Deep Dive - Frost Giant - Dump Stat Adventures

Massive, lumbering hulks with lore steeped in Norse mythology, the Frost Giant is a creature that has been around for quite a while. Giants were some of the first creatures in the Norse cosmos and were critical in the creation of the universe. Ymir was the first of the giants in Norse mythology, created from the ice of Niflheim and the fires of Muspelheim. Ymir was responsible for the creation of giants, supposedly they came from his armpits, which is one way of giving birth. Eventually, Ymir would be killed by Odin and his brothers. They then took Ymir's body and used different parts of it to create the Norse cosmos. Ymir's skull became the heavens, his flesh the earth, sweat and blood the oceans, and his eyebrows were forged into what people know as Midgard.

Frost Giants are an original monster in the Dungeons & Dragons and can still be found in 5th edition. But how has their treatment been? Let’s explore their past and see how they have been shaped throughout the editions.

OD&D - Frost Giant

No. Appearing: 1-8Armor Class: 4Move: 12”Hit Dice: 10+1% in Lair: 30% No. of Attacks: 1Damage/Attack: 2 dice + 1Treasure: 5,000 GP + Type E

The Frost Giant can trace its roots back to even before Dungeons & Dragons began in 1974. In the game Chainmail (1971), Gary Gygax had created a set of rules to deal with miniatures combat for one-on-one fighting, as well as mass combat. It was incredibly popular and sold quite well for its time, about 100 copies a month, and eventually wound up in the hands of Dave Arneson. Arenson took the rules of Chainmail and then augmented them for his Blackmoor setting by creating character classes, level advancement, and more. Eventually, he would take these rules to Gygax who helped clean it up and then created an entirely new system for it, which is what we know as Dungeons & Dragons.

Now, why do we talk about Chainmail when we typically don’t go any further back than OD&D? Well, the Forst Giant first appears in the White Box - Book 2: Monsters & Treasures (1974), and the first bit of information about giants is that they operate the same as they did in Chainmail. Which is incredibly helpful to all those people who never owned Chainmail.

Without further ado, let’s get into the Frost Giant. These massive creatures, including all other giants, are considered to be light catapults, being able to throw rocks up to 20' ft. What separates a Frost Giant from the rest of giant-kin is that they are not affected by the cold and their attacks deal an additional +1 point of damage compared to lesser giants. When they are not wandering around the arctic tundra with up to 6,000 gold pieces in their pockets, the Frost Giant makes its home in a castle. Whether or not they built the castle or kicked out the previous occupants is not clarified, but finding a big enough castle to take over might be a little tricky in the snowy mountains.

An interesting fact about giants, in general, is that while a giant is in their lair, it comes with special perks. A Frost Giant has a 50% chance of having some rather large pets that also serve as guards in the castle walls. They might have a pet hydra, up to 36 wolves, or up to 18 bears with them. This is in addition to the fact that Frost Giants travel together in groups of up to 8, it can be rather difficult to take them down.

The last bit of information about Forst Giants comes in the last supplement for OD&D and is located in Book 7 - Gods, Demi-gods, & Heroes (1976). This book has a lot of information about the different gods and pantheons of not just fantasy-focused religion, but the pantheons of Chinese, Egyptian, Norse, and other mythologies. In it, there is a section for giants that talks about how they operate in Norse mythology. They are considered to be the most magically gifted beings, can polymorph themselves or objects, control the weather, create illusions, and even more. They are highly intelligent beings and some are said to be as beautiful as the gods themselves.

Lastly, the father of all Frost Giants is Hyrm, the King of the Frost Giants. Hyrm travels with up to 24 white dragons, served by 10 Frost Giants with 150 hit points, and can use up to 3rd-level spells and is focused on raw, physical might. In addition to Hyrm, there is also information about Heimdall and how he wields a blade that can kill a Frost Giant in a single hit, which seems really useful seeing as how Frost Giants aren’t allowed in Asgard and Heimdall protects Asgard from all manner of ill-creatures, including the Frost Giant.

Basic D&D - Frost Giant

Armor Class: 4Hit Dice: 10+1Move: 120’ (40’)Attacks: 1Damage: 4-24No. Appearing: 1-2 (1-4)Save As: Fighter 10Morale: 9Treasure Type: E + 5000 gpAlignment: Chaotic