D&D MONSTER RANKINGS - GIANTS

Are giants brutish simpletons or awe-inspiring titans? This video provides a full breakdown of the giants from 5E.
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Music by Ethan Meixsell
“By the Sword” “Thor’s Hammer” “The Coming Storm” “Vindicated” “Taking a Beating” “Pride Before the Fall” “Demilitarized Zone” “In the Shadows” “Rabid”
ethanmeixsell.com/
Licensed under Creative Commons - KZbin Audio Library

[@catman9222]

Ogres are more complex than you think, they are very layered creatures

[@Swatman170]

Like cakes? Cakes have layers.

[@caiosergio5775]

Like O N I O N S! ONIONS have layers

[@lorddevilfish5868]

Not everybody likes onions, you know what everybody likes Parfait it might be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet

[@deadknight1402]

There's more to being an Ogre than people think.

[@boitata2617]

Oghie

[@JohnSmith-kb4re]

"Ogres represent the worst aspects of giants." -ogres are to giants what goblins are to humans really-

[@LeSyd1984]

Not quite, since goblins are often cunning or at least devious and sometimes tech-inclined. Wereas Ogres are on average so dumb they can lose in a solitary game of rock-paper-scisor... lol

[@parallax7789]

@@LeSyd1984 That's actually kind of the point. If you think about it, Ogres embody everything that most other giants despise: idiocy, dullness, an incapacity to learn.

[@charlottewalnut3118]

John Smith Giants have Ogre Slayer

[@josephleece682]

*goblins to hobgoblins

[@mubarkqardas46]

Yujiro Hanma has entered the chat

[@patheronaetherson2860]

*"That's right. It can sneak attack. With a BOULDER."*

[@diegogelinck8665]

It's official: the Cloud Giant Smiling One is Crazy Awesome(or at least that's how I'm gonna portray it): "Someone wo is Crazy Awesome is completely nuts, in a hilarious way, and is effective at what they do as a result. In real life they would get fired, get arrested and eventually be committed, or just flat out get maimed or die. Not so in the world of fiction; thanks to the Rule of Cool, they manage to be both effective and a character liked or loved by the audience. [...] On average, every action the Crazy Awesome does is cool, awesome, and/or funny, over-the-top, or a combination thereof. [...] Expect lots of Insane Troll Logic to be behind their plans and antics."

[@catman9222]

@@diegogelinck8665 Smiling one everlasting one was the frost giant... who noms trolls

[@icarusty6481]

"When you see his head turn the corner, HIT IT WITH THE ROCK!!!!" -The Princess Bride

[@diegogelinck8665]

@@catman9222 Oops, sorry.

[@vinx.9099]

to be fair, when do you expect to be hit in the back of the head by a boulder?

[@adviel]

In one of my campaigns I had the party go against a necromancer and I homebrewed a lot of undead as its minions. As the final door guardian for the Necromancers lair I created my own giant variant I called it a 'Necros Swarm Giant'. An amalgam of Zombies held together in the form of a giant by necrotic energy. It had the Stone Giant basic stats and attacks but had Zombie as well as swarm resistances. I also added an Engulf Action. Wen it reached 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 HP 5 Zombies detach from the main body and attack the party.

[@XblacklightZ]

that's so castlevania. I've been wanting to make one myself but that's a cool concept.

[@dragonballtalk8527]

I love that monster u made it reminds me of the living necropolis new magic the gathering card or kaius the worm lord.can uEmail chris Perkins say add some abilities not just hit points and a attack please

[@XblacklightZ]

@@dragonballtalk8527 I think that was intentionally designed that way due to the nature of 5e. The last thing a DM wants to do is spend 5 mins just deciding what to do (play time is precious). But for set piece encounters and boss battles.....you'd have to customize it anyway because what is easy in one table may be really hard in another and CR doesn't only factors damage out put not abilities.

[@esperthebard]

Thanks for giving me a great idea!

