e.

A 'c,," '# q 2-

DUH 'COl*o Cry oF,..

by Ed Greenwood
From the Trail Notes of l,aujur the
Ranger:

Ettins, commonly known as the .,two_

headecl giants," are a brutish, aggressive
race of carnivores who dweil in caverns,
disused mines, and the like, emergiug to
raid the upper world only by night. 'ihey
.nt prey well in rlar.kllessr ard subsist on
raw flesh of all sorts; however, ory rarely
-
do they fight among thenrselves, and an
ettin will ony eat the meat of its own kind if
t is badly woundecl or sorely in need of
nourshlnent, arrcl lto other food suppy is
readily available. As befits their crile and
cruel behavior, ettilrs will typ.icay hammer
their food to a pulp, either with a weapon or
by flailing the carcass aganst rocks, bfore
eating it.
Ettins are largely solitary; they have no
particular preference for the company of
any other creature type, and the feelir-rg is
apparently mutual. A mated pair will typi_
cally stay together after n-ratirig until tl.re
offspring is born and has grolr,n to self_
s,ufficiency. Other-wise, ettns will only sel_
dom gather together ancl ive in smali
groups, in circumstances where an indivjd_
ual shows itself to be more strong-willecl or
more intelligent than others of its kinrl.
group will cooper-

ti,?jlilJ"',
leaves, or is k'led.. d,.j"::1:d:;jr"."o
will dissolve and each rnember will go its
own way.
Ettins are getrerally stupd, but can be
cuming in matters of chasing, ambushing,
ald fighting prey. They are wary of all
othe cleatures
- even other ettins _ and
slow to trust.
One fact larown by everyone, of course,
is that ettins have two heads. This strange
properly affords them some obvious benefits
in combat sifuations; fortunately, however,
ther low intelligence prevents thern from
taking full advantage of this ,,blessing.,, ,the
head on the righthand side of ar ettinls

