Monster/Race: Stone Giant (Cave Giant)

[Hierax]

Stone Giant (500 Points)

Val	Char	Cost
40	STR	50
8	DEX	-6
25	CON	40
22	BODY	28
8	INT	-2
8	EGO	-4
8/23	PRE	-2
8	COM	-1
18	PD	20
15	ED	17
2	SPD	2
16	REC	12
50	END	0
82	STUN	54

12" RUN161" SWIM-14" LEAP-4Characteristics Cost: 219

Cost	Power	END
10	Thick Stoney Skin: Damage Resistance (10 PD/10 ED)
30	Twice As Big: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50%
30	Twice As Big: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50%
4	Long of Arm: Stretching 1", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (7 Active Points); Always Direct (-1/4), No Noncombat Stretching (-1/4), No Velocity Damage (-1/4)
40	Huge Hit: Naked Modifier on up to 40 STR, Area Of Effect (up to One Hex; +1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2)
75	Hurl Rocks: Killing Attack - Ranged 5d6, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2) (112 Active Points); OIF (Focus - Rocks of Opportunity; -1/2)	11
10	Rock Catching: Missile Deflection (Thrown Objects), Missile Reflection (25 Active Points); Limited Power (Only vs. Large Roughly Rock/Boulder Shaped Objects) (-1), Activation Roll 14- (-1/2)
7	Impressive Size: +15 PRE (15 Active Points); Limited Power (Only for PRE Attacks) (-1)
6	Heavy: Knockback Resistance -3"
3	Life Support (Longevity 800 Years)

Powers Cost: 215

Cost	Skill
32	+4 with All Combat
2	WF: Common Melee Weapons, Thrown Rocks
3	Climbing 11-
3	Concealment 11-
2	+2 with Concealment (4 Active Points); Self Only (-1/2), Limited Power (Only in Stoney Settings) (-1/2)
2	KS: Lair and Surrounding Environment 11-
0	Language: Stone Giant (idiomatic) (4 Active Points)
2	Language: Hill Giant (fluent conversation)
2	Language: Cloud Giant (fluent conversation)
2	Language: Storm Giant (fluent conversation)
1	Language: Ogre (basic conversation)
1	Language: Common (Aeridian or other Human Trade Tongue) (basic conversation)
2	PS: Warrior 11-
2	Survival 11-

Skills Cost: 56

Cost	Talent
10	Follow-Through Attack

Talents Cost: 10

Cost	Equipment	END
10	Giant-Sized (2x) Club: Hand-To-Hand Attack +8d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Independent (-2), STR Minimum 20 (-1), OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4)
12	Giant-Sized (2x) War Club: Hand-To-Hand Attack +10d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (75 Active Points); Independent (-2), STR Minimum 24 (-1), OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4)
14	Giant-Sized (2x) Great Club: Hand-To-Hand Attack +12d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (90 Active Points); Independent (-2), STR Minimum 30 (-1), OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4)

Equipment costs shown above are for reference only, and are not included in Total Cost.

Val	Disadvantages
15	Dinstinctive Features - Stone Giant: Not Concealable, Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction, Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses, Not Distinctive In Some Cultures
0	Normal Characteristic Maxima
15	Physical Limitation - Bigger And Easier to be Seen and be Hit (2x human size = -2 DCV, and +2 to PER Rolls to Percieve): (All the Time, Slightly Impairing)
5	Physical Limitation - Too Big to Fit, Too Heavy to Support: (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
15	Reputation - Playful Rock Chuckers: , 14-
150	Monster Bonus

Disadvantage Points: 200

Base Points: 300Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 500

Height: 4.27 m	Hair: Blue-Grey if any (tend to be bald)
Weight: 4500.00 kg	Eyes: Silvery or Black

Appearance: Averaging 14' in height (ranging from 12' to 18' tall). Personality: Playful, artistic, but clannishly protective of their own.Quote:Background: These giants are 14' tall and have gray rocklike skin. Htey use large stalactites as clubs. HTey often hurl rocks. They may have cave bears as guards.

 

With their gray to gray-brown skins, dark gray to blue-gray hair, and metallic-looking eyes (silver to steel), tone giants are both striking in appearance and able to blend easily into stoney settings. The latter effect is enhanced by their choice of rock-colored garments. Stone giants are typically armed with stone weapons.

 

Stone giants are lean but muscular. Their hard, hairless flesh is smooth and gray, making it easy for them to blend in with their mountanous surroundings. Their guant facial features and deep, sunken black eyes make them seem perpetually grim.

 

Clan structure ~ 1-10 giants are typical but clans tend to cluster in the same general area in tribes of ~2-8 clans.

