Introduction	Giants in the Earth (D37)	Giants can be awful or awe-ful	Island Enchanters	The Four Lords of Demonland
Appendix	Submission Guidelines	-	DDG (Dragon)	Dragon

GIANTS IN THE EARTH:
Giants can be awful or awe-ful
by Roger Moore

One of the frequently appearing columns
in DRAGON™ Magazine is Giants
In The Earth, which started many moons
ago in issue #26 (June 1979). It features
characters from popular fiction and fantasy,
and many from historical myths
and legends, who have been translated
into D&D® and/or AD&D™ game terms.
While the series is fascinating to read for
its own sake, the question naturally
arises as to what sorts of things one can
do with it in real game situations. Obviously,
the “Giants” would make highly
entertaining encounters in any game
universe; the problem is how DMs can bring this about.
There are several problems inherent in
using GITE characters (or heroes and
heroines from other sources, like the
DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia, or
other GITE -like articles in DRAGON
Magazine) as NPC’s in a campaign. The
first problem is that the Dungeon Master
might start bringing all sorts of extremely
powerful characters into the game just to
impress the players, or to emphasize the
player characters’ relative puniness in
the scheme of things. If every time the
group goes into a bar they meet John
Carter, Conan and Belit, or Kane, then
the game is going to take on a distinctly
unrealistic tone.

Even worse is the possibility that the
DM has brought these super-toughs into
the game to trash the players out. I heard
of one game in which several characters
got together and began mugging people
who were walking through an alleyway.
The third potential victim was a huge
barbarian from Hyborea, who proceeded
to slay everyone present. This was entertaining
as a story, but it might not have
been so entertaining to the players involved.
Certainly the DM can introduce a
“ringer” among a group of common
NPC’s, but using Conan for this purpose
is like using an H-bomb to kill flies. The
group had no chance of winning. Before
long in games like this all the characters
are dead, the players get frustrated, the
referee gets bored, and the game goes to
pot. This leads to Rule One for using
super-NPC’s: There should be a reason
for the NPC to be in a scenario, beyond
that of satisfying the DM’s ego.
Another possible difficulty is what we
could call the Player Power Trip Problem.
What if, thinks the player, I slip
something into Conan’s drink, or if I
bump off Elric and get his sword Stormbringer?

. . . Sometimes, of course, it’s
not just one player but the whole group,
all of them (for one reason or another)
having decided that they want to kill or
capture a GlTE character. Usually the
group is motivated by greed and a childish
desire to claim that their characters
are tougher than this hero or that one.
This is stupid beyond description, but
unfortunately it is often not discouraged
by the game referee properly, and is
sometimes even encouraged by the DM.
At this point we should make a distinction
between two types of game situations.
It isn’t wrong to set up a scenario in
which, for example, an evil character like
Maal Dweb, Iucounu, or the like makes
some attempt to do something nasty to
the characters or to their world; someone
could make a fascinating campaign
around a premise like this, and it wouldn’t
be wrong to allow for the possibility that
the good characters of the players might
not only defeat the evil leader but might
also slay him or her. The problem comes
when the referee decides that it would be
great to let Chuckie get Stormbringer
because he’s my friend and he’s begged
and pleaded with me for months to do it,
so maybe if Elric turns his back for a
minute. . . you get the idea. The referee
creates the scenario for the purpose of
letting the GlTE character get killed, so
the players will come to think they are
really hot stuff.

There’s nothing that can be said about
this sort of game if people are determined
to play it that way. Before long, of
course, everyone will have all the known
artifacts, they will slay everything they
meet to keep getting those Almighty
Experience Points, the referee will get
frustrated (what can stand up to Stormbringer?),
the players will get bored, and
so on, until. . . no more game. Rule Two
(actually a variant of Rule One) goes like
this: Super NPC’s are not for satisfying
player egos, either.

