THE GIGANTES
Large Giant
Hit Dice: 16d8+64 (136 hp)
Initiative: +1 (Dex)
Speed: 40 ft.
AC: 19 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural)
Attacks: Slam +18 melee
Damage: Slam 2d8+7
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: varies by individual
Special Qualities: varies by individual
Saves: Fort +14 , Ref +6 , Will +5
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 12
Skills: Climb +13, Jump +13, Spot +7
Feats: Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Sunder
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 12
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Gigantes are a race of giants that the goddess Gaea gave birth to when the blood of her mutilated husband Uranus fell upon her earthly form. Gigantes are huge, man-like creatures that often have the forms of serpents somehow integrated into their bodies. Their hatred of the Olympian gods who abandoned them runs deep, and they will never pass up a chance to do one of them harm.
The above stats and description are only for typical Gigantes; each one is an individual and can vary wildly from this norm.
COMBAT
Each Gigante has at least one supernatural power. Gigantes have individual approaches to combat, as dictated by their powers and individual nature.
SOCIETY
Gigantes are strictly individuals, but don't truly have a society of their own. Gigantes don't appear to procreate, and there are no known females; all would appear to be children of Gaea. Two known Gigantes are Antaeus and Enceladus.
Antaeus
Large Giant (Earth)
Hit Dice: 16d8+48 (120 hp)
Initiative: +1 (Dex)
Speed: 40 ft.
AC: 16 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural)
Attacks: Slam +16 melee
Damage: Slam 2d8+7 (at normal size)
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft. (at normal size)
Special Qualities: Growth, Regeneration, Contact With Earth (vulnerability)
Saves: Fort +11 , Ref +5 , Will +4
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 12
Skills: Climb +13, Jump +13, Spot +7
Feats: Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Power Attack, Sunder
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 17
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Antaeus is the offspring of Olympian gods Poseidon and Gaea. His roots to his mother's earth-based powers are strong, as evidenced by his own powers. Antaeus looks like a typical 11' tall hill giant at first glance, by both size and appearance.
COMBAT
As Antaeus enters combat, he is often underestimated as being only a mere hill giant. His appearance begins to change rapidly however, as he uses his Growth power immediately upon beginning combat, and begins to pummel his opponents senseless with his increasing strength.
Growth (Su): Every round that he is in combat after the first one, Antaeus continues to grow and become stronger. After each combat round, he grows two feet taller (and appropriately heavier), increases the damage on his slam attack by 1d8, and gains 2 points of Strength and Constitution, with appropriate damage and hit point adjustments. He continues to grow until he is strong like a titan: 23' tall, with Str 37 and Con 29, with a slam attack of 8d8+15 damage. Antaeus will remain at this size as long as he fights, and will gradually shrink back down to normal size when the battle is over.
Regeneration (Su): Antaeus heals all damage practically instantaneously at the beginning of each round. When his hit points increase at the beginning of a round, he will therefore have his new maximum hit points.
Contact With Earth (Su): Antaeus must maintain contact with the earth in order for his powers to function. If he is somehow lifted off the ground, his regeneration will no longer work (although he does not lose hit points that he had gained because of it), and he will return back to normal size at the same rate at which he grew.
Enceladus
Colossal Giant
Hit Dice: 16d8+160 (224 hp)
Initiative: +1 (Dex)
Speed: 40 ft.
AC: 19 (-8 size, +1 Dex, + 16 natural)
Attacks: 2 Slams +16 melee
Damage: Slams 6d10+12
Face/Reach: 50 ft. by 50 ft./25 ft.
Special Attacks: Frightful Presence, Catch Spells
Saves: Fort +20 , Ref +6 , Will +5
Abilities: Str 35, Dex 12, Con 30, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Intimidate +5, Jump +18, Spot +7
Feats: Alertness, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Climate/Terrain: Any land, usually swamp
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 17
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Enceladus is an enormous, malformed Gigante. Above the waist his body is that of a normal giant, if not unbelievably large, but below the waist his body consists of a writhing mass of huge snake bodies and tails. Enceladus horrifies everything that sees him, and the giant is forced to live alone in a desolate swamp.
COMBAT
Enceladus prefers to attack one target at a time, battering with both of his incredible fists. If he notices a spellcaster preparing a spell to use against him, he will often hold back his actions to see if he can try to catch the spell.
Frightful Presence (Ex): Enceladus is so large and horrifying that any beings within 100 yards of him that can see his full form become terrified. Affected creatures must succeed at a Will save (DC 20) or become panicked. Creatures with 10 or more Hit Dice who fail their save become frightened instead.
Catch Spells (Su): Enceladus may sacrifice one or both of his slam attacks to use this ability. He has the power to "catch" one or two spells in each hand, and can thus catch up to four spells directed at him per round. If the spell allows for a saving throw, he must succeed at the save to catch it, although the spell affects him if he fails. If there is no saving throw, he catches the spell automatically. Any spells that he catches he is able to fling back at the caster in the same round. Any such returned spells affect the caster or the area the caster is in fully, as normal.
Antaeus and Enceladus first appeared in Deities and Demigods (Gary Gygax, 1980). Gigantes as a race first appeared in Legends and Lore (Jim Ward and Troy Denning, 1990).