I was forced to escape the Ogres once their lair was discovered by their sometimes allies, the trolls. It was bloody and savage, many of the ogres which I described have been slain, their bodies stolen for food, and come thaw, this will be forgotten.

If not for my spells, I would not had survived my trek to a new winter shelter, and I thought that ogres were bad! I discovered an abandoned castle, built by I know not whom, but now the property of Hill Giants. I live like a rat here, scurrying in the hidden corridors and between the walls; stealing food as I can. Every day I must risk my life to survive. Winter has left me bitter, please forgive my crabbiness. How I hunger for a true city, a warm bowl of porridge, and the comfort of a bed! These thoughts torture me, as I know that if I am careless, or even if I am not I could still be murdered here in this hellish maze. I have discovered the following information through observing as undetected as possible, fore when I am seen, all of the hill giants in this place give chase, my spells doing nothing but infuriating them further. This is terror!

CHAPTER V
The Hill Giant

These creatures are sixteen-feet-tall normally, some slightly smaller others slightly larger. I estimate that they weigh about 4,500 pounds. They resemble giant apes, but are hairless as man is. There are, I estimate, 4 separate family clans taking resident in this place. They have hair of brown or black. All of their eyes are a deep and almost dead black. When they look at you, no emotion registers, and these black eyes seem to draw you into an abyss. No intelligence, no feeling, just black!

Their bodies are extremely well muscled, even the women who are just as hairy as men, and lack the comely well-developed breasts of our own species. Their arms are grossly exaggerated, their hands touching their knees. They appear to shave their thick faces, yet a few grow facial hair however this does not seem to effect anything.

They are not a very brilliant race, they are easily fooled over and over again with the same tricks, however they have developed enough intelligence to build many survival skills which the north requires of all who live here. Skins have been hung over doors and windows, they hunt daily and are able to preserve the meat that they kill. They have trained a savage pack of enormous dire wolves which they keep as pets, and while they play with the giant children, they pose the greatest threat to my own survival.

NATURAL FUNCTION OF THE HILL GIANT

This species does not cooperate with mankind. They are simply too big and too violent to fit into human society. There are many items here which are common with ogres, but are used for different purposes, mostly decoration. I have seen goblin shields used as buttons, Orcish broadswords used as eating utensils, their lives are strange. They have developed ways of using things in ways that were never intended.

The hill giant is not a good cook, does not sing, or have any written language. What the hill giant is good at is tanning and working with hide. They, unlike the ogres, properly cure their skins and sew them together. While their work is far from beautiful, it serves its function. They make their own clothes, but have no metalworking skills what so ever.

I believe that the hill giant is a raider and a thief, and that the only race that they have anything to do with, with the exception of their fellow giant-kin, are ogres which they trade with on a fairly regular basis.

RELATIONSHIPS

As I’ve already noted, the only relationships which they keep are with ogres, the rest are viewed as weak and weakness must be crushed. This includes all other species, including the smaller humanoid races.

Meat is meat to the hill giant, and they consume great quantities of it, which includes all species, even themselves in a bizarre cannibalistic funeral ceremony.

RELIGION AND THE HILL GIANT

The giants of the hills believe in a god named Grolantor, but worship him very passively. They have no holidays, nor priests of any kind. Grolantor, or sometimes Crolantor, is a god in name only. The only story which I have been able to gleam from them is Grolantor’s refusal to bow to the greater giants. Perhaps they are even in a riff with their own kind? At this current juncture I don’t believe that I have enough information to form a proper opinion in regards to this subject.

FAMILY STRUCTURE

Women here are just as powerful as the men, and share job duties equally. Children are cared for by both parents, and this society watches out for all of the children equally. Babies are completely dependent upon their parents, but once they reach the age of juvenile, they are already formidable in battle.

The hill giant has the language which is common among all giants, and also many of the adults are fluent in ogre, and usually curse in this second language, hinting that there is a great relationship between these two clans which explains why some ogres worship Grolantor as well.

OF MAGIC AND SCIENCE

The Hill Giant is adamant in its hatred for all things magical. Once they discovered my being here, I made the mistake of protecting myself through spellcraft. This infuriated them more then I could possibly understand! The word “Wizard” to them is equal to the worst words of taboo in our language. If a magical item is discovered, it is ceremoniously destroyed! They take great pleasure in murdering Mages and Priests alike, and blame all misfortune upon witchcraft and magical forces. Perhaps if I had not cast my spell, I wouldn’t be hunted with such gusto and fever; I would be a mere pest, but as it is, they believe that I am a devil which must be slain before winters end if they hope to survive.

