Path of the Giant: The Best Barbarian Subclass

So far in my deep dive through the pages of the new D&D sourcebook, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, I have gone into its expansive lore of Giants and The Ordning and also focused on some of the best monsters amongst the 71 found in the book’s Bestiary. If you’re a Dungeon Master wanting to add more Giants and Giantkinn into your sessions and campaigns, those are the places to start.

However, Glory of the Giants also made sure to add some options for those on the other side of the DM screen. If you’re a player who is looking to branch out and build a character who is tied in more ways than one to Giants, there are some new options here for you to choose from including a Barbarian subclass, two new backgrounds, and a few feats. In this first post, I will be just covering the new Barbarian subclass, as it is a doozy and possibly the best Barbarian subclass there is.

I’ll point out you still can’t play as a Giant, which is probably for the best unless you’re running an entire world of Giants, because there would be no end to the amount of buildings you can’t easily enter. No matter though, if your adventurer is intrigued with Giants, their history and lore, their incredible might, or any other aspect of them, you could easily have a halfling who wants nothing more than to be bigger than life and they get to do that with these additions. So, let’s look at creating a character who is tied to Giants.

Path of the Giant

If you are wanting to play a character who sprints headfirst into battle with a terror-inducing warcry and start swinging your weapon of choice around, killing enemies with reckless abandon, the Barbarian class is just for you. The defining characteristic of Barbarians is Rage, it is what makes them seemingly the best Tank class in 5e because when they’re raging it is nigh impossible to take them down (yes, there are arguments for Paladin builds to take the title belt for this as well, I know.)

While every Barbarian Rages, not every Rage is the same. Each Barbarian has to eventually choose a Primal Path, the way in which their Rage manifests on the battlefield. Path of the Giant joins eight other options for the path you can take once you reach 3rd level, each with their own benefits. Path of the Giant is for those who want the physical manifestation of their Rage to show in their actual size changing, literally growing more giant and filled with elemental strength as they tear through enemies in combat.

Now, to be fair, sometimes a new subclass is introduced, and looking at it it seems cool, and has neat flavor, but it is lackluster when it comes to mechanics: aka Undying Warlock. Or, it’s one of the original options and is terrible – looking at you, Berserker Barbarian. But, the Path of the Giant is actually a fantastic new subclass right out of the box. So, let’s look at what it has to offer.

3rd-Level Benefits:

Giant’s Power:

• Learn to communicate in Giant (or another language if you already know Giant).

• Learn either Druidcraft or Thaumaturgy as a cantrip.

Giant’s Havoc

• When raging, gain Crushing Throw (add Rage Damage bonus to thrown ranged weapons).

• When raging, gain Giant Stature (your reach increases by 5 feet as you grow in size up to Large).

6th-Level Benefits:

Elemental Cleaver

• When raging you can infuse a weapon you’re holding with primordial energy choosing acid, cold, fire, thunder, or lightning and adding 1d6 damage to hits with the weapon.

• The infused weapon can be thrown 20 ft./60 ft. and reappears in your hand after hitting or missing.

• The infused weapon has a bonus action ability to change the damage type to any other in the list.

10th-Level Benefits:

Mighty Impel

• When raging, as a bonus action, you can throw Medium and smaller creatures up to 30 feet.

• Unwilling creatures make a Strength save (8+Str. Mod+Prof.) to avoid.

• Creatures thrown to unsupported areas take falling damage and land prone.

14th-Level Benefits:

Demiurgic Colossus

• When raging, your reach increases by 10 ft.

• You can become Large or Huge.

• Your Mighty Impel can be used on creatures that are Large or smaller.

• The added damage of your Elemental Cleaver becomes 2d6.

As you can see, a Path of the Giant Barbarian is a force of raw power on the battlefield. Starting at 3rd-level, simply being able to add Thaumaturgy or Druidcraft is more so a bit of flavor and while a creative player may come up with some uses they will be limited. Speaking Giant, also more flavor.

However, Giant’s Havoc is a decently powerful boon early in the game. Crushing Throw will force your hand in how you want to play your character by making you choose a weapon that can be thrown and to use it regularly. Sure, you’re only getting a minor addition to the attack, but this is the only Barbarian subclass that offers you a solid amount of ranged damage, which is always helpful on expansive battlefields. The real show-stopper here is Giant Stature, adding to your attack distance is always a great thing to be able to do because it keeps you out of range of most opportunity attacks early in the game and keeps more enemies in your range of attack.

If you are playing in a game that allows feats, at 4th-level you can become a Polearm Master using a glaive, halberd, spear, etc. This means your attacks are reaching 10-15 feet and you have an opportunity attack range of that distance as well as making movement on the battlefield genuinely difficult for a large area of enemies. If you want to basically break the game with your character, make a Bugbear Path of the Giant Barbarian adding another 5-feet to your reach with their long-limbed feature. You now have 20 feet of reach when raging.