So, what’s left? You can, after looking
over a list of super NPC’s, make some
distinctions in the ways these characters
could be used. There are three ways to
classify characters in terms of how frequently
they will be used in a campaign:

They can appear as one-time-only’s, as
infrequent passers-by, or as frequently
encountered, live-just-down-the-street
sorts. When using NPC’s that will appear
only once in your campaign, you could
structure a particular adventure around
the group’s meeting with that NPC and
use the NPC as written up in the GlTE
column or elsewhere. Infrequently encountered
NPC’s might live some distance
away from the player characters
and would only now and then make their
presences known; they might hire or
briefly be hired by the player characters,
might compete or fight against them, or
briefly join them on adventures. Finally,
some NPC’s might serve as the players’
henchmen, or take the players on as
permanent assistants, or just live in the
immediate area where the player characters
live.

This is interesting, but there is still one
problem. Famous NPC’s from fantasy
and literature are automatically more
intimidating then other NPC’s because
they have their names behind them.
Conan sounds like a much tougher opponent
than Tosok or Xatha. There also
is a problem in trying to role-play the
NPC when the DM hasn’t read the books
the character was drawn from, or cannot
remember particular details of that character’s
life; often the players, to the DM’s
embarrassment, know more about a particular
fictional NPC than the DM does.
And there is the problem of Big-Name
People attracting all the immature sorts
who want to bump them off and steal
their magical items. The simplest solution
is to change the NPCs’ names and a
few details in their backgrounds, so that
they “belong” strictly to the referee’s
game universe and no other.

Consider this example: In a particular
campaign, a referee has set aside an area
inhabited by bandits who oppose a local
evil lord. Having access to DRAGON
issue #55, in which Katharine Kerr outlined
Robin Hood and his Merry Men as
AD&D characters, the referee adopts the
group for use in his game. However,
because it could be tricky trying to explain
how Robin Hood and company got
into that particular game universe from
England, the DM simply changes Robin’s
name to, say, Arlan the Red (giving
the NPC red hair and beard at the same
time), and similarly renames the whole
gang. To further close the link to the
AD&D environment, the referee gives
her name, of course: She is Jelala. Ka-
Gola now, queen of the sea-rovers. Her
first mate is her current lover, Xarmak
One-Eye (actually Caranga, renamed).
The DM decides to discard the possibility
of a high-level mage teleporting in to
help Jelala, instead allowing the ship to
have a fairly powerful illusionist aboard.
Jelala gains Tiana’s bonuses with rapier
and dagger, a bit of her personality (with
a nasty touch to it), plus her ship and
crew, and now the player characters
have a tough adventure ahead of them,
not impossible to win against but sure to
be a challenge.

Example three: One lucky DM has
access to DRAGON issue #36, in which
Conan the Barbarian was described in
the Sorceror’s Scroll column. However,
for her own reasons, the DM decides to
make Conan a female NPC: Ferra Whiteflame,
so named for her pale skin and
hair (she comes from the very far north).
Some of the statistics need to be adjusted;
Ferra only made it to 4th level as a
thieving little kid before taking up the life
of a warrior. When introduced into the
campaign, Ferra will be 30 years old, and
highly experienced in fighting. Having
fought gnolls most of her life in the frozen
wastes, as well as rare tribes of arctic
hobgoblins, Ferra is made a ranger of
16th level. Ferra gets all of Conan’s statistics,
except for strength (reduced to
18/43, but the DM gives her a girdle of
frost giant strength to make up for it).
Conan’s other special abilities, as many
as possible, are also transferred to the
“new” character. Ferra, when completed,
is introduced as a neutral good warlord
who rules a small northern kingdom of
generally peaceful but potentially fierce
people. She may hire player characters
to go on special missions for her if they
are deemed trustworthy, or she might
send warriors after the group if they are
harassing caravans going into Ferra’s
kingdom. If the player-character group
is of exceptionally high level, they may
meet Ferra herself; male characters who
try to get too familiar might discover that
she (like Conan) is a master of unarmed
combat, and they might require time to
recuperate before going on to other
matters.

