Fee Fie Fo- you get the idea

My group is getting ready for a run through of G1: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. It's been over 20 years since I played any part of the module, so it should be a fun time. (We're using LL+AEC if you're interested.)

Anyhow, this got me thinking about GIANTS. Even in BX, you've got the six varieties, in escalating size and power: Hill, Stone, Frost, Fire. Cloud, and Storm. I've often wondered why so many? It's kind of like dragons, I suppose, where the authors wanted to include lots of good bits from mythology and folklore, but not lump them all together in one monster.

One thing that strikes me about all the giants is the treasure. They all have the same type ("E") plus 5000gp. (The ogre –aka "Giant Lite"– is similar with Type C + 1000gp). Where does this come from? Jack & the Beanstalk? Mythology? Probably a combination. Regardless, giants are a pretty lucrative monster to fight.

Hill Giants seem to be basically bigger, tougher ogres. Primitive brutes who eat just about anything.

Stone Giants are fun with their bouder flinging skills and pet bears. A pair of 9HD giants + up to four cave bears is a scary place!

Frost Giants are the first "supernatural" giants, obviously borrowing a little from the Norse myths with their cold immunity. They like to keep polar bears and wolves about. Even just one of these blue meanies is a truly challenging encounter.

Fire Giants –based (I think) on Surtr from the Norse as well– are also magical, with fire immunity. They also keep nasty pets (hell hounds and hydras).

Cloud Giants have got that castle in the sky/beanstalk thing going on. Giant Hawks hang out with them if their lair is airborne.

Storm Giants are frankly weird. Maybe they're in the sky, or MAYBE they're on a mountain, or MAYBE they're underwater! Who knows?? They are the biggest and toughest of the bunch, but like (gold) dragons, the toughest is also the most likely to be the nicest with their Lawful alignment. Their storm powers are impressive as well.

I'm not sure I have a point to all this other than reflecting on these iconic creatures and seeing all the interesting little rules that were included with them.

...Also to mention that a Girdle of Storm Giant Strength is a potential campaign wrecker!

RMA: Chimera

Challenge accepted!

Okay, it wasn't really a challenge per se. Today's entry over at Lawful Indifferent did have a line that gave me pause, though.

"...[Chimeras are] one of the coolest mythological creatures that doesn't get any love. Sure, people f*king love elves and dragons and stuff, or even goblins or orcs, but never chimeras."

Well now, that sounds like RMA material to me!

At first I didn't agree about them not getting enough love. I had just used one in my now-complete Night's Dark Terror game, so they felt well-represented. Truth be told though, it had been a long time since one had shown up in my games before that. So maybe Mr. Wright is on to something.

Let's take a look at the stats, shall we?

Chimera (from Cook)


AC: 4
HD: 9
AL: C
No. App: 1-2 (1-4)
Move: 120' (40')/180' (60') Fly
Att: 5* (2 claws/3 heads)
Dmg: 1d3/1d3/2d4/2d4/3d4
Save: F9
Morale: 9


*Breath Weapon: Fire (cone, 50'L, 10'W). 3d6, 3 times/day.

I typically play chimeras as vicious predators, but not particularly intelligent. Their mediocre morale would seem to indicate a more animal-like mentality. I find the Chaotic alignment amusing given that there are three heads to compete with each other in any decision making.

Like other mythological beasties, chimeras seem to be in most versions of the game and yet fairly  infrequent encounters. Looking at the random encounter charts, as a dragon subtype they are at least possible as wandering monsters in every terrain type (except cities), and they appear on the dungeon level 8+ wandering monster chart. So why are they held back?

Well, one possibility is that they are a relatively complicated monster to run. They fly and they get a crazy number of attacks per round (five!) plus a breath weapon!

Of course, all this should lead any GM worth his screen to now be saying, "Hmm!"

