Giants 5e
Guide by Sam West, @CrierKobold
Giants stand alongside dragons as splashy monsters; they’re larger-than-life humanoids armed with weapons of equally grand sizes.
Running and facing giants can be daunting; here, my goal is to give you everything you could need to get giants into your games or provide you with some helpful combat tips for differentiating them and making lasting encounters your players will both fear and adore. If you’re a player, I’ve also packed some tips for facing against giants, and how as a group you may want to prep prior to some fights for a better chance of success.
Giant Subtype
This article focuses on the Giants in the Ordning, not all creatures with the giant type. We’re looking at the six core Giants: Hill, Stone, Frost, Fire, Cloud, and Storm.
Sources
If you want to dive deep into the 5e lore around giants, the Monster Manual, Bigsby Presents Glory of the Giants, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, Storm King’s Thunder, Against the Giants, and Volo’s Guide to Monsters all expand on the giant lore while adding additional stat blocks for various kinds of giants.
If you were to get just one book to expand your DM toolbox for giants, I find myself in the rare circumstance where I’d recommend the adventure, Storm King’s Thunder, over all of the competition. It provides excellent dungeons focused on each giant type and gives you a toolbox of new abilities and supplementary monsters to use alongside the base versions.
For lore, I think Volo’s Guide to Monsters provides a robust amount of giant goodness while also giving you plenty of other monster lore to explore. Bigsby Presents: Glory of the Giants is if you’re all in on building an entire campaign around giants, and don’t want to use the excellent preexisting adventure, Storm King’s Thunder.
Giant Varieties
Like dragons, different kinds of Giant have built-in levels of challenge. They fall into these categories from a lore structure called the “Ordning”, a divine caste that defines each giant's place in their world.
The following table orders the giants from lowest to highest CR. It also highlights their average stat block’s hit points, any defining abilities they have, and their attack roll’s hit and damage modifiers. Some abilities that massively improve the giant stat blocks were added in Storm King’s Thunder; I’ve noted which abilities can be found in that book with the abbreviation SKT.
Giants Table
| Giant | CR | HP | AC | Notable Abilities | Melee | Rock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hill | 5 | 105 | 13 | Squash (SKT) | +8, 3d8+5 | +8, 3d10+5 |
| Stone | 7 | 126 | 17 | Rock Catching, Rolling +9, 3d8+6 +9, 4d10+6 Rock (SKT), Fling (STK) | +9, 3d8+6 | +9, 4d10+6 |
| Frost | 8 | 138 | 15 | Net (STK) | +9, 3d12+6 | +9, 4d10+6 |
| Fire | 9 | 162 | 18 | Tackle (STK) | +11, 6d6+7 | +11, 4d10+7 |
| Cloud | 9 | 200 | 14 | Spellcasting, Fling (STK), +12, 3d8+8 +12, 4d10+8 Wind Aura | +12, 3d8+8 | +12, 4d10+8 |
| Storm | 13 | 230 | 16 | Spellcasting, Lightning Strike, Thunderous Stomp (STK) | +14, 6d6+9 | +14, 4d12+9 |
This table just outlines the core six giant types; there are a myriad of other stat blocks available that expand out these giants further with unique abilities and roles, such as the Cloud Giant Smiling One, which gets additional spellcasting options and Change Shape, or Duke Zalto, a Fire Giant with a ring of lightning resistance and additional hit points.
Bigsby Presents: Glory of the Giants presents ten new higher CR variant monsters that build off of these base versions as well as a new pseudo-giant in Death Giants. Storm King’s Thunder has a variety of special boss stat blocks for each of the giants in the Ordning, and Volo’s Guide to Monsters presented a variety of expanded stat blocks that got revised and republished in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.
Running Giants
Each Giant poses a threat to players of varying levels as they progress. All of them follow a basic formula: lots of hit points, a high-damage melee-ranged multi-attack, and a thrown Rock option that hits a bit harder than an individual weapon attack.
Their expanded options from STK wildly empower them. I would highly recommend using their bonus abilities from that book to add some much-needed spice to the encounters, else you’re likely just looking at extra attack, AC, and hit points as the entire encounter in the lower CRs.
Each giant type has varying intelligence tactical approaches. At their core, though, they all will use their ranged options when engaging, then smash things with extra attack the moment they’re able to.
Hill: 5th Level Characters
Hill are the “introductory” giants that are massively improved by the Squash ability. Level five parties usually have enough hit points to take one to two hits from each, making this the bar for engaging in fights with them. Lower-tier players that can put out 15+ damage a turn can find these manageable as well with well time saves or ample access to cheap healing.
Tactics: Hill Giants are your classic lumbering brute- they’re dumb by design. They give players room to show off their clever illusions and misdirection. Playing them as dufuses with an insatiable appetite and a brain the size of a pea will provide ample room for players to shine while simultaneously scaring them to death when a club attack connects with the 30 HP monk.