able to survive its loss ad carrv on a l.or-

mal life, albeit without the aforemenfioned
combat aclvantages and most probably

DRAGoN 29
 without receiving auy trust or respect from
its fellow creatures, who will Iook upon the
one-headed ettin as deformed. The fomer
disadvantage is rnininra in most cases, since
even a one-headecl ettin is a formiclable foe
in physical combat. 'Ihe latte disadvantage
is not consiclered important eiiher, becaus
such creafures generally do uot solicit or
value the trust of their fellows in any event.
T'ypically, these creatures are tot espe-
cially fuent in any single language, but use
a snattering of words anc expressions from
whichever tongues are most predominant in
iheir vicinity - usually orcish, goblin, ancl
the common speech. Mosf of them know at
least a ittle of the chaotic evil dialect, and
ebtins often consider this their ,,own,, lan_
guage. In sonle reas of the worlcl where
ettin populations have established ihem_
selves and resided for a long time, the crea_
tures have deveoped a debased dialect of
the ocish tongue into a language that can
truly be called their own.3
\ female ettin w.ill bear a single offspring
--r'en months after nrating, and such young
typicaly grow to full size in little more than
u yuar.n Female ettirrs are always long-
haired, and generaly more full-bodid thon
the ma1es, whose frames are reatively gaunt
ancl wry except for the exceptionally bioad
shoulders which ate (for two obvious rea-
sons) a hallmark of tlre species. Neither tl-re
male nor the female takes anv care over
personal appearance, but feniales like to
wear iervelry as a status symbol
- perhaps
3, DECEMBER .'984
to display their hunting prowess and
thereby prove themselves attractive to a
; females rnay gain their
they vanquish, or as gifts
dtrrng the crude courtship
ce.
Asicle from the uses described above,
etths keep treasure to bargan with ancl to
purchase the services of others for specific
tasks, such as hiring a band of orcs io build
a wall or a h.ap tear an ettin lair.
An ettin has pnk to brownish flesh, with
calloused hands and feet that carry a yellow_
ish tinge. Its complexior-r often looks arker
than it actualy is, because the creahrres are
habitually covered with dirt arrd filth. The
clothing of an ettir-r, if such a term can be
used, comprises nothing more thal.l
scraggly, filthy animal-skins. The creatures
care notlrng for the appearance or odor of
such garb, and wear it otrly for the warmth
arrd cor.rfort it affords them when sleepir.rg
on cold, rough stone. Such garments irevr
have sleeves or other accessory parts, for
ettins don't want to be hamper.ed lt a chase
or a battle by mere sleeping-furs.s
Ettins have no firresse, or the desire to
have any, when it comes to physical combat.
-batiering
They fight with crushing and
weapons such as spiked clubs and iron bars.
-fhey
have been known to throw rocks6 if no
other weapon is immediately at hand, and
they will not hesitate to rip apart furniture
or uproot small trees to fight with. Their
outlook on combat is as cruce as their tac_
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tics; ettins know nothing of honor, fairness,
or truces.
if the bargaining gets unpleasant or frustrat-
ing, they may abruptly decide that a snack
in the hand is woth a feast in the bush. At
.
only
,"i,:ii'":
t, and as much o[
it as possible, while incurring the least risk
to thenrselves.
Ettns worship a deity that is similar, or
identical, to the one the hi[ giants kuow as
Grolantor, though they usually do not call
the deity by this name. They view their
deity as a gigantic ettin of great intelligence
and wisdom (as well as superior fighting
prowess) whose two heacls enable him to
maintailr an eterrral vigiance against all
who would seek to subjugate or destroy the
ettins. The similarity of their deities sug_
gests that ettins and hill giants had some
common social or cultural aspects at one
tirne, but the two species have no affinity
for each other nowacays. lt is possible tirat
ettirrs and hill giants came from the same
stock, given their common religious back-
ground and their larger-than-human size,
b_ut ettins otr the average are substaltially
taller ancl thnner than hill giants. ftr facial
appearnce ald body structure, ettins seem
more cosely related to orcs
- yet that
species only grows to half the size of ettins.
Arrd, of course, neither otcs ltor hilt giants
have two heads; because of this unique
anomaly, it s quite likely that the genetic
background of the ettin will never be fully
known.
As my frieud and fellow ranger Athscar
puts it: "An ettin is a nasty brute
- nur_
derous in a face-to-face fight if one is un-
lucky, injured, or weighecl down, but easy
prey to a well-ai.rned batrd of three or more
who keep their wits about them and nreet
the mon^ster on grouncl of their chojce.,,
Notes
1. Ettins have keen senses, well adapted
to night hunting: infravision out to a 9.,
range, and a sense of smell sufficierrtly
developed to distinguish aLnimal, unusual,
and specifc, known-to-be-dangerous scents
from those of the surroutrdings wthin 3,,.
They clislike sunlght or other strong light
(confinuttl lighr, b not a torch or a light
spell) iutensely, but it does not har.m them
or impar their fighting abilities. The djslike
comes from habit ald conditioning, and
their self-preservation irstinc they inhabit
darkened, hidden places because of their
solitary nature. They greatly prefer to hunt
at night so as to take full acvartage of their
keen senses, and to recluce the charces that
they themselves will be set upon by aclven-
turers or other.adversaries. Apparently, the
orcish strain in their makeup is not strong
enough to require them to fight at u p",u1ty
in lighted areas.
 2. The ettin derives some uuusual protec_
tion from its dual brains. Spells of nrental
corrtrol, such as sleep, fear, ancl any charm,t
or hold spells, will not completely affect an
ettin unless two spells of the same type are
cast upon t, either simultaneously or one
after the other so that both spels are in
effect at the same time. Of course, both
spells must succeed; for nragics of this sort
aganst which a saving throw is alowed,
each head is entitled to a save against or.re of
the spels. If one but not both spells suc-
ceed, the unaffected head will assune con_
trol of the bocly without pause or internal
struggle, and the affected head will be hetd
after returning to normal. Durilg this tme
of powerlessness, the arm closest to the
affected head will hang limp ancl useless,- it
will not drop anything it is holding, but
nnot colrsciousy use or wied such an
-..ject and could (ur.rder the right cicurn_
stances) be easily disarnrerl or cliserrgagecl
from the object by the application oi,-"
force (a list or weapon blow, for instance)
against either the arm or the object.
Note that repulsion, ma,s,s charm, psionic
dotnination, and othe "group-effect,, ma_
gics and powers will affect both heads of an
e.ttin upon a single application; if a saving
tirrow is allowed in such a case, the
s only entitled to one. ".^tir"
lf the ettin's dominant head is clestroyed
or severely dartraged in a fight, the creature
will be cotfu.ret for "I-6 rounds, afte which
time the sirgle functioning head will gair.r
control of the "opposite" ann
- but that
arnr,will only be capable of wld (empty_
lrandec) flaiilrg until the ettin learns t
control both arms with its sirgle head. This
process takes 1-2 months to run its full
course,
and bo
rigures
for the right) will not change, regardless of
which head is controlling both oi them.
Because of its low ntelligence, an ettin
saves against all types of illu.iott,s
but each head is entitled to a saving throw,
and if one or loth of them are unaffectecl by
the ilusion, the ettin will be enraged at suci
a trick, not bewildered at its occurrence,
and will angrily seek out its perpetrator.
3. Any creature who is conversalt ir.r
orcish will be able to understand 60% of
what is said in ths "eftintongue.,, Ettins
often howl and slobber in bestial rge whelr
in pain o fruskated by nimble foes.
4. The offspring of a pair of ettins has no
combat ability until it attains six months of
age. -rom that time unti it reaches otre
year old, the young ettin is sjze M (S, tall)
with 4 IID and does roughly half damage
on an attack with efher arn1.
- 2-8 (2d4)
with the left and 3-8 (1d6+2) with rhe righr.
At the age of one year, an ettin s quite ible
to fend foritself, and will either be aban_
Drapnr rders ol Petn rs lra#rurr ol arr,E Mccfkev usd lnder rcsn*
doned by its parents or simply treated as
another member of the group.
5. The skins worn by an eitin are un_
cured arrd rotting, and typically carry para_
sitic diseases; see the DMG uncler this
heading.
6. Rocks thrown by an ettin d,o 2-12
points of damage per hi! with ralge figures
of 2", 4", and 6"; each arm can throw one
perfect rock per roulrd. Note that this is lrot an
ettin's preferred attack tnode, anc the lnon_
i""r;itr' ster will always use some sort of hancl-held
rveapon if olre is available.
7. See the DEITIES & DEMGODSTM
Cyclopedia for details of Grolantor. The
at _1 _ deig is usually known by a slightly different
name, such as "Grolettinor,, or ,,Grelinor,,,
amorrg the ettitrs that revele or worship this
figure. A very few ettins rise in servic to
their cleity tc become 3rdlevel shamans; see
the DMG. p. 40. for details on what spels
are available to thern. I
lldte on!
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DRAGoN 3/