The addition of the 6th-level Elemental Cleaver is a fantastic build upon Crushing Throw as now you pretty much become Thor wielding your own Mjölnir by any other name and thrown weapon type. The added ability to change the damage type with a bonus action also makes you much more versatile when dealing with any enemies that have vulnerabilities, and even without that, you can be doling out extra thunder damage (the least likely to be resisted) from afar while keeping everyone else 10-20 feet away. But, next time you’re up against an army of Mephits, you will be slinging out a ton of damage (this is my way of recognizing that vulnerabilities aren’t necessarily a common thing amongst monsters in D&D and I really wish they’d focus on it more often. I mean how are Aarakocra not vulnerable to Fire? They’re literally birds. You ever put a flame near a feather? Rant over.)

Mighty Impel is incredible. There’s no way around it. You become Uncle Phil and everybody Medium and under (which will be a ton of beings at this level) are DJ Jazzy Jeff. Is it an old reference? Sure. But, hey ya gotta work with what your brain’s got. If your Dungeon Master is putting you in well-built dungeons that are multi-faceted and multi-layered you should be tossing fools left and right over ravines, into pools of poison, into the maws of massive beasts (okay, it says unoccupied spaces, but I’d let it happen with some minions), straight up where you are impaled by a stalactite, there are so many ways to toss those little guys with your Ragin’ self when you’re 10 to 15 feet tall. All I want in my life right now is to be a Bugbear Path of the Giant Barbarian that is swinging around a Glaive, tossing out thunder Javelins, and man- (or I guess) Bugbear-handling a group of Goblins and chucking them into the Sunless Cavern below.

Finally, we come to Demiurgic Colossus at 14th-level. If you’re anything like me, then you had no idea what the word Demiurgic meant and you can’t see a new word without going straight to the dictionary to rectify that situation. Well, reader, let me tell you, much like a Bridesmaid defining Love in a speech, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, Demiurgic means “One that is an autonomous creative force or decisive power.”

If you read my bit on Giant Lore, you recognize this is referencing Annam, the All-Father. You are slowly becoming equated with a creator of this world. One thing I absolutely love about this final addition to the subclass (aka its capstone to those new to Dungeons & Dragons jargon) is that it basically takes everything you’ve gained up to this point and just makes it a bit better. In my opinion, that is the best way to handle the capstone. No need for anything new, just bring it all to its peak.

The result of all of this is honestly the best Barbarian subclass of the nine available based purely on abilities. You may like the flavor of any of the others, but none of them is as powerful as The Path of the Giant in terms of sheer numbers. If you want to build a powerhouse of a tank, this is the new class for you.

That’s it for The Path of the Giant Barbarian subclass. But, we’re not done with all of the options for character building found upon the pages of Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. Up next I’ll be sharing the brand new backgrounds and feats avaliable to you, maybe to give your new Barbarian even more Giant flavor.

The Best New Monsters from Glory of the Giants

In the ongoing saga of my exploration into one of the latest Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, I'm diving into the aspects that excite me the most. While my last post delved into the rich lore surrounding Giants and Giantkin, this time around, let's revel in the thrill of discovering some truly exceptional new monsters concealed within the book's Bestiary.

Out of the whopping 71 new monsters, I found that many of them were just one type of monster reskinned across the different types of Giant. There are countless hulks, undead giants, evil giants, rune magic giants, and more where the book literally made one type and then just flavored them as storm, or fire, or frost. Those can be worthwhile additions to your game, certainly, but I'm here to spotlight the truly unique and creative options that deserve a prime spot in your upcoming sessions.

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Death Giant Shrouded One

The book shares the lore of Death Giants, saying that they stem from a band of Cloud Giants who made a bet with the Raven Queen (A God of Death and Memory), lost, obviously, and now eternally serve the Raven Queen. Shrouded Ones are Death Giants that have spent that time learning the secrets of death magic and now use a death rune inscribed on the skull of a fallen Giant to do rune magic.

Looking like a Giant Grim Reaper with a collection of skulls, and being level 15 Challenge Rating, the Shrouded One is a formidable foe. Imagine this Giant, necromantic wizard approaching your party with its scythe in one hand and its Shroud of Souls surrounding it.

Doing three attacks each turn with the option of two different, crazily powerful attack options, one of which can fully kill you and negate death saving throws. And adding its spells, a teleporting action that can frighten you, and a shroud that can negate saving throws. This is a monster that has BBEG written all over it, or maybe the final boss before your players go toe to toe with the Raven Queen herself.

Echo of Demogorgon

The Demogorgon rose to the highest ranks of Dungeons and Dragons monsters even in the minds of people who have never rolled a single 20-sided die in their life thanks to Stranger Things. What you may not know is that in D&D, The Demogorgon is nothing like what we see terrorizing Hawkins, Indiana, and instead is an insanely powerful Prince of Demons.

Ettins on the other hand are one of the many Giantkin, gross, crude two-headed beings with ties to both Giants and Orcs. An Echo of Demogorgon is an Ettin that has been transformed by Demogorgon himself as thanks for their servitude.

Coming in at a Challenge Rating 6, these are perfect to throw at a lower-level party around 4 or 5 alongside maybe an Orc pal or two. Their resistance to magic will make them a bit of a pain for any magic-users. While its standard tentacle attack isn’t the most flavorful thing, it is its bonus action that makes it stand out. Its two heads will scream and yell at one another, inadvertently causing players to possibly attack their own party members or possibly take a bit of psychic damage.

Overall, I like this addition as a solid creepy, and weird monster to add a tough challenge at lower levels rather than just throwing another Hill Giant into the campaign.

