Stone-Giant

AUTHOR: Unknown

ISSUE: 7:36-37

Note: Since many players have voiced concern about the 4-7 attribute range in the standard rules, the statistics below in many cases list only attribute modifiers (rather than presenting scores below 8 aligned with either the standard rules or the common revision). If an attribute score is actually needed, the Narrator can choose whichever number below 8 he prefers that fits with the given modifier. Vitality, since it determines Health, is assigned a score and, if 8 or above, a modifier; for scores below 8, the Narrator can choose whichever modifier he prefers.

Description

Stone-giants are towering humanoids of uncertain origins. Some say giants are like to normal Men as normal Men are like to Hobbits. Others say that giants are not akin to Men at all, but rather that they are the created beings of rock and mountain as Ents are the created beings of wood and forest. A giant stands dozens of feet in height, as tall as the tallest tree or Ent. Giants are brutish, combative, and dangerous, but they are not inherently evil (in The Hobbit Gandalf spoke of finding a "more or less decent giant" to help block a goblin tunnel). Giants may sometimes gather hoards of goods they find (or take) in the mountains, but they themselves can craft nothing beyond crude furs to cover themselves and rarely make use of tools or weapons.

Unique Special Abilities

Powerful Fists: The fists of a stone-giant are powerful weapons that hit as hard as rock. When the giant makes an Unarmed Combat brawling attack, he applies his Strength bonus to the attack test instead of Nimbleness. If the punch attack hits, the giant inflicts 2d6 damage plus his Strength bonus (multiplied by two because of the Hammerhand edge). Smaller opponents should have a penalty to block or parry a giant's punch (+2 TN for each size level smaller is recommended).

Rock-throwing: Stone-giants are adept at hurling boulders, either in sport or in battle. If the rocky side of a mountain is within reach, as a full-round action a giant can tear loose a boulder and hurl it at a foe (if a boulder is already free-standing, hurling the rock has a cost of 2 actions). The giant makes a Ranged Combat test modified for range (5/20/40/60/+10). Up to two adjacent man-sized foes (or three adjacent small-sized foes) can be targeted by one boulder, though the test suffers a -1 penalty times the number of targets. A hurled boulder can only be avoided by a successful Dodge action. A hurled boulder inflicts 4d6 damage plus the giant's Strength bonus, and armor generally provides no protection against the crushing weight of the rock.

Habitat

Stone-giants are known to dwell in the high valleys of the Misty Mountains, above the low passes used by travelers. Presumably, giants could be found dwelling in the inaccessible heights of any of the old mountains of Middle-earth. By the end of the Third Age they are few in number and very reclusive. Giants seem to live in small societies spread out across their mountain homes, and at times they gather together to hurl mountain boulders at each in some kind of violent contest.