The Land Cannot Hold Us (Giant-Type Class)

12 Jun, 2026

As Fighter, including necessary XP for next level. Must be done necessarily by multi-classing.

The class is not automatic. I.e. goblins must know of their potential before they can start gaining experience on it, for those who do not know the path of their ancestors towards the ocean depths never will join them.

If using AD&D, the transformations do not require spending money or training, they happen overnight, as the goblin sleeps and, through sleep, reconnects with the past of those who built the world by dreaming. More and more the goblin will dream of the ocean depths and the darkness between the stars, where it can swim and fly. Perhaps one day.

The Goblin (Level 1)

And after days of walking by night in the Wasteland, avoiding the unknown and the strange, the Young Goblin found the cave which that sky-scraping grandfather on his way to the ocean had told him about. Inside, he found a head the size of a small boulder, milky white eyes peered back inside its own skull and a tongue lolled out. The body, reasoned the Young Goblin, must have truly been astounding.

Then the Young Goblin jumped back with a start as the massive head coughed and let out a cackle.

"You are small, but yet you will become great, grandchild! Long ago, in those days before days, those nights before nights, when the world was young as fresh dew on the winter morn, all of us men made a choice. Yes child, men, for you too are man! Others chose their form and became fixed, but we chose no form at all. Change we must, for change we are. Grow! Grow and become strong and tall and proud! As you are now, you hate the sun and dwell in night, but in time you too will become like our grandfathers!"

• Goblins are 4 feet tall, hate the sun (-1 under it), and can see in the dark up to 60'. They note architectural differences underground (as well as sloping passages, etc) with large eyes on a 1-in-4.

• The imperial goblins of Archontos have become used to the sun and are not affected by it, but they also do not get the architectural ken that comes with prolonged exposure to the underground.

The Hob (Level 2)

"Tall have you become, little one. Taller than the men who called you 'goblin' and other names besides. You are fit to lead and be a king of your people! No longer you fear the sun, even as the underground appears clearly to you now. Be careful, boy, for many stop at this stage, content in guarding a king or assisting those greater than them. There is no shame in service, yet I entreat you: aim higher!"

• Hobgoblins are 6 feet tall, do not hate the sun anymore, but can still see in the dark. They note architectural differences et al on a 2-in-4. Their muscles coil and harden, reducing their base AC to 8.

The Gnole (Level 3)

"Ah, you have returned, and with much finery too. You have noticed that your place is not underground anymore, bumping your head against the walls of the cavern, having a difficult time noticing depth... Your body cried out for more, and so your people noticed. You have been elevated to king, though the men still call you a mere 'chief'. Even your ability to see in darkness appears to fail you at times, eh? Luxuriate in your strength, child, but do not give in to rapine! Many in your position, drunk with power and lusty for strength impose their will on their fellows. I urge you to seek power!"

• Gnoles are 7 feet tall, they lose their underground sense but keep the ability to see in the dark. They become strong, their Strength grows to have a modifier of +1 - if he already had that or higher, it grows by +1 to the maximum modifier of +3. Their base AC is now 7 as the fur coalesces into a stout leather hide.

The Bugbear (Level 4)

"You did not heed my warning, did you, child. I see you have become a mighty queen now, and feel the changes in your body even more acutely. Your fur grows, yet you feel most strongly the world against you - steps in the forest now ring in your head, keeping your position becomes harder and harder, does it not? Your people need you, queen! Storm away and curse the skies all you want, bear-like woman! Your time will come!"

• Bugbears are 7 feet tall, see in the dark, and are just as strong as they were. Their fur becomes long and shaggy, providing a base AC of 6. Their acuity also rises, and for this level only, they can avoid surprise on a roll of 3 or less, rather than 2.

The Ogre (Level 5)

"You swagger haughtily back, noticing under your fur your muscles bound like armour. No longer do you inhabit the night, and you know not of any who are more full of body than you, is that right? You feel as if you might hold the entire world inside your bag, stuff it away for your appetites... this violent life is that which many surrender themselves to. I should have expected this. The land is inhospitable, and so are we."