 

Unlike most other giants, stone giants don't have the immense voracious hunger to maintain their large physiques since they have a much slower silicon-based physiology.

 

Sources: ~(D+D-X.32) (RC.179); (AD+D-1e-MM.45); (AD+D-2e-MM.145); (D+D-3e-MM.98-100); (HM-HoB-vIII.58-59); (H4e-BFHC.62-63); (H5e-MMM.47).

Powers/Tactics: Prefer to fight at a distance by hurling large rocks/boulders (from hiding if possible) up to 300 yards/meters, but if anyone survives to close with happily pound them to a bloody pulp with an immense stalactite club. Sometimes protect approach to their lairs with deadfall avalanches and similar traps. Fond of Cave (or Polar) Bears and often have several (~1-8) of them as pets/guards.

 

Tend not to wear armour since flesh is already harder than any non-magical armor.

Campaign Use: Above write-up is for an adult warrior. Variants children ~ ogres; teen-agers ~ hill giants.

 

Some ~5% of stone giants, called "elders", have innate magical stone-related abilities (stone shape, stone tell, rock to mud, mud to rock, once per day each) stemming from their close bond to the elemental plane of earth; 10% of these giants have innate arcane (sorcerous) abilites up to 3rd level (30 Active Points). Some stone giants may also learn the ways of their god and can advance to be clerics of 7th level (70 Active Point powers), a significant amount of those who chose the way of the gods are elders already blessed with the innate elemental abilities above.

 

 

Fond of playing various rock hurling games -- just imagine a party walking into the middle of a target range or an inter-clan dodge-boulder game!

[Blue Jogger]

Hmm, I think I can see what happens when a party disrupts a couple of stone giants...

 

= =>Fighter swings and hits stone giant (It takes 3 STUN)

Fighter with, say (8 rPD,16 Total) gets hit with 5D6K rock

landing in his hex.

* * SMASH * * (Takes 10 BODY, 10 STUN)

"I'm not dead, but I'm badly wounded."

= = >Fighter swings and hits stone giant (It takes 10 STUN)

* * SMASH * * (Takes 12 BODY, 30 STUN)

Fighter is CON-stunned and bleeding to death.

* * SMASH * *

Fighter is dead.

 

Thief with, say (3 rPD, 6 Total) is about to be hit with a rock

landing in his hex...

* * DODGE * *

= =>Thief successfully dodges this phase.

= =>Thief backstabs! (It takes 3 BODY, 14 STUN)

* * SMASH * * (Takes 15 BODY, 35 STUN)

Thief is CON-stunned and bleeding to death.

* * SMASH * *

Thief is dead.

 

= =>Mage teleports away...

[Hierax]

As per my comments under the Hill Giant write-up thread, I'll be revising these guys to remove the AoE - 1 Hex on both the HTH and the RKA attacks as Stone giants really aren't big enough to warrant it.

 

They were intended to be tough enough to be feared but that just gives them too much. I want their attacks to be extremely deadly when they hit, but not that hard for a deft Hero to avoid.

 

AoE is too much, the CSLs cover (or more than cover?) the size differential of the attacks.

 

The biggest remaining challenge with Stone Giants is that even though they are only second from the bottom of the feeding chain of Giants, they are one of the harder ones to kill because of their stone-like flesh giving such a high rDEF. Is it too much? Against normal opponents who don't have any magic weapons, yeah probably unless they can swarm it and have AP attacks (picks or something), but Heroes with Magical Weapons that are Penetrating and possibly AP and have extra DCs, they will be damaged far more often.

 

Anything else look like it needs to be revised?

[Fireg0lem]

Yeah, the presence needs to be increased...or better yet, take off the "only for presence attacks" on the bonus. With an 8 Ego and an 8 Presence, they're just asking to be PRE-whipped.

 

If you really don't want them to have that much "straight" presence, consider "only against things smaller than them" on the PRE.

 

Also note that as written, they can scare the pants off each other far more effectively than two humans can frighten each other - this makes no sense.

[Hierax]

That's a damn good point!

 

I wasn't looking at it that way, thanks for pointing it out!

 

If I just give them straight-up PRE that fixes that problem, but what is the best way to handle/simulate the difference between a high PRE from being "Charismatic/Persuasive" vs. being "Big and/or Scary/Intimitading"?

 

Any suggestions?

[Blue Jogger]

I would buy it this way. PRE with different limitations.

