Cloud Giants: The Strategists and Collectors

Giants are a classic adversary in Dungeons and Dragons, and they continue to be featured prominently in Fifth Edition.  Whether it is the thundering roar of a hungry hill giant, the Olympian-esque hurl of a boulder from a disturbed stone giant, or the sharp *crack* of a streaking bolt of lightning from a towering storm giant, these creatures are a powerful force to be reckoned with. Despite their place of honor in D&D lore (one of the first officially published adventures in 5e revolved around the giants) there is a pitiful lack of variety in these deadly, but mechanically bland, foes. 

Over the next few weeks we are going to examine each of the “true giant” types and create a few varieties to pair with the traditional, base examples given in the Monster Manual. In each article, we will:

• Discuss the key features and tendencies of that giant type.

• Identify what possible roles/functions are missing. 

• Create several new statblocks for variant giants of that type. 

Giants adhere to a strict social structure called the ordning. Essentially, each giant type occupies a social position in relation to each other type. Then within each type, status is broken down further by considering the strength, size, and role of each giant. Despite the cookiecutter statblock in the MM, no two giants are equal in the ordning. Those distinctions are what we want to capture in this series.

Next up: Cloud Giants.

Cloud Giants, Basically

Cloud giants are wealthy and powerful giants that hold the second highest spot in the ordning of giantkin. They are strong; with a strength score of 27 they are once again second only to the storm giants in their physical might. However, their position in the ordning amongst other cloud giants is established solely by the amount of wealth each giant (and their family) possesses. The giants do not squirrel their wealth away in a horde like a dragon, rather they display their treasure in extravagant ways throughout their homes and make large, public gifts to other families to improve their standing. Nor are they misers when it comes to using their largesse. Cloud giant families rarely engage in physical disputes with one another. Instead, massive bets and wagers are used to settle conflict. In this way, treasure, magic items, and even whole estates can pass from family to family through the generations. Beyond this gambling, cloud giants seek to grow their fortune by collecting tribute from other intelligent races living in their domains. Good-aligned cloud giants may offer protection and assistance in times of need in exchange for these offerings, while evil-aligned giants may take more of an “or else” approach. 

Cloud giants tend to be both more intelligent and wise than a humanoid commoner, with some nobles being substantially more so. Their focus on the arts and gambling means they have little interest in picking fights, but will defend their territory and possessions if they are threatened. They are avid gardeners, but can afford to treat it as a hobby rather than a necessity as much of the tribute they receive is in the form of livestock and crops. They are also able to cast a number of spells through their innate magical abilities and are amongst the most likely of the giants to pick up traditional wizardry. Those amongst the cloud giants that become priests tend to split between Memnor (the patron deity of cloud giants, known for trickery and deceit) and Stronmaus (the giant deity of the sun, sky, weather, seas, and joy). 

The most powerful of the cloud giant families reside in ancient cloud castles that float through the skies. These cloud castles are rare and the knowledge to make them has been lost to the ages. Those who are unable to claim one as their home live on the tops of the highest mountains, in and even above the cloud cover. While family groups tend to live together, cloud giant clans spread out with each family living relatively far from the next. If too many cloud giants were to live together, the combined size of their treasuries would lead to a non-stop assault of treasure hunters and thieves.

What is Missing?

Cloud giants typically avoid direct conflict and physical combat, so it is unlikely that they would have elite warriors. Their status in the ordning comes from wealth rather than might, so it is unlikely that even the cloud giant nobles have much of a difference in their physicality. Instead, we’ll focus on the cloud giants’ natural affinity for magic. 

Variant Statblocks

Cloud Giant Mage (CR 13)

Cloud giant mages are giants that have devoted their lives to their arcane learnings. They specialize in illusion magic that is designed to aid them in their wagers with other giants, and as such often are quite wealthy.

Tactics. The mage will defend their tower and treasure, but often seeks to dissuade and incapacitate their opponents. They will use their illusory magic to make the terrain difficult for its opponents to manage and protect their castle. A mage may use its illusion magic to offer fake valuables and coin in exchange for peace.

Cloud Giant Priest of Memnor (CR 11)

Cloud giant priests of Memnor prefer trickery and subterfuge to direct conflict, but if pressed into combat they can be quite formidable. They tend to be evil-aligned, focused on seizing wealth and status through deceit. Some of his priests aid Memnor in his scheme to replace Annam All-Father at the top of the ordning.

Tactics. The priest expresses little hesitation to dive into melee combat. They will cast magic weapon on their morningstar and then move into melee. If one of their opponents is particularly frustrating, the priest may cast punishment on that opponent (if they have lost concentration on holy weapon).

Cloud Giant Priest of Stronmaus (CR 11)

Cloud giant priests of Stronmaus are generally good-aligned and proponents of redemption and freedom. They fight against evil sky creatures, particularly chromatic dragons. 

Tactics. Largely the same as the above priests of Memnor.

Making your own stronghold

Cloud giants live in small family groups, it's rare to see more than a half dozen living together. Or perhaps there is a religious site, tended to by around the same number of priests. Cloud giants are sometimes found with a variety of minions, such as wyverns, griffons, giant eagles, giant owls. 

Next week, we go to the top of the ordning with the mighty storm giants.