Half-giant (Dungeons & Dragons)

Half-giants are a fictional race of humanoids from the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons setting Dark Sun.

Description

Half-giants are a race of enormous demihumans who have adapted to a variety of lifestyles in the many harsh terrains of Athas. The origins of the race are unclear. While it is known that the race is spawned from the union of human and giant and the nature of that union was certainly magical, its original purpose is unknown. Left to themselves, the original half-giants have multiplied, especially near the shores of the Silt Sea.

Half-giants are a cross between giants and humans who choose new alignments every morning.^[1]

Publication history

Dragon Magazine 173 (September, 1991), by Troy Denning.

First Edition Dark Sun Rule Book (1991), by Troy Denning & Timothy B. Brown.

The Wanderer's Journal (1991), by Troy Denning & Timothy B. Brown.

The Wanderer's Chronicle (1995), by Bill Slavicsek.

The Age of Heroes (1995), by Bill Slavicsek.

Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Terrors Beyond Tyr (1995), by Jim Atkiss.

Appearance

Standing 10'-12' tall, a single half-giant weighs approximately 1,600 lbs (726 kg). It is an immensely powerful creature nearly as agile as its human forebears, though its intellect is often severely limited. Its facial features are generally human. A half-giant's thick hair is often braided, especially among the women, or kept in a single tail behind the head and down the back. Clothing varies with occupation and climate, though leggings with leather shoulder harnesses are common.

Language

Half-giants communicate through speech, and most can speak the Common tongue. They also have their own language which, to human ears, seems very slow and drawn out, and translations are riddled with redundancies and seemingly unnecessary adjectives. No matter what the tongue, the half-giant's voice is pitched very low and sometimes difficult to understand.

References