DEATH GIANT This heavily armored, gaunt giant has pointed ears and dark gray skin. Its hands end in long yellow claws, and its snarl shows sharp fangs. It is surrounded by a thin fog of swirling vapor, and as you watch, the cloud forms into tormented faces that scream in terror and pain.
Death giants are a race of terribly evil giants that, in order to preserve their empire from destruction, traded the immortal souls of every one of their kind in exchange for unholy power. It was a poor bargain, and the death giants now live with the mistake of their ancestors Fallen From Grace. Death giants once ruled a great kingdom, adept in the ways of magic and craftsmanship rivaled by none of their kin. Eventually a great threat unknown to even the most adept scholars posed itself to take on the death giants. Out of fear and desperation they would strike a deal with an ancient evil, one they would soon come to regret. Destined For Destruction. While death giants may live up to five thousand years, they live with great fear of their own demise. Due to the pact made countless years ago by their ancestors, when a death giant dies its soul is automatically claimed by the dark patron that holds the right to every death giant soul. Who this mysterious patron is and what they use these souls for is uncertain, however no death giant has ever been successfully resurrected and this leads many to believe their souls will be destroyed. Forsaken. Death giants seldom worship any gods. The deities revered by other giants abandoned the death giants when they made the pact to sell the souls of their race, however, some among the death giants still pay homage. The Black Crusade. Death giants tend to keep to their small tribes, sometimes trading souls with others of their kind. However, on rare occasions when a possible way to reverse their curse and free the collective souls of their kind from the dark contract becomes known, many giants will band together and stop at nothing to end their curse, often at the expense of surrounding civilizations. Nothing has proven able to free the death giants, but they still hold hope that one day the key to their freedom will be discovered.
Death Giant Huge giant, neutral evil Armour Class - 17 (half plate) Hit Points - 287 (23d12 + 138) Speed - 50 ft. STR - 30 +10 DEX - 15 +2 CON - 22 +6 INT - 14 +2 WIS - 20 +5 CHA - 25 +7 Saves - Str +15, Con +11, Cha +12 Skills - Arcana +7, Athletics +15, History+7, Intimidation +12, Perception +10 Damage Resistances - Cold Damage Immunities - Necrotic Senses - darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20 Languages - Common, Giant Challenge - 15 (13,000 XP) Traits Guardian Souls. The miasma of stolen souls that are bound to the giant act as its guardians, granting the giant advantage on initiative rolls and perception checks. Steal Soul. Any living creature with 10 or fewer hit points that ends its turn within 15 feet of the giant must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or die. Anytime a creature dies within 15 feet of the giant has its soul consumed into the swirling soul storm that surrounds the giant. A creature whose soul has been claimed by the giant can not be resurrected by any means besides a wish spell while the giant is alive. When the giant dies, all souls claimed by it are released. If another death giant is within 15 feet it may claim all of the released souls. A death giant may choose to release an individual soul at any time as a bonus action.
Innate Spellcasting. The giant's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 20). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: speak with dead, spirit guardians, hex 3/day each: dispel magic (5th level), blight 1/day each: flamestrike (this spell deals necrotic damage instead of radiant) Actions Multiattack. The giant makes two greataxe attacks. Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 31 (6d6 + 10) slashing damage. Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 60/240 ft., one target. Hit: 36 (4d12 + 10) bludgeoning damage. Frightful Keening. The giant forces its guardian souls to wail in anguish. All living creatures of its choosing within 100 feet that can hear this keening must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw, or become frightened of the giant until they are unable to hear the keening, they move out of the keening’s range, or the giant is killed. If a creature fails this save by 5 or more, they are paralyzed until the end of the giant’s next turn. A creature that succeeds on their saving throw is immune to the giant’s frightful keening ability for 24 hours.