Giants (Part 2): Cloud Giant

You know, when I think of giants, I think of tall dudes in a loincloth that that smashes shit. Which is the complete opposite of what I got.

Oh well. There are another five of these damn things. That’s five chances to be disappointed.

I might be a little too pessimistic.

Lore: Gamblers of the Clouds

Cloud giants, as the name might suggest, live high above the world. They are spread to the wind, living all across the world in different families. In times of need, these clans gather together to face whatever threat faces them. Although the process is slow goings.

They are attuned to the air itself, capable of turning into clouds or mist. They can even control storms almost as well as their cousins, the storm giants. They make their homes in castles built atop the mountains or clouds made solid by their magic. These domains are the last bastion of their fallen empire.

Although storm giants outrank them, the storm giants rarely interact with others of their kind. As such, many of the cloud giants see themselves as the highest on the ordning of giants. They’ll order lesser giants to seek out wealth or treasure for them.

They themselves will remain atop their homes, tending to gardens. So bountiful are these gardens that countless stories have been told about them (Jack and the Beanstalk confirmed canon in D&D world). They’ll keep griffons, perytons, and even wyverns as their pets, just as men keep owls and eagles for themselves.

Menmor the Trickster, the most clever and devious of the giant gods, is the patron of the cloud giants. They mimic their god in many ways, mainly through silver tongues and intellect.

A cloud giant’s place in the ordning is decided via wealth it wears upon itself. Value, however, is not as important to them as extravagance. Even the cheapest of treasures may grant prestige if they are appealing to the eye.

They do not fight over these treasures. Instead, they’ll gamble for them. Even the wealth of a king can be taken, so long as the one gambling for it rolls well in their unique games.

This lore is super interesting! It’s perfect for building non-combat oriented encounters! Maybe the players need to play a cloud giant in a game for an important item! Or maybe they could ally with one family and go to unite some more against a common threat, like a dragon! With a little creativity, you can create some super fun plots with these giants!

Design: Big Fancy Man

I love everything about this but the face.

I like it, though. It holds an erect, dignified posture and wears elegant, ornate clothes. It’s impossible to confuse this thing for a mindless savage. This guy may be a giant, but he’s dignified.

You can’t mistake it for weak, either. Those toned arms and massive feet (never underestimate how painful a good ol’ fashioned kick can be) undoubtedly mark it as dangerous. He’s a rich boy that knows exactly how to protect his wealth.

But… well, again: it’s simple. Too simple. It doesn’t leave me with much to talk about beyond what we just covered. It’s like the designers shrugged and said “Eh, just make a big dude in nice clothes and we’ll call ‘im a giant. What’re we doin’ for lunch?”

When are we gonna get another bizarre freak of a monster? Come on, give me something to cut my teeth on!

Stats: Aang, But Big

Huh. These are surprisingly simplistic.

Stat wise, these guys aren’t that impressive. Their AC is more than manageable, though their HP sits at a nice even 200. They have no resistances or immunities, though it makes up for it with Keen Smell, which gives it advantage on perception checks related to smell. So… you’d better not stink when you’re trying to sneak up on one.

It’s got a small list of spells to use, too. They are:

At will: detect magic, fog cloud, light
3/day each: feather fall, fly, misty step, telekinesis
1/day each: control weather, gaseous form

The rest is fairly simple. It has a Morningstar and it can throw rocks. It can use the former twice. Their damage numbers are high, but not absolutely monstrous. If it runs out of magic, it can mess you up. But it’s definitely relying on that over weapons.

If it does come to combat (which it probably will, I’ve never played with a party that wasn’t thirsty for blood), then it can put up a pretty decent fight.

Or you could throw five of them at your players at once. Just to scare the fuck out of ’em.

Placement

These guys are pretty good. Their lore and stats are just okay, the stats slightly above average. But it’s more than helped by its fantastic lore.

With all that in mind, let’s put the Cloud Giant on the Best of the Bestiary!

1. Beholder
2. Death Tyrant
3. Dragon Turtle
4. Green Dragons
5. Red Dragons
6. Blue Dragons
7. Black Dragons
8. White Dragons
9. Silver Dragons
10. Couatl
11. Behir
12. Aboleth
13. Bronze Dragons
14. Brass Dragons
15. Copper Dragons
16. Gold Dragons
17. Chuul
18. Chimera
19. Death Knight
20. Fomorian
21. Bone Devil
22. Dracolich
23. Faerie Dragon
24. Ankheg
25. Empyrean
26. Efreeti
27. Dao
28. Cloud Giant <—————————
29. Drow (all four of ’em)
30. Shadow Demon
31. Marilith
32. Drider
33. Aarackockra
34. Azer
35. Demilich
36. Spectator
37. Marid
38. Cambion
39. Animated Armor
40. Banshee
41. Basilisk
42. Yochlol
43. Bulette
44. Cloaker
45. Darkmantle
46. Doppelganger
47. Ghoul and Ghast
48. Ettin
49. Pit Fiend
50. Erinyes
51. Chain Devil
52. Bearded Devil
53. Barbed Devil
54. Spined Devil
55. Ice Devil
56. Djinni
57. Nalfeshnee
58. Glabrezu
59. Chasme
60. Barlgura
61. Horned Devil
62. Balor
63. Shadow Dragon
64. Vrock
65. Dretch
66. Goristro
67. Hezrou
68. Manes
69. Duergar
70. Quasit
71. Dryad
72. Flumph
73. Planetar
74. Imp
75. Flameskull
76. Displacer Beast
77. Carrion Crawler
78. Rug of Smothering
79. Bugbear Chief
80. Bugbear
81. Vine Blight
82. Twig Blight
83. Needle Blight
84. Bullywug
85. Ettercap
86. Gas Spore
87. Cockatrice
88. Lemure
89. Solar
90. Deva
91. Cyclops
92. Centaur
93. Ghost
94. Fire Elemental
95. Water Elemental
96. Air Elemental
97. Dinosaurs (All six of them)
98. Earth Elemental
99. Galeb Duhr
100. Flying Sword
101. Crawling Claw
102. Violet Fungus
103. Shrieker
104. Gargoyle