Ettin Ceremorph

Give me a chance to put Mind Flayers into a campaign and I will jump on it in a heartbeat. Enter the Giant-sized Mind Flayer you never knew you needed and yet, here it is. For those who don’t know, outside of, once again, Stranger Things, Mind Flayers are one of the most feared and most intriguing monsters in the entire Multiverse of D&D. Also known as Illithid, they are powerful and sadistic psionic aliens whose overarching plan is to dominate all other lifeforms. How do they plan to do this? By devouring the brains of their foes, stealing their thoughts and personalities in the aftermath.

The Ettin Ceremorph is, at its core, a Mind Flayer Ettin, its body transformed by the insertion of tadpoles into both of its brains and one head eventually taking the forefront as it grew the signature tentacled mouth of a Mind Flayer and its skin turned purple.

At Challenge Rating 8, it is a perfect time in a campaign to start introducing some Mind Flayer machinations into the mix and why not start it out with one of these guys? Its Tentacle attack has an added bonus of possibly grappling (as all tentacle attacks should IMHO). In classic Mind Flayer fashion, it can extract your brain if it kills you while you’re grappled. And adding a bit of range to its action economy, it has mind bolts to shoot out some distanced damage and possibly stun you at the same time.

Seriously, folks. Add some Mind Flayers to your campaigns, nothing is scarier than psychic damage when it comes to D&D, and when you make that damage come from a Large creature it’s just that much scarier because, well, hulk smash and all that.

Fensir Devourer

Fensirs are another Giantkin that stem from Trolls who accompanied Frost Giants in conquering the outdoor plane of Ysgard with the goal of winning Annam’s favor. There they found they could not die and would regenerate and this cycle of rebirth changed these Trolls into entirely different beings.

While I don’t necessarily see Fensir Devourers as an inherently terrifying monster, I do see them as an interesting monster, akin to a Stone Giant. Devourers are a rare type of Fensir that has lived on Ysgard for at least a thousand years and then rapidly grows to a height of 25 feet and is insatiable. Just based on that alone, I just see these as an option to add in a powerful monster that is also just really sad. It may lead the players to question how to handle it instead of simply killing it, and as I’ve said before, I always like adding moral quandaries into D&D campaigns.

At Challenge Rating 8, the one thing that really makes these scary monsters, even though they can do a solid amount of damage and are hard to hit with a 17 AC, is their Death Curse. The Death Curse has the possibility of stopping any short or long rests for 24 hours and 2d10 psychic damage every hour for the next 24 hours. After a fight with this, not being able to regain Hit Points outside of downing potions or wasting spells is at the least annoying and at worst, deadly.

Fire Hellion

A blend of Fire Giant and a devil, a match made in, well, The Nine Hells, I guess. It should come as no surprise that some Fire Giants would be interested in The Blood War, the everlasting conflict between demons and devils. The Fire Hellion is the outcome of this fascination.

Of the monsters in Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants that are tied to the six main types of Giant, this is my absolute favorite. It’s a Giant turned Fiend and it looks rad as hell, like a miniature Balrog.

At Challenge Rating 11, the Fire Hellion has some really awesome abilities. Its main attack is a fiery morningstar that temporarily blocks HP recovery. It has an Infernal Orb, which would wreck a party of adventurers in an enclosed space. Best of all, its Soul Taker feature sends players who are reduced to 0 points straight to Avernus. Better get your party headed to The Nine Hells if they wish to save their friend’s soul.

Fomorian Noble

You really like the Giantkin monsters, you might be thinking. Guess what? You’re rightio. And guess what else? This is my favorite of them found here. Why? Well, because if you know anything about Fomorians it is that they are known as the nastiest, ugliest, most wicked of all the Giantkin as they and their fallen god Karontor were banished and they were cursed for attacking the Feywild.

However, these Nobles show us what Fomorians once looked like when they sat in the Ordning between Hill and Stone Giants. They are tall, lithe, angular-faced, almost beautiful like elves are meant to be. I’m glad they’re here merely for the chance to see them.

To be honest though, for a CR 15 creature, the stat block here is extremely boring. Crazy high health at 253 HP. A rod that does about 25 damage per hit. A couple of spells, none of which are much fun. And Beguiling Presence which is basically a Charm Spell. Boring for a fight, but the idea of bringing in these Nobles after the party has interacted with traditional Fomorians is intriguing, maybe having them try to re-enter the Ordning or something like that. All I’m saying is, I’m glad they’re here even though they’re boring.

Fomorian Warlock of the Dark

For as boring as the Nobles are, they had to immediately follow them up with these, which are just so not boring. These are the Fomorians who have been cursed and banished and are hideous and seen as evil. And yet, they strive to regain the arcane glory they had before, and through magical pacts are able to make that happen.

Much like the Death Giant Shrouded One, these have a rune that allows them to do powerful magic acts. At a Challenge Rating 12, they honestly seem like they could be a bit overpowered, especially since they come with three Legendary Resistances. Remember how the CR15 Nobles had attacks for about 25 HP, these have a greatclub attack that averages 26. They also have a hex that deals 27 damage and curses victims of the hex. They have an Eldritch Burst that does 32 damage. They have spellcasting. They have a Bonus Action that can blind you and a reaction that can poison you.