The amount of damage for the claws and heads aren't huge (d3s and d4s), but one good round can nickel and dime even a mid-to-high level PC into the Land of Hurt. Add in a blast of fire for good measure and you could see even a 9th level fighter type with typical hit points CON bonuses go down in a round or two! NB: The dragon head bites or breathes flame, not both in one round.

While it's not in the write-up, like raptors, I can easily imagine a chimera picking up a PC into the sky and dropping him. Maybe not a fighter in plate mail, but certainly a small or unarmored person.

Nine hit dice means it's hitting often and can take some punishment before going down (or fleeing), and AC 4 is respectable enough. What I find terrifying is the idea that you can run up against TWO of them in a random encounter! Never mind in the lair.

Speaking of lairs, the typical haul for a chimera's loot is ≈5K, so that should get the PCs attention.

RMA (Random Monster Assessment): Hawk, Giant (by land or sea)

Today's installment is "Hawk, Giant." The Roc and the Giant Eagle get a lot more play in folklore, fiction, and gaming; but the giant hawk is an interesting critter. In Labyrinth Lord, the only places you'll encounter one of these guys randomly are the desert or the sea (they are slightly more common in B/X). While these things sound contradictory, consider that both terrain types share a couple similarities.

1) They give a flyer lots of room to maneuver.
2) Likewise, there aren't a lot of places for prey to hide.

Personally, I find the idea of giant hawks dive bombing some merchant ship or fishing vessel that strays too close to a seaside eyrie fraught with potential. Let's look at the stat block, shall we? (LL81)

Hawk, Giant

No. Enc.: 0 (1d3)

Alignment: Neutral

Movement, flying: 450' (150') 

Armor Class: 6

Hit Dice: 3+3

Attacks: 1

Damage: 1d6

Save: F2

Morale: 8

Well, right off the bat, did you SEE that movement rate?? One hundred fifty feet per round! And you thought centaurs were fast! Basically, a character is going to get one shot at these suckers before the range penalties kick in (if the birds aren't out of missile or spell range entirely). 

A normal encounter is 1d3 giant hawks together. Probably all riding the same thermals. They might not work together, but birds are greedy, and if one goes after a potential meal, the others will try for it too (or try to take it away from the first bird). Their morale is low enough that they might get scared away, but they might carry something (or someone) off with them. While they cannot carry off a full-sized man, gnomes and hobbits should beware. 

The birds' HD and AC aren't superb, and neither are their attacks/damage, but in the aforementioned sea encounter, their mobility is that much more useful when characters are confined to a ship. If a character is struck by one of these raptors as it dives, and he is up in the rigging or near the side of the ship when it hits, any GM worth his d12 should force a saving throw or ability check to avoid being knocked off. (Sure hope he wasn't wearing plate when he fell in!) If the character is hobbit or gnome sized, a hit should allow for the bird to fly off with him. Personally, if the bird still had movement left that round I'd let him get airborne with his prize (but I'm kind of an SOB). The victim, if still alive, can certainly try to fight the bird off while in its clutches, and the hawk might make a morale check or saving throw to hold onto something that's really hurting it. However, consider that if the hawk has more than a round to get altitude, do you want it to drop you?

I mentioned being stuck on the boat while this is happening. Wizards should note that flinging area of effect spells like Fireball at these creature might cause some nasty collateral damage. (Burning pitch-soaked timbers, anyone?) A circumstantial cover bonus to the flyers is also probably in order for any masts, sails, and rigging between them and any archers on deck.

For the desert encounter, look to your camels. Even if the hawk can't carry it off, most raptors would be fine with killing the beast  and then tearing off a hunk of meat to take with. If a pack animal is laden with provisions, a saving throw might be in order to see if those nasty talons have torn up your waterskins. (see "SOB", above) 

Lastly, I should mention that these are not supernatural creatures, but big animals. They don't attack out of malice, but hunger or self-preservation. Conversely, a mage with Charm Monster or a druid with Animal Companion/Friendship could play merry hob with a few of these following his orders.