Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.

Ettins are two-headed giants who have been a part of the game since at least AD&D 1st Edition. Capitalization is important here - ettins are giants, not Giants, in the sense that they’ve never been part of the Giant entry. They’re present in both books.

The Lore

Fourth Edition maintains the tradition of giving ettins a separate entry from the other giants, but this time it includes a bit more lore to back that decision up. Most of that would be published after the Monster Manual, and is collected in the Monster Vault.

Ettins are kin to giants in that they originate from a primordial, but their creation myth is a bit different. It happened some time after the Abyss had formed - the god Amoth (who isn’t around in the present day) fought Demogorgon and nearly cleft him in twain. The earth primordial Storralk saw that and decided to attack Demogorgon while he was weakened.

Turns out Demogorgon wasn’t very weakened at all, and defeated Storralk in combat. Demogorgon buried Storralk beneath is throne in the Abyss, and as he gazed at the pools of Storralk’s blood with his brand new two heads, the first ettins emerged from that blood.

The big D cast most ettins out into the world, reasoning that since they sprang forth from Storralk’s blood, any pain they suffered would be inflicted on the still-living primordial. The few ettins bright enough to know about this creation myth prefer to associate themselves with Demogorgon rather than with Storralk, since Demogorgon was obviously the stronger of the two and whoever is strongest is bestest. For this reason, demon-worshipping ettin aren’t all that uncommon, and you can often find ettins and demons hanging out together. One of Demogorgon’s exarchs is an ettin.

Even if they’re not demon worshippers, however, ettins are still pretty terrible. Their two heads argue constantly and struggle to take control of the body from the other, but they both tend to agree that hurting and eating people is the height of fun. As a result, ettins are typically Chaotic Evil.

The Numbers

Ettins are Large Natural Humanoids with the Giant keyword. The major ettin signature trait comes from their two heads, and is named Double Actions. Ettins roll initiative twice, and take full actions on both results. They also get two immediate actions, but only one between each of their turns. The two sets of sense organs also mean that all ettins are trained in Perception.

Some of the ettins presented here also have Dual Brain, a trait which allows them to automatically end any dazing, stunning or charm effect on itself at the end of one of its turns.

The Monster Manual has two ettin stat blocks, and the Monster Vault has four. Only one of them is present in both books, so overall you have five unique creatures here. Let’s look at they in order of level.

Ettin Thug (MV)

The classic model, this is a Level 8 Brute with 110 HP. It runs at speed 6. It has Double Actions but not Dual Brain.

Its Smash basic attack has very low damage for a level 8 brute, but that’s because the ettin is going to be making that attack twice per round due to Double Actions. As a move action it can also Kick (Melee 1 vs. Fortitude), which pushes the target 2 squares and allows the ettin to move half its speed.

Ettin Wrath Chanter (MV)

This one is likely one of those demon-worshipping spellcasters. A Level 8 Elite Controller with 184 HP, it has both Double Actions an Dual Brain.

As the name would imply, the wrath chanter constantly sings a Rage Song in battle, which works as an Aura 5 that makes everyone within angry. This gives allies a +2 bonus to attack and damage. Enemies get a -2 penalty to attack but a +2 bonus to damage.

Since it’s an elite, the chanter’s basic Smash attack deals full damage, and additionally knocks the target prone on a hit. It can also use magic to Invoke Fury, a Close Burst 5 that targets a single enemy and hits automatically. It forces the victim to charge or make a melee basic attack against a target of the ettin’s choice! At least the charge doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.

Against parties that include PCs with decent basic attacks (like Fighters) the war chanter will likely use Invoke Fury most often, sometimes mixing it up with Smash against a squishy to set up a particularly damaging charge. If that’s not the case, it will go the other way around, smashing most often and sometimes using Invoke Fury to screw up the party’s positioning.

Ettin Hunter (MV)

A slightly more sophisticated ettin who knows the value of killing people at range. It’s level 10 artillery with 86 HP, and it carries a brace of 10 javelins into combat. It has Double Actions but not Dual Brain.

All of the ettin hunter’s attacks are considered basic. It can use a javelin in melee (Reach 2) or throw it (Range 20). It can also throw a javelin extra hard to Pinion an enemy (Range 20 vs. AC, recharge 5-6). This does more damage than the normal throw and restrains the target until they can un-impale themselves (DC 18) or teleport away.

Ettin Marauder (Both)

A beefier take on the classic Ettin, this is a Level 10 Elite Soldier with 222 HP. It has both Double Actions and Dual Brain.

It attacks with a full damage Smash that also pushes the target 1 square on a hit and marks them for a turn. It can also Swat anyone who tries to flank it as a reaction (Melee 2 vs. Fortitude), pushing them back 3 squares on a hit.

The MM version is pretty much identical, save that its basic attack is named Club and it specifies that the ettin marauder wields a club in each hand. It’s interesting that none of the MV ettins specify this. Either the authors thought it’d be obvious and not worth the wasted space, or they’re stating ettins normally fight unarmed.

Ettin Spirit Caller (MM)

Another demon-powered spellcaster, this one a Level 12 Elite Controller with 252 HP, Dual Brain, and Double Actions. Its basic attack is a club that pushes the target 1 square. It can instead choose to spend a standard action casting the Curse of Shattered Bone (Ranged 10 vs. Will), which makes the next club attack from the spirit-talker against the target an automatic critical with 1d12 damage added on top of everything else.

The curse isn’t all that impressive - simply attacking twice might be a better bet. It would be a lot more dangerous if it made the next hit from any enemy (or even any ettin) a critical.

This ettin can also perform a Spirit Call which fills a Close Burst 5 with howling demonic apparitions. This targets Fortitude, does necrotic damage, and slides the targets 3 squares on a hit.

Sample Encounter and Final Impressions

There’s one sample encounter in the MM: Level 10, 1 ettin marauder, 2 venom-eye basilisks, and 3 barlgura demons.

I like the way ettins turned out mechanically here. The stat blocks are simple and have a strong signature gimmick. Their levels make them a good fit for an adventure that says “welcome to paragon tier! Now you’re going Against the Giants.” Ettins are weaker than hill giants in this edition, so they’re the first humanoid of unusual size the PCs are likely to fight.