons, usually swords, axes, and spears. All are sharp and have Reach 10. They deal 3d12+STR at a minimum. Some weapons of Giant-forged steel will be magical.

Ranged 1. Boulders. The surest sign of a Giant’s ambush are the massive boulders they use to assault their foes from afar. They can be thrown to a range of 60ft/240ft and deal 3d10+STR.

Ranged 2. Fletched Harpoons. Giants have been known to fashion projectiles that resemble bolts cast from massive ballista; these thrown harpoons have barbed heads and fletchings to guide them through the air. These missiles are highly accurate and deadly. Giants hurl them 100ft/300ft and they deal 3d12+STR at a minimum.

Special Units

Elder Giant. According to some Giants, the magic in their blood wanes and their connection to Alfödr diminishes with each passing generation, making the eldest of the Jötnar the deadliest and most powerful. In past ages, it was not uncommon for a Giant to live 1000 years or more, but now Frost Giants average 250. Giants of past generations that still walk the earth are deadly foes to encounter. Their skin is thicker, their muscles stronger, and their knowledge deeper. Elder Giants are even larger than their younger peers. Elders are commonly less brash and more cunning as well. In extreme old age Giants wane in power, becoming wizened and bent just as most humanoids do, but Giants in late middle age are at the height of their powers.

Dragon Friend. In many ways, Dragons and Giants share similar interests. Both lust after treasures and magic artifacts, both fiercely protect their territories, and both have an inflated sense of themselves. Often, this puts the two species in conflict, but the Giants of the far-reaching frontiers have learned to live side by side with Dragons; in fact many view them as friends. Most adult Dragons do not view Giants as equals, but will work together with them when the outcome is beneficial. Powerful lone Giants and established Giant clans may sometimes call upon a Dragon during times of need. When they do, it is a near certainty that the Dragon will demand a hefty chunk of any spoils resulting from the conflict.

Giant King. Giant Jarls, or Giant Kings, rule over large swaths of land and command armies to do their bidding. Often it is not only other Giants over whom they rule. Humans, and other smaller races may find themselves under the rule of a Giant King. Many Giant Kings are cruel, self-absorbed leaders, but some rule over their lands with surprising wisdom and grace. Established Giant Kings hold court and host foreign emissaries in massive keeps and castles. Educated travelers passing through a Giant kingdom do well to pay their respects and even offer tribute. Giant Kings are not strangers to the slave trade, and often capture villagers from nearby border lands. They may keep them, or trade them back for livestock, land rights, or needed goods.

Giant Mage. Giant Mages are rare, but Giants live long lives. This allows for the study of many subjects, including the arcane. Some believe the Jötnar have a particular affinity for magic, that it comes to them naturally, arising from divine ancestry dormant in their blood. Others insist Giants learn arcane magic in the same way that everyone else does—through rigorous study and the collection of ancient texts and scrolls. Jötnar Mages are sometimes less brash, and more compassionate toward their smaller neighbors than other Giants. Their knowledge of the arcane lends them a unique perspective, and a more considered view of life.

Special Abilities

Construct Keep. Given a day, a clan of Giants can muster a rough fort from primitive materials found in nature—boulders, trees, and dirt. With three days, a traveler may not realize it wasn’t always there—one might find a rough-hewn gate and an outer wall of sharpened logs. Given a week or more, most clans could construct a fortress with pit traps, and even a moat. This gives Giants an edge in protracted warfare, and allows them to safely patrol even the far corners of their land.

Crushing Blow. Subtlety and finesse were never a Giant’s forte. Most Giants are fierce enough to attack twice in a given round, but they can sacrifice the second attack to deliver +10 damage on the first when they wish. In addition, any critical strike landed when taking a Crushing Blow allows them to add the full value of the damage dice rather than roll a second time.

Call Ogres. The nature of Ogres is to bully weaker creatures, but they become fawning and obsequious toward those more powerful than them. Travelers tell of Ogres fighting with, and for, Giants who’ve intimidated or dominated them. Ogres dominated in this way can be called to the battlefield as reinforcements, often as grunt troops or flanking foes.

Field Tactics. Jötnar trained for battle and familiar with field tactics are formidable foes to any adventuring party. Much like other masters of battle, any Giant with Field Tactics has at their disposal 5 mastery dice (1d8) to spend on a host of tactics and maneuvers. Mastery dice are recovered after a long rest.

Blitz. Whenever a Giant moves at least 5 squares to attack a foe, they can forgo one of their attacks to make a deadly charge attack, slamming into enemy lines. Expend a mastery die, and add +2 to their attack role. On a successful hit, a Giant can add the mastery die to their damage roll and knock the opponent backward a number of squares equal to half the mastery die total (round down). Enemies battered in this way must make a successful Dexterity or Strength save of 10 + mastery roll or be knocked prone.
Earthquake. As an action, Giants can leverage their enormous weight to destabilize the ground, usually by jumping up and down, or by stomping their feet if they are large enough. The resulting shock causes all humanoid opponents within 10 feet to lose their footing and go prone unless they roll a successful Dexterity save of 10 + mastery roll.
Whirlwind. Once per combat, a Giant can perform a powerful multi-attack when surrounded. If more than one enemy is adjacent to the Giant, a mastery die can be expended for each additional creature attacked beyond the first. Attacks are delivered counter-clockwise. Roll to hit for each target. The mastery dice are not added to the hit roll, they are expended to allow each additional attack. Deal damage as normal. When whirlwind attacks miss, the mastery dice used to make them are expended nonetheless.
Alfödr’s Eye. Giants instinctively know their place in the All-Father’s hierarchy: They are far above the smaller races. Alfödr is always watching, and sometimes he lends his Giants a protective edge. Once per combat as a reaction, a Giant can expend a mastery die to deflect an incoming attack, raising their AC by the number rolled on the mastery die.
Grappling Toss. Wrestling is the preferred pastime of the Jötnar, making many of them expert grapplers. When a Giant attempts to grapple an opponent, they may expend a mastery die, adding the total to their contested Strength roll. On a success they may expend another mastery die to throw the grappled creature a number of squares equal to the number rolled on the mastery die.

Movement

Run. Excellent. Their great size allows Giants to cover considerably more distance over the ground than can smaller races.

Climb. Good. Rocky mountain sides are easily scaled by Giants. They struggle with sheer walls, and with trees, which often can’t bear their weight.

Swim. Poor. Giants can easily surmount creeks and rivers, relying on their size to step over or ford powerful streams. But their dense bones and muscles which weighs them down in deeper bodies of water.

Burrow. Average. Giants can move huge quantities of loose dirt, but rarely take the time to burrow in anything harder without tools.

Fly. n/a

Grudges

Giants have ongoing wars over territory with Cyclops and Ettins. At times they befriend Ogres or Dragons. They fear and loathe Titans.

Giants