 

Charismatic/Persausive (+10 PRE)

Lim: Can only add/defend to Presense Attacks

that are at mostly speech-based and use in

speech based skills (-1/4)

Real Cost: 8

 

Big/Intimidating (+10 PRE)

Real Cost: 10

 

Scary (but inwardly just a cowardly bully) (+10 PRE)

Lim: Fear-based Presense Attack only (-1)

Real Cost: 5

 

Iron Will/Unshakable (+10 PRE)

Lim: Defense Only (-1)

Real Cost: 5

[Hierax]

Hieraxian Stone Giant 2nd Draft UpdateStone Giant (GreyHero) 2nd Draft:  Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) File for Printing:  http://www.hierax.com/hero/fantasy/grey/monster/giant-stone.pdf  Hero Designer Character (.HDC) File for editing:  http://www.hierax.com/hero/fantasy/grey/monster/giant-stone.hdcStone Giant (350 Points)

Val	Char	Cost
40	STR	30
8	DEX	-6
40	CON	60
22	BODY	24
8	INT	-2
8	EGO	-4
40	PRE	30
10	COM	0
18	PD	10
18	ED	10
2	SPD	2
16	REC	0
80	END	0
80	STUN	18

7" RUN20" SWIM-22" LEAP-6Characteristics Cost: 166

Cost	Power	END
10	Thick Stoney Skin: Damage Resistance (10 PD/10 ED)
30	Twice As Big: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50%
30	Twice As Big: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50%
4	Long of Arm: Stretching 1", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (7 Active Points); Always Direct (-1/4), No Noncombat Stretching (-1/4), No Velocity Damage (-1/4)
43	Hurl Rocks: Killing Attack - Ranged 4d6+1 (65 Active Points); OIF (Focus - Rocks of Opportunity; -1/2)	6
10	Rock Catching: Missile Deflection (Thrown Objects), Missile Reflection (25 Active Points); Limited Power (Only vs. Large Roughly Rock/Boulder Shaped Objects) (-1), Activation Roll 14- (-1/2)
6	Heavy: Knockback Resistance -3"
3	Life Support (Longevity 800 Years)

Powers Cost: 136

Cost	Skill
16	+2 with All Combat
15	+3 with Ranged Combat
2	WF: Common Melee Weapons, Thrown Rocks
0	Climbing 8-
0	Concealment 8-
3	+3 with Concealment (6 Active Points); Self Only (-1/2), Limited Power (Only in Stoney Settings) (-1/2)
0	KS: Lair and Surrounding Environment 8-
0	Language: Stone Giant (idiomatic) (4 Active Points)
0	Language: Hill Giant (fluent conversation; Custom Adder)
0	Language: Cloud Giant (fluent conversation; Custom Adder)
0	Language: Storm Giant (fluent conversation; Custom Adder)
1	Language: Ogre (basic conversation)
1	Language: Common (Aeridian or other Human Trade Tongue) (basic conversation)
0	PS: Artist 8-
0	PS: Warrior 8-
0	Survival 8-

Skills Cost: 38

Cost	Talent
10	Follow-Through Attack

Talents Cost: 10

Cost	Equipment	END
9	Giant-Sized (2x) Club: Hand-To-Hand Attack +8d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Independent (-2), STR Minimum 1-5 (-1), OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4)
12	Giant-Sized (2x) War Club: Hand-To-Hand Attack +10d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (75 Active Points); Independent (-2), STR Minimum 1-5 (-1), OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4)
14	Giant-Sized (2x) Great Club: Hand-To-Hand Attack +12d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (90 Active Points); Independent (-2), STR Minimum 1-5 (-1), OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4)

Equipment costs shown above are for reference only, and are not included in Total Cost.

Val	Disadvantages
15	Distinctive Features - Stone Giant: Not Concealable, Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction, Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses, Not Distinctive In Some Cultures
5	Enraged: If Take BODY Damage (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14-
5	Hunted: Giant Hunters 8- (Less Pow, Harshly Punish)
15	Physical Limitation - Bigger And Easier to be Seen and be Hit (2x human size = -3 DCV, and +3 to PER Rolls to Percieve): (All the Time, Slightly Impairing)
5	Physical Limitation - Too Big to Fit, Too Heavy to Support: (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
15	Reputation - Playful Rock Chuckers or Rock-Throwing Hooligans: , 14-
10	Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Elemental Air (Uncommon)
10	Vulnerability: 2 x BODY Elemental Air (Uncommon)
10	Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Elemental Electricity (Uncommon)
10	Vulnerability: 2 x BODY Elemental Electricity (Uncommon)

Disadvantage Points: 100

Base Points: 250Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 350

Height: 4.27 m	Hair: Blue-Grey if any (tend to be bald)
Weight: 4500.00 kg	Eyes: Silvery or Black

Appearance: Averaging 14' in height (ranging from 12' to 18' tall).Personality: Playful, artistic, but clannishly protective of their own.Quote:(D+D-X.32) (RC.179); (AD+D-1e-MM.45); (AD+D-2e-MM.145); (D+D-3e-MM.98-100); (HM-HoB-vIII.58-59); (H4e-BFHC.62-63); (H5e-MMM.47).Background: These giants are 14' tall and have gray rocklike skin. They use large stalactites as clubs. They often hurl rocks. They may have cave bears as guards.

