Cleon
Legend
Giant, Desert
Large Giant (Earth)
Hit Dice: 13d8+52 (110 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 19 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+20
Attack: Lance* +15 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15 melee (2d6+7/×3); or slam +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3)
Full Attack: Lance* +15/+10 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15/+10 melee (2d6+7/×3); or 2 slams +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3)
*This desert giant has the same attack and damage values when it melees or throws a normal spear instead of a hurling spear and melees with a longspear instead of a lance.
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with lance or longspear)
Special Attacks: Spear throwing
Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +6
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10 [15 if sand-shifter]
Skills: Hide +2* (+6 in desert, +16 with camouflage), Handle Animal +3 [+5 if sand-shifter], Listen +3, Ride +9, Spot +10, Survival +3
Feats: Iron Will, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack
Environment: Any deserts
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5 plus 50% have 1 sand-shifter [25% chance immature]), band (6-9 plus 35% noncombatants plus 1 leader of 2nd or 3rd level and 1 sand-shifter [25% chance immature] plus 50% have 1-4 desert elephants or giant camels*), hunting/raiding/trading party (6-9 plus 1 leader of 2rd-5th level and 1 sand-shifter [10% immature] plus 1-4 desert elephants or giant camels*), or tribe (21-30 plus 35% noncombatants plus 1-3 leaders of 2rd-5th level, 1 chieftain of 6th or 7th level and 1-3 sand-shifters [25% are immature] plus 3-6 desert elephants or giant camels*)
*These mounts have the same stats as an Indian elephant.
Challenge Rating: 7 (sand-shifter 10, immature sand-shifter 9)
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +4 (sand-shifter —)
A giant figure swathed in lightweight clothing the color of sand and rock, they could be human if it were not for the size, for they are twice the height. The being's eyes are a startlingly bright blue. What skin can be seen is wrinkled and leathery brown, as if burned by decades of desert sun.
Desert giants are a nomadic race with a fearsome reputation as mercenaries and raiders, although most sustain themselves by herding livestock. The desert giant lifestyle is very similar to that of human desert nomads (since they face similar challenges from the desert). They prefer cattle for their meat and milk, but cows and bulls are hard to keep alive while wandering the desert so they will also have camels or sheep. Peaceful encounters often lead to trading for goods the giants cannot obtain from the desert. They prize cloth, salt, spices, and wood.
Desert giant culture does not recognize settled people as having any right to grazing or water, and a tribe will graze their herds of a settlement's grassland or even crops with no apologies or compensation. Trying to force the giants to leave can be hazardous, so they are usually persuaded to move on by offers of mercenary work or "gifts" that are basically bribes.
These giants are skilled riders but have difficulty finding mounts large enough to carry them, so sometimes resort to bizarre steeds such rocs, monstrous spiders, animated objects, or even undead. Some groups have no steeds, so must rely upon the power of a sand-shifter (see below) to ride into battle.
Sand-shifters are desert giants born with the ability to summon the spirits of the tribe's ancestors and their steeds and grant them bodies formed from the sand of their home. A child sand-shifter can only call up animal spirits to serve as mounts, known as stony steeds. It takes an adult sand-shifter to summon the desert giant's petrified ancestors.
When a desert giant becomes decrepit with age their eyes turn from bright blue to brown and their flesh gradually grows denser and earthier in a process of slow fossilization that continues until the giant dies of old age. The deceased giant's relatives then bury the petrified corpse in the sands of their ancestral homeland.
Adults are about 12 feet tall and normally weigh about 1,400 pounds. Desert giants can live to be 400 years old. A desert giant who's ancient enough to suffer from fossilization may weigh up to 3,500 pounds.
Desert giants speak Common and Giant. Those with Intelligence scores of 12 or higher will also speak additional languages.
Combat
Unlike normal giants, desert giants do not hurl rocks but are experts in throwing spears or javelins, including a special type of spear they have developed, the hurling spear (see below). Each hurling spear is a lovingly-crafted heirloom a desert giant will go to considerable length to recover and repair after throwing it at an enemy. The best hurling spears are masterwork weapons or even enchanted.
