Special Conversion Thread: Finishing off giants and their kin

[demiurge1138]

Alertness for Persuasive. Track, I think, should stay.

 

[freyar]

I like Persuasive & Track. For skills, I like Bluff and Disguise at 9 each, though I could see adding Sleight of Hand and going 6 ranks each.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Anything else?

 

[freyar]

Another one done!

 

[demiurge1138]

Agreed. It's done!

 

[Shade]

I believe that finishes off the trolls.

Giant, Bosk

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Bogs, marshes
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Tribal
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Plants
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
TREASURE: M, Qx 10
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (evil)
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVEMENT: 18
HIT DICE: 14+3
THACO: 7
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8+8 or by weapon 1d12+8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spit
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: H (19' tall)
MORALE: Elite (13-14)
XP VALUE:
Infant: -4 HD 2,000
Juvenile: -2 HD 3,000
Adult: 5,000

Bosk giants are selfish, greedy, and territorial. They are quick to attack any creature that encroaches upon what they consider their land-even if those creatures appear more powerful and deadly.

Bosk giants make decisions quickly, never dwelling upon problems or situations. Considered stupid by their relatives the swamp giants, bosk giants have never been known to analyze a predicament or spend any amount of time thinking about anything.

Despite that, the giants seem to possess a natural cunning that is terrible and ruthless.

Bosk giants are the tallest giants on Chislev. Their features are handsome, almost as if they were sculpted by a fine craftsman, and their skin is thick, giving them a natural armor class of 4. They are muscular and have amazingly broad shoulders, and their long athletic legs carry them quickly over the terrain. The most striking features of bosk giants are their skin and hair. Their skin is green, ranging in color from a pale olive to almost black, and their green hair grows in clumps like grass. They wear little clothing, usually animal hides sewn together. Their coloration makes it easy for them to blend in with their surroundings. They gain a bonus of +3 to surprise, and in return they have a -3 to be surprised.

Combat: Unlike other giants, bosks do not hurl weapons. They simply charge into melee, swinging.either their great fists or large clubs fashioned from tree limbs. The more intelligent of the giants shave the limbs so they have sharp points and deliver an additional 2 points of damage. They have no combat strategy.

The giants have a special attack. Bosks can swallow great amounts of swamp water, which they can spit at their targets in a stream 12' long by 6" wide. The fetid water is combined with the gastric juices of the giant, causing Id8 points of damage. Further, all those struck by bosk spit must save vs. paralyzation or be dazed for 1 d6 rounds. Bosk giants who have swallowed swamp water can spit twice before needing to fill up again.

Habitat/Society: Bosks live in simple villages of crudely constructed huts made of rotted trees. Most of the villages are located in a bog-with standing water everywhere. Each village has a loose form of government. The strongest giant is the leader and his orders, which tend to be few, are followed without question.

When encountered in their lair, there are 4d4+10 giants, and half of these are adults. The remainder are infants and juveniles. An infant has 10 HD and has only a +4 damage bonus. A juvenile at 12 HD has a +6 damage bonus. If a village is threatened, infants and juveniles fight side by side with their parents.

Ecology: Bosk giants live where there is heat, vegetation, and lots of water. They prefer fetid water, as they enjoy its taste and smell, but they settle for pure water if nothing else is available.

Bosk giants eat only plants, preferring sodden roots and overripe fruits. Nuts are a delicacy and a potential bribe. The giants have been known to raid nearby human tribes for fun, to acquire human servants, and to keep other human tribes in fear of them.

Originally appeared in SJR7 - Krynnspace (1993).

 

[freyar]

I guess these would still be Huge. Going just by the numbers in the original, we probably have Str 26-27, reasonable Dex/init, decent Con. For mental stats, I'd go with Int 5, Wis 14ish, Cha 8-9 due to the "natural cunning."

 

[Big Mac]

I believe that finishes off the trolls.

Newsflash: ENWorld moderator finishes off trolls.

Giant, Bosk

Yay!

Are we doing different stats for the Infant Bosk Giant, Juvenile Bosk Giant and Adult Bosk Giant? They do have these differences: "An infant has 10 HD and has only a +4 damage bonus. A juvenile at 12 HD has a +6 damage bonus."

I think these guys need a sidebar. Chislev is a Dragonlance god of nature (and druids). I think Bosk Giants would worship Zeboim (the evil DL nature god).

These giants are not "spacefarers", so don't actually need any of the special stuff from Beyond the Moons.

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8+8 or by weapon 1d12+8

...and...

The more intelligent of the giants shave the limbs so they have sharp points and deliver an additional 2 points of damage.

That "Shaved Club" seems to be treated as a +2 masterworked weapon. Or do we call it a "spiked club"?

