D&D: Five of Our Favorite Monsters From ‘Glory of the Giants’
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants has more than 70 new monsters to pick from. From big to small, here are our faves.
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants is crammed full of monsters. New monsters and lairs to use them in makeup more than a third of the book. And DMs especially will find a lot to love about them. Players may find themselves on the receiving end of some much more challenging fights as a result.
These monsters span from lowly beasts to elemental-infused dinosaurs and even the scions of the gods themselves. So there’s a lot to play around with. Each one has its own wrinkle to offer, these are some of our favorites from the new book.
Cradle of the Frost Scion/Scion of Thrym
We’ve talked in a lot more depth about this monster, which is technically two monsters. But you’re meant to fight them one after the other. The Cradle of the Frost Scion is an animate glacier that takes a giant bipedal shape. And when you kill it, it becomes a Scion of Thrym, a frost giant demigod, basically.
Fighting against these feels like an epic battle. And the Frost Scion in particular has a lot going for it. Not only do you have to worry about cold damage and potentially being frozen solid (or at least kept immobile and vulnerable), the Scion form of this monster duo can hurl you 100 feet into the air (and then you fall back down, taking the appropriate falling damage). It’s such a mean little one-two punch, but I absolutely love the recognition of it.
Of course, feather fall or the like will counter this. But when was the last time something like that came up repeatedly in a fight? It feels thematically appropriate, like something a giant would be good at doing!
Runic Colossus
A Runic Colossus is a construct created by an ancient giant empire that no longer exists. Built from rare metals and living stones, these runic colossi are dangerous protectors. These not-iron giants can be deadly weapons.
Alone they have powerful slam and stomp attacks that can knock creatures crone and can even restrain them. But they can also shoot a laser every couple of rounds, emitting a 150-foot long, 10-foot wide beam of arcane force that deals a pile of damage to anyone caught in its wake.
Fomorian Noble
Fomorians are the hideous, magically mutated giants you might be familiar with from the Monster Manual. In ages past they were afflicted with a curse, and Bigby goes into a little more depth on that in their entry. We learn that they were once beautiful and vain and proud, and while they mastered magical powers, they learned all too well that hubris has a price:
When they assaulted the Feywild, they were banished to the Underdark and mutated away from their former glory.
All except the Fomorian Nobles. Though rare, these are Fomorians who have been uncorrupted by that Feywild curse. They are still beautiful, like giant, arrogant elves. And their stat block asks the question, what if a hardy giant, capable in a fight, was also a powerful spellcaster?
Fire Giant Forgecaller
Fire Giant Forgecallers are ironically one of the coolest monsters in the book. Adorned with armor that billows smoke and flame, Forgecallers are said to master the magic of runes. Each Forgecaller has a fire rune that allows it to conjure a wave of Magma and allows it to emit smoke and cinders to grant the giant half cover, so long as it carries the item with the rune inscribed on it.
But there’s more. These Forgecallers come with deadly hammers that are so hot, even if they miss you they might still superheat your armor or any other metal objects in a 30-foot sphere where they swing their mighty hammers, causing creatures touching that metal to take damage and also be at disadvantage.
Giant Goose
Finally, the Giant Goose. This is an absolute menace that can be unleashed, much like an untitled goose from another realm. They have a thunderous honk, and what’s better, these giant geese can lay golden eggs. And these golden eggs contain trinkets and other items inside them, including magic items, like a potion of giant strength or brooch of shielding, or anything else your DM can think of.
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants is out now.
