Hill Giant Beast Tamer

Hill Giant Beast Tamer (CR 17)

Pure Evil - Large - Humanoid (Giant)

Lore:	Know (Local)
34		49
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

28

Perception:
38	+28
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Low-Light Vision

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.

Defense

AC

39

Man Def

41

Monster Health
611	305	32
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+19
Refl:	+14
Will:	+14

Strong Against:

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Large
10 ft.		10 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+25

Man Off

+29

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Giant Club +25 (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)
  plus: Giant Swing

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Giant Club +25 (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)
  plus: Giant Swing

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Giant Rock +25 (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 250 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Giant Rock +25 (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 250 ft.)

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

75

STR

16

DEX

20

CON

4

INT

16

WIS

16

CHA

Skills:

• Heal: 28
• Perception: 28
• All other skills: 23 (no ranks)

Languages: Giant (pidgin)

Feats:

• Precise Shot (EFFECT: No penalty for shooting into melee at any range.)

Special Abilities

Earthen Smash (Ex) Standard Action

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 (flying debris and concussive shock waves means it affects even creatures in the air or underground) that does 4d8+17 points of bludgeoning (physical, common) damage and knocks all creatures Prone. A reflex save versus DC 27 negates the prone effect and reduces the damage by half.

Giant Swing (Ex) Automatic

Every time the giant uses its Giant Club attack, it may choose one additional adjacent squares within its reach. If there are enemies in both of those squares, they are both 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.)

Pet (Ex) Special

The Hill Giant Beast Tamer starts play with either three Dire Wolf pets, or, one Dire Bear pet. The GM may choose or roll randomly. These monsters always have the same initiative as the Hill Giant Beast Tamer, and always grant 1.5 times as much XP and loot when they are defeated in combat. As pets, these beasts only have a single standard action per beast, per round. They may, of course, degrade the standard action down to a move action or a swift action, if they prefer. The hill giant beast tamer may also 'gift' any of their actions to one of their beasts, if they want the beast to do more in a given round. In this way, the beast tamer can, by giving up their own move action, grant one of their beasts the ability to make a full attack action (by combining its own standard action with the gifted move action), or perform a double move, etc. Pets may make a single attack of opportunity each round, if provoked. Pets also threaten and provide flanks with any allies. Pets can be moved through by allies, but not by enemies (unless they use a Clamber maneuver, or some similar ability).

Goad (Ex) Move action 1/Rnd

Once per round as a move action, the Beast Tamer may goad and urge on its pets. Until the start of the beast tamer's next turn, all of their pets' normal to-hit and damage numbers are replaced with the below: Goaded Bite +25 (4d8+22/x2) Goaded Claws +25 (3d8+11/x2) All special features of any of the pets' attacks remain unchanged, only the to-hit and damage numbers are changed. As part of this same move action, and combined with one of the beast tamer's pets' standard action, the beast tamer can enable one of their pets to make a full attack action, using the Goaded to-hit and damage numbers. All of the beast tamer's other pets (if any) also gain the Goaded bonuses, but must use their own standard actions to make use of them. Affected pets must be within 50 feet of the beast tamer, and require line of sight and line of effect for Goad to work. Note that, if multiple Hill Giant Beast Tamers are present, Goad only functions on the pets associated with the goading Giant, not all pets present. Pets are only obedient to their specific masters.

Hill Giant Beast Tamer

Hill Giants are massive creatures, covered in huge masses of thick muscle and fat. While they are technically size Large, they are definitely at the very upper end of that size category due to their simple bulk. Hill giants exude a sense of huge power mixed with dull frustrated rage at a world they simply don't understand. Indeed, Hill Giants are the second strongest breed of Giants, their physical power exceeding the strength of far more dangerous clans of giants, such as Cloud giants, who are frail weaklings compared to Hill giants.

Luckily for every other creature in the world, their incredible strength is also their downfall, as Hill Giants, charitably, are musclebound idiots. They are physically clumsy, slow of action, and awkward when they manage to do something, as likely to break a weapon as use it to smash a foe. Even worse, they are crude and stupid creatures. Ogres are mental giants compared to a Hill Giant. Hill Giants struggle to sustain even the most rudimentary of social structures, like family, or language. The actions of most other races are incomprehensible to a Hill giant, who is too limited to even grasp what a farm is, never mind understand why agriculture is a good idea.

As a result of their incredible physical strength and incredible mental deficiencies, Hill giants on their own live lives of desperate poverty, lacking fire, shelter, and far too often, even clothing. Despite this, Hill giants thrive on their own, their size and strength serving quite well in Nature to sustain their lives. Groups of Hill giants are uncomfortably common in untamed lands, and they are disgustingly fertile, to boot.

Many Hill giants find themselves working as serfs for other races. Ogres and especially Trolls find Hill giants to be excellent companionship, and those creatures serve to improve the life of Hill giants tremendously. Other Giant races also employ Hill giants as serfs, especially Frost and Fire giants, as well as Death giants and the terrible Fomaori. Hill giants are sadly susceptible to the mental enslavement used by Hobgoblins, and make valuable chattel for their strength and ability to fight. No one tries to enslave a Hill giant with simple physical force, by the way. No chain will hold them and no punishment will deter them, so there is little point. Give them a warm place to sleep, food to eat, things to torment, and rugged, simple work to do, and Hill giants will be loyal forever.

Hill giants usually live in small tribal groups, and make crude mud huts out of sticks and wattle. They will roam out daily, in a more-or-less random direction, and forage for food and victims. If Hill giants are serving as serfs for other classes of creatures, they will arise, take their food, and then happily perform whatever jobs they are given, as long as those jobs are within their intellectual grasp. As long as they are given lots of things to do, Hill giants are surprisingly tractable. If some of those duties involve killing and hurting things, all the better!

As they age, some Hill Giants stumble upon an affinity for their more bestial nature. Such Hill Giants become Beast Tamers, and will never be seen without their faithful monsters at their side. Beast Tamers are no smarter than other Hill Giants, but tend to be much better fed, as their animals help bring them food and generally make their lives better. If living on their own, Beast Tamers tend to be well dressed for a Hill Giant, with many furs stuck all over its massive form. As serfs, Beast Tamers are not terribly common. They are barely smarter than their animals, and as such, Beast Tamers tend to make a stinking mess out of anyplace they live, since they're not bright enough to order their animals to 'do their business' elsewhere. Creatures who can tolerate the mess (otyughs spring to mind) find Beast Tamers to be superb allies indeed.

Combat Tactics

Hill Giant Beast Tamers are as dumb as all Hill Giants, but they are proud of their animals. As a result, they will usually stand well back and send in their pets, throwing rocks to attack and using goad. Their Precise Shot ability makes this a viable tactic indeed. They may use a five-foot step each round if they think of it. Once their pet is down, they revert to more traditional Hill Giant tactics, namely, use Earthen Smash until two or more enemies get close to them, then maybe switch to their Giant Club using Giant Swing.

Out of Combat

It should be noted that Hill Giants are ridiculously strong. Per the Carrying Capacity rules, Hill Giant Beast Tamers can lift and carry 272 tons as a light load! This is completely intentional: Hill Giants are so strong that it is encouraged that out of combat they be treated as able to lift and carry pretty much anything at all. Of course, given how stupid and lazy they are, its rare for them to do so unless motivated. Note, however, that this amazing strength does not, will not, and should not EVER alter their combat statistics! Out of combat a Hill Giant can pluck up huge trees as easily as a daisy, but their combat stats are just boring old numbers, as laid out above.

Rewards

XP: 102,400

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 51,444 gp.

Weight: 170 lbs.     Volume: 6.8 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)