Stone Giant

Stone Giant

Species	giant
No. Appearing	1–8
Behaviour	social
Range	subterranean
Size	12 ft. tall
Weight	1,300 lbs.
Intelligence	10-12
Armour Class	0
Hit Dice	9+1–3
Action Points	5
Max. Stride	13
THAC0	15
Hp/Die	d12
Attack Forms	1: club
Damage	club (3–18)+8
Special Attacks	hurling rocks, strength (20)

Stone giants are towering, lanky humanoids with elongated, bald heads and hardened skin that resembles flexible stone. Their bodies are immensely strong, yet they move with surprising grace, well-suited to their natural skills as hunters, foresters, and mountaineers. They prefer solitude, dwelling in small family groups, yet these groups are loosely connected—family members may be out of sight of one another for weeks at a time. Despite their distance, their family bonds are unshakable, as resilient as the stone from which they are said to have been shaped.

They make their homes in remote mountain ranges rich in forests and rivers, favoring the northern hemisphere, from Scandinavia to Xachta. A single group may roam an expanse of a thousand square miles, and their numbers are few, with perhaps no more than two or three thousand in the entire world. Legend holds that the first stone giants were molded from rock by the god Ymir, shaped by divine hands before being set loose upon the wilds.

Their lifespans stretch for centuries, some living as long as a thousand years, yet they show little interest in accumulating knowledge, constructing settlements, or preserving history. Instead, their passions lie in the land itself — they hold a deep reverence for stone and water, wood and ice, and the simple appreciation of these elements consumes much of their thought. Though they rarely interfere with outsiders, they have been known to violently drive away those who despoil the wild, just as there are many stories of them offering aid to struggling settlers, using their immense strength to assist in dire times. Patient, intelligent, and deeply connected to their surroundings, stone giants embody both the quiet stillness and the unstoppable power of the mountains they call home.

Stone giants prefer mountainous areas rich in forests, more commonly in the northern hemisphere from Scandinavia to Xachta. One group may cover an area of a thousand square miles; there are perhaps no more than two or three thousand stone giants throughout the world. Legend tells that the first pair were moulded out of rock by the god Ymir.

They are extremely long-lived, as long as a thousand years, but they have no interest in acquiring knowledge, building or remembering stories. They love stone and water, wood and ice — and the appreciation of these things occupies the stone giant's mind. They've been known to kill interlopers who descecrate the wild, while at the same time there are many stories of these beings lending aid — and a helpful shoulder — to settlers in time of need. They are friendly, patient and intelligent.

Advantages

Best known for their 20 strength, stone giants are +3 to hit, causing +8 damage on a strike. They cause 2-12+8 damage with a club and 3-14+8 damage with a spear. Usually, they wear no armour, but in readying for a fight they will dress in a suit of leather armour, giving them an armour class of -2.

With their strength, they are able to pick up stones as large as 50 lbs. hurling them at enemies. When choosing a rock, anything smaller than 15 lbs. will be ignored. Short range for these missiles is 3-15 hexes; medium range, 16-24; and long range, 25-33. Upon a hit, these rocks will cause 3-30 damage to persons and siege damage against buildings.

See Bestiary