AbdulAlhazred
Legend
Yeah, I'm going to go with DracoSuave on this one. I see the high defense, low hit point version as a lottery. It isn't going to be THAT hard for a character to crit right off with the 2nd attack of the fight and kill the thing dead outright. This is MOST LIKELY BTW to be someone like the rogue that has an especially high to-hit (+9 is not unheard of on level 1 rogues, +8 is standard issue) and does quite high damage. Meanwhile the +6 to-hit axe dwarf? He's doing fat nothing. A difference to 2 to-hit is not a BIG deal when one guy hits on an 11 and one hits on a 9, it is a HUGE big deal when one hits on an 16 and one hits on a 14.
I would arrange it AS a hunt. The giant is wounded and trying to use its cunning and knowledge of the terrain to escape as the party beats the bush, trying to flush it out. The giant will only attack when that is a better option than fleeing, or fleeing is impossible. If the giant can get back to some arbitrary point, then it has effectively made it off into the wilderness and presumably the party can't risk the chance of running into 2-3 more healthy giants.
So, maybe make a large area map, one that is say 150 squares or 200 squares on a side. The party starts on one side of the map, and the giant starts on the other (but the party has to place themselves first and the giant could be concealed if it is in some trees etc.). The PCs move at their normal speed, the giant moves at say 2, but he can put on a burst for a round or two (maybe using an AP to triple run or something). The map can feature a bunch of terrain, groups of trees, large rocks, a stream, some logs, a cave, etc. You can make smaller tactical maps pretty quickly, so make the large scale map on say 1/4" ruled paper. Everyone can draw where they go and when/if the PCs corner the giant, they duke it out.
Note that the giant can follow several strategies, especially if the terrain is drawn up correctly. It can slowly sneak around through rough areas trying to escape without notice, or it can try to boldly move in the open on a more direct route, etc. The PCs on the other hand have the option to stick in close marching order and hope they meet their foe, or split up a bit more widely, in which case the encounter could get more interesting.
Remember, the giant is slow, the PCs with any ranged firepower can easily win. Make the giant a level 1 solo. Give it a rock throw so it can potentially force some melee, and a fairly nasty club attack. That's all you really need. Maybe rocks for the giant to throw are only available in a few places too, so that would add more tactical choices for the players. They'll also likely come up with other interesting ploys, like setting traps.
Could be pretty interesting. Remember, level 1 solo brute only has 200 hit points. The encounter isn't tough so much because the giant is a huge technical challenge, it is tough because the giant has a very real chance of escaping if the PCs are not smart.
I would arrange it AS a hunt. The giant is wounded and trying to use its cunning and knowledge of the terrain to escape as the party beats the bush, trying to flush it out. The giant will only attack when that is a better option than fleeing, or fleeing is impossible. If the giant can get back to some arbitrary point, then it has effectively made it off into the wilderness and presumably the party can't risk the chance of running into 2-3 more healthy giants.
So, maybe make a large area map, one that is say 150 squares or 200 squares on a side. The party starts on one side of the map, and the giant starts on the other (but the party has to place themselves first and the giant could be concealed if it is in some trees etc.). The PCs move at their normal speed, the giant moves at say 2, but he can put on a burst for a round or two (maybe using an AP to triple run or something). The map can feature a bunch of terrain, groups of trees, large rocks, a stream, some logs, a cave, etc. You can make smaller tactical maps pretty quickly, so make the large scale map on say 1/4" ruled paper. Everyone can draw where they go and when/if the PCs corner the giant, they duke it out.
Note that the giant can follow several strategies, especially if the terrain is drawn up correctly. It can slowly sneak around through rough areas trying to escape without notice, or it can try to boldly move in the open on a more direct route, etc. The PCs on the other hand have the option to stick in close marching order and hope they meet their foe, or split up a bit more widely, in which case the encounter could get more interesting.
Remember, the giant is slow, the PCs with any ranged firepower can easily win. Make the giant a level 1 solo. Give it a rock throw so it can potentially force some melee, and a fairly nasty club attack. That's all you really need. Maybe rocks for the giant to throw are only available in a few places too, so that would add more tactical choices for the players. They'll also likely come up with other interesting ploys, like setting traps.
Could be pretty interesting. Remember, level 1 solo brute only has 200 hit points. The encounter isn't tough so much because the giant is a huge technical challenge, it is tough because the giant has a very real chance of escaping if the PCs are not smart.