• Ogres are 9 feet tall with iron-like muscles woven like chain mail, providing base AC 5. Many lose their fur on this step, while others keep it for the rest of their lives - decide this now. They cannot see in the dark anymore, but their strength becomes inhuman, treated as 18, the very peak of what a hero might achieve. In OD&D, they add +2 to damage; in AD&D, use the table of strength henceforth.

The Troll (Level 6)

"You return to me, alone and crestfallen. I see you do not call yourself a 'king' or a 'queen' anymore; your pain is so great that you feel as if it will drive you mad. Child, do not cry, I understand these things! There is no need to ask forgiveness: so long as you do not give in to the pain-madness, it will not be too late for you. Beat the ground til your talons are ground to dust, smash your wrists against the walls of your life, break your body and it will return to you!"

• Trolls are 9 feet tall with a strange, shifting body that provides them base AC 4. They become more powerful than any man can ever be, with long talons and 19 Strength which provides them 2d6 standard damage. For this level only, they regenerate as trolls normally do. The process is excruciatingly painful.

The Giant (Levels 7 to 12)

"I noticed you were more secure in yourself by the way you walked in. A child no longer, your adult body has grown and extended over your old body like the clouds envelop the sky in an autumn day. Your journey has long and arduous, and I am proud to call you my compatriot. Henceforth you must go at it alone, however. You will find your way - climb the highest peak and jump, our kind has reached the clouds and the depths of the ocean, for only they may hold our bodies. Find purpose, child, or your mind will be gone and you will be as those fallen ones who herd their sheep and stare at the ocean, worrying about things long past. My time has come. Once you are ready and has reached your titanic extent, I hope you will join me."

And after those words, as the head had requested, the giant took it to the ocean and let it sink to its depths beyond depths, below the thunders of the upper deep, far away from the sickly light, where gargantuan palaces are raised away from the ken of men.

• Giants start at 10 feet tall and grow as indicated by the table, their strength grows with them, and so does their AC. Variations such as "fire giant" and "frost giant" are magical initiations guarded in their tall volcanoes, and many other kinds of giant exist besides.

The Land is Inhospitable, and So Are We (GLOG Class)

Starting Equipment: Rusty weapon, even rustier armour, a people and family back in the cave.

Starting Skills: Mining, and either Trapper, Wolf Trainer, Leatherworker, or Raider.

Receive +Template HP per level.

A: Goblin, Miner's Ken

B: Gnole, Strong

C: Ogre

D: Giant, Boulder Thrower

Goblin: You are small and can see in the dark, but you get -1 to everything in the sun.

Miner's Ken: You detect architectural changes and sloping passages and such on a 2 in 6. Lose this if you have more than 1 Template.

Gnole: From here on out, you have double your Templates in this class added to your Defense. If you could see in the dark, you can't anymore. Turn the Goblin template into "Ex-Goblin", but keep it.

Strong: Your Strength is now Templates in this class times 6, if that number is higher than your current Strength.

Ogre: You grow to 7+1d6 feet tall. Your fists count like Large Weapons. You require double the food of a normal person.

Giant: You grow to 14+4 feet tall. Your fists count as Heavy Weapons. You require quadruple the food of a normal person.

Boulder Thrower: You can throw large rocks and heavy stone, they count as Heavy Weapons but at a distance.

Inspiration

D&D and AD&D calling all of these monsters "giant-type" or "giant-class"; Doctor Baldanders from Book of the New Sun, as well as Abaia, Typhon, and Erebus; Oddcore's series of posts which, while not introducing the idea, reminded me of it; Wolves Upon the Coast; Salty Goo's Hobgoblin which also transforms into a bugbear and a "taller goblin" partway; Rise Up Comus' Giant Class which also grows in size, I recommend using it as a benchmark for what "you become 19 feet tall" means, if using the GLOG rules.

#arden vul #gameable content