What I’m saying is these are badasses that have so much action economy that it makes the Nobles look like little weaklings and maybe my football coach was right to say, “No pain, no gain.”

Gargantua

In a world of Giants, the Gargantua stands out as a giant even to the Giants themselves. Born as any other Giant is, they grow out of control to a point where they are too large to exist amongst their own kind. Towering behemoths, over 40 feet tall, they often leave their societies to find areas where they can live, some in peace, some with a chip on their shoulder, angry with the world.

As always, if given the chance, I like taking monsters and making them not so monstrous. Gargantua are built for this type of encounter, a misunderstood, gentle giant who has never fit in. I like the idea of one of these accidentally destroying a large item, maybe a caravan, maybe a small house, and it’s being attacked and the players come in and have to save it and befriend it. That to me is more satisfying than making it evil and stomping around killing livestock, killing people, and the party has to go kill it.

I mean, it’s a CR 21 monster. By the time your players could ostensibly go up against it, they would be so powerful that it would be a rather mundane fight against something that likely doesn’t even really care to fight them. However, you send in a party of level 10 characters and let them save it, they now have themselves a powerful and loyal friend to join them when the campaign is coming to a close and they need all the help they can get. 388 Hit Points. A Hex that can Incapacitate. An ability to mimic spells cast on it. A Weird Aura that causes serious psychic damage and possibly frightens.

All of this will make this an awesome ally in the final battle if having a 40-foot-tall monster isn’t enough for you. Remember the Ents in The Return of the King? Well, here ya go.

Giant Goose

It’s a Giant Goose that lays one massive golden egg a year and the eggs hold trinkets. That’s it. You players are going to go and steal an egg from a goose and you’re going to put an important magic item in there for them. Normal geese are terrifying enough. Giant Goose is infinitely scarier. Its Thunderous Honk, something I never knew I needed, but love so much, can be heard within 300 feet and can deal out thunder damage and deafen players.

Bonus points for you if you somehow run a version of Untitled Goose Game starring a Giant Goose that is leaving a path of destruction through a small country village.

Grinning Cat

Hmm, wonder where they got the inspiration for this one? Maybe we should go ask Alice? I don’t really care though, I’m a big fan of the Cheshire Cat. And having a stat block to add him to my campaign is something I’m excited about. The Grinning Cat is a large Fey creature that is known to be mischievous.

Much like the Goose, it’s not going to be much of a monster you fight as opposed to a monster that just adds to the immersive feeling of the world. Have it trade some riddles, or knowledge with the players in an area using its Fade Away ability to weave in and out of sight, making sure to always bring that grinning smile back into view.

One interesting part of the cat is its whiskers allowing anyone holding one to cast Misty Step once. While your players could kill the cat and take 2d12 of these. I think it would be more fun for the cat to send them on a quick quest and in return it will award them a few of its whiskers. And who knows, maybe the Grinning Cat will be there in the endgame as well, fighting alongside a Gargantua, he’s only a CR 1, so maybe not, but it’s your world, it can be whatever you want.

Maw of Yeenoghu

If you’re familiar with the vast lore of Dungeons & Dragons then you would recognize that Yeenoghu is a demon lord of Gnolls aka the Beast of Butchery. And you may wonder what a god of canine humanoids has to do with Giants. Well, according to the book, Hill Giants, who are known for their endless desire to devour, can also attract the attention of Yeenoghu as he sees them as pawns in his plans.

Looking like a gruesome Gnoll and Giant hybrid, a maw of Yeenoghu is the perfect monster to send after your players to up the yuck factor in a campaign. Their jaws hang loose and wide, filled with rows of teeth that continually grow, coming in so quickly that they rip their own teeth out to relieve pain and to use as throwable weapons.

At Challenge Rating 10, a maw of Yeenoghu working alongside a warband of blood-hungry gnolls would be a terrifying mid-game threat, especially if you are running a campaign where Yeenoghu himself is either the BBEG or one where the Bloodwar plays part in the overarching story, bringing your players head to head with many Devils and Demons. Its abilities aren’t anything too excited bites, throwing fangs, a charge attack, and a rebuke. Nevertheless, the visceral and disgusting way that you could describe combat against this makes it a monster to keep in your mind as it would remain in your players’ minds for sessions to come.

Scions of Giants’ Gods

Now, I know I said I wouldn’t focus on any of this. But, as an added bonus here at the end, I just wanted to point out that they exist and that there are twelve of them that you could focus on using if you are doing a Giant-focused campaign. These are the Grandchildren of Annam, the All-Father, whom I wrote in-depth about in my post on Giant lore.

Ranging in Challenge Rating from Level 22 - 27, these are end-game monsters no matter which way you look at it. And, truly, if you’re looking for new, exciting monsters to throw at players who have played the game a long time and may know most of what’s out there, the Scion of Skoraeus or the Scion of Stronmaus are worth taking a look at. Another fun way to use them would be having the players travel around the world throughout the entire campaign trying to converse with these Scions and working to get them to join their side in bringing Annam back to the Material Plane, ending in an all-out war where you get to describe the players fighting alongside these Giant demigods.

