Tag Archives: Ettin

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post about the ettins who add humanoid heads to their bodies. I really do intend to get back to the elves, really I do.

Hoss has six extra heads arranged about his waist like a belt. One is a fifth level mage the others call Stinky. Farmer Gloran and washlady Isolde were husband and wife. Their heads are close enough to touch and they can barely kiss, but Hoss smacks them if they try when he is awake. Piker was a thief, eighth level, who foolishly insulted the creature when he should have been running. No one lets him forget that if he starts to complain about being “round back.”  Mugg was a goblin and knows the mountains nearby like the palm of the hand he no longer has. Millicent was a child and still thinks this is a dream. Although the heads quarrel a lot, Hoss runs a tight ship and affords his heads no leeway. When they get outta hand, they get a black eye or bloody lip. He’s thinking about adding to his collection up near the chest, but is being rather pickier about heads now.

The Gang is stupid even for an ettin. When he finally overtook a gang of bandits after years of failure, he added all eight of them to his body at once. By the end of the second night, they had wrested control of the body from him and taken over. The bandit heads still follow the old pecking order of their previous lives, being lead by Old Johnny, an eighth level thief. There is much talk about finding some female heads.

Flock made the mistake of claiming the head of a strong-willed and charismatic cleric, who has converted Flock’s five other plague-eaten heads to his faith. The ettin head itself is starting to wonder about the things his preachin’ head says and has found himself haunting the woods outside pilgrimage destinations, sneaking into chapels at night to pray. Flock’s ettin head is starting to see himself as an abomination and it’s probably just a matter of time before he sets himself afire in the middle of a revival tent.

The Ship is an ettin who followed a party of adventurers and picked them off one-by-one as they pursued their great quest. Ship never lost total control, but he cannot maintain the peace among his argumentative victims:

• Four third level halflings
• a level 8 ranger
• a level 6 warrior
• a level 5 dwarf
• a level 5 elf archer
• a level 13 mage
• and a tiny half-sized troglodyte all the others hate

make him a formidable foe with a tremendous headache.

An 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.