HILL GIANT RACES

The hill giant is a subrace of the Giant-kin, and while it is the smallest of them (if one can call 16’ small), they are the most aggressive. I have seen a few other giants, and while the other races of giant are all powerfully built, none is as defined and heavily proportioned as the Hillish variety.

Daily Routine

It is winter, and the snowy winds are brutal, even by hill giant standards. I hear them moaning that this has been the worst winter that anyone of them can recall. This, no doubt, will taint my investigation.

The men go out hunting daily, which they are highly skilled. Women stay home and mind the children, unless their mate is ill, then the woman heads out into the cold to hunt while the male stays home.

Much of their time is spent sowing and patching the skin tarps which constantly blow loose. They keep daylight hours and do not appear to have what the elves call “Infravision”. They eat three large meals per day, as well as snack often. Eating is their pleasure, and they seem to enjoy food which is scorched black on the outside and almost raw on the inside.

Children who are old enough to fend for themselves are allowed on the hunting parties, and are taught how to dress what they catch, as well as have the grizzly job of dressing the kills of the adults. Children have few games, one of the ones that is most popular is throwing rocks at one another, with points earned by hitting each other in the head. Strangely enough, this game never proves to be fatal, regardless of the lethality which each hill giant possesses.

The families all go to bed at dark, and rise at dawn. They do not beat their children, nor discipline them in any way, which causes them to grow up as brats. They love to torture small animals that they find, small to them anyway. The adults take pleasure in their little games, only telling them to finish killing their toy when it is time for bed.

LAWS OF THE HILL GIANTS

In a word, Might is Right. I have only witnessed one fight which was between two males who had a dispute over who had the rights to a kill which both of them had apparently claimed. This fight was horrifying, and everybody else cleared the way for them to settle it with fists. Both combatants were beat terribly, but before the melee became fatal, the other loudly proclaimed the other the victor, and he was allowed to keep the kill, though both men were unable to hunt for a few days. The loser lost no status, nor were any grudges held towards the other once the clash ended.

A month before winter ended, a lone adult showed up at the castle. The other giants, who were of no relation to the visitor, allowed the giant in and shared their food with him. After much discussion, the new giant accompanied the others on a raid, which was successful and the lone giant was allowed to remain with the families, and excepted among them almost instantly. This must be how giants keep their personal relationships. I was wondering how they breed, the new Giant was allowed his choice of the daughters, who as long as she is happy will serve as a wife to him.

HILL GIANT WARFARE

By a means of survival, the hill giant is a raider, and a brutal one at that. Not only do they rob, but they kill their victims. They are not known to be mercenaries, nor do they have memories to keep a true war going. Violence is a way of life to them, they have nothing but contempt for all races with the exception of themselves and the races listed above.

Their methods hardly ever vary, they set up ambushes and prefer to hurl large stones at their prey, killing as many as possible so that they can safely advance on the party and finish the job with clubs. Blades are not fighting tools to them, and are only used for eating and skinning.

A few of them have found a wide variety of armors which have been sown onto leather to form a bizarre armor of their own. While this armor is not pretty, it is effective. The giants are aggressive, however they are not suicidal. They are not afraid to flee if their own lives are in jeopardy, but can take one hell of a beating before it comes to that point.

HILL GIANTS OF THE REALM

This race is best to be avoided. Humans serve as only a means to an end to any of them. They will gladly steal your property after they have slain you, and while they will usually leave large armies alone, small parties of men are their prime targets.

Hill Giants who discover the hiding places of small humanoids and demihumans will systematically destroy their homes and kill as many as possible, seemingly out of pure meanness and to prove their dominance. Gnomes are generally their most well-known targets, as the Gnome tends to keep their homes and villages in the hills. The hill giants themselves don’t seem to have any natural enemies, with the exception of Trolls who will feed on anything, including giant flesh.

While some giants can be friendly and beneficial to mankind, this subrace is NOT among them. Approach them only if necessary and with the greatest of caution! These humanoids are not to be trusted to do anything but evil! Consider yourself warned.