Ettin Bonebreaker
Ettin Bonebreaker (Heavy Role, CR 11)
Ettins are hill giants that have a genetic mutation giving them two heads, instead of merely one. This is a surprisingly common mutation, occurring in about 10% of all hill giant births. Also surprising is the fact that the mutated head, nearly always smaller than the 'dominant' head, is both intelligent, and magically attuned. That is, they are casters.
The reason that ettins are comparatively rare, despite their high birth rates among the hill giant population, is that the smart head, tends to be an intolerable smart-ass all the time. As a result, most ettins fail to reach adulthood, either because their parents, neighbors or peers club them to death before they reach maturity, or they club themselves to death as a result of one of their many arguments with their stupider head.
Encountering an ettin is often a pretty funny encounter, because of the constant self-bickering (and self-abuse). However, a wise party will not underestimate these ungainly behemoths. Ettins are terrible opponents, capable of massive feats of brute strength, as well as spellcasting. Ettins have a strong affinity with the earth, and their spells reflect this.
Ettin Bonebreakers act twice each round. The hill giant head takes its full normal action (standard, move and swift) on the initiative tick rolled by the ettin. Then, 5 ticks of initiative later, the smart head gets a standard action with which it take an action of its own.
GENERAL
CR 11 Hit Dice 16
XP 25,600 (includes Heavy role)
NE Large Giant
Init +5 (special; see "Two Actions" below); Senses Scent, Low-Light Vision 120 ft., Perception +17
DEFENSE
AC 31, touch 19, flat-footed 26 (+7 armor, +5 dex, +5 natural, +4 deflection)
hp 458
Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +11
Aura: -
SR: -
Special Defenses: ER 20/acid, Liberating Injury
Immunities: immune to the first instance of all conditions applied during an encounter (heavy role)
Weaknesses: -
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Single Melee Giant Club +16 (2d8+1/19-20x2), plus Giant Swing
Full Melee 3x Giant Club +16 (2d8+1/19-20x2), plus Giant Swing
Ranged Giant Boulder +16 (2d8+1/x2), range increment 30 ft.
Special Attacks Earthen Smash, Giant Swing, Eruption
Action Points 1 (heavy role)
STATISTICS
Str 50, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 4/19, Wis 8/11, Cha 8
Base Atk +11; CMB +17; CMD 27
Feats -
Skills -
Languages The smart head speaks Giantish and Common; The hill giant head speaks Giantish (pidgin)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Two Actions (Ex)
The ettin's stupid head, the hill giant head, takes its full normal action (a standard, move and swift action) on its initiative. The ettin's smart head gets a special action each round 5 initiative ticks later. During this special action, the smart head of the Ettin controls the entire body of the Ettin, and can take a 5-foot step and a standard action. This standard action can be used to take any actions the Ettin wishes to make, but in particular, can be used to cast a spell (which the hill giant head isn't smart enough to cast on its turn).
Note that ettins also have an action point. The action point may be spent on either of its turns, but note that the ettin's spell can only be cast during the smart head's special standard action.
The bonus 5-foot step of the smart head is only usable if the special standard action is not used to move. However, the 5-foot step can be used even if the hill giant head has already moved or taken a 5-foot step during the Ettin's main turn.
- Earthen Smash (Ex)
As a standard action, a Hill giant may swing its huge club overhead and SMASH! THE GROUND! Hill Giants actually like this a lot, because the ground is easy and satisfying to hit really hard. Earthen Smash is a 30 foot cone area of effect that does 6d6 points of physical bludgeoning damage and knocks all creatures prone. A reflex save versus DC20 negates the prone effect and reduces the damage by half.
- Giant Swing (Ex)
Every time the giant uses its Giant Club attack, it may choose two adjacent squares in its reach. If there are enemies in both of those squares, they are all attacked every time it uses its Giant Club attack. (Roll to-hit once, compare this number against all foes to determine if they are hit or missed. Roll damage once, apply it to all creatures struck. Giant swing counts as AOE damage for swarms and other effects.)
- Eruption (Sp)
- Concentration: d20+15 vs. DC 21
During the smart head's special action, as a standard action, the ettin may cast Eruption. Eruption causes the ground in a 20-foot radius area within 100 feet of the Ettin to explode upward, injuring any creatures either on the ground or within 40 feet of the ground. This 40-foot tall cylinder of stone shards inflicts 10d6 points of physical damage to anyone in the area. Each creature in the area may make a reflex save against DC 20 to reduce this damage by half.
- Liberating Injury (Ex)
The first time the Ettin Bonebreaker is reduced to zero or fewer hit points, instead of dying, the smart head of the ettin is instead slain. The hill giant head immediately erupts into a gleeful fury, having been liberated from its inseparable enemy at long last. At the start of the Ettin's next turn, it immediately shrugs off any status conditions affecting it and its hit points are immediately restored to 50% of their normal maximum. Because the smart head is now dead, the Ettin loses its ability to cast the Eruption spell and no longer gets a second standard action 5 ticks after its normal initiative.
However, because of its ebullient joy at being liberated from the smart-head's incessant arrogance, the Ettin flies into a frenzy, dealing an extra +5 damage with each attack of its club. This bonus damage persists until the Ettin is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points a second time, at which point it actually dies.
Note that, in the time between being reduced to 0 points of damage for the first time and the start of the Ettin's next turn, the Ettin remains standing and any damage dealt to it is essentially ignored, since it will restore to 50% of its total maximum and shrug off all conditions at the start of its turn.
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 13,000 gp (includes Heavy role)
COMBAT TACTICS
Ettins fight very similarly to Hill Giants except for their bonus standard action. The bonus action of the smart head is nearly always used to cast a spell. However, if the smart head sees that combat casting may not be wise, it can use any of the other actions available to the hill giant head (giant swing and earthen smash).
During the hill giant head's turn, the Ettin will make attacks without much regard for accidentally including allies in any areas of effect he might use (as with Earthen Smash). However, during the smart head's turn, much more care is taken to avoid unnecessarily damaging allies.
Ettins will usually spend their action point to cast another spell, typically in the very first round of combat. An Ettin's alpha strike is terrible indeed!
Ettins rarely run from any combat, because one or the other head will refuse to. As a result, Ettins fight to the death.
OUT OF COMBAT
Ettins are still extremely strong, but unlike Hill Giants, can't just casually pluck the tops off mountains outside of combat. Note that an Ettin's prodigious strength does not translate to any benefits (other than those listed above) inside of combat. We didn't forget to add the damage in, the absurd strength is an out-of-combat thing.