D&D General did giants ever get the spotlight?

[David Howery]

Fr had a giant-based stint in 2E days, with a sourcebook and book trilogy, but it didn’t really go anywhere after that

 

[dave2008]

I have been looking at setting lore for things I might like or inspire me and I noted something against feel tacked on aside from as a big monster they do not seem to matter and what lore we do have for them is kinda dull.

should giants get used more in at least one setting as dragons have plenty of lore and that makes sense but giants and kin seem very tacked on and lack in interesting ways to use them in most settings?

anyone got any thoughts?

They were pretty integral to the lore of 4e / Nentir Vale. As part of the primordial/titan/giant/elementals that went against the gods in the Dawn War. There was also a giant empire (which enslaved dwarves IIRC).

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Considering how well-regarded the Against the Giants series is, I'd say that definitely counts. It's not there was a 1e module series that focused on each dragon type in turn (which, thinking about it, seems such a glaring omission!).

I see where you are coming from in comparison with dragons, though giants got a pretty iconic role in the game’s cultural history with the G series of adventures, and a number of developments, expansions and homages to that series over the years.
I love those three adventures btw. Many great memories.

There was also a 2e Giant-centric Draconomicon-like book:

Giantcraft

Giantcraft is a 2nd-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons accessory for the Forgotten Realms. Giantcraft details the giants of Faerûn and is the is the 7th book in the FOR series. This accessory includes detailed information on giants as characters and as a race in the Realms. It provides...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

 

[hopeless]

I've bene thinking about running a modified version of SKT where we learn what actually happened to the giants and the actual plot involved them trying to repopulate the giant races once they figured out what was done to their descendants.

And the opening act was an effort to prevent this event happening that resulted in the death of a certain character at the start of that scenario.

 

[Burnside]

Frost giants and several frost giant-centric locations figure pretty prominently in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Dungeon of the Mad Mage has fire giant and stone giant lairs. A fire giant is the major villain for one level.

 

[Mind of tempest]

okay so 4e tried but otherwise, they are mostly just sort of their I take it?

 

[jgsugden]

SKT, Against the Giants, Revenge of the Giants ... they've had their times, but they tend to be used more as an accent to other groups than as a standalone threat. Look at Game of Thrones - the Giants were there primarily to stand out in the crowded battle scenes and give them texture.

In my Homebrew setting, the Gods first made Dragons, and then Giants and Primordials. The Giants were the most populous of those three races and stretched across the lands, being the heirs of the Prime for millennia until they were overtaken by Elves and Dwarves. They have a huge role in the lore of the world, and certain areas of the setting that are more 'primal' and untouched by the smaller races still feature societies of giants. It all works well - and just uses the tools we've had on hand edition after edition.

 

[Mind of tempest]

SKT, Against the Giants, Revenge of the Giants ... they've had their times, but they tend to be used more as an accent to other groups than as a standalone threat. Look at Game of Thrones - the Giants were there primarily to stand out in the crowded battle scenes and give them texture.

In my Homebrew setting, the Gods first made Dragons, and then Giants and Primordials. The Giants were the most populous of those three races and stretched across the lands, being the heirs of the Prime for millennia until they were overtaken by Elves and Dwarves. They have a huge role in the lore of the world, and certain areas of the setting that are more 'primal' and untouched by the smaller races still feature societies of giants. It all works well - and just uses the tools we've had on hand edition after edition.

what are primordials?

 

[hopeless]

what are primordials?

I assumed they meant the Titans but then in Faerun there's a primordial imprisoned beneath Mount Hotenow and is powering Gauntlegrym if I recall properly?

 

[Mind of tempest]

I assumed they meant the Titans but then in Faerun there's a primordial imprisoned beneath Mount Hotenow and is powering Gauntlegrym if I recall properly?

titans have so many uses these days that I do not know what that could mean in dnd.