Certainly, some famous NPC’s may be
used just as they are. For years I wondered
just what sort of magic-user Baba
Yaga (a legendary witch of ancient Russia)
would actually be. The DMG lists
Baba Yaga’s walking hut as an artifact, and several of my
friends in various gaming groups have
more than once commented that they’d
love for their own high-level characters
to get hold of it. Well, if you’re a Dungeon
Master who likes to discourage this sort
of thing, it might not hurt for the player
characters to get just a little taste of what
Baba Yaga is like, and the fascinating
article by David Nalle on the Bogatyrs
(superhuman warriors of old Kiev) in
DRAGON issue #53 also includes Baba
Yaga’s statistics. She is a true high-level
character’s nightmare as described, and
probably too strong for any group but
those characters in giveaway campaigns.
However, an adventure could be created
in which Baba Yaga and her walking
hut might cross planes into the current
campaign out of curiosity; her coming
would be preceded by hundreds of grave
omens, fearful prophesies, and other
unsettling happenings. The PCs
might be hired to discover the
source of these evil omens, and might
eventually discover the walking hut. The
DM could allow Baba Yaga to let the
characters into the hut (which has as
much room within it as a gigantic castle),
but she will send minor servants of hers
— demons, undead, and the like — to try
to trap the party. If the group manages to
escape, Baba Yaga will let them go, since
she likes the idea of tales of her powers
being spread across the universes. While
Baba Yaga probably cannot be stopped
by most groups, some of her plans might
go astray if player characters catch on to
them (perhaps they might free some prisoners
within the hut, or manage to take
some magical items that she might not
miss immediately, and so on).

Even if the players earn Baba Yaga’s
hatred, that isn’t necessarily the end of
them. Baba Yaga has more things on her
mind than crossing planes to catch some
5th-level thief who took some jewels of
hers. Instead, once every so often she
might send a minor demon or undead
creature to track the character down.
This provides a long-playing scenario in
a campaign that may run through many
adventures. It may be interrupted by different
adventures, but it should provide
some additional excitement for the player
characters’ lives. It isn’t everyone who
can claim that they are hunted by an
ogre-witch; after all, only important
people have important enemies.
The important point to remember is
that famous NPCs, renamed or not,
should not be used to batter helpless
parties, and should hot allow themselves
to be battered by parties, either. Special
NPC’s are there to give a campaign spice
and flavor, to make things more exciting
for the players and the DM, and should
be treated and played with care. Renaming
such characters does remove the
possibility of running an adventure in
which Conan actually gets killed, which
can prove rather embarrassing for the
DM; in addition, players will react differently
to NPC’s they know little or nothing
about. The Giants In The Earth column
provides a long list of useful NPC’s for
DMs to integrate into their games, and
should serve as a guideline for making
up unrelated characters as well.

Another possible use for characters
from the GITE series is as role models for
PCs. Someone may have a
female magic-user with the personality,
if not the same name and statistics, of
Circe the Beast-Mistress (from DRAGON issue #52). <DDG>
Another player may have a
bard and may want to role-play the character
after Muirtagh the Bowman (issue
#35) or Myal Lemyal (issue #64). Characters
from literature can be invaluable as
aids in defining different player-character
personalities.

Yet another use, but one that isn’t
necessarily recommended for regular
play, is to allow players on a one-time
basis to take one GlTE personage and
role-play that character as described,
using whatever sources the character is
drawn from, in a special adventure. If this
is done, the DM had better take the time
to come up with an adventure that will be
a challenge for very powerful characters
(some GITE’s range up to the 30th level
of ability), unless the DM restricts the list
of heroes that may be chosen.

In any case, in games using GITE’s as
player characters, it might be advisable
to declare that if a character is knocked
below zero hit points, or similarly put in
danger of immediate death (like touching
a sphere of annihilation), then the
character is teleported out of the game
and back to his or her home universe for
good, leaving the other characters. to
carry on.