Desert giants are skilled in desert guerilla tactics and favor ambushes prepared with their desert camouflage ability. If they have mounts they can make devastating charges. The best-coordinated bands may have their sand-shifters summon sandy-steeds beneath their camouflaged ambushers, so the desert giant warriors appear to rise out of the ground already seated upon their mounts!
Desert Camouflage (Ex): Desert giants are experts at hiding in desert environments. The desert giant typically scrapes out a foxhole and covers themself with a cloak, blanket and the surrounding sand and dirt. This requires 1 minute of preparation and grants the giant a +10 circumstance bonus to Hide checks as long as they stay motionless.
Spear Throwing (Ex): Adult desert giants are accomplished spear throwers and receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing javelins, shortspears, spears or hurling spears.
A hurling spear is an exotic weapon with the following description:
Exotic One-Handed Weapon: Hurling Spear; 15 gp; 1d8 damage (Medium-size); ×3 crit; 40 ft. range; 6 lb.; Piercing
A hurling spear deals double damage when used from the back of a charging mount. If you use a ready action to set a hurling spear against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character.
Skills: *Desert giants have a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks in desert environments, if one uses its desert camouflage ability the combined bonus is +14.
Desert Giant Sand-Shifters
Some desert giants have the ability to summon tribal ancestors who fossilized so long ago crumbled into sand. They are called sand-shifters because of how the desert sand shift aside as the ancestral spirits rise from the ground to fight for their people once again. The summoning grants the petrified ancestor's spirits temporary bodies formed from rock and powder. Sand-shifters are also able to summon giant-sized riding creatures called stony steeds and these are the only sand-beings that can be summoned by an immature sand-shifter (see below). Sand-shifters are no more likely to become spellcasters than ordinary desert giants.
Adult sand-shifters have a Charisma score of at least 15 and the following special ability:
Sand-Shifting (Sp): If a sand-shifter is in a desert area that was once inhabited by their tribe they can summon 2d3 petrified ancestors to rise from the sand (see below for details). Alternatively, they can summon either 2d8+8 stony steeds (see below) or 1d3 petrified ancestors plus 1d8+4 stony steeds. This ability is usable once per week and requires a summoning ritual that take 1 minute to complete; if interrupted the sand-shifter does not lose that week's use and can start the ritual again from the beginning. Beings summoned from the shifting sand may remain on this plane of existence for up to 2 hours as long as the sand-shifter remains conscious; they immediately vanish back to the afterlife if the sand-shifter is killed or knocked out. Summoned creatures are dismisable by the sand-shifter. This ability is the equivalent of a 7th-level spell.
Immature Sand-Shifters
Immature desert giant sand-shifters appear to be normal juveniles, but are CR 9 due to their sand-shifting abilities. They summon stony steeds for the tribe's warriors to ride into battle and are then kept far away from danger, often with a single adult desert giant relative to protect them. Although juvenile desert giants are meant to be non-combatants they sometimes carry weapons. If armed, they will only have spears and/or javelins – lances and hurling spears are prizes a desert giant earns when attaining adulthood.
Immature sand-shifters may be Large adolescent desert giants (9 Hit Dice, Str 21, Con 17, NA +8) or desert giant children of Medium size (6 Hit Dice, Str 17, Con 15, NA +7). They have Charisma 13 and their other abilities are the same as an adult desert giant plus the following special ability:
Immature Sand-Shifting (Sp): This ability is the equivalent of a 5th-level spell. It works like the ability of an adult sand-shifter but summons 1d8+8 stony steeds.
