Who wins in this fight? 25 Kobolds or 1 Hill Giant? Assume terrain gives no advantage, Kobolds can use their slings, and the giant can attack two kobolds a turn with its great club, aka Mr. Tree Trunk.
The Kobolds win nearly every time. Handily.
Assume the giant attacks first and insta-squishes two Kobolds.
23 Kobolds (+4 to hit vs. AC 13, need to roll a 9, so approx 50% hit) so 12*4 (average of 1d4+2) = 48 damage.
In one turn, our Kobold boi's just trashed about half the giants HP with literally tiny rocks. Rinse and repeat until the Giant is no more.
To me and my theater of the mind, this is hilarious and not at all what should happen. A 20 ft. tall Hill giant should be able to body these little Kobold suckers like a NFL linebacker running roughshod over preschoolers. So, I came up with two solutions to make the big bad monsters feel like they are really big and really bad and like they could trash mobs of lesser units. Please leave me some feedback!
DT (Damage Threshold) - Below this number, any damage is ignored. At or above this number all damage is normal. In our Hill giants case lets set that DT to 5. Well now most of those little sling pellets just tickle. This number can vary, perhaps based on size or CR, whatever. I haven't exactly worked the math out.
Sweep Attacks - Why does a giant with a tree trunk sized club only hit one tiny kobold at a time? What if a big monster attacked ever monster it was facing that it could reach with a sweep style attack? Our big giant is essentially a 3x3 cube on a battle grid that has a 2 square reach. Well, if we sweep attack with a tree trunk we could hit all six squares on one side of the 3x3 cube. Perhaps to keep the numbers fair we could say this does half damage of a regular attack?
So what do you think about these two ideas? I'd appreciate any form of feedback you could give!
Sweep attack is an interesting idea, I think that could be developed into something. Damage Threshold, I'm not sure at the moment why you wouldn't just use Resistance, as an already existing mechanic. Give giants resistance to bludgeoning and you may be set. Consider--if the kobolds were throwing daggers, would it seem so absurd?
Of course, one thing to consider as well is that thinking of sling bullets as 'tiny rocks' does a slight disservice to the sling as a weapon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1oeZQH4oEc
Sweep attack is an interesting idea, I think that could be developed into something. Damage Threshold, I'm not sure at the moment why you wouldn't just use Resistance, as an already existing mechanic.
Damage threshold is an existing optional rule in the DMG, though meant to be used for large objects like buildings and structures. I think it works well in this scenario.
Sweep attack is an interesting idea, I think that could be developed into something. Damage Threshold, I'm not sure at the moment why you wouldn't just use Resistance, as an already existing mechanic.
Damage threshold is an existing optional rule in the DMG, though meant to be used for large objects like building and structures. I think it works well in this scenario.
It might work okay, I'm just admittedly not putting a ton of thought into it yet and just wondering why resistance, which monsters already can have, wouldn't work.
Thanks for the reply Neon! On your point of the game being about party combat, I agree wholeheartedly. I'm moving into the realm of bigger engagements in my game, and I want to have a solid foundation when armies butt heads.
Sweep attack is an interesting idea, I think that could be developed into something. Damage Threshold, I'm not sure at the moment why you wouldn't just use Resistance, as an already existing mechanic.
Damage threshold is an existing optional rule in the DMG, though meant to be used for large objects like building and structures. I think it works well in this scenario.
It might work okay, I'm just admittedly not putting a ton of thought into it yet and just wondering why resistance, which monsters already can have, wouldn't work.
Ah good points Brotherbock! And to start, I don't mean to besmirch the Sling. Deadly weapon against humans. But I bet its kind of crap versus an elephant I imagine. But lets say we do give our friendly Hill Giant Resistance to Bludgeoning. Or any form of Melee damage.
