Hill Giant

The Hill Giant. Another, uh. Another big person. Hill Giants are probably what most of us think of regarding giants; big people who regularly perform raids against smaller people, so this should be pretty run-of-the-mill.

The quintessential giant, hill giants have a basic stat block. Like the Frost Giant, everything they can do is a single action. However, given a below-average intelligence modifier and canon implications that they have no trouble betraying their own kind, hill giants should probably not be presented the organized manner other giants might be. This might mean that your hill giants are easier to trick or mollify with treasure and promises than others of their kin.

Outside of the implications of raiding your settlements, what else changes about society due to the existence of giants? The hill giant is the lowest level giant other than the cave and wood giants and is probably the most likely to encounter, depending on your setting. Do they have their own settlement, as they do in The Silver Chair? Is it more Jack and the Beanstalk style? Maybe there's something that entraps each type of giant to their respective biome. Here again, you have my permission to take time to indulge in worldbuilding a bit to figure out how this (very large) piece of the puzzle fits into your world.

- TJ

Hook 1 (Max) - Run to the Hills

While traversing the area of Greyhills, take special heed, for the road is fit for travel—unless you like rocks being thrown your way.

A group of hill giants has found its way here and they are enjoying the spoils of their labor. That labor is actually quite complex for their kind; there is a certain spot along the road where the left side rises to a small cliff, while the right is a steep incline. When a group of unaware travelers finds themselves there, three giants upon the ridge start lobbing rocks and stones their way, obstructing the road both ahead and behind.

The first instinct of many people is to run down the incline—this is exactly what the giants want—there are several big pit traps there, concealed by sticks and turf. Even if anyone makes it past them, the bottom of the incline holds their final trap—a cave where a fourth giant lies in wait.

The coordination is unusual for the short-sighted hill giants. Could it be, perhaps, that some other party is coordinating—and profiting—from these attacks?

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Leaving The Business

Himbaud is a hill giant, known as some of the best muscle money can buy in the magi-mob-controlled city of Orksbreath. He is also, apparently, looking to get out of the business; he is in too deep, owes too much, and is repeatedly given more dubious and questionable missions to carry out.

To that end, he has reached out to a group of private investigators with a substantial sum of money and enough accumulated evidence to bring down down the city's entire ruling class down, should they manage to sneak him out of the city. It goes without saying that getting to the safety of the Outer Land while trying to hide a 12-foot tall brute that has a nasty habit of getting very, very drunk all while the city's top assassins prowl the streets looking for him is anything but a simple task...

Hook 3 (TJ) - A Small Problem

Efforts have been made to integrate the giants of the High Hills into Renthra society. Between the armistice and settlement accords, it would seem negotiations are going well. The trade agreements, however, have ground to a halt. The giants have major issues with what the Renthra government has proposed.

The giants insist they need the right to mint their own coins. Not only do they control a good number of mines within the High Hills, they also complain that the Renthra currency is "too damned small." The Renthra guilds are up in arms about the giant's coinage proposal. While there are many political conversations about the governmental control of the minting process—how it provides security in trade, how those employed in the minting process are at risk, devaluation of already existing currency, and many other economic implications about this portion of the agreement—one practical question is of utmost importance to the merchants. 

How do you trade with coins that are the size of dinner plates?