Immature Sand-Shifter (Adolescent) (N Large Giant (Earth); Hit Dice: 9d8+21 (67 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares); AC: 18 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 17; Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+15; Attack: Spear +10 melee (2d6+7/×3) or spear +7 ranged (2d6+5/×3) or javelin +7 ranged (1d8+5); Full Attack: Spear +10/+5 melee (2d6+7/×3) or spear +7 ranged (2d6+5/×3) or javelin +7 ranged (1d8+5); Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.; Special Attacks: Immature sand-shifting, spear throwing; Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision; Saves: Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +3; Abilities: Str 21, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 13; Skills: Hide +0* (+4 in desert, +14 with camouflage), Handle Animal +3, Listen +2, Ride +8, Spot +8, Survival +2; Feats: Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack; CR: 9 [EL 5 without sand-creatures])
Immature Sand-Shifter (Child) (N Medium Giant (Earth); Hit Dice: 6d8+12 (39 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares); AC: 18 (+1 Dex, +7 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17; Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+7; Attack: Spear +7 melee (1d8+4/×3) or spear +6 ranged (1d8+3/×3) or javelin +6 ranged (1d6+3); Full Attack: Spear +7 melee (1d8+4/×3) or spear +6 ranged (1d8+3/×3) or javelin +6 ranged (1d6+3); Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.; Special Attacks: Immature sand-shifting, spear throwing; Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision; Saves: Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +2; Abilities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 13; Skills: Hide +3* (+7 in desert, +17 with camouflage), Handle Animal +2, Listen +1, Ride +7, Spot +7, Survival +1; Feats: Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack; CR: 9 [EL 3 without sand-creatures])
Optional Rule: Sand-Shifter Encounter Levels
A petrified ancestor is just as powerful as a desert giant, so four ancestors plus an adult sand-shifter are as physically dangerous as five CR 7 desert giants, which would normally be an EL 12 encounter. A sand-shifter's Challenge Rating of 10 allows for the fact that all the petrified ancestors would crumble into the dunes the instant their sand-shifter falls. However, the DM should consider whether to apply a Encounter Level adjustment to reflect favorable or detrimental conditions. For example, a sand-shifter could have a –1 EL adjustment (EL 9) for 2 petrified ancestors or +1 (EL 11) for 6 ancestors, while one who sends 5-6 ancestors to attack intruders while keeping itself somewhere secure from counter-attack could even be +2 (EL 12). An adult sand-shifter has an EL of 7 without any summoned allies; immature sand-shifters are EL 3 for a child, EL 5 for an adolescent.
Sand-Shifter Petrified Ancestors
A petrified ancestor has identical attributes to a desert giant, including all its equipment, except its type is Outsider (Earth, Extraplanar) rather than Giant (Earth). The spirit of a petrified ancestor willingly returns to the prime material to aid its descendants. It will fight under the command of the sand-shifter who summoned it, but is motivated by loyalty not magical control. They are more like cohorts than beings conjured via a summon monster spell. It can freely disobey the sand-shifter if ordered to do anything it disapproves of, particularly actions it considers deeply dishonorable or harmful to the tribe. If the offense is truly severe a petrified ancestor may even attack the sand-shifter who summoned it, although the sand-shifter will usually dismiss it first.
Petrified Ancestor (N Large Outsider (Earth, Extraplanar); Hit Dice: 13d8+52 (110 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares); AC: 19 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18; Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+20; Attack: Lance* +15 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15 melee (2d6+7/×3); or slam +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3); Full Attack: Lance* +15/+10 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15/+10 melee (2d6+7/×3); or 2 slams +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3); Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with lance or longspear); Special Attacks: Spear throwing; Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision; Saves: Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +6; Abilities: Str 25, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10; Skills: Hide +2* (+6 in desert, +16 with camouflage), Handle Animal +3, Listen +3, Ride +9, Spot +10, Survival +3; Feats: Iron Will, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack; CR: 7)
*A petrified ancestor has the same attack and damage values when it melees or throws a normal spear instead of a hurling spear and melees with a longspear instead of a lance.
Sand-Shifter Stony Steeds
A stony steed manifests as a Huge terrestrial creature equipped with a saddle suitable for a Large giant. Its form normally matches whatever mount the sand-shifter's tribe prefers, typically an elephant, giant horse or dire camel, but it can take the form of any now-deceased steed a tribe member once owned and rode into battle. This includes legendary mounts that might never have existed, provided the sand-shifter knows of them. Thus, stony steeds may be conjured in bizarre shapes such as enormous arthropods, dragons, wingless griffons, granite lions, skeletons, wheeled thrones and clockwork zebras.
Whatever their form, all stony steeds have the following statistics:
Stony Steed (N Huge Magical Beast (Earth, Extraplanar); Hit Dice: 6d10+30 (63 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares); AC: 18 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 17; Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+17; Attack: Hoof +7 melee (1d8+3*); Full Attack: 2 hooves +7 melee (1d8+3*); Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.; Special Attacks: —; Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent; Saves: Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +5; Abilities: Str 24, Dex 13, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 6; Skills: Listen +4, Spot +4; Feats: Endurance, Iron Will, Run; CR: 3)
*A stony steed's hoof attack is treated as a secondary attack and adds only half the steed's Strength bonus to damage.