[@dragonballtalk8527]

@@XblacklightZ I understand now I think thank you

[@Thrashlock]

F-C Tier: Dumb monsters B Tier: Strong monsters A Tier: Bards.

[@vinx.9099]

always take any video with a grain of salt, you are watching 1 persons interpretation and everyone has ways that they discriminate in predictable ways.

[@Thrashlock]

@@vinx.9099 Well yeah, I've seen most of his ranking videos, and he brings up a ton of good points for his rankings. But the bard-bias is strong with him, and it's almost too predictable. I was just pointing that bias out, wasn't trying to make a bigger statement on how all the best characters are bards, or something. No idea actually what you were trying to tell me, to be honest.

[@vinx.9099]

@@Thrashlock oh, i'm probably just being dumb and making your point at you.

[@witchBoi_Connor]

The dreamwalker made it into top tier with two unique abilities instead of any spells or high charisma, as our bardic friend is biased towards. These kinds of unique abilities that Esper’s looking for. Combat maneuvers and magic-like abilities that do things adventurers may otherwise never have seen before. Spells just happen to closely resemble such unique abilities, which is why the spellcaster monsters tend to be top tier to Esper (and frankly myself). They’re just more interesting to run.

[@philleW12]

Yes, the Oni’s are known for their bardic skills 😉

[@Trrip000]

"Dragons are the most iconic d&d monsters" Beholders-"Am I a joke to you?"

[@ryanb.7751]

He even talks about beholders in another video and says they are generally simple high level creatures. Mechanics and design is cool, but they are savage in nature so they aren’t great in story telling.

[@ae4164]

​@@ryanb.7751 Are you talking about the video in which he ranks Aberrations? In which he praises the depth of Beholders and says they might be his favorite creature in the whole game? And the only thing he criticized was the the 5E Monster Manual really doesn't go into as much depth as he would have liked about their origins? Yeah, if that's the one you're talking about, I think you better watch it again.

[@ryanb.7751]

A E I must have lost my mind, because it has been a while since I’ve seen the video. I merely recalled his comments towards the appearance and variety that beholders give. He does give them much more praise than I give credit for. I suppose it was because I was comparing his comments towards beholders towards his ideas of spectators or many of the dragons, which is what the original comment was about. In the end, I am absolutely wrong and don’t give enough credit to the creature, as they are not only intelligent and scheming, but battles with them offer a lot of variety and added charm. However, compared to most of the ancient dragons or even a spectator, it does not offer the same utility towards pre-created lore and story telling.

[@ae4164]

@@ryanb.7751 The only restriction you would have with a beholder vs. any other type of creature is that the only thing surpassing a beholder's intellect is their arrogance, they believe themselves superior to all other beings and while a dragon may deal with the PCs a beholder would almost certainly not view them as anything more than slaves or food. But, enemies who have no interest in being anything but enemies are in almost every campaign, to no detriment. The development of their character and/or machinations must simply be more indirect than some cliche situation where the bad guy explains his whole plan to the protagonists.

[@blturn]

Ryan B. Xanathar wants a word with you.

[@1003JustinLaw]

“It can sneak attack you with a boulder” I almost spit my ramen at my screen lol

[@Mare_Man]

*frantically jots down information on a new character sheet*

[@JimothyTheGreen]

Little thing about the Frost Giant: Apparently they sometimes defeat and 'tame' white dragons.

[@bbdc1252]

Beat it into friendship

[@otyugsdisplacerbeasts7943]

Most often they eat them and make armor and weapons from their carcasses though, lol.

[@nicolasreinaldet732]

@@bbdc1252 Frost giants just became A tier to me due to my memorys of the book how to train your dragon.

[@deirakos]

i play a giant in my party. a giant disappointment.