Kobolds do approx 24 damage on the first turn. then 20 then 16 then 12 then 8 then 4. And now all our Kobolds are dead and our Hill Giant wins with ... 19 HP remaining. That's still not very impressive all things considered. If the Kobolds go first that Giant is toast (28 on down)! Add in a few more kobolds and we are back to where we started. And that's the problem I'm trying to solve! So while resistance does help, it can't out do sheer power in numbers. I can always have more Kobolds.
Of course, there is also no reason a large force of kobolds couldn't capture or kill a hill giant. Though they are unlikely to want to try in my opinion.
Consider using the optional rules for Fear and Horror, as well as Morale. How would it look to an attacker, if two of it‘s comrades are squashed at once standing beside him? Will he stand brave and fight? Why? Will they hide? Will the Hill Giant take cover? Will he outrun them? Call for help? Hurl boulders, which would squash 10 at once rolling over them? Will all two dozen kobolds have free line of sight? Will they fumble using a 1 on d20, hitting those in the way? Have you heard of ‚mooks’ ? In 13th Age exceeding damage on one killed mook, will be spread to the next one in the same fashion (killing 4 kobolds at once),... Be creative...
I would roll morale (WIS DC 10) for those kobold standing next beside a comrade dying with a single hit. Say 4 kobolds die round 1, 12 kobolds will roll morale and if fail (60% chance for each of them) flee or surrender. If the kobold party will be then less than half, the remaining kobolds will roll morale in the same round, or if just a handful remains they are not dumb knowing they will be dead next round as well and flee. Short battle...
In the DMG, you can find as well ‚Mob handling‘ rules.
I think the issue here is you are underestimating Kobolds, possibly the greatest humanoid race ever. Of course, en masse, they will beat the Hill Giant. They will endeavour to attack with surprise or whilst the giant is restrained due to a trap. The giant will be, quite literally, overwhelmed.
This has parallels in nature too - think of army ants or piranha.
Also, bear in mind
Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures with more hit points are more difficult to kill. Those with fewer hit points are more fragile.
When attacked by so many missiles, the giant will inevitably run out of luck and get hit in a vulnerable spot.
Consider using the optional rules for Fear and Horror, as well as Morale. How would it look to an attacker, if two of it‘s comrades are squashed at once standing beside him? Will he stand brave and fight? Why? Will they hide? Will the Hill Giant take cover? Will he outrun them? Call for help? Hurl boulders, which would squash 10 at once rolling over them? Will all two dozen kobolds have free line of sight? Will they fumble using a 1 on d20, hitting those in the way? Have you heard of ‚mooks’ ? In 13th Age exceeding damage on one killed mook, will be spread to the next one in the same fashion (killing 4 kobolds at once),... Be creative...
I would roll morale (WIS DC 10) for those kobold standing next beside a comrade dying with a single hit. Say 4 kobolds die round 1, 12 kobolds will roll morale and if fail (60% chance for each of them) flee or surrender. If the kobold party will be then less than half, the remaining kobolds will roll morale in the same round, or if just a handful remains they are not dumb knowing they will be dead next round as well and flee. Short battle...
In the DMG, you can find as well ‚Mob handling‘ rules.
Hey Targasm! That's a great idea in the long run! Especially the "mook" idea. Part of the reason the giant does so poorly is overkill, wasted damage. That's basically the Sweep Attack Idea in a slightly different form. I'm curious as to what you think about the DT idea?
I think the issue here is you are underestimating Kobolds, possibly the greatest humanoid race ever. Of course, en masse, they will beat the Hill Giant. They will endeavour to attack with surprise or whilst the giant is restrained due to a trap. The giant will be, quite literally, overwhelmed.
This has parallels in nature too - think of army ants or piranha.
Also, bear in mind
Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures with more hit points are more difficult to kill. Those with fewer hit points are more fragile.
When attacked by so many missiles, the giant will inevitably run out of luck and get hit in a vulnerable spot.