Carrying Capacity: A light load for a stony steed is up to 1,400 pounds; a medium load, 1,401-2,800 pounds; and a heavy load, 2,801-4,200 pounds. A stony steed can drag 21,000 pounds.
Desert Giant Chieftain
elite desert giant 6th-level fighter
Large Giant
Hit Dice: 13d8+6d10+95 (186 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares); base speed 40 ft.
Armor Class: 26 (–1 size, +9 natural, +8 +2 banded mail), touch 9, flat-footed 26
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+29
Attack: +1 shock falchion +26 melee (2d6+15/15-20 plus 1d6 electricity); or lance +24 melee (2d6+15/×3); or masterwork hurling spear +25 melee (2d6+10/×3); or slam +24 melee (1d4+10); or masterwork hurling spear +16 ranged (2d6+10/×3)
Full Attack: +1 shock falchion +26/+21/+16 melee (2d6+15/15-20 plus 1d6 electricity); or lance +24/+19/+14 melee (2d6+15/×3); or masterwork hurling spear +25/+20/+15 melee (2d6+10/×3); or 2 slams +24 melee (1d4+10); or masterwork hurling spear +16 ranged (2d6+10/×3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with lance)
Special Attacks: Spear throwing
Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +8, Will +10
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills: Hide +1* (+5 in desert, +15 with camouflage), Handle Animal +10, Listen +5, Ride +15, Spot +12, Survival +5
Feats: Cleave˟, Improved Critical (falchion)˟, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder˟, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (falchion)˟
˟fighter bonus feat
Environment: Any deserts
Organization: Solitary or with tribe
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +4
If your campaign uses the Sandstorm rules, the chieftain has a great falchion and Exotic Weapon Proficiency (great falchion) instead of a falchion and Weapon Focus (falchion), this changes the attack line to +1 shock great falchion +25/+20/+15 melee (3d6+15/15-20 plus 1d6 electricity).
Equipment: +1 shock falchion, +2 banded mail, masterwork hurling spear, plus 2 doses of dust of dryness (1 in pellet form).
Desert Giants As Characters
Desert giants with character classes generally pursue martial classes, particularly their favored class of fighter. Most started out as young desert giants seeking mercenary work to feed their tribe. The majority of spellcasters are clerics or druids, arcane spellcasting desert giants are rare and are usually bards or sorcerers. A desert giant wizard is extremely unusual. A standard desert giant cleric has access to two of the following domains: Earth, Sun, Travel, War (most choose Travel or War, some choose both).
Desert giant characters possess the following racial traits.
● +14 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +8 Constitution.
● Large size. -1 penalty to Armor Class, -1 penalty on attack rolls, -4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
● Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
● A desert giant's base land speed is 40 feet.
● Low-light vision.
● Racial Hit Dice: A desert giant begins with thirteen levels of giant, which provide 13d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +9, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +8, Ref +4, and Will +4.
● Racial Skills: A desert giant's giant levels give it skill points equal to 16 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Hide, Handle Animal, Listen, Ride, Spot, and Survival.
● Racial Feats: A desert giant's giant levels give it five feats.
● +9 natural armor bonus.
● Special Attacks (see above): Spear throwing.
● Special Qualities (see above): Desert camouflage, low-light vision.
● Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A desert giant is automatically proficient with simple weapons, martial weapons and hurling spears.
● Automatic Languages: Giant. Bonus Languages: Common, Elven, Goblin, Ignan, Orc, Terran.
● Favored Class: fighter.
● Level adjustment +4 (sand-shifter —).
In Zakhara
The desert giants of Zakhara are a fading race, the curse of fossilization has slowly decreased them from a once-great civilization to a handful of small clans. As their situation becomes more desperate they have increasingly turned to banditry and mercenary work, and many young desert giants have gone to the cities to find work as warriors to sustain their families.
Originally appeared in MC13 - Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix (1992).