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spit

...and...

Bosks can swallow great amounts of swamp water, which they can spit at their targets in a stream 12' long by 6" wide. The fetid water is combined with the gastric juices of the giant, causing Id8 points of damage. Further, all those struck by bosk spit must save vs. paralyzation or be dazed for 1 d6 rounds. Bosk giants who have swallowed swamp water can spit twice before needing to fill up again.

BTW: "Id8 points of damage" should be "1d8".

This Spit Attack (Ex) ability is the core element of this creature. This is the one thing we need to make sure we have right.

I'd say the gastric juices cause 1d8 points of acid damage.

Should the "dazed" thing only apply to opponants with eyes?

Drinking swamp water during a combat would entail bending over and would create an attack of opportunity. Should it be a full round action? (Or should we just say a Bosk Giant can use his Spit Attack twice per combat and assume that drinking takes time?)

Should we give them Point Blank Shot (Spit) and/or some other similar feats to back up this ability?

I think that a Bosk Giant who leaves his swamp should loose his Spit Attack.

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

These defenses are not actually so special.

Their features are handsome, almost as if they were sculpted by a fine craftsman, and their skin is thick, giving them a natural armor class of 4.

Do they get a Charisma bonus from the handsome features?

Looks like they are getting something like a +6 from natural armor.

They are muscular and have amazingly broad shoulders, and their long athletic legs carry them quickly over the terrain.

Is this just flavor text? Should the muscules provide a Strength bonus? Do they have longer than normal legs that give them a bonus to movement rate?

The most striking features of bosk giants are their skin and hair. Their skin is green, ranging in color from a pale olive to almost black, and their green hair grows in clumps like grass. They wear little clothing, usually animal hides sewn together. Their coloration makes it easy for them to blend in with their surroundings. They gain a bonus of +3 to surprise, and in return they have a -3 to be surprised.

Should we switch this for a hide bonus (or even Hide in Plain Sight) that only works in bogs, marshes, grassland and similar environments.

Bosk giants are the tallest giants on Chislev.

Hmm. This is where I'm tempted to ask Echohawk for a list of all giants less that 19 foot tall (for my Krynnspace Project).

Combat: Unlike other giants, bosks do not hurl weapons.

No rock throwing - no rock catching. (Just spitting - expert spitting, I'd say.)

Habitat/Society: Bosks live in simple villages of crudely constructed huts made of rotted trees. Most of the villages are located in a bog-with standing water everywhere. Each village has a loose form of government. The strongest giant is the leader and his orders, which tend to be few, are followed without question.

This is mostly fluff, but do we need to mention the maxed out Strength of a Villiage Leader?

When encountered in their lair, there are 4d4+10 giants, and half of these are adults. The remainder are infants and juveniles. <snip> If a village is threatened, infants and juveniles fight side by side with their parents.

This can go into the Organisation bit. Maybe something like:
Solitary, Raiding party 2-3 or Village 2d4+5 Adults, 1d4+3 Juveniles and 1d4+2 Infants.

Ecology: Bosk giants live where there is heat, vegetation, and lots of water. They prefer fetid water, as they enjoy its taste and smell, but they settle for pure water if nothing else is available.

More fluff.

Bosk giants eat only plants, preferring sodden roots and overripe fruits. Nuts are a delicacy and a potential bribe.

More fluff.

The giants have been known to raid nearby human tribes for fun, to acquire human servants, and to keep other human tribes in fear of them.

Should there be X humans in a Bosk Giant village?

Should Bosk Giants target humans in a mixed race group (i.e. leave the elf, but kidnap the human)?

 

[demiurge1138]

No 3.X giants have stats for their juveniles, despite this being a very common thing to do in previous edition. So that's a vote for no.

If we really want to give them an extra bonus for using clubs, we can give them Weapon Spec as a bonus feat. But I don't want to--I think this comes to difference between editions. We neither need nor should want to literally convert every mechanic on display here. Ditto for the huge muscles and long legs--giants are already strong and are faster than people.

The swamp water spittle does seem like a ranged touch attack, and I like the idea that they need a full round to gulp up new water. We might want to increase the acid damage, due to their CR. Also, I think changing dazing to blinding (in the eyes!) or stunning (due to the force of the blow).

A +6 natural armor bonus works, especially if we assume they're also wearing some form of armor. I like the Hide bonus.

I don't think bosk giants should have a Charisma bonus. They may be handsome, but they're also coarse, rude slavers. Speaking of, I agree that they should have humanoids included in their organization as slaves, but having them choose humans exclusively seems far too literalist for my taste.

 

[freyar]

I'm with demiurge here and like those suggestions. For the "dazing" from the spit, I'd go with stunning from the force of the water.