[@jayzgaming0097]

Golden💀

[@timothymccarthy2751]

"Ba-boom cha"

[@bitharne]

As long as you’re aware 👌

[@SinerAthin]

The general rules for giants does make it a bit difficult to appreciate the fact that you are fighting a creature as large or bigger than a house. I generally add a specific set of abilities to giants past a certain size, allowing them optional or additional moves in combat, such as being able to stomp, pick up or sweep their weapons. I also reduce their attacks to one, but magnify their attack damage; to better simulate that they are larger and slower... but gods have mercy on you if you ever get hit! Also, messing with the ordnung is a favorite of mine. In my DND settings, the giant race is splintered. Nobody likes the ogres and hill giants because they view them as dumb, and the ogres and hill giants hate their fellow giant kin because they are viewed as dumb.... even if its true! The frost giants view the other giants as pansies without proper warrior spirit, and especially loathe the fire giants for their over-reliance on heavy armor and weapon to make up for inferior warriors. Dousing the forges of fire giants with snow and ice is a time-honored tradition among frost giants. The fire giants hate the frost giants for their complete lack of appreciation for crafting, and for sabotaging their forges; viewing them as loudmouthed buffoons without discipline. Stone giants are constantly bullied and picked upon both frost and fire giants for their wiry appearance that makes them look scrawny; for their friendship with the dwarves; and for playing around with rocks. The cloud giants have gazed down on their fellow kin, and come to the unanimous conclusion that they have no wish to become involved with the inferior groundlings and their antics. And the Storm giants sit atop their mountain temples in a deep state of morose and depression as they watch the non-stop infighting of their brothers and sisters.

[@ThatPrettyStrongBMF]

Since they're commonly described as savage carnivores, it would make sense to give them all grapple-and-munch abilities, I think--especially ogres and such.

[@Bluecho4]

"Part troll, part gnome abominations" Now _there's_ an idea. A troll variant that consumed so many fairy beings - notably gnomes - that their hair has become brightly colored and stands on end. Their flesh, inundated with fey magic, allows them some simple mystical effect. Even if only giving them magic resistance, making it harder to check their regeneration through the obvious manner (spells). Forcing players to use alternative ways of dealing fire or acid damage, such as with torches or acid vials. Maybe give them the Minor Illusion cantrip, and a 1/day Silent Image. They use these tricks to blend into the environment or fool creatures, as an aid to hunting. An adventurer has never truly known _bamboozlement_ than when a troll with a shock of pink hair slides out of a tree or a cliff face, and the voices the adventurer was following were a lure all along.

[@gabrieladerre2862]

That's a really cool idea!!!

[@typhusnurgle409]

is that not a WOW troll?

[@user-vm9xz4kv9z]

This is actually where the name "Gnoll" comes from, gnome+troll

[@winterburden]

My favourite giant is *giant* owlbear.

[@esperthebard]

I love giant owlbears for dinner

[@faviankennedy7171]

Idk bout that

[@jontybryce1927]

[DM]: And in the distance approaches a beast, you see it clearer now... a Giant Owl Bear! [Party Members]: Well, I might just die now.

[@diegodankquixote-wry3242]

I wonder what's for dinner?

[@thegooddinggleberry]

Nobody: Stone giant: "Shhhh! You don't see me, I'm a mountain ⛰"

[@Caercutta30]

Why does everybody assume half giants have human mothers? I mean some of us do like a challenge. A quick stop at the alchemist's shop, you roll up to the the bonfire and shoot your shot.

[@user-xc8zd1fg1c]

My half oni is also half elf

[@towlie710]

Storm Kings Thunder my dude! It has variants on all the giants like hurl abilities etc. But honestly, I love the lore (and mechanics) behind Everlasting ones and Quintessants.

[@joshualovejoy5305]

Great choice using Amon Amarth song titles

[@theenderdestruction2362]

I recognized the "torn banners and bloody flags" :)

[@LjeytlKrue]

It might be cool to design a giant megacity or civilization that emphasizes the caste structure of the giants perhaps a layered city

[@1800T-Bone]

*Suggestion: Mention the Two-Headed Orge Magi, where two-headed creatures may take turns sleeping having one head awake at all times. Also, how each head may have different numbers of eyes and different types of schools of magic.*

[@bleepsy]

I think the Storm Giant Quintessent should at least be A tier. The sheer elemental nature of it, the influence it claims over its surroundings, and its enormous size are damn near godly and make them probably the giants who feel the most 'giant'.