Large Giant (Earth)
Hit Dice: 13d8+52 (110 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 19 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+20
Attack: Lance* +15 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15 melee (2d6+7/×3); or slam +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3)
Full Attack: Lance* +15/+10 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15/+10 melee (2d6+7/×3); or 2 slams +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3)
*This desert giant has the same attack and damage values when it melees or throws a normal spear instead of a hurling spear and melees with a longspear instead of a lance.
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with lance or longspear)
Special Attacks: Spear throwing
Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +6
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10 [15 if sand-shifter]
Skills: Hide +2* (+6 in desert, +16 with camouflage), Handle Animal +3 [+5 if sand-shifter], Listen +3, Ride +9, Spot +10, Survival +3
Feats: Iron Will, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack
Environment: Any deserts
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5 plus 50% have 1 sand-shifter [25% chance immature]), band (6-9 plus 35% noncombatants plus 1 leader of 2nd or 3rd level and 1 sand-shifter [25% chance immature] plus 50% have 1-4 desert elephants or giant camels*), hunting/raiding/trading party (6-9 plus 1 leader of 2rd-5th level and 1 sand-shifter [10% immature] plus 1-4 desert elephants or giant camels*), or tribe (21-30 plus 35% noncombatants plus 1-3 leaders of 2rd-5th level, 1 chieftain of 6th or 7th level and 1-3 sand-shifters [25% are immature] plus 3-6 desert elephants or giant camels*)
*These mounts have the same stats as an Indian elephant.
Challenge Rating: 7 (sand-shifter 10, immature sand-shifter 9)
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +4 (sand-shifter —)
A giant figure swathed in lightweight clothing the color of sand and rock, they could be human if it were not for the size, for they are twice the height. The being's eyes are a startlingly bright blue. What skin can be seen is wrinkled and leathery brown, as if burned by decades of desert sun.
Desert giants are a nomadic race with a fearsome reputation as mercenaries and raiders, although most sustain themselves by herding livestock. The desert giant lifestyle is very similar to that of human desert nomads (since they face similar challenges from the desert). They prefer cattle for their meat and milk, but cows and bulls are hard to keep alive while wandering the desert so they will also have camels or sheep. Peaceful encounters often lead to trading for goods the giants cannot obtain from the desert. They prize cloth, salt, spices, and wood.
Desert giant culture does not recognize settled people as having any right to grazing or water, and a tribe will graze their herds of a settlement's grassland or even crops with no apologies or compensation. Trying to force the giants to leave can be hazardous, so they are usually persuaded to move on by offers of mercenary work or "gifts" that are basically bribes.
These giants are skilled riders but have difficulty finding mounts large enough to carry them, so sometimes resort to bizarre steeds such rocs, monstrous spiders, animated objects, or even undead. Some groups have no steeds, so must rely upon the power of a sand-shifter (see below) to ride into battle.
Sand-shifters are desert giants born with the ability to summon the spirits of the tribe's ancestors and their steeds and grant them bodies formed from the sand of their home. A child sand-shifter can only call up animal spirits to serve as mounts, known as stony steeds. It takes an adult sand-shifter to summon the desert giant's petrified ancestors.
When a desert giant becomes decrepit with age their eyes turn from bright blue to brown and their flesh gradually grows denser and earthier in a process of slow fossilization that continues until the giant dies of old age. The deceased giant's relatives then bury the petrified corpse in the sands of their ancestral homeland.
Adults are about 12 feet tall and normally weigh about 1,400 pounds. Desert giants can live to be 400 years old. A desert giant who's ancient enough to suffer from fossilization may weigh up to 3,500 pounds.
Desert giants speak Common and Giant. Those with Intelligence scores of 12 or higher will also speak additional languages.
Combat
Unlike normal giants, desert giants do not hurl rocks but are experts in throwing spears or javelins, including a special type of spear they have developed, the hurling spear (see below). Each hurling spear is a lovingly-crafted heirloom a desert giant will go to considerable length to recover and repair after throwing it at an enemy. The best hurling spears are masterwork weapons or even enchanted.
Desert giants are skilled in desert guerilla tactics and favor ambushes prepared with their desert camouflage ability. If they have mounts they can make devastating charges. The best-coordinated bands may have their sand-shifters summon sandy-steeds beneath their camouflaged ambushers, so the desert giant warriors appear to rise out of the ground already seated upon their mounts!