Hey Buxton! Kobolds are pretty dope in their own right and I agree that they would engineer a fight to their advantage against a Giant! But they don't need to! The giant stands no chance in a straight up fair fight anyway! That's the problem I want to solve. I want to be able to underestimate Kobolds! Nasty buggers and their slings.... Another way to think of it is that if we assume CR means anything (which is debatable), how does 40 Kobolds (1/8 CR) match up to 1 CR 5 Hill Giant? Its so lopsided in our scaly boi's favor!
25 kobolds, with slings, against a hill giant? You just handed the game to the kobolds. All the kobolds have to do is spread out and pepper the giant with sling stones. Properly dispersed the giant should only be able to get one, maybe two kobolds a turn, less if the kobolds are smart about positioning.
The image you should have is kobolds dispersed all over the field and the poor giant running around trying to get close enough to even one of them to swat it with his club. The kobolds are not trying to get up close and personal, they are doing everything they can to avoid that.
25 kobolds, with slings, against a hill giant? You just handed the game to the kobolds. All the kobolds have to do is spread out and pepper the giant with sling stones. Properly dispersed the giant should only be able to get one, maybe two kobolds a turn, less if the kobolds are smart about positioning.
The image you should have is kobolds dispersed all over the field and the poor giant running around trying to get close enough to even one of them to swat it with his club. The kobolds are not trying to get up close and personal, they are doing everything they can to avoid that.
Hey Dave! Oh yeah I agree the Kobolds wouldn't want a fair fight. But the problem is they don't need to fight dirty, the giant stands no chance either way. What I'm trying to do is make it so the Kobolds barely stand any chance against the Giant. This is just my personal theater of imagination. If Kobolds are giant slayers in yours then fair play to ya!
Ah good points Brotherbock! And to start, I don't mean to besmirch the Sling. Deadly weapon against humans. But I bet its kind of crap versus an elephant I imagine. But lets say we do give our friendly Hill Giant Resistance to Bludgeoning. Or any form of Melee damage.
Kobolds do approx 24 damage on the first turn. then 20 then 16 then 12 then 8 then 4. And now all our Kobolds are dead and our Hill Giant wins with ... 19 HP remaining. That's still not very impressive all things considered. If the Kobolds go first that Giant is toast (28 on down)! Add in a few more kobolds and we are back to where we started. And that's the problem I'm trying to solve! So while resistance does help, it can't out do sheer power in numbers. I can always have more Kobolds.
I think it might come down to how we're envisioning giants. They're big, but they're still made of meat :) If you could break the skin and do significant internal organ damage to me with a sling bullet, why couldn't you at least break the skin on a giant? It's bigger, there's more meat between the skin and its internal organs. But the skin is still there, it's still skin, there's still blood underneath. That difference is initial represented in HPs. The giant would have more than me (me the guy typing this :) You could break the skin of an elephant with a sling bullet too. Do that enough, and the elephant might die. It'll just take longer than me. (Was going to put in a smiley, but now I'm thinking about dying elephants :(
Now my level 20 fighter isn't any bigger than me, not as big as the giant, but has more HP. That's because HP aren't just a measure of how much meat is in your body. My lvl 20 fighter can outlast and dodge and roll with being attacked by sling bullets. Every time he loses HP, it's not like he's actually 'been hit'. He just wears down a bit. And he can do this longer than the giant can.
HP are nebulous. They represent being hit, but also 'barely dodging' that took something out of you, right? So fighting those kobolds, either dodging or being bloodied by the sling bullets, will take a lot out of a giant. If my fighter rolls up after the kobolds are dead to finish the job, the giant won't be fresh, and won't last as long. That makes sense to me.
But maybe you're envisioning giants differently, which is fine and maybe even common. You're thinking of them as having super tough skin. So you can make them even more resistant to damage. And to be clear, Thresholds are perfectly great for RPG combat. The old D6 RPG had damage thresholds, lots of other games have them. So I'm not saying you'd go wrong by adding it to the game for big monsters. I don't mean to be squashing your idea :) I was just wondering why not go with resistance instead, simply given that resistance is already in the game as a thing monsters can have. It's just similar enough to a threshold already that I'd want a good reason to add it to the game, just for bookkeeping purposes.