No matter how you choose to use the
“Giants,” always remember that they are
provided for game participants to enjoy
— not as a source of frustration (for
some) or ego gratification (for others).
Players and DMs who keep this “rule”
uppermost in their minds probably won’t
go wrong.

APPENDIX
Past Giants In The Earth & other heroes
Following is a list of famous characters from myth, legend, and popular fantasy
literature who have appeared in the pages of DRAGON Magazine. While some of the
issues mentioned are now out of print, some people may have access to early copies of
the magazine, and this listing will at least help them. Along with the Giants In The
Earth personages, other articles that have described similar heroes and heroines are
mentioned as well. Most GITE’s are male humans; exceptions are noted.

Giants In The Earth

Issue	Characters	Level, class, alignment, etc.
26	Cugel the Clever Kane Tros of Samothrace	14-thief, N 30-fighter/20-magic-user/14-assassin,CE 15-paladin, LG
27	Durathror Fafhrd (DDG) The Gray Mouser (DDG) John Carter of Mars	13-paladin, LG (dwarf) 20-fighter/8-thief, NG 16-fighter/16-thief, CN 30-fighter, LG
28	Eric John Stark Welleran	15-fighter, CG high-level fighter (no info given), LG
29	Shadowjack lucounu	25-thief/9(18)-fighter/9(18)-magic-user, CE 20-magic-user, NE
30	Sol of All Weapons Zorayas Maal Dweb	20-fighter/14-monk, LN 23-magic-user, LE (female) 20-magic-user, LE
35	Muirtagh the Bowman Umslopogaas Edward Bond Ganelon	16-bard/7-fighter/6-thief, CG 15-fighter, N 9-fighter, LG 25-fighter, CE
36	Captain Blood Richard Upton Pickman Silver Bells	17-fighter/10-thief/8-cleric, CG 9-fighter, CN 15-ranger/13-paladin, NG (minotaur)
39	Bodvar Bjarki Egil Skallagrimson	16-fighter, CG (werebear) 14-fighter/14-magic-user, CN
41	Jirel of Joiry Ayesha Valeria Sigurd Fafnirsbane Starkad	14-fighter, NG (female) 27-cleric/9-fighter, LN (female) 17-fighter/9-thief, CN (female) 20-fighter/12-magic-user/8-cleric, LG 23-fighter, N (part giant & elf)
42	Tauno Kraken’s-Bane Sir Geros Lahvohettos James Eckert/Gorbash Orvar-Odd Heidrek	8-ranger, CG (half-elf) 9-fighter, LG 0-level/10-HD monster, NG (dragon) 21-fighter, LG (part sea-troll) 15-fighter, LE
44	Reepicheep Professor Challenger	7-fighter, LG (mouse) 16-fighter, LN
47	Camilla Medea	10-fighter, CG (female) 18-magic-user, CN (female)
48	Sparrowhawk Tiana Highrider	21-illusionist/20-magic-user/14-druid, N 12-fighter/12-thief, CG (female)
49	Holger Carlsen Hugi Ellide	14-paladin, LG 5-fighter, NG (gnome)  6-fighter, N (female)
52	ISLAND ENCHANTERS Prospero Circe (DDG)	14-magic-user, LG 18-magic-user, CN (female)
54	FOUR LORDS OF DEMONLAND Juss Spitfire Goldry Bluszco Brandoch Daha Gaveral Rocannon	15-fighter/14-magic-user, LG (“demon”) 16-fighter, LG (“demon”) 20-fighter, LG (“demon”) 18-fighter, LG (“demon”) 11-fighter, LG
57	Morgaine Vanye Rifkind Belit Dark Agnes	17-fighter/3-m-u, CN (female half-elf) 7-fighter, LN 14-fighter/16-cleric, LN (female) 10-fighter, CE (female) 11-fighter/9-thief, CN (female)
59	Sir Roger de Tourneville Harold Shea Anthony Villiers Mark Cornwall Sniveley	10-fighter, NG 7-fighter, CG 10-ranger/7-thief, NG 4-fighter, LG 3-fighter, LG (gnome)
61	Deucalion Tarl Cabot Dossouye	10-cleric/18-fighter, LN 20-fighter, LE 7-ranger, NG (female)
64	Myal Lemyal John Henry Finn MacCumhal	9-bard/5-fighter/8-thief, CN 7-fighter, NG 15-ranger, NG