Their added Squash ability is dripping with flavor- they slam down on a creature, making themselves prone and whatever they hit prone, throwing caution aside in exchange to potentially pin and smash their target to a pulp. This tactic isn’t usually to the giant's benefit- normally it enables more enemies than friends with advantage on attack rolls. Again, this plays into their “small brain, smash” plan of attack that will leave encounters lasting in your players’ memories.
Stone: 7th-10th Level Characters
Stone Giants don’t deal much more damage than their Hill counterparts, but have a substantially higher AC. That makes 20% more results miss; pair this with their added area of effect damage attack with the rolling rock and their interactive Fling ability and you’re setting up an exciting and threatening encounter with just a pair. Their rolling rock also gives them area of effect damage in a line within 30 feet of them- this can make approaching them challenging.
7th-level or higher parties likely have enough hit points and a high enough to-hit modifier to chew through one or a pair of these with a reasonable chance of success when aided by some magical status effects. If they’re playing into their environment, though, and using their rolling boulders from a safe distance and moving backward as they barrage the party, stronger mobility tools and a better hit point padding may be needed to take them down.
Tactics: Stone Giants are artisans of stone; they have a mindset for rune-carving and artistic expression, placing them above Hill in intelligence. This translates into more thought-out and complex encounters as well as the potential mentality to bargain. They don’t need to fight to the death, and aren’t painted as innately evil.
When push comes to shove, their Rock attack action drops things prone hit by it, making them fantastic supporting bruisers for a bigger, badder melee threat, such as a giant higher in the Ordning. Rock Catching won’t affect most encounters; occasionally, though, it’ll catch a barbarian by surprise who is lobbing objects at it from above.
They use their rocks better than any other giant and will engage with rolling boulders from a distance to chop down the group’s hit points. The prone condition helps them keep spacing from players- if they’re fighting with a height advantage, such as from above on a cliffside, they can be brutal to get to. Skirmishing backward will be an issue for some parties- Stone Giants like wide open spaces with ample ammunition and can out pace players with their 40-foot ground speed. When its available, these encounters can be devastating. Without that environment, their high AC and moderate hit point pool still make them a moderate challenges for mid-tier groups.
Frost: 5th-6th level Characters
Despite having a higher CR, the majority of the meaningful statistics Frost giants have end up being worse than their Stone counterparts. Net is a useful new tool in their toolbox, but it pales in comparison to the new options offered to Stone.
They have lower AC, not that many more hit points, and barely deal more damage. While still a lot stronger than Hill Giants, I can envision 5th-level parties able to handle a lone Frost giant or a pair with some tactics and well-placed status effects.
Larger groups of frost giants likely will need substantially stronger players to take them down. Given their general vibe, I’d expect their challenge comes from pairing them with a hunting pack.
Tactics: Frost Giants present as trackers and hunters, highlighted by their Net ability. Their core play pattern uses the basics the rest do but tends to show their difficulty in their numbers. As opposed to a lone giant, pair, or even trio, four or more Frost Giants act like a pack of wolves, corralling and ganging up on individual targets, using their nets to isolate and debilitate specific enemies before crushing them.
They’re often going to have minions at their disposal like winter wolves or white dragon wyrmlings- the encounter is more about their culture and tactics than their actual stat blocks.
Fire: 9th Level Characters
Fire giants are next up in the list, and are a massive upgrade over Frost and Stone; they have even higher AC compared to Stone, making a higher proficiency bonus achieved at 9th level recommended to give you a better shot at consistently hitting them. This pairs brutally with their giant hit point pool, making some of these encounters a slog to get through.
Tackle helps them drop anything they engage with prone- this subsequently immediately gives them advantage on their greatsword multiattacks. The raw increase in stats makes this an enemy with a higher threat that will take a lot more to bring down.
Tactics: Fire Giants come with an AC of 18 with more hit points than Stone Giants. This sets you up with a monster some groups will run into like it's a brick wall that hits back twice as hard.
Like Frost, their stat blocks aren’t packed with that many interesting features, instead relying on their lackeys to support them as they engage. Tackle enables them to knock party members prone while just moving, synergizing with other melee-centric attackers like Salamanders and Firenewts. Their plan is straightforward: get to the players and smash them.
Cloud: 7th-11th Level
Cloud Giants introduce a suite of spells to their repertoire, with Misty Step usually getting cast frequently to shape how they engage in a fight. They have a substantially lower AC, don’t hit any harder than their lower CR counterparts making them easier in a vacuum than Fire Giants
Where they start to shine is in complex magical spaces that use floating platforms and long drops. Add on top of this their Fling ability to throw players off of islands to their death and you’ve got an encounter that requires higher-tier abilities and ample magical flight.
