Page 23 - Volo's Guide to Monsters

R 1 MONSTER LORE

can stand up to a giant in direct confrontation. One
would make the best giant-killer, but few spellcasters
At first blush, it might seem that a potent wizard
weapons, or spellcasters can strike back at them.
800 years
Stone
from a distance where only skilled archers, heavy siege
Storm
600 years
battlefield. The giants can rain boulders onto an enemy
Cloud
400 years
giants-is one of the most fearsome opponents on the
350 years
Fire
A force allied with giants-or worse, a force made up of
250 years
Frost
How To LAY A GIANT Low
200 years
Hill
Giant Type
Life Span
elk or a bear without smashing it into pulp.
GIANT LIFE SPANS
stones, about the size of a human head, that can kill an
When they hunt by rock throwing, giants use smaller
only at shorter ranges, however, for obvious reasons.
giant gods.
raeus Stonebones is often seen as the wisest of all the
mans would find impossible. These attacks are effective
giants to be the wisest of all giant types, just as Sko-
accurately with both arms as with one, a feat most hu-
low position in the ordning, other giants consider stone
use both arms to lift and throw one. Giants throw just as
exception. Because of their long life spans, despite their
they prefer to hurl stones so large that even a giant must
noblest giants are the longest-lived. Stone giants are the
(such as dragons) or enormous targets (such as castles),
that fit in one hand. When giants fight enormous foes
lowliest giants have the shortest life spans, and the
In battle against puny creatures, giants use boulders
erally in keeping with their place in the ordning; the
injuries, as a lesson that arrogance has a price.
The life spans of the various types of giants are gen-
took on a better thrower will stumble away, nursing its
children, and many have none at all.
are small, because a couple seldom has more than a few
because the return throw will fall short, but a giant who
at the challenger. A challenger who is stronger wins,
dren grow to adulthood more slowly. Giants' families
child for longer than human mothers do, and giant chil-
then goes to where the stone landed and hurls it back
heart beats just once. Giant mothers stay with their
a stone as far as it can. The giant who was challenged
space of four heartbeats for a man, a stone giant's great
one-on-one game begins with the challenger throwing
Giants live at a slower pace than humans do. In the
can knock down the most with a single toss. A popular
targets out of snow and ice and compete to see who
mans, dragons, other monsters, or their own kind.
giants, most of which die violently in battle against hu-
knock each other down with boulders. Frost giants build
giants, involves nothing more than taking turns trying to
fire giants. It's the exception among hill giants and frost
One of the most popular contests, especially among fire
storm giants and isn't unusual among stone giants and
age is a common occurrence among cloud giants and
rocks in ways that hone their skills for hunting and war.
mans, but none are immortal. A peaceful death from old
Most of the games that giants play involve throwing
Giants are exceptionally long-lived compared to hu-
LIVING THE GIANT LIFE
more perilous for an enemy that tries to get underfoot.
dangle logs or stones from their belts to make the going
thick bark from trees and strap it around their legs and
to protect their bellies. Even savage hill giants peel
armored codpieces, and wide, heavy hide or metal belts
human-sized opponents, they don thick boots, greaves,
bodies. Thus, when they head into a fight against
that smaller foes will try to target their legs and lower
On the other side of the field, giants understand
its head and neck.
nets and cables and disabled by concentrated attacks on
it's less able to defend itself-then it can be entangled in
be tripped or pulled down-preferably onto its belly so
pole arms, ropes, and grappling hooks. If a giant can
advantageous position, or fanatical troops armed with
fast-moving cavalry that can force the giant into a dis-
archery (favoring heavy crossbows for such work),
giant, dwarves rely on prolonged, accurate, massed
have developed the most effective tactics. To defeat a
Among those with experience fighting giants, dwarves
quashes the threat.
well-placed boulder or the swing of an enormous club
the one or two spells that can be thrown at it before a
might do harm to a giant, but odds are it will survive