[@stripeybag6977]

6:21 Further proof that in fantasy the Human race's greatest ability and power isn't it's tenacity,adaptability,or will to achieve it's goals but rather that if it has sentience and legs then a human can most likely breed with it to create something new and probably better than before. You could argue but well just look at your playable races for starters.

[@stripeybag6977]

The TL:DR is "Can you f#@k it?" and the answer was yes.

[@nerdynutjob9290]

There is actually a tribe of civilized ogres that exists, and if there is one, there may be more, just a neat little tid bit for people looking for less violent, more player character friendly origins for a half ogre character with some watered down abilities, i know this cause of aj picket here on yt, love both of you guys

[@SquirrelGamez]

Indeed, not ALL monsters should be unique. There needs to be some basic ones too. It's also pretty unfair to compare a 5e monster's abilities to their 4e or 3.5 version, considering 4e was entirely based on using a battlemat and battles more akin to Tactics video games than to role-playing games, and 3.5 had gazillions of feats. I have to agree with Smiling One being the best, though.

[@troglodyte4207]

As a warhammer fan I cough up blood every time I see the DND models

[@diegodankquixote-wry3242]

Bleeds for all orifices

[@christosgiannopoulos828]

*Grins in Khorne* 😈

[@ianbyrne465]

I get a lot of inspiration for more flavorful creatures from MTG cards. I made a couple of ogres I like. One's semi-friendly, he likes having things to play with, so the PCs can fight him, or just give him like a length of rope or a shield and a spear or something, and he just sits down and plays with them, completely engaged in that. Another one actually had a massive mouth, and subsisted off of eating steel and iron. So, not only did I transfer over a bite attack, but also a condition that he could try and eat my PCs equipment. (They make a Dex save to avoid their sword getting chomped on)

[@Frescko]

When a Ettin has a higher INT stat then your Gnome Barbarian

[@marcperez2598]

Gnomes get a bonus to Intelligence tho... that's a big rip

[@Frescko]

@@marcperez2598 a was pretty new to DnD at the time, I had only played a single one shot before, and I forgot to add the ability score increase.

[@hermitpurple3224]

@@Frescko my god that sucks

[@Frescko]

@@hermitpurple3224 yeah, it sucks. after that i always double check now

[@hermitpurple3224]

@@Frescko well thats good

[@jesterssketchbook]

great work on this upload dude - well written and narrated, great art choices as well

[@andyh2783]

Lol that sells pitch killed bro....dont linger at the tavern door lol....if I wasnt subbed I for sure would be know.....dilly dilly to you good bard

[@kevinsmith9013]

Fun fact - Norse giants weren't exactly "gigantic" they were just a rival clan of godlike beings like the Aesir and Vanir

[@kyukhan]

From what i gathered, the gods were seen as large/giant beings, so they both are

[@Nrex117]

Giants could be anything as well in Norse mythology and not just big humans.

[@beastwarsFTW]

Weren't dwarfs considered giants?

[@kyukhan]

@@beastwarsFTW Not really, dwarves are more like spirits. They are closer to elves, even one of their names in Norse means "black elves". There was no mention of their size tho. The reason they "became short" could be translation error with the word "lesser"

[@jessegarcia4955]

Warboss West Norse mythology uses the term “Jotunn” to refer to all monsters including giants, dwarves, and elves.

[@Canadian_Ry]

I would like nothing more than to leave this desk and sit by the fireplace, warming my spirit with some mulled wine. Thank you for this momentary escape from the inanity of work.

[@esperthebard]

Aye the work must be done, but let us never forget to take our moments to enjoy and imagine.

[@SubSimpich]

38:15 I would just like to point out, you put the oni's challenge rating at 9. It's actually 7. In 5th edition at least.

[@TheTiforce]

Hah, came here to say that. I'll use an Oni in one of my future sessions and it really confused me.