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In conclusion, the Bestiary of Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants is a treasure trove of fresh, exciting monsters that can invigorate your campaigns. While the physical book might be a hefty investment, exploring the PDF version or seeking the stat blocks online is well worth it. These creatures offer a delightful twist to Giant-focused campaigns or arcs, injecting a breath of fresh air into your adventures.

Next up, we'll delve deep into the new backgrounds, subclasses, and feats introduced in Glory of the Giants. From Rune Carvers immersed in runecraft to a Barbarian path that channels the might of Giants, players are in for a treat with these incredible options.

Until then, Happy Adventuring!

A Guide to the Giant Lore in Glory of the Giants

My most recent post was a quick breakdown of the recently released Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. In that post, I focused on what was in the book with a promise of doing deeper dives into the five key takeaways I found worthwhile in the book. The first of those was the deep, and expansive lore of Giants and Giantkind that it offers, and in this post I’m going to be focusing on that lore and how to use it in your upcoming campaigns. So, without further adieu, let’s do a lore dump:

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The Ordning

The book is presented as a history written by the iconic D&D Wizard Bigby along with inserts from the demigod who is revered by Giants, Diancastra. If you’ve never read anything about the Giants of Dungeons and Dragons, one of the key aspects to understand is that they are one of the oldest beings in the Forgotten Realms and that their progenitor, Annam possibly aided in creating the Inner Planes. Another main factor in the world of giants is known as The Ordning.

Giants are and have always been organized in a rigid social hierarchy. The Ordning dictates their roles, responsibilities, and status within giant society. The Ordning is based on strength and lineage, with the most powerful giants rising to the top of the hierarchy. As pointed out in the book and also in the Monster Manual, there are six main types of giants.

At the top of the Ordning are the Storm Giants, the most powerful and respected of all giants. They are followed (in order) by the Cloud Giants, Fire Giants, Frost Giants, Stone Giants, and Hill Giants. While each type of giant has its own unique strengths, weaknesses, and cultural traditions, none of them can break the order of the Ordning and their rank in life is dictated by the type of giant they are.

Gods of Giantkind

D&D is filled with tales of Gods and Goddesses of all kinds, and Giants have their own set of deities. The book focuses on eleven of these deities. I always find its good to have some idea of the Gods in any world that you can pull on as DM to add into your campaigns.

Annam:

Annam, The All-Father, progenitor of Giants in D&D.

Annam is, for all intents and purposes, one of the oldest and most powerful gods in the worlds of D&D. Some myths claim that he created the world, some that he took the shattered First World created by the Dragon deities Bahamut and Tiamat, and used them to create many worlds, and there are various other tellings.

The important part is to know he is the creator of Giants, the All-Father. And for some reason, likely because Giants didn’t live up to their potential due to in-fighting, he is believed to have nothing to do with the world of mortals. Because of this, few giants still worship him as he is seen as absent and uncaring.

The hook I’d take from this for a campaign is that he has been paying close attention and has just been biding his time for an unfathomably long time and for a good reason. What that reason is is for you as DM to decide.

Diancastra:

Annam’s youngest child, daughter to him, and a Giant mother, Diancastra has spent her existence trying to prove her place amongst the pantheon of Giant gods. Unlike many of these gods, who are renowned for their strength, she is seen as clever and brave. She is worshipped by many giants and non-giants who value strength of mind over brute strength.

I personally find Diancastra to be maybe the most intriguing god to include in your own game. Imagine a sort of secret underground Giant enclave that focuses on using trickery and cleverness to reclaim Giant heirlooms, with the ultimate goal of reaching Annam and bringing his focus back to the mortal world. Or, maybe they have come to reject The Ordning as it holds Giantkind back, and all types of Giants under Diancastra’s guidance are working in the shadows to overthrow other mortal kingdoms and take their place at the top of the hierarchy of this plane. A large cabal of all Giantkind as your BBEG would be pretty incredible.

Memnor:

To put it in simplest terms, Memnor is the villainous god of Giantkind. Much like Annam, he is ancient and the sagas are unsure if he is Annam’s son or brother. Either way, he is out to take the throne from Annam and to restore the Giants to their “rightful” place above all other mortals. He is manipulative and evil, and his worshippers are the same.

If you’re going to have Annam in the background of your campaign, it makes sense to have Memnor included as his foil. The book gives the perfect way to use Memnor by having his worshippers and priests secretly work against the other priests of Giantkind. Maybe the followers of Annam and Diancastra are working to bring all of the Giants together to create their own space to coexist peacefully amongst mortals, and the priests of Memnor are right there working in the background, bringing together a small army to lead the Giants to destroy other mortals and reclaim this world as theirs.

Stronmaus:

The oldest of Annam’s children, Stronmaus is seen as an optimistic, jovial god who loves life and has bountiful energy. This gets in the way of recognizing the foolhardiness and vileness of the other gods. When his father withdrew from the affairs of mortals, Stronmaus stepped up and took his place, but it hasn’t gone as he expected and he is frustrated by the experience.

This is the last Giant god I will go into detail on and that is because I like the idea of putting Stronmaus and his priests in charge, but they aren’t taken seriously by the other gods or their worshippers. As the others work behind his back, scheming at whatever you think up, he plays the role of an optimistic buffoon, but in reality, he is working his own plans to stop them in their tracks. Maybe this moment is what Annam has been waiting for, watching his eldest child finally step into the role fully and wholeheartedly and finally bring back the glory of the Giants.

