The initial ability scores are modified by a + 2 bonus to Strength and Constitution and a -1 penalty to Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
Player Character Trolls receive hit dice by class. In addition, they receive 6 bonus hit points at first level.
Trolls are almost always Chaotic Evil and exceptions are rare. Player character Trolls will tend to be Chaotic Neutral. Trolls cannot be of any Lawful alignment due to their unfortunate feeding habits.
These creatures are the most alien of the humanoid races. They look like tall, skinny, rubbery monsters with dark slimy skin. Their greenish fangs and claws seem to be a continuation of their skin rather than a separate matter. They have no wits but great appetite. They are tall, up to 9’ 2”, grey green, with swampy brown splotches. Their skin oozing with warts and bumps. Their faces sport large drooling maws with protruding fangs. Long purple or black hair while older specimens have muddy-grey or white hair. They prefer spiked armor, full-faced helms, and barbed-wire hunting nets.
Trolls are vicious predators apt to see other PC’s as potential food sources. Trolls tend to have short memories and shorter attention spans. Leaders have to constantly prove themselves because discipline is not a virtue among Trolls. Pain is not a consideration to Trolls and death is to them an abstract concept with no bearing on their personal lives. Most creatures avoid Trolls, since they know no fear and attack unrelentingly when hungry, which is most of the time.
Trolls have Infravision up to 90’.Trolls can make three attacks in a melee round. Once with their fangs for 1d8+4 hp of damage, and twice with their huge claws for 1d4+4 hp of damage each. In rare instances a Troll will use a weapon but if he does he forgoes his claw and bite attacks. Trolls regenerate at an amazing rate. Starting three rounds after recieving a wound, the creature recovers 3 hit points per round until healed. Trolls reduced to 0 or fewer hit points fall to the ground incapacitated but not slain. Incapacitated Trolls continue to regenerate and stand up to fight as soon as they have a positive number of hit points.
Trolls take damage as large creatures. Trolls cannot regenerate Fire and Acid damage. A Troll who is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points and then burned or inmersed in acid is dead.
Trolls barely understand the concept of religious practice. Omens and magic can awe a Troll but fear just isn’t part of a Troll’s instinct.
Giants
Ability Score Adjustments. Giants have two Strength scores, their racial standard and their individual variant Strength. All other abilities are modified as follows:
• Hill Giant: +2 CON, -1 DEX, -2 INT, WIS, CHA
• Stone Giant: +2 CON, -2 DEX, -1 INT, WIS, CHA
• Frost Giant: +2 CON, -1 DEX, INT
• Fire Giant: +2 CON, -1 DEX, INT, CHA
• Cloud Giant: +1 INT, -1 CON
Ability Score Range (Hill/Stone/Frost/Fire/Cloud)
| Ability | Minimum | Maximum |
| Strength | 3/8/5/5/3 | 18/18/18/18/18 |
| Dexterity | 3/3/3/3/5 | 17/16/17/16/18 |
| Constitution | 14/14/15/15/13 | 18/18/18/18/18 |
| Intelligence | 3/3/3/3/12 | 14/18/18/18/18 |
| Wisdom | 3/3/3/3/3 | 16/17/18/18/18 |
| Charisma | 3/3/3/3/3 | 16/17/18/18/18 |
Class Restrictions (Hill/Stone/Frost/Fire/Cloud)
| Class | Maximum Level |
| Warrior |
| Fighter | 14/15/16/17/19 |
| Ranger | –/–/–/–/– |
| Paladin | –/–/–/–/– |
| Wizard |
| Mage | –/6/6/6/12 |
| Runecaster | 6/10/12/12/14 |
| Priest |
| Cleric | 12/12/15/15/13 |
| Druid | –/–/–/–/– |
| Shaman | 8/8/15/15/– |
| Witch Doctor | 8/6/15/15/– |
| Rouge |
| Thief | –/–/–/–/– |
| Bard | –/–/12*/12*/12* |
*Bard Giants can only be Skalds.