Other DRAGON articles featuring heroes and heroines are listed below:
“Conan!” in the Sorceror’s Scroll column, issue #36, by E. Gary Gygax.
“The Bogatyrs of Old Kiev” in issue #53, by David Nalle.
“The Righteous Robbers of Liang Shan P’o” in issue #54, by Joseph Ravitts.
“Robin Hood” in issue #55, by Katharine Kerr.
“Four Myths From Greece” (Atalanta, Daedalus, the Sybil of Cumae, Chiron) in
issue #58, by Katharine Kerr and Roger Moore.
“Elfquest” in issue #66, by Karl Merris.
 

26, 27, ea.

GIANTS IN THE EARTH
CLASSIC HEROES FROM FICTION AND LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this article is to add an element of novelty
and unknown danger to the DM’s high-level encounter table,
and to give players a chance to actually meet up with heroes
from their favorite fantasy books. The referee is advised to use
these characters with discretion. They are a lot of fun to run, and
the players should have an interesting time dealing with them.
These heroes are all in some fashion exceptional, and thus
they deviate a bit in their qualities and capabilities from standard
D & D. Also, most originated in other universes or worlds,
and so were not bound by the same set of restrictions that apply
to the average D & D character. Some are multi-classed, for
example. This system has been used to describe the skills and
abilities of the characters as they appear in the literature, even
though some of these combinations and conditions are not
normally possible. In addition, some minor changes have been
made in order to bring them in line with the game and to enhance
playability.
Note: For the game purposes of these heroes: Dexterity 18
(00) gives +4 on Reaction/Attacking, -5 Defensive adjustment
and three attacks per round for high level fighters. Constitution
18 (00) gives fighters +4.5 per hit die bonus.
 

GIANTS IN THE EARTH: ISLAND ENCHANTERS

Author’s introduction

Often, in the course of a long campaign,
a party of PCs will
take a long journey aboard ship to reach
a goal. While it is possible to say something
like: “After sailing for four weeks,
you reach the harbor,” many Dungeon
Masters prefer to stick more strictly to
the time sequence and the campaign
map. It can get quite boring for players
and DM alike if the DM rolls the dice
every so many hexes only to say: “No,
nothing encountered.” The non-player
characters described below have been
designed to fill this kind of gap in a campaign.
Their islands can be placed wherever
the DM wishes.

Prospero
Circe (DDG)

GIANTS IN THE EARTH: FOUR LORDS OF DEMONLAND

(Top left: Lord Goldry Bluszco)
(Top right: Lord Spitfire)
(Bottom left: Lord Juss)
(Bottom right: Lord Brandoch Daha)

On an alternate prime material plane,
on a counterpart of the planet Mercury,
is a country peopled by various humanlike
beings unlike those described in the
AD&D™ rules. Some of these beings are
known as demons, though they have no
relation whatsoever to the demons of the
Abyss in an AD&D game, and they tend
to be fervently lawful good in nature.
Their mountainous kingdom by the
shores of a great sea is fertile, wealthy
and free. They are ruled by Lord Juss, his
brothers Spitfire and Goldry Bluszco,
and their cousin Lord Brandoch Daha.
They are the greatest warriors of their
country, all wise and skillful in the arts of
war, horsemanship, and sailing. Like all
demons, these four Lords have small
horns upon their heads (not used for
fighting, however); otherwise they closely
resemble normal humans.
These four Lords are aristocratic and
courteous in temperament, always treating
their most dire enemies with honor.
Their language and manner of speaking
is rich and archaic in flavor, and conveys
their noble status clearly. They are fond
of jests and may make humorous commentary
even under the most trying
circumstances. Demons do not lie; they
tend to be extraordinarily brave and
fearless, standing up against the most
dangerous opponents with confidence.
These traits are magnified further in the
four Lords described here.
The four Demon Lords have alabasterwhite
skins, adorned with mustaches
and neatly trimmed beards, and dress in
beautiful and valuable garments. Each
has a set of golden byrny equivalent to
+3 chainmail, and each wears an Amulet
of Protection from Enchanted or Conjured
Monsters, made by Lord Juss.