The Others:

The book offers similar info on the others, all of it useful, but these were the ones that stood out to me. You could have fun with the rivalrous brotherhood of Thrym and Surtur. You could focus on an area in your world where Goliaths and/or Firbolgs live and worship Hiatea. Or you could have a Cult of Karontor, the wicked god whom Annam banished to the Underdark. There is much that can be done with any of the gods in this book, as always with being a Dungeon Master, all it takes is a bit of imagination and a vision for the campaign you want to run.

The Six Main Types of Giant:

As stated above, within the rigid hierarchy of the Ordning, six main types of Giants stand out. Let’s take a look at each of these.

A powerful Storm Giant moves through the halls of her castle at the bottom of the sea.

Storm Giants:

Reigning supreme at the pinnacle of the Ordning are the Storm Giants, the embodiment of raw power and elemental fury. Storm Giants can live for upwards of 600 years and in that time they will generally stay relatively to completely solitary. They also are the most kind and wise of the Giants and will stay so unless provoked, at which point their fury is boundless and destructive.

They spend the majority of their long lives watching for omens and signs of Annam’s return, wishing for nothing more than to restore the glory of the ancient days of the glorious Giant empires. Because of these centuries of watching, they are fonts of knowledge and can also foretell coming calamities, and, if adventurers are respectful, the Storm Giants may share their knowledge and aid in saving the mortal world.

Their massive castles can be found unimaginably high above the surface, or in the deepest depths of the sea. The only common point is they are far from civilization and nigh impossible to reach. Though they sit at the top of the Ordning they have no interest in where they rank within the hierarchy. They mostly stay out of the squabbling of other Giantkind unless there is a major, possibly world-shattering event occurring or on the horizon.

There is, however, one type of Storm Giant that breaks all the rules of their kind. These are known as Tempest Callers, I will share more about them in the follow-up post about Monsters in Glory of the Giants.

Cloud Giants:

The second most powerful in The Ordning, Cloud Giants can live to 400 years of age. They can dwell in ethereal cities suspended among the clouds, or in castles on the highest peaks. While Storm Giants are distant and detached, Cloud Giants sit proudly over their Giantkin and other mortals, and many of them actually see themselves as the most powerful and highest status of all Giants. Because of this they often are known to make other, lower Giants, work for them, and more-or-less worship them.

Their main focus in life is on amassing and holding onto wealth and power. But, the wealth they acquire must be more than gold, they are not dragons sitting on a horde, they seek extravagant and beautiful items which they use to show off their wealth. They wish to own things that gold can buy, but also that which cannot be bought. Because of this, they are known for making great and unimaginable wagers against one another in order to rise in the ranks of their society. This gambling is taken to a new level with one of the new monsters in the book, the Destiny Gambler, another monster I will focus on in the upcoming post.

Fire Giants:

Fiery tempers and a penchant for forging fiery weapons characterize the fire giants, denizens of volcanic lairs, and molten forge-halls. Their mastery of fire and metalworking has earned them a reputation as formidable warriors and artisans. If Cloud Giants build clout amongst their ranks with wealth and luxury, Fire Giants do so by becoming master crafters.

Next to craftsmanship, Fire Giants see martial prowess as a skill of great importance. They put their expertly-crafted weapons and armor to use in waging wars and while they may be seen as brutish warriors, they are much more and will use their time-tested battle tactics (they can live up to 350 years) to destroy the most powerful of armies. Once this destruction has occurred they will take the surviving members of the enemy army and turn them into serfs, working their mines, farms, and fields for the rest of their lives.

Because of their crafting abilities and lower rung in The Ordning, they are often exploited by Cloud Giants to craft wondrous items to show off their wealth and power over lower Giants.

Frost Giants:

If Fire Giants are masters of fires and forges, Frost Giants are masters of frigid wastes and ferocity. Frost giants thrive in the harsh environments of icy mountains and glaciers. Their bodies are toughened by the cold, and their formidable endurance allows them to withstand the harshest conditions.

The easiest way to think of Frost Giants is to imagine Giant Vikings, at least the typical view of Vikings. They respect and care for nothing more than brute strength, the ranking of a Frost Giant amongst its people is based purely on how powerful and ferocious it is. Unlike their fiery brethren, they have no purpose for crafting anything on their own and merely pillage weapons clothing, armor, food, and whatever else is left from those whom they battle against. Their greatest foes are Dragons and the highest-ranking amongst them will have killed a Dragon and stolen its scales to create plate armor and their teeth and claws to create weaponry.

Along with killing and pillaging, Frost Giants are adept at navigating treacherous terrains, and their knowledge of the frozen realms is unmatched, because of this they are skilled hunters and their diet consists of freshly killed animals amongst the expansive, icy tundras they call home.

Stone Giants:

Carving their homes from solid rock, stone giants are the embodiment of ancient strength and resilience. Their bodies are as hard as stone, and their connection to the earth grants them an uncanny understanding of its secrets. Stone giants are guardians of tradition, keepers of ancient lore, and their patience and wisdom are highly valued among their kin.

