WotC Do Half Giants jump the shark?

[haakon1]

In my campaign, a group of 3 player characters is allied with a group of 5 Cloud Giants. Long story, they’ve all been through some stuff.

Arriving back at civilization, in the form of a walled feudal village on a river island, the Cloud Giant Chieftain asked the PC’s to buy food from the humans. Which was agreed with the teen lord of the village, his mother, and the steward of their estates - the deal to happen at the village gate.

The party split … for reasons two of them needed to go to the pub … and while the other player was alone with the giants, he joked the young lord might be interested in the young, female huntress daughter of the Chieftain. The player and other giants (played by me, of course, as DM) laughed at her about this.

I decided to “Yes, and …”, the famous motto of improv, and when the trade happened, jokes were made, and the teen human lord and Cloud Giant (14 ft. tall) clearly reacted with interest in the prospect. The PC’s were reunited, and one - who at pub heard a bard is coming tonight - suggested they should all take in the concert.

I’m all for “Downton & Dragons”, but is a human boy and a giant girl too much?

I’m not sure what, if any, editions have half giants (Goliaths are not the same, I think), and I’m rules and lore omnivorous, if they do exist.

 

[Mark Hope]

Half-giants are a player race in Dark Sun. They were magically bred originally but now are their own thing and have been around for a few thousand years in-game. They have some very specific characteristics in Dark Sun, though.

If you and your players are into it, go for it. No reason to involve sharks at all.

 

[James Gasik]

I'm a little confused by the options- what do I choose if I have no problem with half-giants?

Depending on one's point of view, such creatures go back to at least the Book of Genesis.

 

[haakon1]

I'm a little confused by the options- what do I choose if I have no problem with half-giants?

Depending on one's point of view, such creatures go back to at least the Book of Genesis.

#2 - roll with it.

 

[Deset Gled]

The half-giant itself? I'm not super excited about it, but it could work in the right game. As a DM I'd be willing to consider their existence with discussion.

The in-game one-night-stand with procreation, and the improv style "Yes, and..." references are a pass, though. My D&D games are typically sex free, and we play "No, but...". As in: Do I succeed? Make a roll. No, but... At the very least, this type of social interaction would have had a roll or two. Failing in that scenario would probably offend the giants, possibly making the situation much worse.

 

[haakon1]

This is between NPC’s, suggested by PC’s as a joke, but taken seriously by the NPC’s.

Not directly a sex thing - what happens offstage between NPC’s won’t be seen no matter what it is. Like I said - “Downton & Dragons”, as in Downton Abbey like roleplaying in the downtime between adventures. PC’s helping VERY unlikely NPC’s find their way to each other, in this case.

The basic question: is human / giant romance ridiculous, or not?

“Jump the shark” is when a TV series gets so outlandish and ridiculous, it gets canceled. See TV Tropes if you’re not familiar with the term.

With “wait, aren’t half giants a thing somewhere” implying that such romance has perhaps happened. Or maybe not, since apparently it’s (only?) Dark Sun that had them, but with a “it’s magic, not birds & bees” explanation.

 

[Mark Hope]

With “wait, aren’t half giants a thing somewhere” implying that such romance has perhaps happened. Or maybe not, since apparently it’s (only?) Dark Sun that had them, but with a “it’s magic, not birds & bees” explanation.

Dark Sun is fuzzy on the cause:

"In some lost millennium, as a bizarre experiment or perhaps as some sort of curse, giants were magically crossbred with humans."

It doesn't really say much more than that on their origins

 

[James Gasik]

They exist in the Forgotten Realms as per the Jotunbrud Feat:

"You are descended from the giants who ruled the mountainspanning empire of Ostoria in ages past, and possess a truly impressive stature."

Prerequisites: Damaran or Illuskan human

 

[aco175]

While you are certainly able to fool around, I might rule that any offspring are one or the other- like the updated rules on half elves or half orcs. You could also just copy the goliath build if you do not want to put much effort into building a new race. You could also make the player build one instead. The second option might have problems if the mother in a human and the father is a giant.

And now for something completely different. Any union between humans and giants always creates a fomorian of evil nature and witches will likely visit on the birth night to take the child away before it can kill the mother.

 

[TwoSix]

The basic question: is human / giant romance ridiculous, or not?

“Jump the shark” is when a TV series gets so outlandish and ridiculous, it gets canceled. See TV Tropes if you’re not familiar with the term.

With “wait, aren’t half giants a thing somewhere” implying that such romance has perhaps happened. Or maybe not, since apparently it’s (only?) Dark Sun that had them, but with a “it’s magic, not birds & bees” explanation.

That's what enlarge and reduce potions are for.

I think of it this way. In a fantasy world in which shapechanging magic is super common, it isn't DNA that matters in shaping an offspring; it's the comingling of souls. Barring some kind of malignant magical activity, the newly created soul helps shape the body to survive.

If my players were interested in this storyline, I would have the cloud giant deliver a giant baby with some obvious human features in about 18 months.