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PDFAn ettin has multiple heads, but only one it was born with. Ettins sometimes remove the heads of their defeated enemies and attach them to their torsos. Within four hours, the ettin’s body has integrated the head, allowing it to see, hear, think and talk. The victim is now part of the ettin along with his knowledge.
Typical Ettin
No. Encountered: 1
Alignment: Chaotic or Chaotic Evil (can change)
Movement: 90’ (30’)
[S&W Move 9]
AC: as Chain Mail + Shield*
HD: 8-10 HD +1/2 HD per head
Attacks: 2 hands or 1 club or 1 kick (+ 2 bites in close combat)
Damage: Hand 1d8; Club 3d6; Kick 1d10+2; Bite 1d4
Save: Fighter 8 / Immune to charms
Morale 10
Challenge Level / XP: As per HD plus 1 per head, plus 1 for spellcasting
* I am using James Raggi’s method of expressing AC, since different systems use different numbers.
Ettins are small giants that stick the heads of their enemies on their bodies, adding their knowledge, personalities and abilities to their own. They fight as the highest level fighter they have absorbed (provided it is higher than the creature’s native fighting abilities). They can cast spells from the heads of any mages (only one per round, as the hands are used). They can also perform thief skills that do not depends on size. The heads of most clerics will not be granted spells from their deity as the ettin is an abomination.
An ettin’s consciousness is something of a weighted democracy. Each mind within the ettin has some say in the creature’s action, weighted by its length of residency on the body and its charisma in life. The original ettin head is usually in charge and is hard to sway away from doing awful things, but if it has been unwise and absorbed many lawful or good minds, a rebellion can relegate it to a minority position. The original head decides when to add a head to the body, and it is especially fascinated by magic and by beauty.
Individual heads cannot take over the body’s actions, but they can speak their mind to others:Watch out! This thing can cast spells! These heads can be destroyed, which releases the mind/spirit/consciousness to the afterlife: Please! Kill me!
Once per day, each non-native head must make an ability check vs. wisdom or go insane for that day. This save must also be made when a head is confronted with old comrades, loved ones or other memories of the past. Insane heads can still cast spells, but have no control over anything else.
Ettins with quarrelsome heads never surprise and can be surprised twice as often as normal.
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I particularly like this take on the ettin, adds depth and interest while making the creature a lot more evil and dangerous than some simple 2-headed giant.
Glad you like it, Kevin!
Fantastic idea.
Does the ettin have one head on top of its neck but multiple heads (or faces) protruding from its torso?
An idea: the torso heads have a pecking order under which the dominant torso head gradually moves up the body and either replaces the main/original head or grows its own neck alongside that of the main head. At that point, it would be a battle of wills between the two top heads for total dominance of the creature (the original head would likely prevail, at least for a while), or perhaps the dominant head would simply call the shots most of the time (DM to roll; but sometimes the action to take is obvious to both heads).
Never mind my idea; you’ve covered it (in a better way) in your follow-up post.
Glad you liked the Ettins stuff. I really enjoyed writing those. I swear it was all inspired by Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Zak put out a call for ideas on his blog. He’s going to use all ideas posted in the comments before he wakes up today in an adventure. I’d love to see what he comes up with.
http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2010/10/stupid-dm-tricks.html
Wow – that is a very cool take on the Ettin. I like it! 🙂
This combined with the memetic brain eating mages… Hmmm…