[@esperthebard]

Good catch!

[@SubSimpich]

Thanks. 👌

[@lordbiscuitthetossable5352]

Oni's are just awesome. Looking at this guy sparked a lot of inspiration for me.

[@SubSimpich]

Oni rank #7 in my top 10 d&d monster favorites.

[@digunder14]

the regeneration likely keeps the rot troll from technically becoming dead, and the undead are by nature the living dead, kinda need to be dead even if only during the transformation to be undead

[@SG98Films]

I don't get why esper the bard is so annoyed that the lower levels just have standard attacks. You want us to like die or something!? Hahahahaha if they had our intellect, abilities & magic we kickass humanoids have we would surely freakin perish!

[@NotagYmra]

I had a half-ogre warlock in one of my campaigns. It was a pretty weird combination, but it was fun to see the players try to come to grips with this seeming thuggish brute launching Eldritch Blasts at them before they closed to melee range

[@illusion8]

Can we get an Aberration tier list, I want to put them as my world's bad guy for my first setting.

[@bbdc1252]

He already made one

[@user-eq8ww1gr6v]

@Esper the Bard. Your stone giant shaman is amazing. It reminds me of a video on prehistoric music and an archaeologist showed a stone that had markings showing it used as a drum found deep in a cave with cave paintings that would only be lighted with fires/torches. I think you devoting a video extrapolating your idea and maybe sharing stats would be an epic. Stay awesome!

[@willhemmingham1598]

Gah Esper you can never make too much content!! I could listen to your for hours on end and never tire!

[@klaasvaak4803]

These rankings always make my bits tingle with excitement

[@kodytiffany5686]

I have Volos but never noticed the mouths of Grolantir... Thank you; you just helped me fleshout a side quest objective in a campaign of mine. Why were Giants capturing others of Giant or Giant kin? Why were the Frost giants attacking a Salamander Nest? Why so they could feed a growing army of mouths of Grolantir; and you are what you eat... so they start getting troll like mutations because they ate so many trolls that they developed the mutation trait, which lead to other factors. I think that will lead to a great challenge for the party to deal with.

[@esperthebard]

A bard is glad to spread those inspiration dice

[@arandomzoomer4837]

I'd just like to thank you Esper for the amount of effort you put into these videos. I watch them for inspiration, to learn more about the monsters in D&D, and how best to run them.

[@Xtoff]

That Fire Giant just wants the Triforce

[@chakatBombshell]

The cyclops from the Odyssey was spot on for a D&D cyclops.It was big, scary, chaotic in its actions and fell for the dumbest of tricks. Most giants if you want them to be scary or unique is you use the fact they're big humanoids and humanoids take classes. A frost giant raider band should come out like a party with some fighters a cleric and maybe even a skald. (Viking bard)

[@travislee4588]

I mean given that gygax built off of myths DnD cyclops were probably based off of the Odyssey Nobody knows for sure

[@andrewnicorn]

Cool video, these are fun to watch and its a nice breezy format.

[@dank_smirk2ndchannel200]

Considering that Stone Giants can both throw and catch boulders I can’t help but imagine a group of adventurers facing agents a group of at least 3 Stone Giants with one giant picking up, throwing, and dribbling (somehow, they’re Stone Giants, they can find a way) a boulder to another, who throws it and dribbles to the last one as they run about with the boulder with the last one jumping and throwing it directly down at the party like they’re playing one huge basketball game.

[@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet]

It makes me so happy to see you use all the mtg artwork. Thanks for that, and for these videos. Can’t wait for the fey and any other types that haven’t been dealt with yet

[@SubSimpich]

Frost Giants are my favorite of the true giants. My favorite overall giant is the oni.

[@janmetdepet8983]

Love the Amon Amarth references!

[@squashedeyeball]

Johan himself would've been proud at you, Vikinger ;) Yet another masterful listing and information! A tier is a very underrated song. 13:58 Don't forget the cook troll from BG2 Shadows of Amn. Who was raised by hobgoblins, so his speech is great and is forced to use his own fingers as part of his soup. Plus the recipes on his cooking book are legit.

