Giant, Fog
Climate/Terrain:
| Temperate/Swamps, marshes, boggy forests, and
coastal regions |
|
Frequency:
| Very rare
|
Organization:
| Clan, Hunting Group
|
Activity Cycle:
| Day
|
Diet:
| Omnivore
|
Intelligence:
| Average (8-10) to highly (13-14)
|
Treasure:
| E, R
|
Alignment:
| Neutral (good 50%, evil 50%)
|
No. Appearing:
| 1-4 (rarely 1-6)
|
Armor Class:
| 1
|
Movement:
| 15
|
Hit Dice:
| 14
|
THAC0:
| 7
|
No. of Attacks:
| 1
|
Damage/Attack:
| 1-10, or by weapon (3-18+11)
|
Special Attacks:
| Rock hurling
|
Special Defenses:
| See below
|
Magic Resistance:
| Nil
|
Size:
| H (24' tall)
|
Morale:
| Very steady (14)
|
XP Value:
| 5,000
|
Cousins to the cloud giants, these large rock-hurlers are more intelligent and
stealthy than portrayed in story or song.
Fog giants are huge and husky, with tree-trunk sized legs, and over-developed
arms muscled by constant throwing games and exercises. They have milk-white
skin which aids their natural ability to blend into fog (80% chance) and gives
their foes a -5 penalty to their surprise rolls when attacking in fog or mist.
Their hair is silvery white and flowing, with ample hair on the arms, legs, and
chest. They grow no facial hair whatsoever. They prefer to wear no armor,
counting on their high natural Armor Class. However, they occasionally wear leather
armor (AC -2), and at least one band wears armor made from white dragon hides
studded with silver. They love massive, ornate clubs made from bleached and
polished wood or bone. Fog giants speak their own tongue and Cloud Giant, and 30%
speak Common.
Combat: Fog giants generally hunt in groups of 2-5 males, although they sometimes join
with a cloud giant or two to form a hunting party of 3-7. They prefer to
attack from cover (fog is most preferred). After some ranged rock-hurling to scatter
their opponents, they will charge into melee with fists and swords flying.
Adult fog giants can hurl rocks up to 3-240 yards, inflicting 2-20 points of
damage to anyone struck. They also have a 45% chance of catching hurled weapons of
similar size, but cannot catch fired weapons such as arrows, bolts, and
sling-stones. In melee they generally fight with clubs and fists, though tales of
sword-armed fog giants are common.
Because of their keen hearing and highly-developed sense of smell, fog giants
are seldom surprised (+2 on surprise rolls). Access to their caves and regular
hunting camps are often protected by deadfalls of rocks or logs, which can be
released by a carefully thrown rock at the first sign of an attack against them.
Habitat/Society: Fog giants are proud of their strength and fighting skills, often playing
games when on hunting forays in an attempt to best one another. Their favorite such
game is called "copsi" and consists of the giants pairing off to toss larger
and larger boulders to their partners until one of the pairs misses its throw.
The fog giant families live in caves, canyons, or thickets, in the most
inaccessible areas of marsh, swamp, forest, or coast. The men usually hunt in groups,
ranging up to a dozen miles from their homes. The groups generally are formed
of giants of similar alignment.
By tradition, a young giant may not mate until he has obtained at least one
large ornament of silver. Usually, the young giant joins with several others in a
quest to find one (or acquire enough treasure to buy one).
Fog giants do not often mix well with other creatures or races, although they
can often be persuaded to perform services for a fee, or barter goods with
groups of similar alignment. Fog giants will happily barter goods and services for
refined silver.
Territorial disputes sometimes flare up between groups, especially in times of
bad hunting. Friendly disputes can sometimes be resolved by a game of copsi or
an arm-wrestling match. Fog giants fighting amongst themselves will generally
throw rocks and fist-fight, rather than use swords.
Fog giants are fond of all sorts of cooked meats, particularly hoofed
creatures such as horses, cows, deer, elk, and centaur. They often cook meat by
building a large fire, then impaling chunks of meat on their swords and holding them
over the open flame. Fog giants prefer fruits and sweets for dessert, and will
also down large quantities of spirits if available to them. They do not distill
their own spirits or liquors. They also sometimes smoke fresh milkweed pods in
wooden pipes, though the taste is too bitter for humans and demihumans to enjoy.
Ecology: Because of their size, fog giants consume a large quantity of food, and
require a considerable territory per hunting group to support themselves. The giants
will often place territorial markers of boulders and logs to define the
boundaries between their hunting territories. They do not look kindly on anyone who
tears down or moves these markers. Their regular pathways are hard to hide, and
are instead trapped with deadfalls of rocks and logs to discourage trespassers.