Skardyr (Shard Giant)

[Kane]

As promised a very basic monster from northern Erenland.  I needed a giant and I wanted to show how far the race had sunk since the Sundering.  In the Time of Ages, the Giants were a noble race. In the Last Age, a few true giants still exist, their culture shattered and their people always hiding.  The Skardyr are a portion of the race corrupted and debased over the centuries, a grim mockery of what they once were. I've got two monsters left.  The next is a dedicated servant of the Shadow.

Kane

Skardyr (Shard Giant)

We’d really stirred up a hornet’s nest with our last raid.  Almost a hundred slaves freed and four barges full of food burned to the waterline. True most of the slaves would eventually be recaptured, but at least some would be free of the Shadow’s lash. We held no intention of taking anything or anyone with us; just strike and retreat to the safety of the hills. We actually hoped that there would be some pursuit and had set up a series of small ambushes.

Two days later and everything had changed. Instead of dozens of orcs, there were hundreds and we couldn’t shake them.  We retreated higher into the hills to an old ruined stronghold; a forgotten remnant from late in the Third Age. The fort was built into the walls of a narrow gorge, blocking the only safe way further into the mountains. Once this had been a trade route to a Kurgan town, but that was long gone.

The fort wouldn’t hold them long, but we could definitely hurt them before the defenses were breached. The walls were crumbling and only fifteen feet tall. The gate rotted away centuries ago and in it’s place were thousands of pounds of rocks. Our crude gate could be scaled, but only by one, possibly two orcs at a time.  A dozen of us could probably hold the wall for several hours before being overwhelmed. Some of our band would die, but with the few precious hours they bought, the rest of us would hopefully escape.

The first two assaults were merely probes, but already more then twenty orcs lay dead or dying.  They were trying to gauge our numbers and exhaust our arrows. Instead of attacking again, the orcs pulled back. The reprieve was appreciated but I knew it wouldn’t last.  Then we saw it, a huge ape like beast, covered in dense black hair, with a broad, flat face.  It’s arms were massive and far longer then they should be, tipped with dark claws. As it approached we launched arrow after arrow at it, but most glanced harmlessly off its dense hide. It approached the gate and started to easily move the stones.  It would be through in just minutes and the orcs would swarm over us.

I said a quick prayer to my father’s spirit and looked toward the orcs as they started to swarm up the gorge. As they reached the wall the mhor started to laugh.  ‘If that beast wants rocks, lets give him rocks.’ Soon every loose stone was pushed off the walls onto the gate. The whole rock pile began to give, pummeling the beast.  It screamed in pain and rage; we’d finally hurt it.  Unable to reach us, it turned on the orcs, dashing them aside as if they were toys. I stood there like a fool, unable to move as the beast killed more orcs in a few minutes then we’d killed in the first two assaults. The mhor called for us to retreat and we fled deeper into the mountains. There was no pursuit.

Skardyr
Large Giant (Ice, Earth)
Hit Dice: 14d8 + 60 (137 hp)
Initiative: -2
Speed: 20 ft.
AC: 18 (-1 size, -2 dex, +8 natural, +3 Hide Armor), touch 9, flat-footed 26
Base Attack/Grapple:: +10/+24
Attack: Slam +22 melee (1d8 + 14)
Full Attack: 2 slams +22 melee (1d8+14)  
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Wrath
Special Qualities: Damage Resistance 10/magic, Immune to cold, Scent, Shatter
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +9
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 6, Con 21, Int 4, Wis 6, Cha 5
Skills: Climb +12, Listen +10, Search +8, Spot +10, Swim +14
Feats: Awesome Blow, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Natural Armor, Improved Sunder, Power Attack
Environment: Frozen Wastes, Icewalls, Kaladruns
Organization: Solitary, Gang (2-5)
Challenge Rating: 10
Alignment: CE
Advancement: -

Lumbering out the snow is a huge misshapened beast. Covered in dense hair, it looks vaguely human but of massive proportions. Ignoring our arrows it drives its claws deep into the wood of the gate.

The Skardyr are the sad remnants of one the ancient giant races, victims of Izrador’s blight. They’ve been bred deep in the Frozen North for raw strength and brutality. Used as shock troops they are expendable engines of destruction. The Dark God’s magic has turned their bones to stone and made their flesh so dense that it shrugs off most weapons and the intense cold of the north.

With an intelligence barely above animals, the Skardyr rarely use tools or build structures.  They live in caves well into the mountains away from smarter and more numerous humanoids. Over the Ages, a number of these giants have either been released or escaped from their masters forming their own small communities.  Due to the amount of food they consume, it’s difficult for any area to support more then a handful of the giants.

Combat: Skardyr care little for tactics, attacking whatever is before them.  Due to their limited intelligence and deformities, they have lost the ability to use missile weapons of any type. Prone to raging and striking out at allies, the Shadow often drive them in front of the attacking force.  Skardyr are also used to rip through fortifications with their steel hard claws.

Shatter (Ex): The Skardyr’s claws are hard as tempered steel and can rip apart wood and stone. The Skardyr ignore the first 5 points of hardness when trying to destroy an object.
Wrath (Ex): These degenerate giants are quick to anger and difficult to control. Once they’ve taken thirty or more points of damage, they become enraged (as Barbarian rage ability) and strike out at the closest target, whether friend or foe.

[Harrowed]

Ouch ... that's a nasty piece. I'd think about dropping the AC and jacking the DR up. To represent their ability to shrug off blows, not so hard to hit ... but hard to hurt.

[Kane]

Harrowed,

That's a good idea and more in line with the concept.  I'll make the change.

Kane