[@squashedeyeball]

@Herald of dissonance Indeed :) And then he complains that he there are no good food candidate nowadays.

[@isitnotwrittenthat1680]

@@squashedeyeball why don't you get on the grill? Because I wouldn't fit stupid, now get on the grill

[@squashedeyeball]

@@isitnotwrittenthat1680 "I don't want to" Well, sadly he never got to finish his cooking :) I wish that someone made a mod which would allow him to join your party.

[@kostasmpyras]

Great video ! Gave me lots of ideas for cool quests. My players will thank you esper

[@themadhatter3867]

Your videos show up in my feed so much that I never realized I never subbed. Love the videos!

[@k-rodkev-dog7449]

Same thing happened to me!! Lol

[@esperthebard]

Much appreciated Mad Hatter!

[@nealsterling8151]

Amazing Video! Please never stop to be awesome!

[@danielmartinez5505]

Another awesome video. Keep crushing it.

[@fuchila2point0]

You are a top performer and i am looking forward to what you put out next!

[@phatommelon993]

this gave me so many ideas, thank you for putting this out. Giants might be my new favorite archetype

[@Tengu125]

Funny thing; Ordning literally means Order in Swedish.

[@jackogrady3118]

Samme på Dansk, mand

[@stephen4201]

Brilliant video my man

[@BeardyReviews]

Finally! I've been waiting for a giant video from you :) this is gonna help me loads for my campaign. Thank you!

[@esperthebard]

I hope this is a HUGE help for you ;)

[@BeardyReviews]

@@esperthebard xD bah dum tss

[@torreyintahoe]

I just found your channel and I'm enjoying it very much.

[@smile-tl9in]

i would totally see battering ogres enslaved with magical collars to an hobgoblin army. Break the collar and they turn on their masters. It would make an interesting mechanic for an encounter

[@KroVey]

I don't play D&D but I have an immense love for the lore and have been reading fantasy books since I was a child. I am an illustrator and I absolutely love painting while listening to your videos. Love, love, love your channel my friend, keep it up!

[@Mare_Man]

Don't Frost Giants also make it a habit of taming Remorhazes as mounts?

[@Liam-ym7hv]

They do tame them, but not as mounts. Any frost giant trying to mount a remorhaz would get some pretty serious burns.

[@lunatic0verlord10]

33:34 Wait! There are Good Aligned Giant Races? The more you know, I guess.

[@crawdawd2036]

Pre loading this to listen to on a trip to the next town over. Great vid

[@marclytle644]

A Dm once made the group fight a dung golem. I ask what kind of demented being would create that nasty thing. It was like a clay golem, in attack and stats. Except you had to roll a saving against the stench. It was like it had a permanent stinking cloud spell on it. Also you had to roll a save against disease if it hit you. It was not a fun thing to fight and still haunts my nightmares. I did manage to piss off a DM once because I crit killed a boss creature that was supposed to be a reoccurring antagonist in the campaign. I... went to simply knock the Drow Priestess out... and instead removed her head. Oops. At least I was not like the guy that rolled a triple class character. Warrior/mage/priest if I remember. He bought plain herbs instead of healing herbs and seasoned himself during a fight. Spent most of the fight removing armour to cast spells. And then died several times to the point when he was not able to play the next session we shoved the body into a closet. And forgot about him for three weeks. There was not much left so no resurrection. He stopped playing due to moving the next week.

[@smashingairguitars]

Ahh yes...Esper is back at it with another Tier List. I love it.

[@camiBami1]

I have often wondered about the lore that they fought dragons. How can so many low int, solitary creatures represent foes to the kings and tyrants of the world? I would have appreciated a more demi-druid approach than "race of brutish thugs." That aspect is what we enjoy about the cloud and stone giants, I think it would be cool to play it up more. It would also be interesting to imagine a world where the giants sat atop the food chain (literally or figuratively) instead of dragons :O

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

I think loathesum limbs is cool enough for trolls to land in C-tier. One of my favorite encounters I ran had the party’s Barbarian decapitate a raging troll. My players assumed it was dead and the Rogue rushed in to see if he had any treasure. The panic that ran through the party when a headless troll backhanded the Rogue into a nearby tree was delicious.

