Fire Giant

Fire giants are tall but stocky, built like colossal dwarves. A grown male measures 18 feet in height and 12 around the chest, and weighs roughly 7,500 pounds. Their skin is coal black, their hair blazing red or bright orange, and their jutting jaws bare stained, yellowish teeth. They live as long as 350 years.

Natural AC is 5, and warriors usually add banded mail and round iron helms for AC -1. Each lugs a great sack holding 1d4+1 throwing rocks, its wealth, a tinderbox and 3d4 ordinary objects, all so grimy and battered that spotting anything valuable is hard. They speak their own language and the tongue shared by all giants.

Nonmagical fire and heat cannot hurt them, nor can red dragon breath, and magical fire deals 1 point less per die. Adults throw rocks 3 to 200 yards for 2d10 and catch similar missiles 50% of the time. Typically they fight in drilled formations, hurling stones until supplies run out or the enemy closes. They like to lurk by lava pools or hot springs and throw heated rocks that add 1d6 damage.

Warriors prefer enormous two-handed swords. Their oversized weapons deal double man-sized damage plus Strength against every foe, so a sword hits for 2d10+10.

Lairs are watched by alert sentries and sometimes trapped, favorites being deadfalls that crush for 5d6 and great crossbow engines firing one to three huge bolts of 2d8 each.

Fire giants are cruel, ruthless and militaristic, living in organized war bands inside big castles or caverns. A lair holds 1d8+12 giants, half of them young: roll 1d4 for each, with a 4 meaning a helpless infant with an ogre's hit points and 1 to 3 meaning an adolescent that loses 1, 2 or 3 (matching the roll) from its Hit Dice, damage and attack rolls.

Unusually smart leaders command bands three or four times the usual size, and one who leads 30 or more generally styles himself king. Kings always wear superior armor and wield a +1 to +3 magical weapon.

Each band has a 20% chance to include a spellcaster, 80% if a king rules it. Four times in five that caster is a shaman, a priest of 7th level or lower using normal or reversed spells of the Combat, Divination, Protection, Charm, Healing and Elemental spheres. Otherwise it is a witch doctor, a combined priest/wizard reaching 7th/3rd level, who prefers magic that detects or thwarts intruders.

Captured beasts serve as guards. A lair has a 50% chance of 1d4 hell hounds, checked once per 10 giants in large bands. Bands of 30 or more also have a 30% chance of 1d4+1 trolls, checked once per 20 giants in bigger groups. A king's band has a 20% chance of 1d2 red dragons of age category 1d4+1 besides any other guards. Prisoners are taken for ransom or slavery: a lair has a 25% chance of 1d2 captives, checked once per 10 giants in large bands.

Fire giants settle wherever it is hot, preferring volcanic country and hot springs, and often share their homes with salamanders, fire elementals and similar creatures. They eat meat and bread, hunting their own game but raiding human and demihuman lands for grain, prisoners and loot.