Although highly unlikely, it is possible
for these Lords to be encountered on
planes and universes other than their
own, perhaps when they are on some
form of quest for the sake of their kingdom
and homes. When they behave as
friends, their aid cannot be matched; as
enemies, they may well be the last ones
an adversary will ever have.
 

<original: summary, et al.>

GIANTS CAN BE AWFUL OR AWE-FUL
    (by Roger Moore)

One of the frequently appearing columns in DRAGON magazine is Giants In The Earth, which started many moon ago in issue #26 (June 1979).

Having access to DRAGON issue #55, in which Katherine Kerr outlined Robin Hood and his Merry Men as AD&D characters, the referee adopts the group for use in his game.

To futher close the link to the AD&D environment, the referee gives out several magical items to the gang (a +2 longbow to Rob - uh, Arian the Red; some clerical items to Bubba the Monk; and so on), and changes the Sheriff's name and the name of the local town to something else as well, like Lord Qor of Wildland's Edge.

The DM picks up DRAGON issue #48, notes Tom Moldvay's version of Tianna Highrider, and sets to work.

One lucky DM has access to DRGON issue #38, in which Conan the Barbarian was described in the Sorceror's Scroll column.
Some of the statistics need to be adjusted; Ferra only made it to 4th level as a thieving little kid before taking up the life of a warrior.
When introduced into the campaign, Ferra will be 30 years old, and highly experienced in fighting.
Having fought gnolls most of her life in the frozen wastes, as well as rare tribes of arctic hobgoblins, Ferra is made a ranger of 16th level.
Ferra gets all of Conan's statistics, except for strength (reduced to 18/43, but the DM gives her a girdle of frost giant strength to make up for it).

Well, if you're a Dungeon Master who likes to discourage this sort of thing, it might not hurt for the player characters to get just a little taste of what Baba Yaga is like, and the fascinating article by David Nalle on the Bogatyrs (superhuman warriors of old Kiev) in DRAGON issue #53 also includes Baba Yaga's statistics.
Baba Yaga has more things on her mind than crossing planes to catch some 5th-level thief who took some jewels of hers.

Someone may have a female magic-user with the personality, if not the same name and statistics, of Circe the Beast-Mistress (from DRAGON issue #52).

Another player may have a bard and may want to role-play the character after Muirtagh the Bowman (issue #64).

If this is done, the DM had better take the time to come up with an adventure that wil be a challenge for very powerful characters (some GITE's range up to 30th level of ability), unless the DM restricts the list of heroes that may be chosen.

In any case, in games using GITE's as player characters, it might be advisable to declare that if a character is knocked below zero hit points, or similarly put in danger of immediate death (like touching a sphere of annhilation), then the character is teleported out of the game and back to his or her home universe for good, leaving the other characters to carry on.

