Hill Giant Beast Tamer
Hill Giant Beast Tamer (CR 15)
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. No one tries to enslave a Hill giant, 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.
GENERAL
CR 15 Hit Dice 22
XP 51,200
NE, Large, Humanoid (Giant)
Init +7; Senses low-light, scent, Perception +23
DEFENSE
AC 37, touch 21, flat-footed 31 (+10 armor, +6 dex, +6 natural, +5 deflection)
hp 328
Fort +18, Ref +14, Will +14
Aura: -
SR: -
Special Defenses: -
Immunities: -
Weaknesses: -
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Single Melee Giant Club +20 (3d8+1/19-20x2)
Full Melee Giant Club +20 (3d8+1/19-20x2)
Ranged Giant Rock +20 (3d8+1/x2)
Full Ranged 2x Giant Rock +20 (3d8+1/x2)
Special Attacks Earthen Smash, Giant Swing, Pet, Goad
Action Points 0
STATISTICS
Str 75, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 4, Wis 16, Cha 16
Base Atk +15; CMB +24; CMD 32
Feats Precise Shot EFFECT: Can make ranged attacks into melee without taking -4 to-hit.
Skills Heal 10
Languages Giant (pidgin)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Earthen Smash
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 8d6 points of physical bludgeoning damage and knocks all creatures prone. A reflex save versus DC23 negates the prone effect and reduces the damage by half.
- Giant Swing
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.)
- Pet
The Hill Giant Beast Tamer starts play with either three Dire Wolf pets, or, one Dire Bear pet. The referee 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.
- Goad
Once per round as a move action, the Beast Tamer may goad and urge on its pets. If the Beast Tamer has Dire Wolf pets, they gain +10 to-hit and +10 damage from Goad, which applies to all attacks they make until the beginning of the Hill Giant's next turn. If the Beast Tamer has a Dire Bear pet, it gains +5 to-hit and +5 to damage from Goad, which applies to all attacks they make up until the beginning of the Hill Giant's next turn. Their pet must be within 50 feet, and they 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.
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 18,750 gp
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. 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 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.