[@asomon160]

9:25 in my setting I made the cyclops kinda like the ones in the movie krull (in which they sacrificed an eye to see the future but got jipped and can only see their death) except they actually see the future. Mechanically its similar to the wizard school of divination.

[@pimptastic4206]

Sick video my friend

[@MrNoface0]

Just wanna point out that in Storm King's Thunder they give most giants pretty interesting additional actions they can take, like throwing characters around or jumping on top of them

[@knightghaleon]

The Quintessent would make an interesting Warlock Patron.

[@kyleschneider659]

Love your vids!

[@b.b.holmes8255]

You have given me ideas. Thank you

[@batterylevellow5473]

Very well written request to subscribe. I have now joined the tavern, I hope to continue to be thoroughly regaled.

[@SG98Films]

Wow...those epic battles between dragons and giants must've been epic. But...TEAM DRAGON FTWWWW

[@vernonhampton5863]

For my next game, I was looking for a giant to use for my warlock with a dragon spirit patron to meet. And I think you gave me the right tool for the job. Thank you for sharing.

[@OMentertainment]

Ogre has no lore? *coughs*DragonLance*coughs*

[@josephleece682]

*shrek

[@thehighground4920]

@@josephleece682 hehe

[@TheSergio1021]

I love that you put quotes from classic literature or stories at the beginning.

[@yossiharr]

Loved it I would also like to see magic item ranking

[@loganfrandrup6590]

I am so happy I remebered this video. I plan on making a Dommain of Dread with a Cloud Giant Smiling One as a Darklord that nearly started an apocalyptic event by stacking the Deck of Many Things in his favor to over through the Storm Giants with the help of other worldy entites such as Devils and corrupted entites of Mechanis.

[@RaijQuentin]

So good to see the oni get the recognition it deserves. Criminally underrated, and hugely influential in my campaigns.

[@scorpiovenator_4736]

they added some variant options to the giants in storm king's thunder, i use them whenever i play with giant

[@Omnimegas]

I'm currently running a game of Storm King's Thunder and it's REALLY going off the rails story-wise. This really helps me single out some of the giants I'll be able to do some new creative things with in encounters

[@cohenjordan5057]

Can’t wait to use these in my campaign

[@bojow8102]

The mouth of Grolantor has an awesome origin story 👍 Thank you for the videos 👍

[@EShiv42]

Very cool esper

[@liamroyston6718]

I appreciate the tiers being Amon Amarth songs

[@Jpteryx]

All the true giants in 5e do have at least one option besides basic attacks though. Hill Giants can squash people, Frost Giants have nets, Fire Giants can shove people without using an action, and Stone Giants can roll rocks in a line.

[@thevoidcritter]

I'd ask for an ooze ranking next, but I feel like it'd just be 99% of oozes on the bottom and then the only high tier ones are the gelatinous cube and the oblex.

[@danwatson8245]

I dont play d and d these days but I love the lore. Great job man

[@arandomzoomer4837]

Why not?

[@dank_smirk2ndchannel200]

8:02 "and they want to eat, eat, eat." Literally me fr.

[@dank_smirk2ndchannel200]