Out of all of the giants, these have the widest range of difficulty. In open, grounded spaces, they are a breeze to deal with, even for lower-level parties. Tie in some floating castles on clouds and you’re setting them up to be lethal for groups in the mid to upper tiers. They make the best set-piece individual monster out of all the giants in my opinion.
Tactics: Cloud Giants pose the highest lethality out of all of the giants; not only do they have a robust kit of magic to maneuver around as needed, but they also play to their strengths in existing environments naturally hazardous to creatures lacking flight.
They can chuck rocks from above when able at a decent range- when it's time to engage, Misty Step puts them directly on top of a character in the backline, threatening the most vulnerable members of an adventuring party. They get three per day- if things get sticky, they can teleport as a free disengage and flee.
Fling first and foremost can get players thrown off of mountains to their death, making it a potentially lethal option to have. Being anywhere near a ledge can be a death sentence- the giant can move, teleport 30 feet, and throw a creature in a single turn. If they still can’t reach a player after moving, or maybe just don’t want to be in melee range, they can throw people around with Telekinesis, easily ending lives.
When things go south for them, survival isn’t particularly hard to achieve; they have Gaseous Form, Fog Cloud, Misty Step, Feather Fall, and Fly, all of which give them ways to get out of danger with ease. Pinning them down and killing them can be as much of a challenge as surviving against a group fighting on their home turf.
Storm: 9th Level+
Storm Giants don’t have that many tools at their disposal over their counterparts, even fewer than Cloud by comparison; they usually take a few additional hits to take down when stacked against Fire, but are as easy to hit as Cloud with its aura up. Its spellcasting isn’t particularly useful for it in combat, instead highlighting its larger world impact that makes them forces of nature nearby people have to respect.
Lightning Strike and Thunderous Stomp give the players a bit to think about, but aren’t such powerful tools I’d say they can be that much more challenging, and even sometimes a lot easier, than their lower CR competition. They might be able to buy an extra turn or two, and have better ability scores to mitigate save-or-dies better, but they don’t have a robust suite of options that sets them up to thrive in any environment in the way Cloud Giants do. A prepared group can make short work of a Storm Giant who will struggle to adapt to a spread-out tactical assault.Tactics: Storm Giants are a return to form compared to Cloud Giants who have far more complex options at their disposal. They want to work in tight spaces to force creatures to group close to each other to empower their Lightning Strike and Thunderous Stomp. Otherwise, their extra attack is going to net them more productive damage that can drop party actions by taking out individual creatures.
One major element Lightning Strike has going for it is its range- 500 feet lets them blast incoming creatures over a huge distance. Having a high vantage point to fire Lightning Strikes from gives them an edge before a group has an easy time getting into damage range. Then, having a space to retreat back to that forces the incoming players to funnel to them further sets up their area of effect abilities.Water Breathing sets them up to fight underwater. You’d think this would be to their benefit, but underwater combat is somewhat counterproductive to their first plan, as underwater tends to play more in three dimensions and allows for characters to split up with ease and avoid area-of-effect damage.
Giant Slaying Like a Professional
Giant slayers earn renown for a reason- killing one is a serious challenge. There are some general tips for facing all kinds of Giants, and some specific tips when going up against them on their home turf.
Methods of Engagement
Every Giant has more than a hundred hit points and hits for large chunks of damage once or twice a turn. Giants are all huge, making them take up a ton of space. If you can fight them from spaces they can’t fit into, you can force them to throw rocks at you, which is often preferable to eating their extra attack turn after turn.
Juggling who they are attacking can give your party additional layers of padding and time to burn through their hit-point wells in environments where they can navigate freely.
Elements to Target
Being that they’re often solo monsters, save-or-die effects thrash them. Denying their actions will turn them into jokes- it can allow 3rd-level parties to take down a Hill Giant with ease. Hideous Laughter can be a death sentence to any individual giant. If it loses one turn, its chances of winning radically drop; two or more rounds usually means the group has dealt lethal or near-lethal damage to it.
Single giants also can be bested by ample cheap healing- Healing Word efficiently manages the large amounts of damage they put out while keeping your action dedicated to reducing its hit points. Giants are limited in actions like every other monster- keeping your team’s actions healthy while whittling it down can highlight why single monsters aren’t typically that challenging.
When they start to group up in higher quantities, effects that let you ignore one and focus on the rest will still shine. Banishment and Polymorph are incredibly effective against these kinds of large enemies. Banishment can even up-cast to deal with multiple giants at once, giving the party room and time to deal with however many are left.
Specific Cases
Some considerations should be made if you’re facing off against certain giants.
Stone: Rocks are even more deadly in the hands of a Stone Giant; their 30 ft. long, 5 ft. wide Rock Roll will cause problems if multiple allies are hit with it at once. They also are happy to play in environments that leverage their hit-and-run strategy- getting on top of them or preventing them from moving is recommended.