Stone Giants most resemble Storm Giants in their demeanor and are likely to live in quiet solitude amongst the far-off reaches of the rocky wilderness. The longest-lived of all Giants at up to 800 years, they are private and peaceful and care mostly about creating art in their secluded caves. Outside of art and artistry, the only other activity they hold in high esteem is rock throwing, which is their main defense against outside attacks.

Possibly the most intriguing bit of Stone Giant lore that is only found amongst them is that they view anything that happens outside of their own inner sanctums, their underground homes, as taking part in a sort of dream world. Because of this, they can be seen as evil or violent, when in reality their actions out in the open are seen as inconsequential to them, not real in any way.

One thing Glory of the Giants adds to Stone Giant lore is their penchant for rune carving. This could be used as a backstory tool if you have a player who chooses to take the new background found in the book, The Rune Carver, which I will be covering in a later post about the new PC options.

Hill Giants:

If you have a Giant in your mind, especially if you haven’t played much D&D, Hill Giants are likely what you’re envisioning. The most common and widespread of the giants, hill giants dwell in the foothills and mountainous regions. Their stature is shorter than their kin, but they still command respect and fear due to their brute strength and territorial nature. Put simply, Hill Giants are big, dumb, lazy, bullies.

They’re literally too stupid to realize that there even is an Ordning, but they fall into it because they see size as power. Because of this, they will unapologetically attack any smaller creature that crosses their path because it is weak and they are hungry. This is an important aspect to Hill Giants. They are always hungry. If they enter a village or a farm they will kill and eat everything that they can get their hands on.

Because of their idiocy and rage, there is also a good chance that Hill Giants will fight with one another and may likely kill each other in the ensuing battle over any perceived slight. They may be smaller and weaker than any other type of Giant, but they are formidable foes because of their chaotic evil nature and the fact that there is little chance of talking them out of an all-out fight to the death.

Giant Organizations:

The last bit of lore I found interesting and worth noting from Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, was the section on Giant Organizations. I found that these offered a unique way to bring Giants into a campaign other than the typical ways of coming across some Hill Giants fighting or going on a fetch quest for a Cloud Giant.

The section starts by saying, “Many giants are oriented to small family groups or particular interests of their kind. However, some organizations unite giants across the divides of the Ordning…” The section then offers up three organizations with adventure hooks included, and I think it is worthwhile to look at the groups known as the Hidden Rune, the Stewards of the Eternal Throne, and the Worldroot Circle.

Hidden Rune:

Basically, the Hidden Rune is a group of Giant scholars focused on collecting and preserving all of the knowledge of Giants in order to aid future Giant civilizations when they finally return to their former position of power over the Material Plane. It is said they have members on all worlds of the Material Plane searching for and documenting all of Giant civilization’s history.

They have an archive hidden on the Elemental Plane of Earth where they are working to piece together a complete history of Giants. They view this pursuit as a pure act of preservation of the past in order to help the Giants of the future.

The book, in a side note, also hints that the name Hidden Rune comes from a myth of a powerful rune created by Annam that was hidden when the ancient Giant empires fell. They believe if they can find this Hidden Rune, they can help restore themselves to their former stations of power.

Stewards of the Eternal Throne:

The lore in the book continually points out that at some point in time in ancient history, the Giants were a massive, powerful empire that spanned across the multiverse with Annam leading them all, and that something, which differs wildly, caused this empire to decline and eventually fall. This is the point in history when Annam abandoned his people and went into seclusion.

The Stewards of the Eternal Throne believe the Giants of this ancient empire failed in their responsibilities. They believe it was the Giants’ job to guide the lesser peoples of these ancient worlds towards wisdom and prosperity, but instead, they dominated these people, subjugated them, exploited resources, and were vile rulers. Because of these actions, Annam destroyed this empire, cast them out of their places of power, and retreated from the Material Plane. It is their job to atone for the acts of the Giants of the past and regain Annam’s favor.

They are a knightly order that is spread across the entire Material Plane. They swear an oath to uphold fundamental tenets of Stewardship, Protection, Education, and Peace. The Stewards are made up of all types of Giants and Giantkin, but they also work with all other peoples across their respective worlds including humanoids, but also ancient and powerful beings like Dragon, and even the Gods of revered by other folk.

Worldroot Circle:

The Worldroot Circle is essentially a group of Giant druids, for ease of understanding. This section of the book says, “A saga chanted among the giants of the Worldroot Circle describes a great tree that grew on the First World at the dawn of time. Planted and tended by the god Corellon, this tree was a seedling of the mighty Yggdrasil, the World Tree that connects all of the Outer Planes. When the First World was destroyed, seeds from this great tree scattered into the void of the Material Plane.”

It goes on to explain how Annam collected and took care of these seeds until each of them grew into the worlds that make up the Material Plane.

Those members of the Worldroot Circle see themselves as the gardeners left on these worlds and entrusted with taking care of the worlds Annam made. Whether its an actual tree or some geographical feature they believe to be the root of the world, they strive to take care of it. They gather at these points and perform rites to take care of and nurture their respective worlds, while at the same time creating a connection to the members of other worlds. They work together to create balance and harmony across The Material Plane.

