I'm running a viking-themed game right now, and I never liked the Half-Giant in the PsiHB as a half-giant for my game, which doesn't use psionics. What I've done for my game is use Goliath as half-giants, merely changing their type from Monstrous Humanoid to Giant. The straight-up goliath represents a half-stone-giant.
I've also made use of the Cold Endurance, Improved Cold Endurance, Heat Endurance, and Improved Heat Endurance feats to make Half-Frost-Giants and Half-Fire-Giants. The problem with this is that I'm forced to go something like Barb 1/Ranger 1/Fighter 1 in order to qualify for Improved X Endurance by 3rd level, and prior to that they have no resistance to the appropriate element.
I'm giving thought to writing an adventure and trying to publish it. Obviously, I cannot use the Goliath race in such a product. However, because Half-Giants are in the SRD, I could make use of Powerful Build and make something similar. So, here is my attempt at the Half-Jotun race.
The basic race will be a Half-Stone-Giant. I will then have Racial feats that can only be taken at first level (much like Warforged Body feats) that alter the Half-Jotun into a Half-Frost-Giant or Half-Fire-Giant.
More than anything, I'm looking for input as to if this race is still balanced as a +1 LA race. Aside from the racial stat adjustments and powerful build (and having Giant Blood and knowing the giant language), the only other racial ability will be +2 Natural Armor. If you chose either the Fire Jotun or Frost Jotun feat, you lose the natural armor, and instead gain Fire or Cold resistance 5, as appropriate.
Half-Jotun Racial Traits:
- +4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution
- Half-Jotun base land speed is 30 feet.
- Medium: As Medium creatures, half-jotun have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. However, see the powerful build ability description below for more details.
- Giant: As giants, half-jotun are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, but they have no proficiency with any armor or shield.
- Low-Light Vision: Half-Jotuns can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
- Powerful Build: The physical stature of half-jotuns lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger.
Whenever a half-jotun is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the half-jotun is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him.
A half-jotun is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A half-jotun can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category. - +2 Natural Armor: A half-jotun's stone giant heritage makes his skin tough and better able to deflect blows.
- Automatic Languages: Common and Giant. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Terran.
- Favored Class: Barbarian.
- Level adjustment +1.
Fire Jotun [Racial]You are descended from fire giants instead of stone giants.
Prerequisites: Half-jotun, character level 1st.
Benefit: Your fire giant heritage makes you resistant to fire, but your skin is not as tough as those descended from stone giants. You lose your racial +2 natural armor bonus, but gain resistance to fire 5.
Add Ignan to your Bonus Languages list.
Special: Unlike most feats, this feat must be taken at 1st level, during character creation.
Frost Jotun [Racial]You are descended from frost giants instead of stone giants.
Prerequisites: Half-jotun, character level 1st.
Benefit: Your frost giant heritage makes you resistant to cold, but your skin is not as tough as those descended from stone giants. You lose your racial +2 natural armor bonus, but gain resistance to cold 5.
Special: Unlike most feats, this feat must be taken at 1st level, during character creation.
If the Natural Armor isn't enough to justify the full +1 LA (Goliath have three additional abilities: Mountain Movement, Acclimated, and +2 to Sense Motive), I could see upping it to +3 natural armor, and taking the fire or frost jotun feats would drop it down to +1 natural armor. However, Natural Armor is a fairly good ability relevant to combat, while the extra abilities of the goliath are not really relevant to combat (though mountain movement could be relevant to a Leap Attack build).
Thoughts or advice?