 

With their gray to gray-brown skins, dark gray to blue-gray hair, and metallic-looking eyes (silver to steel), stone giants are both striking in appearance and able to blend easily into stoney settings. The latter effect is enhanced by their choice of rock-colored garments. Stone giants are typically armed with stone weapons.

 

Stone giants are lean but muscular. Their hard, hairless flesh is smooth and gray, making it easy for them to blend in with their mountanous surroundings. Their guant facial features and deep, sunken black eyes make them seem perpetually grim.

 

Clan structure ~ 1-10 giants are typical but clans tend to cluster in the same general area in tribes of ~2-8 clans.

 

Unlike most other giants, stone giants don't have the immense voracious hunger to maintain their large physiques since they have a much slower silicon-based physiology.

Powers/Tactics: Stone Giants prefer to fight at a distance by hurling large rocks/boulders (from hiding if possible) up to 300 yards/meters with the devestating impact of a Trebuchet! Anyone who survives to close to melee with them will typically be pounded to a bloody pulp with an immense stalactite club. Sometimes they protect the approach to their lairs with deadfall avalanches and similar traps. They are fond of Cave (or Polar) Bears and often have several (~1-8) of them as pets/guards.

 

Stone Giants are extremely hard to damage but are quite easy to hit (effective DCV=0 due to size). They tend not to bother wear armour since their flesh is already harder than any non-magical armor.

 

Stone Giants are of a power level intended to face parties of about "9th level" = i.e, 90 Active Point Spells, and +4 to +5 CSLs.

 

WARNING! Stone Giants are VERY hard to kill due to their immense size (50% Damage Reduction) and stone skin (10rDEF), because of this they often are even harder to kill than some of the bigger giants!

Campaign Use: Above write-up is for an adult warrior. Variants children ~ ogres; teen-agers ~ hill giants.

 

Some ~5% of stone giants, called "elders", have innate magical stone-related abilities (stone shape, stone tell, rock to mud, mud to rock, once per day each) stemming from their close bond to the elemental plane of earth; 10% of these giants have innate arcane (sorcerous) abilites up to 3rd level (30 Active Points). Some stone giants may also learn the ways of their god and can advance to be clerics of 7th level (70 Active Point powers), a significant amount of those who chose the way of the gods are elders already blessed with the innate elemental abilities above.

 

Fond of playing various rock hurling games -- just imagine a party walking into the middle of a target range or an inter-clan dodge-boulder game!

 

Conversion Notes

- HD - D+D=9, AD+D=9+3, 2e=14+1-3, 3e=14d8+56; avg=+12 BODY.

- AC - D+D=4=+6, AD+D=0=+10, 3e=+11 Natural=+11; avg=+9rDEF but +10 is a 'rounder' number.

- THAC0 - D+D=11=+9, AD+D=12=+8, 2e=7=+13, 3e=+17melee/+12ranged=+9/+10 without abilities; avg=+10=+5CSL.

- Rock Throwing - D+D=3d6=18 AD+D=3d10=30, 2e=3d10=30, 3e=2d8+8=24; avg=4d6+1K.

- Stalactite Club - D+D=3d6=18, AD+D=3d6=18, 2e=2d12+8=32, 3e=2d6+12=24; avg=4d6-1K.

- Move - D+D=man, AD+D=man, 2e=man, 3e=40' vs. man of 30'+33%; avg=6.5".

This write-up is a conversion of a combination of the various versions of Stone Giants that appeared in the various editions of xD&D.I removed the Area of Effect both as a naked power advantage on STR and on the RKA.I lowered the damage of the RKA to a more average converted value.I reduced the movement, running (just slightly faster than a normal man), swimming (none), leaping about (half-height).I took away the split PRE and went with straight-up PRE and raised it to 40 to match the STR. Increased the CON to match STR.Changed the CSLs to emphasize the preference for ranged over HTH/melee.Increased DCV penalty to -3 to mirror the Growth equivalent of 3 levels with 1/level instead of 2/3.Added vulnerabilties to counter-elements (earth vs. air) to give these ultra tough giants a weakness to be exploited -- e.g., Lightning Bolts are the way to go (for comparison, at this power level (9th level) it would be around a 3d6K AoE Line or maybe even a 6d6K single target or any other typical 90 Active Point power).How would you improve this write-up of a gigantic (14' tall) man with Stone-like Skin?