Desert Camouflage (Ex): Desert giants are experts at hiding in desert environments. The desert giant typically scrapes out a foxhole and covers themself with a cloak, blanket and the surrounding sand and dirt. This requires 1 minute of preparation and grants the giant a +10 circumstance bonus to Hide checks as long as they stay motionless.
Spear Throwing (Ex): Adult desert giants are accomplished spear throwers and receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing javelins, shortspears, spears or hurling spears.
A hurling spear is an exotic weapon with the following description:
Exotic One-Handed Weapon: Hurling Spear; 15 gp; 1d8 damage (Medium-size); ×3 crit; 40 ft. range; 6 lb.; Piercing
A hurling spear deals double damage when used from the back of a charging mount. If you use a ready action to set a hurling spear against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character.
Skills: *Desert giants have a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks in desert environments, if one uses its desert camouflage ability the combined bonus is +14.
Desert Giant Sand-Shifters
Some desert giants have the ability to summon tribal ancestors who fossilized so long ago crumbled into sand. They are called sand-shifters because of how the desert sand shift aside as the ancestral spirits rise from the ground to fight for their people once again. The summoning grants the petrified ancestor's spirits temporary bodies formed from rock and powder. Sand-shifters are also able to summon giant-sized riding creatures called stony steeds and these are the only sand-beings that can be summoned by an immature sand-shifter (see below). Sand-shifters are no more likely to become spellcasters than ordinary desert giants.
Adult sand-shifters have a Charisma score of at least 15 and the following special ability:
Sand-Shifting (Sp): If a sand-shifter is in a desert area that was once inhabited by their tribe they can summon 2d3 petrified ancestors to rise from the sand (see below for details). Alternatively, they can summon either 2d8+8 stony steeds (see below) or 1d3 petrified ancestors plus 1d8+4 stony steeds. This ability is usable once per week and requires a summoning ritual that take 1 minute to complete; if interrupted the sand-shifter does not lose that week's use and can start the ritual again from the beginning. Beings summoned from the shifting sand may remain on this plane of existence for up to 2 hours as long as the sand-shifter remains conscious; they immediately vanish back to the afterlife if the sand-shifter is killed or knocked out. Summoned creatures are dismisable by the sand-shifter. This ability is the equivalent of a 7th-level spell.
Immature Sand-Shifters
Immature desert giant sand-shifters appear to be normal juveniles, but are CR 9 due to their sand-shifting abilities. They summon stony steeds for the tribe's warriors to ride into battle and are then kept far away from danger, often with a single adult desert giant relative to protect them. Although juvenile desert giants are meant to be non-combatants they sometimes carry weapons. If armed, they will only have spears and/or javelins – lances and hurling spears are prizes a desert giant earns when attaining adulthood.
Immature sand-shifters may be Large adolescent desert giants (9 Hit Dice, Str 21, Con 17, NA +8) or desert giant children of Medium size (6 Hit Dice, Str 17, Con 15, NA +7). They have Charisma 13 and their other abilities are the same as an adult desert giant plus the following special ability:
Immature Sand-Shifting (Sp): This ability is the equivalent of a 5th-level spell. It works like the ability of an adult sand-shifter but summons 1d8+8 stony steeds.
