Hill Giant errata from the sage....

[Gromm]

It's actually in the DMG, not the PHB. On page 23.

I've always hated that table. It basically says "stupid races can't ever be smart."
Say your race has an avg Int of 9. Not too bad. Same as a half orc right? Nope sorry according to the table if you put an 18 in Int then you have a 14. If you put in a 16 you have a 12. Somehow you've got -4 now.
It only gets worse, with Int 6-7 (technically a -4), if you put in an 18 you get a 10. Put in a 16 an 8 (both a -8). How about 15 or 14 also an 8 (you figure it out).

It seems to usually double the penalty, but theres no real reason behind it as far as I can tell (other than to say All Trolls are Stupid, no really ALL of Them).

 

[Darkness]

I've always hated that table. ...

It seems to usually double the penalty, but theres no real reason behind it as far as I can tell (other than to say All Trolls are Stupid, no really ALL of Them).

It's all about the bell curve, I guess.

 

[CRGreathouse]

It's all about the bell curve, I guess.

Not that we really understand people to get such a concept.

Personally, though, I don't like the table - it makes it easy to hide a penalty (you can increase you stat when you dump it) and hard to be original (see the half-dozen examples above).

 

[hong]

(other than to say All Trolls are Stupid, no really ALL of Them).

Indeed, that's just a pack of nonsense.


Hong "I speak from experience" Ooi

 

[James McMurray]

I never even noticed that table, but yeah, its definitely silly.

Doktorstik: Why couldn't a party beat that thing? It takes an action to use True Strike, meaning that it won't be able to attack that round. Also, it probably won't have that good of a Concentration score, at least not compared to the amount of damage a 5th level party can deal out. One Fireball readied for when it casts a spell will counter True Strike tactics (or even other 5d6 damage spells if you don't want to hit your friends).

Finally, shield is nice, but it is easy to get around once you know its there.

I think a 5th level party would be able to take it out, with some heavy casualties. That's how a CR+3 encounter should be.