Some good inspiration to make Hill Giants more interesting can come from some of the Mega-Gargant characters from AoS (Such as King Brodd or the various mercenaries). Granted, they’re a hell of a lot bigger then Hill Giants (16' vs 100'), but both are primitive, ugly, (usually) dumb, wandering brutes that typically spend their days looking for any combination of food, alcohol, and fights. One of these is Bundo Whalebiter: _Bundo Whalebiter is a Kraken-eater Mega-Gargant with a devious intellect that haunts the Coast of Tusks. He came into conflict with Idoneth Deepkin operating out of the Icefang Whirlway when they launched a soul-raid against the same village that he was ransacking for food. Angered at the sea monsters ‘flying about out of their water’, he inflicted so wrought so much havoc the Idoneth were forced to flee back into the ocean._ _Bundo, not eager to let the Deepkin go, dived into the waves after them swimming after the glimmer they left in the inky darkness. When he caught up with the light he found not his quarry - but a hurriedly assembled decoy sent to lead him astray, a lone Fangmora Eel with a glowing jar strapped to its back. Nonplussed, Bundo ate the eel, returning to his lair and wearing the captured artefact as an earring on a whim. Over time, the aetherquartz set into the jar increased the gargant's intelligence to dangerous levels._ _He has since led a series of daring raids ever further inland, offering his services to a variety of patrons in exchange for greater wealth. He has begun a trend that has seen many of his kind adopt similar practices - albeit with wildly differing results, for a jar full of Aqshian etching vitriol or Ghurish eater-wasps hung from the ear can be nothing more than a nasty surprise waiting to happen._ There is even an ability he has that wouldn’t be too hard to tweak to fit into D&D: *Dead Cunning, for a Gargant:* _The aelven artefact hanging from Bundo’s ear has increased his intellect, giving him brains as well as brawn. He can be uncannily patient, knowing just where and when to strike to cause maximum havoc. Some say his hoard even contains strange papery things called ‘books’..._ At the start of the combat phase, you can say that this unit will be uncannily cunning. If you do so, the strike-last effect applies to this unit until the end of that phase, but you can add 1 to hit rolls and wound rolls for attacks made by this unit until the end of that phase.

[@TigerW0lf]

I recently started a campaign where the world was ruled by giants until a cataclysm caused them to be weakened enough to be overthrown by the smaller races. This gave me some insight into what to do with giants a little better because every region has taken on some of the cultural traits of the predominant types of giants who ruled over said lands. Much appreciated

[@TamTroll]

13:21 Finally, you're getting to the good stuff! ;D

[@malnorath4252]

I can sympathize with the disappointment from the lack of abilities of some specific monsters. However as a long time perma-DM I also don't think it's completely necessary for every single monster to have a unique ability. It just adds to the complexity, which is fine but you can easily pair any one of these guys with a caster monster, or add caster levels to them to make the encounter more complicated. But in general the Giant's main role is a bruiser who can take a hit and dish out the pain. Furthermore most of their CR's are different, which means that your supposed to be fighting these guys at different levels. Which means at different levels you have a reliable monster "type" to throw at your players with a similar combat role as it's predecessors but adjusted for level and given a little flair to differentiate itself from it's cousins. So I agree, sometimes it's nice to see something different, but it's not that hard to homebrew or mix the encounter up with other monsters to add complexity. But it's also nice to know that at nearly any level I can find a big bruiser to throw at my players and generally know how they work without having to memorize a bunch of other abilities.

[@2Infinit2]

You got a nice voice. Good content. Subbed :)

[@Porphyrogenitus1]

> Spirit Trolls and other "ghost giants" Ghost Giants in....the earrrrth!!!!

[@cosmomassoglia6538]

Idea for DMs out there, maybe try adding a stone giant wanderer who bonded with the caves, perhaps he has a roper on his shoulder, a blowgun that can shoot slimes, a bag with a giant bat in it, spider web bombs, an ankheg on a leash, a food pellet that when thrown onto the ground causes a bullette to erupt out of the ground, shriekers and other mushrooms sprouting from his body, or maybe a vial of troll blood that heals them or maybe it even uses a troll arm as a club that he can grapple with deal slashing and bludgengoing damage and can throw it down to preform its own attacks, I hope I could have been of help

[@newtonmichael]

Well done on the Amon Amarth reference. \m/ *!* \m/

[@georgemercer402]

The mask you mentioned is basically the "laugh now, cry later" which might be the general idea for stage theater mottos.

[@Comred22]

Could you do a tier list of your own home brew creatures or creatures you’ve brought from past editions.