Immature Sand-Shifter (Adolescent) (N Large Giant (Earth); Hit Dice: 9d8+21 (67 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares); AC: 18 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 17; Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+15; Attack: Spear +10 melee (2d6+7/×3) or spear +7 ranged (2d6+5/×3) or javelin +7 ranged (1d8+5); Full Attack: Spear +10/+5 melee (2d6+7/×3) or spear +7 ranged (2d6+5/×3) or javelin +7 ranged (1d8+5); Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.; Special Attacks: Immature sand-shifting, spear throwing; Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision; Saves: Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +3; Abilities: Str 21, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 13; Skills: Hide +0* (+4 in desert, +14 with camouflage), Handle Animal +3, Listen +2, Ride +8, Spot +8, Survival +2; Feats: Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack; CR: 9 [EL 5 without sand-creatures])
Immature Sand-Shifter (Child) (N Medium Giant (Earth); Hit Dice: 6d8+12 (39 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares); AC: 18 (+1 Dex, +7 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17; Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+7; Attack: Spear +7 melee (1d8+4/×3) or spear +6 ranged (1d8+3/×3) or javelin +6 ranged (1d6+3); Full Attack: Spear +7 melee (1d8+4/×3) or spear +6 ranged (1d8+3/×3) or javelin +6 ranged (1d6+3); Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.; Special Attacks: Immature sand-shifting, spear throwing; Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision; Saves: Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +2; Abilities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 13; Skills: Hide +3* (+7 in desert, +17 with camouflage), Handle Animal +2, Listen +1, Ride +7, Spot +7, Survival +1; Feats: Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack; CR: 9 [EL 3 without sand-creatures])
Optional Rule: Sand-Shifter Encounter Levels
A petrified ancestor is just as powerful as a desert giant, so four ancestors plus an adult sand-shifter are as physically dangerous as five CR 7 desert giants, which would normally be an EL 12 encounter. A sand-shifter's Challenge Rating of 10 allows for the fact that all the petrified ancestors would crumble into the dunes the instant their sand-shifter falls. However, the DM should consider whether to apply a Encounter Level adjustment to reflect favorable or detrimental conditions. For example, a sand-shifter could have a –1 EL adjustment (EL 9) for 2 petrified ancestors or +1 (EL 11) for 6 ancestors, while one who sends 5-6 ancestors to attack intruders while keeping itself somewhere secure from counter-attack could even be +2 (EL 12). An adult sand-shifter has an EL of 7 without any summoned allies; immature sand-shifters are EL 3 for a child, EL 5 for an adolescent.
Sand-Shifter Petrified Ancestors
A petrified ancestor has identical attributes to a desert giant, including all its equipment, except its type is Outsider (Earth, Extraplanar) rather than Giant (Earth). The spirit of a petrified ancestor willingly returns to the prime material to aid its descendants. It will fight under the command of the sand-shifter who summoned it, but is motivated by loyalty not magical control. They are more like cohorts than beings conjured via a summon monster spell. It can freely disobey the sand-shifter if ordered to do anything it disapproves of, particularly actions it considers deeply dishonorable or harmful to the tribe. If the offense is truly severe a petrified ancestor may even attack the sand-shifter who summoned it, although the sand-shifter will usually dismiss it first.
Petrified Ancestor (N Large Outsider (Earth, Extraplanar); Hit Dice: 13d8+52 (110 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares); AC: 19 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18; Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+20; Attack: Lance* +15 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15 melee (2d6+7/×3); or slam +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3); Full Attack: Lance* +15/+10 melee (2d6+10/×3); or hurling spear* +15/+10 melee (2d6+7/×3); or 2 slams +15 melee (1d4+7); or hurling spear* +10 ranged (2d6+7/×3); Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with lance or longspear); Special Attacks: Spear throwing; Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision; Saves: Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +6; Abilities: Str 25, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10; Skills: Hide +2* (+6 in desert, +16 with camouflage), Handle Animal +3, Listen +3, Ride +9, Spot +10, Survival +3; Feats: Iron Will, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack; CR: 7)
*A petrified ancestor has the same attack and damage values when it melees or throws a normal spear instead of a hurling spear and melees with a longspear instead of a lance.
Sand-Shifter Stony Steeds
A stony steed manifests as a Huge terrestrial creature equipped with a saddle suitable for a Large giant. Its form normally matches whatever mount the sand-shifter's tribe prefers, typically an elephant, giant horse or dire camel, but it can take the form of any now-deceased steed a tribe member once owned and rode into battle. This includes legendary mounts that might never have existed, provided the sand-shifter knows of them. Thus, stony steeds may be conjured in bizarre shapes such as enormous arthropods, dragons, wingless griffons, granite lions, skeletons, wheeled thrones and clockwork zebras.
Whatever their form, all stony steeds have the following statistics:
Stony Steed (N Huge Magical Beast (Earth, Extraplanar); Hit Dice: 6d10+30 (63 hp); Init: +1; Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares); AC: 18 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 17; Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+17; Attack: Hoof +7 melee (1d8+3*); Full Attack: 2 hooves +7 melee (1d8+3*); Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.; Special Attacks: —; Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent; Saves: Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +5; Abilities: Str 24, Dex 13, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 6; Skills: Listen +4, Spot +4; Feats: Endurance, Iron Will, Run; CR: 3)
*A stony steed's hoof attack is treated as a secondary attack and adds only half the steed's Strength bonus to damage.
