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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardCave Giant

Cave giants are the vicious loners of the giant world. Even their closest ancestral kin, the rampaging hill giants, mostly find cave giants too brutal and antisocial to form alliances with. For their part, cave giants—garbed in stinking hides festooned with the rotting skulls of their victims—seem ambivalent about their foul reputation. They are more interested in hunting and killing their next meal than forming alliances.

For all their disregard of others' opinions, cave giants are cautious when it comes to defending territory. Cave giant traps are simple yet effective, such as rounded boulders that can be pushed down steep tunnels, camouflaged pits filled with sharpened stakes, and even compromised stalactites that can suddenly fall on unsuspecting intruders.

In coastal towns and hillside villages with caves a common feature of the landscape, cave giants star as common villains in local tall tales. Many youngsters and aspiring heroes dare one another to venture into remote grottoes or abandoned mine shafts in the hopes of discovering a cave giant, and all too often their searches prove successful. Grieving villagers pay skilled adventures handsomely to locate the whereabouts of their missing kin. The bounty for such hunts might be as much as an entire village harvest's worth of gold, particularly if a local cave giant has been a frequent enough menace or the missing villager is particularly beloved.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 22
Unspecific Lore: DC 20
Specific Lore: DC 17

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Cave GiantCreature 6

Legacy Content

CE Large Giant Humanoid 
Source Bestiary 3 pg. 108
Perception +15; darkvision
Languages Jotun
Skills Athletics +18, Intimidation +14
Str +6, Dex +3, Con +5, Int -2, Wis +3, Cha +2
Items greataxe, hide armor, sack with 5 rocks
AC 23; Fort +17, Ref +13, Will +11
HP 110
Catch Rock [reaction]
Speed 35 feet
Melee [one-action] greataxe +18 [+13/+8] (magical, reach 10 feet, sweep), Damage 1d12+9 slashingMelee [one-action] fist +18 [+14/+10] (agile, reach 10 feet), Damage 1d8+9 bludgeoningRanged [one-action] rock +16 [+11/+6] (brutal, range increment 120 feet), Damage 2d6+10 bludgeoningSmear [two-actions] (attack) Requirements The cave giant is within reach of a creature that is adjacent to a wall or other solid vertical surface; Effect The cave giant snags the creature and smashes it against the wall. The giant attempts an Athletics check against the target's Reflex DC. On a success, the cave giant Grabs the creature and smears it along the nearby wall, dealing 2d8+8 bludgeoning damage. On a critical success, the damage is doubled.Throw Rock [one-action]

Sidebar - Related Creatures Cave Giant Allies

A lucky cave giant might manage to capture and tame a giant reptile, such as a giant monitor lizard or giant salamander, to serve as a maltreated pet or guard beast. These reptiles suffer much abuse from their cruel keepers and, as a result, become atypically violent toward all humanoids.

All Monsters in "Giant"

NameLevel
Cave Giant6
Cloud Giant11
Desert Giant9
Fire Giant10
Frost Giant9
Hill Giant7
Marsh Giant8
Plague Giant14
Rune Giant16
Shadow Giant13
Giant, Smog7
Stone Giant8
Storm Giant13
Taiga Giant12
Tomb Giant12
Wood Giant6

Giant

Source Bestiary pg. 170
Giants are massive humanoid creatures who live in remote regions throughout the world. They are divided into a number of subtypes.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Giant Bags

Giants often keep an eclectic collection of treasures in their knapsacks or bags. Among these can be found a staggeringly wide range of unexpected and odd treasures and valuables.

Sidebar - Locations Giant Locations

As oversized as they are, giants tend to dwell in remote regions of the world, where they have the luxury of claiming larger territories of their own.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Giant Pets

As with many people, giants enjoy keeping pets. Yet for giants, what constitutes a pet is often categorized as beast to others. Large animals like bears and lions, and megafauna like woolly mammoths and dinosaurs are popular, as are more magical creatures like hell hounds, manticores, griffons, and the like.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Giants

Beyond the giants detailed here, many others dwell in remote regions of the world. Marsh giants are cultists who worship strange sea deities, shadow giants have ties to the Shadow Plane, and mountain giants are horrific butchers even other giants fear.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Oversized Themes

Giants are larger-than-life foes. While many giants have themes that tie them to elemental or magical forces, the primary theme giants share is that they embody a classic cultural trope as their basis. Fire giants, for example, can be seen as oversized smiths, while hill giants should evoke the flavor of an oversized bully.