I'm all about houseruling--if you want a threshold, go for it, and it'll probably work well. You'll just want to be careful about setting the number. Can a dagger get through a giant's skin? If so, then either a sling bullet can too (1d4), or it's a threshold for specific damage types. Which could also work. Monsters could have type-specific Resistance and/or type-specific Thresholds.
I second the idea from Brotherbock using resistance, instead of Damage Cap. It is indeed similar and already present. However you‘d easily create a new homebrew variant of a hill giant, if you do so. As said above the kobolds are more clever statswise. That doesn‘t prevent a hill giant to throw himself wrestling style on top of the kobolds (squash em‘ those little pesks). He‘s bigger and meaner. If the kobolds lay an ambush from different heights and sides, of course this wouldn‘t work. It all depends on the situation. A roaring hill giant might intimidate the kobolds as well. And why not having a specialized hill giant, who gained some levels as a barbarian chieftain? With thoses class feats, it might become more devastating. The 13th Age rulesystem is ranking monsters of the same type in different variants, like specialized archers, heroes, whatever. Think about it..
Hmm, Hill giant has AC13, 105hp. Kobold is AC12, 5hp.
Hill Giant has +8 to hit for 18 damage. That's assuming melee - though note 10' reach. If at range, his 60/240 range easily outclasses Kobolds' slings (for 1 round).
Kobold has +4 to hit (+2 if there are friends in melee which we are assuming but in this case has advantage), and does 4 damage.
The giant can only hit 2 targets per round and its damage is overkill, whereas roughly half the Kobolds will hit. 25 Kobolds will do ~50 DPR. The next round there'll be 23 Kobolds doing ~46DPR. Round 3 will kill the giant.
This doesn't seem unreasonable for a single creature in a guerrilla fight against overwhelming numbers. What can change the odds? Well, not being in the open, for starters.
How about the giant has a cave. It's only big enough for 2 Kobolds wide, or 4 at an absolute push. Maybe it has a bend so you can't get unlimited ranged attacks. Now who do you put your money on?
I don't really like the idea of tiny, weak, little kobolds being able to inflict much damage on a big, strong, tough giant. Just not my image of how things should go. A 20th level fighter? Absolutely. That is a Big Damn Hero! They should be giant slayers. But game mechanics wise, yeah those kobolds are going to take down the giant.
Give the giant a sack of even baseball sized rocks so he can attack back at range too... Or give him some cover so the kobolds can't get around him and Fuzzy Wuzzy him to death.
A thing to consider about missile fire is whether or not the kobold ranged weapons are even capable of damaging a giant at all.
At some point the draw of a bow must matter. And I'm not sure a sling will be a better alternative in this case, though a sling is a stronger missile than any bow.
In ancient walls they find sling bullets embedded in stone all the time. Ancient Greeks used to write taunts on them like "this one's for you."
Kobolds with slings might find it difficult though to get enough force from a shorter sling which is necessary to be swung around by a more diminutive creature.
Probably would say a kobold could do -1 damage with a sling. And NO damage with any bow.
Only a crossbow.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Read the first chapters. Feel free to critique. Will link the next chapters at the end of the first. Two stories running so far.
Who wins in this fight? 25 Kobolds or 1 Hill Giant? Assume terrain gives no advantage, Kobolds can use their slings, and the giant can attack two kobolds a turn with its great club, aka Mr. Tree Trunk.
The Kobolds win nearly every time. Handily.
Assume the giant attacks first and insta-squishes two Kobolds.