While this is just a bit of the lore offered within Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, I think there is a lot here that you as a Dungeon Master can take and integrate into your world and campaign. As long as Giants have been a part of D&D, they often seem to be overshadowed by some of the other bigger monsters out there, but there is an awesome bit of backstory and history to use here, especially with these new organizations included.

I personally, would love to run a campaign where all three organizations are running at once, and slowly they weave together to bring Annam back and return peace and prosperity to Giants. Maybe even crafting a new world that is home to all Giantkind. Feel free to use that, or use anything you like here.

Up next I’ll be focusing on some awesome and terrifying new monsters that Glory of the Giants offers to throw into your upcoming sessions.

Using Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants to Enhance Your Campaigns

It’s been a few months since Wizards of the Coast released Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. As a big fan of those big guys, the Giants, I had the book on pre-order and had planned on writing a review not long after I received it. However, its release was marred by its controversial inclusion of AI-generated art, surprisingly short length (192 pages), high price tag ($70?!), and more. These controversies made it challenging to focus on the book's content and provide an objective review, so I decided to give it some space to breathe and come back to it at a later date.

Months later, I’ve taken the time to thoroughly give it a read and I think the better path to take is to focus on what is in there that will be useful for you Dungeon Masters (DMs) out there who want to effectively and creatively use Giants in your upcoming sessions and campaigns. There is a lot to cover here, so to make it a bit more digestible, I am going to post it as a series of shorter blogs covering each section of what I include below. Let’s take one giant leap into the world of Giants.

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What’s in the Book?

The Hill Giant from the First Edition Monster Manual.

Lotsa Lore:

Giants have long held a position of awe and reverence in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, in fact they’re one of the monsters that has been found in the game since it released in 1974. In those years there have been various iterations of their long and deep history for Dungeon Masters to pull from. However, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants offers the most in-depth and complete version of this and will give you so much to work with when adding them into your game. The book traces the giants' origins from primordial chaos to their current place in the world, detailing their interactions with other races and their role in shaping the Forgotten Realms.

These towering figures command respect and embody the power of nature itself. Within the pages of Glory of the Giants you’ll find a treasure trove of information on these formidable creatures with a comprehensive guide that unveils their history, culture, and societal structures.

That is the biggest and greatest aspect of this book, its lore. It gives a near full Saga on the Giants and their brethren throughout the history of The Forgotten Realms and it does so with a focus on being able to introduce the lore into your adventures.

Not only does it offer a crash course on the annals of giant history, tracing their origins from the primordial chaos to their current place in the world, the book also meticulously explores the diverse types of giants, from the formidable cloud giants to the enigmatic storm giants, each with their unique traits, customs, and motivations. This detailed exploration allows DMs to craft compelling storylines that weave giants seamlessly into the fabric of their campaigns. In this recent post, I’ve explored this lore and offered a few ways I think it could be used in your campaigns.

New Monsters!:

While they don’t have to be monsters, the simple fact is to most anybody, even in a fantasy realm, a Giant would be a terrifying figure to come across. The book offers up 71 new monsters, which is a massive amount of new baddies for such a short sourcebook. I already covered one of my favorites, a Barrowghast, in my post on Terrifying Monsters for a Horror Campaign. However, there are countless types of monsters found in here including gargantuas, magic-using Giants, cultists, Scions of Giants’ Gods (my faves)r and even dinosaurs. In my post on monsters I’ve included my favorite ones found in Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants and offered some ways that I might use them in my own campaigns, feel free to take them for your own. As I’ve said before, one of the best ways to make DMing easier is to take ideas and use them in your own campaigns.

Backgrounds, Subclasses, and Feats, oh my!:

Are you a player, or do you have a player in your game who is going through the character creation stage (if they are, you might send them here for some tips wink) who wants their character tied to Giants? Good news: Glory of the Giants offers up quite a few new ways to make this dream come true. If you’re planning on playing one of the physically largest D&D classes out there, Barbarians, there’s a new Giant subclass for you. If you want the backstory of your character tied to Giants, there are two options for backgrounds to choose from. And finally, there are some new feats your characters can take that tie them to the world of Giants. All of these additions are great additions to the ever-growing option list for players looking to branch out and play something a little off-the-wall.

A Giant’s Share of Items:

You can never have enough fun items to add into your bag of holding or onto the shelves of the merchants around your world, and there are 30 new magic items to choose from within the pages of Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. It’s never a bad idea to drop some unique items around your world to simply make it feel bigger and more lived in, so I’ll share some of my favorites here for you to add into your games.

Giant Enclaves and Assorted Tables:

So, this is one of my only real gripes with the book and its that there are just sooooo many pages of tables. For some DMs that may be exactly what they’re looking for. For me, I find tables to be mind-numbingly boring and while they may spark creativity, I find them to be akin to casting Bane on the creative mind. There are also mini maps with adventures sprinkled in that take up a decent portion of the book. I will include the ones that stood out, but truly I found it a slog trying to get through most of this stuff, so I’ll save them for the last post.

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Those are the five main takeaways from Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. As I said above, I will be releasing a breakdown of each of these sections as its own blog post to give you a chance to break up the readings and to easily focus on the aspects that most interest you for your own campaigns.

Let me know in the comments or by emailing me at Cavan@TheNewDm.com to let me know if you prefer this approach over long-form posts.

Until then, Happy Adventuring!