Hit Dice: Player Character Giants receive double the hit dice of their class. In addition Hill Giants receive 6 + 1-2 hit points at first level, Stone Giants receive 7 + 1-3, Frost Giants receive 7 + 1-4, Fire Giants receive 8 + 1-4, and Cloud Giants receive 9 + 1-6.
Alignment: Most Giants, with the exception of Stone and Cloud Giants tend to be of Chaotic or Evil alignments, but player character giants can be of any alignment they choose.
Natural Armor Class: All Giants have a natural AC of 5, with the exception of Stone and Cloud Giants who have an AC of 0.
Background: Giants are huge humanlike monsters. Most are usually willing to negotiate when encountered, and can be quite friendly if approached properly. All Giants regardless of race share a common background even if they donŐt know it. Giants were among the first races to walk the worlds and it still shows in their elemental natures.
Hill Giants are hairy brutes 16’ tall and very stupid. They wear animal skins and carry huge clubs and spears. They live in hills and at the base of mountains, and raid human communities from time to time for food and plunder.
Stone Giants are 18’ tall and have grey rocklike skin. They use large stalactites as clubs. They live in caves or stone huts and often domesticate cave bears.
Frost Giants have pale skin and light blond or light blue hair. They stand 21’ tall, have long braided beards, and wear fur skins and iron armor. They often build castles above the timberline of snow-capped mountains. They are fond of polar bears and wolves.
Fire Giants have coal black skin, flaming red or bright orange hair. They have strong jaws with large flat teeth. They reach heights of 18’ tall but are barrel chested and look squat. They live in volcanic regions and train hellhounds to use as guard dogs.
Cloud Giants stand 24’ tall and are actually cerebral and cultured compared to their smaller brethen.
Languages: Jotütn (Giant Common), Racial Dialect of Jotün (Hill, Stone, Frost, Fire, Cloud), Common, Ogre and sometimes Troll.
Role Playing Suggestions: Giants present several difficulties in a campaign, but none of them are insurmountable. Giants have trouble navigating underground environments and the cities and living places of smaller races. Because of their great size and strength giants are feared by smaller races and driven away from civilized areas. Giants also require large amounts of food and very few areas are capable of supporting large giant populations.
Hill Giants are selfish, cunning brutes who survive through hunting and by terrorizing and raiding nearby communities. Despite their low intelligence, they are capable fighters.
Stone Giants are lean, but muscular. Their hard, hairless flesh is smooth and gray, making it easy for them to blend in with their mountainous surroundings. Their gaunt facial features and deep, sunken black eyes make them seem perpetually grim.
Frost Giants are grim warriors who make lightning raids on far away lands then return to their mountain fortresses to enjoy their spoils. They fight hard and play harder but do not like to work so they keep many slaves of different races.
Fire Giants are brutal, militaristic warriors who keep to the depths of volcanoes. They enjoy good ale and large quantities of food. Dwarves and Fire Giants are excellent metalsmiths, but they compete for the same resources making them bitter enemies.
Cloud Giants consider themselves above all other giants, save storm giants, whom they consider equals. Cloud giants take to scholastic pursuits and the study of music.
Special Advantages: Giants can hurl boulders tremendous distances doing great damage to opponents, buildings and other structures. Boulders and similar heavy missles can be thrown 200 yards and cannot be thrown at targets closer than 3 yards.
Hurling boulders
| Race | Damage | Catch Chance |
Hill Giants | 2d8 | 30% |
Stone Giants | 2d10 | 60% |
Frost Giants | 2d12 | 40% |
Fire Giants | 2d12 | 50% |
Cloud Giants | 3d10 | 55% |
Giants have exceptional Strength depending on their race. They also have individual strength scores that distinguish them from others of their same race. The Variant Strength Scores for Individuals are applied to the Standard Strength Scores of each Giant by race so that a Fire Giant with an Individual Strength of 17 would have a bonus of +4 to hit and +11 to damage while a Frost Giant with the same individual strength would have a +4 to hit and a +10 to damage.