Carrying Capacity: A light load for a stony steed is up to 1,400 pounds; a medium load, 1,401-2,800 pounds; and a heavy load, 2,801-4,200 pounds. A stony steed can drag 21,000 pounds.
Desert Giant Chieftain
elite desert giant 6th-level fighter
Large Giant
Hit Dice: 13d8+6d10+95 (186 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares); base speed 40 ft.
Armor Class: 26 (–1 size, +9 natural, +8 +2 banded mail), touch 9, flat-footed 26
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+29
Attack: +1 shock falchion +26 melee (2d6+15/15-20 plus 1d6 electricity); or lance +24 melee (2d6+15/×3); or masterwork hurling spear +25 melee (2d6+10/×3); or slam +24 melee (1d4+10); or masterwork hurling spear +16 ranged (2d6+10/×3)
Full Attack: +1 shock falchion +26/+21/+16 melee (2d6+15/15-20 plus 1d6 electricity); or lance +24/+19/+14 melee (2d6+15/×3); or masterwork hurling spear +25/+20/+15 melee (2d6+10/×3); or 2 slams +24 melee (1d4+10); or masterwork hurling spear +16 ranged (2d6+10/×3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. (20 ft. with lance)
Special Attacks: Spear throwing
Special Qualities: Desert camouflage, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +8, Will +10
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills: Hide +1* (+5 in desert, +15 with camouflage), Handle Animal +10, Listen +5, Ride +15, Spot +12, Survival +5
Feats: Cleave˟, Improved Critical (falchion)˟, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder˟, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (falchion)˟
˟fighter bonus feat
Environment: Any deserts
Organization: Solitary or with tribe
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +4
If your campaign uses the Sandstorm rules, the chieftain has a great falchion and Exotic Weapon Proficiency (great falchion) instead of a falchion and Weapon Focus (falchion), this changes the attack line to +1 shock great falchion +25/+20/+15 melee (3d6+15/15-20 plus 1d6 electricity).
Equipment: +1 shock falchion, +2 banded mail, masterwork hurling spear, plus 2 doses of dust of dryness (1 in pellet form).
Desert Giants As Characters
Desert giants with character classes generally pursue martial classes, particularly their favored class of fighter. Most started out as young desert giants seeking mercenary work to feed their tribe. The majority of spellcasters are clerics or druids, arcane spellcasting desert giants are rare and are usually bards or sorcerers. A desert giant wizard is extremely unusual. A standard desert giant cleric has access to two of the following domains: Earth, Sun, Travel, War (most choose Travel or War, some choose both).
Desert giant characters possess the following racial traits.
● +14 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +8 Constitution.
● Large size. -1 penalty to Armor Class, -1 penalty on attack rolls, -4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
● Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
● A desert giant's base land speed is 40 feet.
● Low-light vision.
● Racial Hit Dice: A desert giant begins with thirteen levels of giant, which provide 13d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +9, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +8, Ref +4, and Will +4.
● Racial Skills: A desert giant's giant levels give it skill points equal to 16 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Hide, Handle Animal, Listen, Ride, Spot, and Survival.
● Racial Feats: A desert giant's giant levels give it five feats.
● +9 natural armor bonus.
● Special Attacks (see above): Spear throwing.
● Special Qualities (see above): Desert camouflage, low-light vision.
● Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A desert giant is automatically proficient with simple weapons, martial weapons and hurling spears.
● Automatic Languages: Giant. Bonus Languages: Common, Elven, Goblin, Ignan, Orc, Terran.
● Favored Class: fighter.
● Level adjustment +4 (sand-shifter —).
In Zakhara
The desert giants of Zakhara are a fading race, the curse of fossilization has slowly decreased them from a once-great civilization to a handful of small clans. As their situation becomes more desperate they have increasingly turned to banditry and mercenary work, and many young desert giants have gone to the cities to find work as warriors to sustain their families.
Originally appeared in MC13 - Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix (1992).
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