23 Kobolds (+4 to hit vs. AC 13, need to roll a 9, so approx 50% hit) so 12*4 (average of 1d4+2) = 48 damage.
In one turn, our Kobold boi's just trashed about half the giants HP with literally tiny rocks. Rinse and repeat until the Giant is no more.
To me and my theater of the mind, this is hilarious and not at all what should happen. A 20 ft. tall Hill giant should be able to body these little Kobold suckers like a NFL linebacker running roughshod over preschoolers. So, I came up with two solutions to make the big bad monsters feel like they are really big and really bad and like they could trash mobs of lesser units. Please leave me some feedback!
DT (Damage Threshold) - Below this number, any damage is ignored. At or above this number all damage is normal. In our Hill giants case lets set that DT to 5. Well now most of those little sling pellets just tickle. This number can vary, perhaps based on size or CR, whatever. I haven't exactly worked the math out.
Sweep Attacks - Why does a giant with a tree trunk sized club only hit one tiny kobold at a time? What if a big monster attacked ever monster it was facing that it could reach with a sweep style attack? Our big giant is essentially a 3x3 cube on a battle grid that has a 2 square reach. Well, if we sweep attack with a tree trunk we could hit all six squares on one side of the 3x3 cube. Perhaps to keep the numbers fair we could say this does half damage of a regular attack?
So what do you think about these two ideas? I'd appreciate any form of feedback you could give!
Game is built against a party of players. Not really built to balance combat between swarms of kobolds and a giant.
Though I like your theorycrafting
Read the first chapters. Feel free to critique. Will link the next chapters at the end of the first. Two stories running so far.
Simeon Tor:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/34598-simeon-tor-chapter-1-the-heat-of-battle
The Heart of the Drow:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/36014-heart-of-the-drow-chapter-1
Sweep attack is an interesting idea, I think that could be developed into something. Damage Threshold, I'm not sure at the moment why you wouldn't just use Resistance, as an already existing mechanic. Give giants resistance to bludgeoning and you may be set. Consider--if the kobolds were throwing daggers, would it seem so absurd?
Of course, one thing to consider as well is that thinking of sling bullets as 'tiny rocks' does a slight disservice to the sling as a weapon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1oeZQH4oEc
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
Damage threshold is an existing optional rule in the DMG, though meant to be used for large objects like buildings and structures. I think it works well in this scenario.
It might work okay, I'm just admittedly not putting a ton of thought into it yet and just wondering why resistance, which monsters already can have, wouldn't work.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
Thanks for the reply Neon! On your point of the game being about party combat, I agree wholeheartedly. I'm moving into the realm of bigger engagements in my game, and I want to have a solid foundation when armies butt heads.
Ah good points Brotherbock! And to start, I don't mean to besmirch the Sling. Deadly weapon against humans. But I bet its kind of crap versus an elephant I imagine. But lets say we do give our friendly Hill Giant Resistance to Bludgeoning. Or any form of Melee damage.
Kobolds do approx 24 damage on the first turn. then 20 then 16 then 12 then 8 then 4. And now all our Kobolds are dead and our Hill Giant wins with ... 19 HP remaining. That's still not very impressive all things considered. If the Kobolds go first that Giant is toast (28 on down)! Add in a few more kobolds and we are back to where we started. And that's the problem I'm trying to solve! So while resistance does help, it can't out do sheer power in numbers. I can always have more Kobolds.
Of course, there is also no reason a large force of kobolds couldn't capture or kill a hill giant. Though they are unlikely to want to try in my opinion.
Consider using the optional rules for Fear and Horror, as well as Morale. How would it look to an attacker, if two of it‘s comrades are squashed at once standing beside him? Will he stand brave and fight? Why? Will they hide? Will the Hill Giant take cover? Will he outrun them? Call for help? Hurl boulders, which would squash 10 at once rolling over them? Will all two dozen kobolds have free line of sight? Will they fumble using a 1 on d20, hitting those in the way? Have you heard of ‚mooks’ ? In 13th Age exceeding damage on one killed mook, will be spread to the next one in the same fashion (killing 4 kobolds at once),... Be creative...