Standard Giant Strengths
| Race | Strength |
Hill
Stone
Frost
Fire
Cloud |
19
20
21
22
23 |
Variant Strength Scores for Individuals:
Ability
Score | Hit
Adj. | Damage
Adj. | Weight
Allow. | Max
Press | Open
Doors | Bend Bars\
Lift Gates |
1
2
3
4-5
6-7
8-15
16
17
18
18/01-50
18/51-75
18/76-90
18/91-99
18/00
|
-3
-2
-2
-1
-1
No Adj.
No Adj.
No Adj.
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2 |
-2
-2
-1
-1
No Adj.
No Adj.
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+3
+3
+4 |
-75
-45
-25
-15
-5
No Adj.
+10
+20
+30
+60
+80
+120
+140
+160 |
-125
-50
-25
-15
-5
No Adj.
+10
+30
+60
+80
+120
+140
+160
+200 |
-5(-2)
-4(-1)
-3
-2
-1
No Adj.
+1
+2
+3
+3
+4
+4(+1)
+4(+2)
+4(+3) |
-36%
-16%
-8%
-4%
-2%
No Adj.
+2%
+4%
+6%
+10%
+16%
+26%
+42%
+46% |
Hill Giants can surprise opponents in hilly terrain for an effective ambush attack. When hiding among hills these giants have a +4 bonus to surprise foes.
Stone Giants can surprise opponents in stony terrain for an effective ambush attack. When hiding among rocks these giants have a +4 bonus to surprise foes.
Frost giants are immune to cold and magical cold based attacks including freezing dragon breath.
Fire giants are immune to heat and fire and magical fire based attacks including fiery dragon breath.
Special Disadvantages: All Giants take damage as Large creatures. In addition all Giants fare poorly when in an environment far from their native element. Giants receive a -2 to all proficiency checks when away from their native environment. Smaller races fear giants. Whenever checking for the reactions of creatures of medium or small size apply a -2 penalty to the check.
Giants must earn double the experience points of the base class to advance each level.
Giants require tremendous amounts of food. Giants eat the same foodstuffs as humans and elves, only in much larger quantities, except for Hill giants who will eat almost anything. Hill giants require a disproportionately large quantity of food for their size because, over the years, they have developed inordinately high metabolisms.
Giant Food Requirements
| Race | Multiplier |
Hill
Stone
Frost
Fire
Cloud |
x10
x9
x11
x9
x16 |
Monstrous Traits: Size, appetite
Superstitions: Giants have many and varied superstitions regarding nature, magic and the elements. Giants see omens and portents in virtually every natural occurrence. They also have a healthy fear of magic, especially as they are poor sorcerers themselves. Giants will cover themselves in Tatoos and paint for luck and to commemorate past events. All giants consider omens in reference to their native element to be good omens, unless the portent is delivered by the destruction of that element.
Weapon Proficiencies: Most Giant Weapons and the Great Club.
Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Brewing, Survival, Tracking and Weather Sense. Hill Giants can take the Drinking and Eating proficiencies as well as Cooking. Stone giants are encouraged to have Stonemasonry and other Artistic skills. Frost Giants are fond of Poetry and like Hill giants are known for their Eating and Drinking skills. Fire Giants are good Blacksmiths, Armorers and Weaponsmiths. Cloud Giants take an interest in Astrology and Musical Instruments.
All Images are Copyright © 2002 William Adams and cannot be reproduced without permission.
Some Characters are inspired by the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and their use here does not represent a challenge to any pre-existing copyrights or trademarks.
Warning: This comic may include adult situations and suggestive dialogue not suited for minors.
Send me an Email
Pillars of Faith is hosted on Keenspace, a free webhosting and site automation service for webcomics.
