Hill Giant Brute

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Hill Giant Brute (CR 14)

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!

Hill Giant Brutes represent tougher than normal examples of their breed. They may be simply a Hill Giant who was born stronger and meaner than normal, or they may represent a whole tribe of giants who managed to get more food than normal and are just healthier in general, or they may be serfs who have survived long enough to learn that being meaner and quicker than their relatives is a good way to get favorable treatment. Whatever the reason, Hill Giant Brutes look and act about the same as other Hill Giants. They may have a slightly wilder, shaggier look to them, jagged teeth, or simply a feral glint of cruelty swimming in the dull stupor in their eyes. Whatever the reason, Hill Giant Brutes are much more dangerous than your average Hill Giants. As if this horrible race needed anything to make them even more repulsive.

General

CR 14 Hit Dice 20

XP 38,400

NE, Large, Humanoid, Giant

Init +6; Senses low-light, scent, Perception +21

Defense

AC 35, touch 21, flat-footed 32 (+9 armor, +3 dex, +6 natural, +7 deflection)

hp 345

Fort +17, Ref +13, Will +13

Aura -

SR -

Special Defenses -

Immunities -

Weaknesses -

Offense

Speed 40 ft.

Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.

Single Melee Giant Club +19 (2d8+12/19-20x2) plus Giant Swing

Full Melee 3x Giant Club +19 (2d8+12/19-20x2) plus Giant Swing

Ranged Giant Rock +19 (2d8+14/x2)

Special Attacks Earthen Smash, Giant Stomp, Giant Swing

Action Points 0

Statistics

Str 78, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 4, Wis 8, Cha 12

Base Atk +14; CMB +23; CMD 31

Feats -

Skills -

Languages Giantish(pidgin)

Special Abilities

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 7d6+1 points of physical bludgeoning damage and knocks all creatures Prone. A reflex save versus DC22 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.)

Giant Stomp (Ex)

Once per encounter as a swift action, the Giant may shift five feet and perform a Giant Stomp on all creatures that are in its reach after the shift is performed. Creatures in range must make a Fortitude save (DC 22) or they take 3d6+3 points of damage and are knocked Prone. In addition, if the Giant wishes, it may Push each target in range one square. Creatures which make the save suffer half damage and are not knocked prone (though they can still be pushed, if the Giant wishes).

Treasure

sell value of approximately 13,750 gp

Combat Tactics

Hill Giant Brutes are MUCH quicker than they look, and they have a high movement speed to reflect this. Far worse, their Giant Stomp ability is a real nasty way of breaking up a static fight situation. Aside from their speed, Brutes fight much like other Hill Giants, except that they are much more eager to close to melee than use their Earthen Smash. Brutes hit really, really hard, and they know it.

Once in a fight, they are fearless and will never retreat.

Out Of Combat

It should be noted that Hill Giants are ridiculously strong. Per the Carrying Capacity rules, Hill Giant Brutes can lift and carry 409 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.