I would roll morale (WIS DC 10) for those kobold standing next beside a comrade dying with a single hit. Say 4 kobolds die round 1, 12 kobolds will roll morale and if fail (60% chance for each of them) flee or surrender. If the kobold party will be then less than half, the remaining kobolds will roll morale in the same round, or if just a handful remains they are not dumb knowing they will be dead next round as well and flee. Short battle...
In the DMG, you can find as well ‚Mob handling‘ rules.
I think the issue here is you are underestimating Kobolds, possibly the greatest humanoid race ever. Of course, en masse, they will beat the Hill Giant. They will endeavour to attack with surprise or whilst the giant is restrained due to a trap. The giant will be, quite literally, overwhelmed.
This has parallels in nature too - think of army ants or piranha.
Also, bear in mind
When attacked by so many missiles, the giant will inevitably run out of luck and get hit in a vulnerable spot.
Hey Targasm! That's a great idea in the long run! Especially the "mook" idea. Part of the reason the giant does so poorly is overkill, wasted damage. That's basically the Sweep Attack Idea in a slightly different form. I'm curious as to what you think about the DT idea?
Hey Buxton! Kobolds are pretty dope in their own right and I agree that they would engineer a fight to their advantage against a Giant! But they don't need to! The giant stands no chance in a straight up fair fight anyway! That's the problem I want to solve. I want to be able to underestimate Kobolds! Nasty buggers and their slings.... Another way to think of it is that if we assume CR means anything (which is debatable), how does 40 Kobolds (1/8 CR) match up to 1 CR 5 Hill Giant? Its so lopsided in our scaly boi's favor!
25 kobolds, with slings, against a hill giant? You just handed the game to the kobolds. All the kobolds have to do is spread out and pepper the giant with sling stones. Properly dispersed the giant should only be able to get one, maybe two kobolds a turn, less if the kobolds are smart about positioning.
The image you should have is kobolds dispersed all over the field and the poor giant running around trying to get close enough to even one of them to swat it with his club. The kobolds are not trying to get up close and personal, they are doing everything they can to avoid that.
Hey Dave! Oh yeah I agree the Kobolds wouldn't want a fair fight. But the problem is they don't need to fight dirty, the giant stands no chance either way. What I'm trying to do is make it so the Kobolds barely stand any chance against the Giant. This is just my personal theater of imagination. If Kobolds are giant slayers in yours then fair play to ya!
I think it might come down to how we're envisioning giants. They're big, but they're still made of meat :) If you could break the skin and do significant internal organ damage to me with a sling bullet, why couldn't you at least break the skin on a giant? It's bigger, there's more meat between the skin and its internal organs. But the skin is still there, it's still skin, there's still blood underneath. That difference is initial represented in HPs. The giant would have more than me (me the guy typing this :) You could break the skin of an elephant with a sling bullet too. Do that enough, and the elephant might die. It'll just take longer than me. (Was going to put in a smiley, but now I'm thinking about dying elephants :(
Now my level 20 fighter isn't any bigger than me, not as big as the giant, but has more HP. That's because HP aren't just a measure of how much meat is in your body. My lvl 20 fighter can outlast and dodge and roll with being attacked by sling bullets. Every time he loses HP, it's not like he's actually 'been hit'. He just wears down a bit. And he can do this longer than the giant can.
HP are nebulous. They represent being hit, but also 'barely dodging' that took something out of you, right? So fighting those kobolds, either dodging or being bloodied by the sling bullets, will take a lot out of a giant. If my fighter rolls up after the kobolds are dead to finish the job, the giant won't be fresh, and won't last as long. That makes sense to me.
