Homebrew Athasian Half-Giant Species Details

Mind of a child, strength of three grown men. I’ve seen a half-giant tear the walls out of a building because he wanted a better look at the tattoos on a mul inside.

-- Daro, human trader

 

Half-giants are a relatively new addition to the races of Athas.  The union was originally the result of magical experiments conducted by the sorcerer-kings.  When the sorcerer-kings first
took control of the cities of the Tyr Region, they used their arcane powers to cross humans with giants, striving to create warriors and laborers of gigantic proportions.  Because of this turbulent beginning, the half-giants of today’s Athas have no culture of their own to draw upon, no ancient traditions to turn to for inspiration.

Physical:

From giants, this race inherited tremendous size and strength, as well as low intelligence. (Half-giants average 10 to 12 feet high and weigh upwards of 1,600 pounds.) From humans,
they received curiosity, an interest in cooperation and communication, and a general tendency toward kindness.  Although half-giants have human features, these tend to be exaggerated in some way. 

Half-giants often have trouble with things that other characters take for granted, such as doors, chairs, and even buildings.

Relations: 

All existing half-giants are the descendants of the original magically created half-giants. They can only produce offspring by mating with other half-giants; they cannot reproduce with either giants or humans.  Likewise, there’s no natural way for giants and humans to mate and produce children in today’s Athas. 

Like half-elves, half-giants don’t gather in communities of their own.  Instead they live in the human cities or in the wilderness tribes, absorbing the culture of those around them.  They are friendly and eager to please whoever they meet.  If they are accepted in turn, the half-giants quickly adopt the lifestyles, skills, and values of those they’ve come in contact with.  A half-giant character presented with a new situation should examine the roles of the people there, determine how he best fits in, and then start performing tasks accordingly.  For example, a half-giant who happens upon a dwarf quarry might watch for a time, then start quarrying stone.  He won’t necessarily work with the dwarves, but he’ll continue to perform like his neighbors for as long as he can make a decent living.  If a situation isn’t beneficial, or if a half-giant can’t perform well in a given environment, he won’t imitate the nearby culture.

On Belonging

In all cases, half-giants simply aren’t as emotionally attached to objects or work as are other races.  If a free half-giant sees a better opportunity come their way, they will likely take it, leaving behind any possessions they can not carry with them. 

Alignment

Half-giants switch attitudes very quickly, taking on new values to fit new situations. This malleable attitude is handled by a changing alignment. A half-giant character selects one aspect of his alignment to remain fixed at the time the character is created (either the “lawful/neutral/chaotic” side, or the “good/neutral/evil” side). The other aspect is determined at the
start of each day of game time.  For example, if a half-giant has a fixed “good” side, then each morning he chooses to be either lawful good, neutral good, or chaotic good. 

Names

Enslaved half-giants often have human names, and because of this they vary greatly.  Free half-giants are likely to borrow the naming conventions of the race or people they are imitating
at the time their child is born.

Athasian Half-Giant Traits

The following traits are shared by player characters who are half-giants.

Ability Score Adjustments

Your Strength score increases by 4 (and your maximum by 2, to a total of 22), your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma are all reduced by 2.

Alignment

Half-giants can switch attitudes very quickly, taking on new values to fit new situations. A half-giant whose peaceful farming life is disrupted by marauders may soon adopt the morals of the renegades who sacked his village. A half-giant’s nature is to switch his alignment aspect to imitate or otherwise react to a significant change around him.

Size

Half-giants are enormous, averaging over 11 feet in height, and weighing around 1,200 pounds.  Your size is Large.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Size Penalty

Half-giants find using implements made for regular folk unwieldy.  A half-giant trying to use a tool or weapon made for a medium size creature rolls the appropriate ability check or attack at disadvantage.  Similarly, a half-giant can not wear armor or clothing made for medium sized creatures at all.

Armor, clothing and weapons can be crafted to fit half-giants, the cost is four times the equivalent made for medium sized creatures, and it weighs twice as much.

 

Meaty

A half-giant character gains 5 bonus hit points per level, no matter what his character class is.  

Hybrid Nature

You have two creature types: humanoid and giant. You can be affected by a game effect if it works on either of your creature types.

Languages

You can speak Common.