Ettin
- Size: Large
- Type: Giant
- Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- AC: 12
- Initiative: -1 (9)
- HP: 85 (10d10+30)
- Speed: 40 ft
| ATTR | VAL | MOD | SAVE |
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 21 | +5 | +5 |
| DEX | 8 | -1 | -1 |
| CON | 17 | +3 | +3 |
| INT | 6 | -2 | -2 |
| WIS | 10 | +0 | +0 |
| CHA | 8 | -1 | -1 |
- Skills: Perception +4
- Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 14
- Languages: Giant
- CR: 4 (XP 1,100; PB +2)
Traits
Two Heads. The ettin has Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Frightened, Stunned, and Unconscious.
Wakeful. When one of the ettin's heads is asleep, its other head is awake.
Actions
Multiattack. The ettin makes one Battleaxe attack and one Morningstar attack.
Battleaxe. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 5 ft . Hit: 14 (2d8+5) Slashing damage.
Morningstar. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 5 ft . Hit: 14 (2d8+5) Piercing damage, and the target has Disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
Lore & Background
Ettins are two-headed giants known for their constant internal arguments and crude lifestyle. Each head has its own personality and opinions, leading to frequent disagreements that make ettins unpredictable and dangerous. They inhabit caves, ruins, and wild places where they can live undisturbed by civilized folk.
Combat Tactics
Ettins use their Multiattack to strike with two different weapons, benefiting from their dual nature. Their Wakeful trait means they cannot be surprised, as one head always remains alert. They fight aggressively but may be distracted by arguments between their heads.
Encounter Ideas
The Arguing Bridge Troll: An ettin demands tolls from travelers but its heads can't agree on the price. Split Personality: One head wants to help the party while the other wants to eat them. The Lonely Giant: An ettin seeks companionship but its argumentative nature drives everyone away. Territorial Dispute: An ettin's heads disagree about whether to attack or negotiate with intruders.
Environmental Effects
Ettin lairs show signs of their chaotic nature with crude fortifications built and then partially demolished due to disagreements. Broken furniture and damaged structures reflect their internal conflicts.
Treasure
Ettins collect crude weapons, simple jewelry, and coins without much organization. Their hoards reflect their dual nature, with items sorted into two separate piles that the heads argue over.
Plot Hooks
The Mediator: The party must help resolve a dispute between an ettin's heads to gain passage or information. Giant Problems: An ettin's constant arguing is disrupting local wildlife and needs to be addressed. The Split Decision: An ettin holds crucial information but its heads remember different parts of the story. Two Heads, One Goal: An ettin's heads finally agree on something important, making them more dangerous than usual.
Lore & Background
Ettins are brutish two-headed giants that embody the chaotic nature of primitive existence. These creatures are the result of ancient magical experiments or curses that split a giant's consciousness between two heads, creating a being of constant internal conflict and savage unpredictability. Each head possesses its own personality, desires, and decision-making process, leading to frequent arguments and contradictory actions that make ettins both dangerous and unreliable.
These giants typically dwell in remote mountainous regions, caves, or ruins where their destructive nature won't be immediately challenged by civilization. They are scavengers and raiders by nature, preferring to take what they need rather than create or cultivate anything themselves. Their dual nature makes them unsuitable for complex societies, though they occasionally serve as muscle for more intelligent evil creatures who can exploit their simple desires.
Combat Tactics
Ettins approach combat with brutal simplicity, relying on their immense strength and dual attacks to overwhelm opponents. Their two-headed nature allows them to coordinate attacks in ways that single-minded creatures cannot, with each head potentially focusing on different targets or tactics simultaneously. This makes them particularly dangerous against multiple opponents, as they can literally divide their attention without losing effectiveness.
In battle, ettins prefer direct confrontation, using their clubs or improvised weapons to crush enemies. They have little patience for complex strategies, though their dual consciousness can sometimes lead to surprisingly effective flanking maneuvers when both heads agree on a target. Their rage can build quickly, especially when one head blames the other for tactical failures.
Encounter Ideas
The Divided Bridge: An ettin has claimed a strategic mountain bridge as its territory, demanding tribute from travelers. However, its two heads disagree on the toll amount, leading to confusing negotiations and potential violence when travelers can't satisfy both personalities.
The Ruined Watchtower: An ettin has made its lair in an abandoned watchtower, using its elevation to spot potential prey. Local communities have grown tired of its raids and seek heroes to drive it away, but the creature has grown attached to its vantage point.
The Arguing Giants: Two ettins have encountered each other and begun a massive argument, with each creature's heads taking different sides. The resulting four-way debate has turned into a destructive brawl that threatens a nearby settlement.
The Giant's Dilemma: An ettin has captured a group of travelers but can't decide what to do with them, as its heads want different outcomes. The prisoners might be able to exploit this indecision to escape or even turn the creature against a greater threat.
Environmental Effects
Areas inhabited by ettins show clear signs of their destructive and disorganized nature. Broken trees, scattered boulders, and crude shelters mark their territories, while the ground is often littered with the remains of their meals and failed projects. The constant arguments between their heads create a persistent background of grumbling and shouting.
Ettins tend to collect crude trophies and useful items in haphazard piles around their lairs, creating both opportunities for treasure hunters and dangerous traps for the unwary. Their presence often drives away smaller creatures and disrupts local ecosystems through their careless destruction.
Treasure
Ettins are indiscriminate collectors, gathering anything that catches the fancy of either head. Their hoards typically contain a mixture of valuable items, worthless junk, and practical tools, all thrown together without organization. Weapons, armor, coins, and magical items might be found alongside broken pottery, shiny rocks, and rotting food.
The chaotic nature of ettin treasure collections means that valuable items might be damaged from poor storage or mixed with dangerous substances. However, their lack of understanding about magic means that powerful items might be treated as mere curiosities, creating opportunities for clever treasure hunters.
Plot Hooks
The Split Personality: One head of an ettin has begun showing signs of intelligence and remorse, while the other remains savage. Heroes must decide whether to try rehabilitating the creature or putting it out of its misery, especially when the intelligent head begins providing information about greater threats.
The Giant's Witness: An ettin witnessed a significant event but its two heads remember different details. Heroes must find a way to get both versions of the story and piece together the truth, possibly by appealing to each head's different personality traits.
The Cursed Giant: An ettin's condition is revealed to be the result of a specific curse that could potentially be reversed. The quest to break the curse might reveal the creature's tragic origins and force heroes to confront the ethics of magical punishment.
The Unwilling Guardian: An ettin has been magically compelled to guard an important location, but its dual nature makes it an unreliable sentinel. Heroes might be able to exploit the conflict between its heads to bypass its guard, or they might need to free it from its magical bonds to gain its cooperation.