But maybe you're envisioning giants differently, which is fine and maybe even common. You're thinking of them as having super tough skin. So you can make them even more resistant to damage. And to be clear, Thresholds are perfectly great for RPG combat. The old D6 RPG had damage thresholds, lots of other games have them. So I'm not saying you'd go wrong by adding it to the game for big monsters. I don't mean to be squashing your idea :) I was just wondering why not go with resistance instead, simply given that resistance is already in the game as a thing monsters can have. It's just similar enough to a threshold already that I'd want a good reason to add it to the game, just for bookkeeping purposes.
I'm all about houseruling--if you want a threshold, go for it, and it'll probably work well. You'll just want to be careful about setting the number. Can a dagger get through a giant's skin? If so, then either a sling bullet can too (1d4), or it's a threshold for specific damage types. Which could also work. Monsters could have type-specific Resistance and/or type-specific Thresholds.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I second the idea from Brotherbock using resistance, instead of Damage Cap. It is indeed similar and already present. However you‘d easily create a new homebrew variant of a hill giant, if you do so. As said above the kobolds are more clever statswise. That doesn‘t prevent a hill giant to throw himself wrestling style on top of the kobolds (squash em‘ those little pesks). He‘s bigger and meaner. If the kobolds lay an ambush from different heights and sides, of course this wouldn‘t work. It all depends on the situation. A roaring hill giant might intimidate the kobolds as well. And why not having a specialized hill giant, who gained some levels as a barbarian chieftain? With thoses class feats, it might become more devastating. The 13th Age rulesystem is ranking monsters of the same type in different variants, like specialized archers, heroes, whatever. Think about it..
Hmm, Hill giant has AC13, 105hp. Kobold is AC12, 5hp.
Hill Giant has +8 to hit for 18 damage. That's assuming melee - though note 10' reach. If at range, his 60/240 range easily outclasses Kobolds' slings (for 1 round).
Kobold has +4 to hit (+2 if there are friends in melee which we are assuming but in this case has advantage), and does 4 damage.
The giant can only hit 2 targets per round and its damage is overkill, whereas roughly half the Kobolds will hit. 25 Kobolds will do ~50 DPR. The next round there'll be 23 Kobolds doing ~46DPR. Round 3 will kill the giant.
This doesn't seem unreasonable for a single creature in a guerrilla fight against overwhelming numbers. What can change the odds? Well, not being in the open, for starters.
How about the giant has a cave. It's only big enough for 2 Kobolds wide, or 4 at an absolute push. Maybe it has a bend so you can't get unlimited ranged attacks. Now who do you put your money on?
DPR is slightly wrong for the kobolds. By that amount you should use the mob handling option from the DMG I mentioned earlier, anyway: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/running-the-game#HandlingMobs
I don't really like the idea of tiny, weak, little kobolds being able to inflict much damage on a big, strong, tough giant. Just not my image of how things should go. A 20th level fighter? Absolutely. That is a Big Damn Hero! They should be giant slayers. But game mechanics wise, yeah those kobolds are going to take down the giant.
Give the giant a sack of even baseball sized rocks so he can attack back at range too... Or give him some cover so the kobolds can't get around him and Fuzzy Wuzzy him to death.
A thing to consider about missile fire is whether or not the kobold ranged weapons are even capable of damaging a giant at all.
At some point the draw of a bow must matter. And I'm not sure a sling will be a better alternative in this case, though a sling is a stronger missile than any bow.
In ancient walls they find sling bullets embedded in stone all the time. Ancient Greeks used to write taunts on them like "this one's for you."
Kobolds with slings might find it difficult though to get enough force from a shorter sling which is necessary to be swung around by a more diminutive creature.
Probably would say a kobold could do -1 damage with a sling. And NO damage with any bow.
Only a crossbow.
Read the first chapters. Feel free to critique. Will link the next chapters at the end of the first. Two stories running so far.
Simeon Tor:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/34598-simeon-tor-chapter-1-the-heat-of-battle
The Heart of the Drow:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/36014-heart-of-the-drow-chapter-1