Giant, Wood

Wood giants (also known as voadkyn) are one of the smallest of the minor races of giants, looking somewhat like giant-sized wood elves. They are flighty, frivolous, and good friends with wood elves.

Standing 9½ feet tall, wood giants weigh around 700 pounds. They have the physical proportions of humans, which makes them thin and light for giants. They are completely devoid of facial and body hair, including eyebrows. Their heads seem overly large for their bodies, especially the jaws, chin, and mouth. Their ears are placed higher than on a human, almost completely above the line of the eyes. Wood giants can be almost any shade of brown, mixed with yellow or green. They are fond of leather armor and ring mail. A wood giant carries two weapons - a two-handed sword and a giant-sized long bow with quiver. A special sheath for the sword is steel tipped, enabling it to be used as a walking stick. This does not in any way disguise the sword.

They wrap their ankles in leather strips almost up to the knee, although the foot itself is mostly bare. The only garments they wear are loose trousers or a short kilt. A wood giant always wears a leather forearm sheath to protect his arm from the bowstring. All of these items are frequently stained in forest colors of green and brown.

Combat: Voadkyn do not fight unless forced to defend themselves or allies. Their favorite weapon is their huge, non-magical long bow. They get a +1 bonus to attack rolls and 50% better range because of its unusual size. The matching arrows are over four feet long and cause 1d8 points of damage. Wood giants do not hurl rocks or boulders. If pressed into melee, they wield their two-handed swords with one hand.

When encountered, the Strength of the voadkyn must be determined by rolling percentile dice. The resulting number is the 18/(roll) value for their strength. This gives them a +3 to +6 damage bonus. They do not receive any attack roll bonus for Strength. These giant-kin are usually in the company of 1d4 wood elves (60%), 1d4 dire wolves (30%), or both (10%).

Wood giants are 90% resistant to sleep and charm spells; they have infravision up to 90 feet. The only magical skill voadkyn have is the ability to <polymorph into any humanoid figure, from 3 to 15 feet in height. They cannot become a specific individual, only a typical specimen of that race. They have been known to use this ability to join a party and trick it out of treasure.

Wood giants can move silently in a forest, despite their great height, thus imposing a -4 penalty to opponents' surprise rolls. They can blend into forest vegetation, becoming effectively invisible. Only creatures able to detect invisible objects can see them. Although they are not invisible while attacking, they are extremely quick (Dexterity 16) and can move out of hiding, launch an arrow, and move back into hiding in the same round. These arrows seem to come from nowhere unless the target is looking at the wood giants' hiding spot.

Habitat/Society: Wood giants inhabit the same forests as wood elves. They have no lairs, choosing to live under the stars or with the wood elves for a time. Wood giants encountered in the forest are mostly male (90%). Female wood giants usually remain at a makeshift camp or with the wood elves at their lair. Offspring are rare, as each female gives birth to only 1d4 children in her lifetime. The young are born and raised deep in the woods among the wood elves, away from prying eyes.

The strong bond between wood elves and wood giants goes back further than either race can remember. This may account for the elven abilities of the giants. They do not mix or treat with any other intelligent creatures, although they tolerate any good elf. Like the elves, wood giants are fond of finely cut gems and well-crafted magical items.

Humans who have had contact with wood giants describe them as friendly enough, but flighty and frivolous, and never in a great hurry to do anything other than eat and drink large amounts of wine. Treants (with whom they occasionally converse) consider them irrational, foolish, and occasionally obnoxious, but enjoyable company.

Ecology: The jaw of the voadkyn is large because of the oversized grinding teeth in it. These teeth are completely unsuited for eating meat, but they are perfect for vegetables and other plants. Wood giants can eat the leaves and roots of many plants that are inedible to humans. They especially enjoy nuts and seeds.