How have you made giants more interesting?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

For a D&D staple, giants don't really get much attention when it comes to giving them more pazzazz. WotC and TSR before them have mostly been content to churn out more types of giants rather than flesh out the core types. (There was a 2E Giant book, of course, and a few D20 publishers have taken them on as well, although not many.)

What have you done to make cloud, fire, frost, hill, stone and storm giants more interesting?

 

[Kestrel]

I modified some hill giants into Jungle Giants for an upcoming session taking place in the Jungles of Xendrik. Mainly moved skills and feats and added a level of Ranger. Now they are somewhat stealthy (quiet anyway) and have survival skills. Use longspears instead of clubs. Considering poisoning the spears as well.

 

[EricNoah]

Just using their size and strength to advantage -- grapple plus pick up and throw, or pick up and move.

I have been thinking it might be cool to have a race of "giant orcs" or "giant minotaurs" or whathaveyou. Anyone know if there is a "giant humanoid" template?

 

[AuraSeer]

Have you looked at Eberron?

The giants of that world used to have a powerful and sophisticated empire, spanning a whole continent. They built great cities, wielded epic magic, and created whole races to be their servants. Eventually they came into conflict with an even greater power than themselves, which wound up destroying their whole empire and killing the vast majority of them.

Now, a few thousand years later, the giants of Eberron are still scattered remnants. Some are barbarian tribes, living in the wilderness or in the shattered ruins. The cloud and storm giants have retained or rebuilt some level of civilization, but have nothing that approaches their former glory. Adventurers from the common races explore the cyclopean ruins, searching for ancient treasures and long-hidden secrets.

 

[BlackMoria]

Since 2e, I have special rules for large giants.

The ole bug stomp attack - giants can stomp medium and smaller creatures.

Improvised Weapon: Medium Creature - large giants can grab medium or smaller creatures and used them like cudgels. My players are terrified of giants since usually one or more of them is beat unconcious or to death by be used as a weapon to lay the smack down on another character. Damage as Large Club + strength modifers. Damage applies to both characters (the club and the club-ee )

Fore!! - giants can used their weapons to hurl medium or smaller creatures away with their blows. Slam attacks does damage and can hurl a small creature 2d6 x 10 feet away (and falling damage) and medium creatures 1d6 x 10 feet away.

 

[Sejs]

What have you done to make cloud, fire, frost, hill, stone and storm giants more interesting?

The biggest thing I do: give them an actual society. Have giants more than just big guys in caves barely scratching out an existance while they wait to get killed by some adventurer.

The Against the Giants series sort of touched on this, but only just. Give some real thought to where and how they live, what they eat, how they dress, how they meet material needs given their huge size. What do they use, if anything, for labor animals? What would their social customs be? What would be their natural enemies or concerns? All that sort of thing.

Now, granted, that's mostly for the lower giants: Hill, Stone, Frost and Fire. When you get into Cloud and Storm giants you really see a sharp divide between giants that have to get by in the 'real world' versus those that are much more atuned to their mythical roots. Cloud giants live in shangri-la like kingdoms atop the tallest peaks, living above the clouds or else in Jack and the Beanstalk-esque magical castles in the sky. Storm giants are damn near grecian titans - they live in the clouds, or in palaces or coral and pearl beneith the ocean. They can hurl lightning and control the weather by will alone.

 

[monboesen]

When I'm Dm'ing giants follow the "all power attack, all the time" frame of mind.

This works for conceptually as giants then actually connect less often with their (in my minds eye) slow and ponderous attacks. But when they do hit you are in a world of hurt.

 

[iwatt]

When I'm Dm'ing giants follow the "all power attack, all the time" frame of mind.

This works for conceptually as giants then actually connect less often with their (in my minds eye) slow and ponderous attacks. But when they do hit you are in a world of hurt.

Yup. APAATT is my standard giant setting as well. With Two-handed weapons. Made on of my PCs in my Silver Marches campaign really enjoy his Elusive Target feat from CW.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

In my last Spelljammer campaign, I made all the D&D giants examples of AE/Diamond Throne giants either degenerated into savagery (hill giants), tainted by the elemental planes (Fire, Frost, Cloud and Stone giants), or some combination thereof (3rd party and later MM giants). With storm giants occupying a somewhat uncomfortable position for the Diamond Throne giants in that they are not clearly associated with an element, are highly civilized, and are even more intelligent and powerful than the "true" giants.

The interplay of the "true" (Diamond Throne) giants, who had a powerful, unified society long cut off from the known spheres, with their savage or elementally corrupted - and disunited as a result - kin made for some very interesting tension.

 

[Tonguez]

1. Giants are not stupid - just slow

2. Giants once ruled an empire which fell after expansion of the smaller races. Giants still have a society in which status is determined by size (and thus strength)

3. There are only three kinds of giant imc - True Giants, Legendary Giants and Sea Giants (Triton)

True Giants - range in height from 10 - 14 ft. They have slow metabolisms and sleep for 12 - 18hrs each day. Giants are very religious and belei ve themselves to be the first race formed by the gods. Some have a talent for elemental magic such as the members of the Storm Giant Cult
Legendary Giants - are taller than 15ft and may go to 30 ft +. Legendary giants are rare and can sleep for centuries. They may also develop elemental affinities (usually to earth but some also take on fire, frost, storm and cloud traits). SOme legendary giants are reported at 100ft tall but are now only recorded in ancient myth
Triton - Sea giants are 50ft long and have a whale-tail instead of legs. They have close elemental afinities to water (and occasionally storms). They do not have much contact with non-aquatic races including other giants