If you can’t get close to a stone giant, they can be obnoxious to deal with. Generally, avoid fighting them in the open.
Cloud: Fighting a Cloud Giant in its skyward fortress should come with layers of preparation. At a minimum, every character will want some way to get a fly speed, ideally free of concentration. Short of that, having a plan for if you’re thrown from the rafters towards the ground will give you windows to live where otherwise you’ll certainly perish by gravity’s hands.
Staying tightly grouped can be beneficial- Misty Step lets them slip around the battlefield. If the group abandons their cleric, wizard, warlock, or other squishier caster, that character is likely in for a beating.
Storm: Grouping together will lead to the group getting fried; you’re punished for getting in Fireball formation, so stay out of it. Additionally, you’re going to want to know you have a way to get within damage distance of it- fighting it in open seas can be a massive problem, as it has plenty of room to whip lightning at you over 500 feet. You’re going to want a plan to approach it without getting fried along the way.
The World Around It
Giants leave an impact on the world by simply existing in it. They’re huge, smart entities. They have society, culture, art- they build environments that support these fundamentals just as much as humanoids do. Their environments aren’t usually built to accommodate medium and small creatures, leading to some magical adventuring experiences that can require climb speeds or flight to succeed in navigating.
Beyond their physical environments, they leave a big imprint on the world. Giants are forces that can’t easily be ignored- their appetite and strength can make them problems for smaller towns or cities. The stronger giants can be a problem for entire countries, as they can control the weather and pose a threat to travel through their domain. A storm giant can require a tithe to travel through waters it deems under its jurisdiction. A cloud giant may require taxes for the use of its air space.
As the Main Antagonist
Like any smart monster, Giants make for epic villains, especially when paired with grand schemes. Cloud Giants in particular make for devilishly good villains, scheming from their throne on high, seeking total domination of the smaller folks and desperately working to move up the giant caste system to the top where they may feel they belong.
Storm Giants, too, are forces of nature the world has to respect. They can reshape the weather like their Cloud cousins, and with their lightning and aquatic abilities can firmly control regions of ocean and whatever vessels need to pass through it.
Every giant can be a villain for an adventure or series of adventures; some, like Hill, make better lackeys for smarter enemies, but if you want a set-piece monster the players get to wail on for a few rounds, all of them can work at their various challenge levels.
The following tables offer some great supplementary monsters to pair with each giant type.
Hill Giant Minions
| d4 | Minion |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Domesticated” bears, giant boars, or other giant animals |
| 2 | A band of goblin looters that take loot the ruin left by the giant |
| 3 | Symbiotic carrion crawlers that snack on the remains the Hill Giant leaves behind |
| 4 | Ochre jelly lining the base of the empty cart the giant uses as a traveling trunk |
Stone Giant Minions
| d4 | Minion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dust mephits bound by runic magic |
| 2 | A lone earth elemental sharing a desire to be left alone with its giant neighbors |
| 3 | Loyal Duergar indebted to a stone giant who slayed their mind flayer oppressor |
| 4 | A pair of domesticated basilisks |
Frost Giant Minions
| d4 | Minion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Giant hunting eagles or winter wolves trained to take down prey |
| 2 | A band of white kobolds terrified of their giant oppressors |
| 3 | Ice mephits summoned by the Frost Giant shaman |
| 4 | A captured and weaponized white dragon wyrmling |
Fire Giant Minions
| d4 | Minion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Animated armor, sized for a giant |
| 2 | Salamanders indentured to the Fire Giants after their colony was captured |
| 3 | A chain devil, having made a pact with the Fire Giant seeking further power |
| 4 | Hell hounds broken to serve a new master after the Fire Giant killed their devil lord |
Cloud Giant Minions
| d4 | Minion |
|---|---|
| 1 | A flock of domesticated pegasuses |
| 2 | An Aarakocra band of brigands working for coin |
| 3 | A Chimera, placated with a comfortable home, eager to defend it |
| 4 | A pair of air elementals conjured to defend the giant’s cloud castle |
Storm Giant Minions
| d4 | Minion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Merfolk who worship the Storm Giant as a god who rules over their lands |
| 2 | A consulting Mind Flayer plotting to overthrow their storm lord |
| 3 | A pair of trained giant sharks it uses for hunting whales |
| 4 | Water weirds and a water elemental used for capsizing ships that oppose it |
A Giant Resource for Giant Gameplay
Giants have tons of potential as villains; they’re size and stature automatically pits the players as underdogs against them. With their variation, most tiers of play can use these as fantastic set piece monsters that give players plenty of danger with windows to just slam their damage into huge sacks of hit points.
Take these basic ideas and tactics and run truly epic encounters!
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