Because I cannot fit all my ideas into one 28-page zine, this web enhancement lists some variants of those monsters that appear in Issue 54 of the d12 Monthly zine.
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Grab Issue 54 of d12 Monthly to get the most out of these variant giants and monstrous humanoids.
Giants
Giants are a varied bunch, and many variants exist.
Bogborn Ogre (Variant)
Often guards or pets (or lovers) of Hags (see Hag in Issue 54), these beings are some of the most dangerous as they combine might and magic resistance.
Mire-Stride: Moves through mud, peat, swamps, and bog water at full speed without penalty.
Bonecrusher Blow: Once per round, if an attack hits by 5 or more, the target must save vs. Paralysation or be knocked sprawling (prone and loses their movement getting back up).
Fen-Stench: Creatures within 10-ft must save or suffer a –1 penalty to attacks from nausea; immune to their own stench.
Magic Resistance: Bogborn Ogres have 30% magic resistance and gain a +2 bonus to all saves vs. poisons and spells.
Carrion Ogre (Variant)
These ogres haunt old battlefields and plague grounds, feeding on rot and memory.
Rot-Gut: Immune to disease and ingested poison.
Bone Club: Weapons improvised from corpses or skeletons deal full damage without penalty (treat as clubs).
Grave-Stench: Creatures within 30-ft must save vs Poison or suffer –2 on reaction rolls toward the ogre.
Corpse Hoarder: If the ogre begins combat near bodies, gains +1 morale and +1 damage.
More Ogres
Get even more Ogres, and an Ogre-Mage to lead one of these variants. Plus, see how easily it is to create an Ogre treasure pile.
Root-Walker Forest Giant (Variant)
Giants who have spent so much time in meditation that they have begun to literally turn into the trees they protect.
Photosynthetic Healing: As long as the giant is in direct sunlight, it regains 1 HP per round.
Awaken Grove: Once per encounter, the giant can command the trees nearby to strike. Everyone in a 30-ft radius must save vs. Breath or take 2D4 damage from lashing branches.
Timber-Hide: They take half damage from non-magical piercing melee weapons, and are immune to arrows – they simply get stuck in their bark-like skin.
Rime-Shaman Frost Giant (Variant)
Elders who have communed with the “Old Cold,” gaining power over the very atmosphere around them.
Aura of Absolute Zero: The area within 20-ft of the Shaman is treated as a Slow spell for all non-cold-based creatures as their joints freeze.
Ice Tomb: The Shaman can strike the ground with their staff. A target within 60-ft must save vs. Paralysis or be encased in a block of ice (10 HP to break out, target takes 1D4 cold damage per round inside).
Whiteout: Once per day, the Shaman can summon a localized blizzard, reducing visibility to 5-ft for everyone except themselves within a 200-ft diameter.
More about monsters on this website:
Monstrous Humanoids
Due to their very nature and where they dwell, monstrous humanoids come in many varieties.
Salt-Witch Hag (Variant)
Withered, barnacle-encrusted hags that dwell in the lightless “dead zones” of the ocean floor or coastal ship-graveyards.
Brine-Lung: Can breathe water and air. They can also “exhale” a cloud of ink and salt once per turn, acting as a Cloudkill spell but only underwater or in enclosed damp caves.
Barnacle Hide: Their skin is as hard as stone; they have an AC of 3 [16] and any non-magical weapon that hits them has a 1-in-6 chance of chipping (–1 to damage until repaired).
Drowning Gaze: Targeted creatures must save vs. Spells or feel their lungs fill with seawater, taking 1D6 damage per round until the save is passed or they are removed from the Hag’s sight.
Vulture-Crone Harpy (Variant)
Found in desolate battlefields and ruined towers, these harpies have evolved to consume the dead and feast on the despair of the dying.
Dirge of Despair: Her song does not charm; it drains the will to live. Creatures within earshot must save vs. Spells or suffer a –2 penalty to all Morale checks and Saving Throws.
Plague-Claw: Those hit by the Crone’s talons must save vs. Poison or contract a rotting sickness. Victims cannot regain HP through natural or magical means until the disease is cured.
Carrion Sight: Can detect “weak” creatures (those at 25% HP or lower) within 100-ft, even through walls or in total darkness.
Ossuary Oathbound Minotaur (Variant)
Bound by ancient funerary rites, these minotaurs serve as wardens or enforcers for powerful undead cults and powerful undead. They are not undead themselves, but the dead recognise them.
Boneway Memory: Cannot become lost in catacombs, crypts, or burial tunnels; always knows the shortest route between tomb chambers it has visited.
Ossuary Shroud: While standing among loose bones, burial niches, or tomb debris, surprises intruders on a 1–4 on 1d6.
Bearer of the Death-Mark: Mindless undead (skeletons, zombies) will not attack the minotaur and will obey simple commands it gestures or bellows. Intelligent undead recognise it as a sanctioned guardian.
Echo of the Dead: Automatically detects movement within 30-ft in enclosed burial chambers, even through stone or sealed tomb walls.
Gravebound Persistence: Ignores morale checks while fighting within the catacomb.
Looking for some undead to fill the crypt? Grab Issue 6 of my d12 Monthly zine for free, which is all about undead.
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Over to You
Can you use any of these variants in your campaign world? Let me know in the comments below.
While You’re Here…
Since 2021 I have been publishing d12 Monthly, a monthly zine, which has a ton of articles for any edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
Printed copies are available in my store. The PDF is available on DriveThruRPG and you can get both, plus support my work, via my Patreon.
I will also be releasing some more products in the near future.
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