Giants in the Earth

Issue	Characters	Level, class, alignment, etc.	Source
26	Cugel the Clever	14-thief, N	-
26	Kane	30-fighter/20-magic-user/14-assassin, CE	-
26	Tros of Samothrace	15-paladin, LG	-
27	Durathor	13-paladin, LG (dwarf)	-
27	Fafhrd	20-fighter/8-thief, NG	-
27	The Gray Mouser	16-fighter/16-thief, CN	-
27	John Carter of Mars	30-fighter, LG	-
28	Eric John Stark	15-fighter, CG	-
28	Welleran	high-level fighter (no info given), LG	-
29	Shadowjack	25-thief/9(18)-fighter/9(18)-magic0user, CE	-
29	Iucounu	20-magic-user, NE	-
30	Sol of All Weapons	20-fighter/14-monk, LN	-
30	Zorayas	23-magic-user, LE (female)	-
30	Maal Dweb	20-magic-user, LE	-
35	Muirtagh the Bowman	16-bard, 7-fighter, 8-thief, CG	-
35	Umslopogaas	15-fighter, N	-
35	Edward Bond	9-fighter, LG	-
35	Ganelon	25-fighter, LE	-
36	Captain Blood	17-fighter/10-thief/8-cleric, CG	-
36	Richard Upton Pickman	9-fighter, CN	-
36	Silver Bells	15-ranger/13-paladin, NG (minotaur)	-
39	Bodvar Bjarki	16-fighter, CG (werebear)	-
39	Egil Skallagrimson	14-fighter/14-magic-user, CN	-
41	Jirel of Joiry	14-fighter, NG (female)	-
41	Ayesha	27-cleric/9-fighter, LN (female)	-
41	Valeria	17-fighter/9-thief, CN (female)	-
41	Sigurd Fafnirsbane	20-fighter/12-magic-user/8-cleric, LG	-
41	Starkad	23-fighter, N (part giant & elf)	-
42	Tauno Kraken's Bane	8-ranger, CG (half-elf)	-
42	Sir Geros Lahvohettos	9-fighter, LG	-
42	James Eckert/Gorbash	0-level/10-HD monster, NG (dragon)	-
42	Orvar-Odd	21-fighter, LG (part sea-troll)	-
42	Heidrek	15-fighter, LE	-
44	Reepicheep	7-fighter, LG (mouse)	-
44	Professor Challenger	16-fighter, LN	-
47	Camilla	10-fighter, CG (female)	-
47	Medea	18-magic-user, CN (female)	-
48	Sparrowhawk	21-illusionist/20-magic-user/14-druid, N	-
48	Tiana Highrider	12-fighter/12-thief, CG (female)	-
49	Holger Carlsen	14-paladin, LG	-
49	Hugi	5-fighter, NG (gnome)	-
49	Ellide	6-fighter, N (female)	-
52	Prospero	14-magic-user, LG	-
52	Circe	18-magic-user, CN (female)	-
54	Juss	15-fighter/14-magic-user, LG ("demon")	-
54	Spitfire	16-fighter, LG ("demon")	-
54	Goldry Bluszco	20-fighter, LG ("demon")	-
54	Brandoch Daha	18-fighter, LG ("demon")	-
54	Gaveral Rocannon	11-fighter, LG	-
57	Morgaine	17-fighter/3-m-u, CN (female half-elf)	-
57	Vanye	7-fighter, LN	-
57	Rifkind	14-fighter/16-cleric, LN (female)	-
57	Belit	10-fighter, CE (female)	-
57	Dark Agnes	11-fighter/9-thief, CN (female)	-
59	Sir Roger de Tourneville	10-fighter, NG	-
59	Harold Shea	7-fighter, CG	-
59	Anthony Villiers	10-ranger/7-thief, NG	-
59	Mark Cornwall	4-fighter, LG	-
59	Sniveley	3-fighter, LG (gnome)	-
61	Deucalion	10-cleric/18-fighter, LN	-
61	Tarl Cabot	20-fighter, LE	-
61	Dossouye	7-ranger, NG (female)	-
64	Myal Lemyal	9-bard/5-fighter/8-thief, CN	-
64	John Henry	7-fighter, NG	-
64	Finn MacCumhal	15-ranger, NG	-

"Conan!" in the Sorceror's Scroll column, issue #36, by E. Gary Gygax.
"The Bogatyrs of Old Kiev" in issue #53, by David Nalle.
"The Righteous Robbers of Liang Shan P'o" in issue #54, by Joseph Ravitts.
"Robin Hood" in issue #55, by Katherine Kerr.
"Four Myths From Greece" (Atalanta, Daedalus, the Sybil of Cumae, Chiron) in issue #58, by Katherine Kerr and Roger Moore.
"Elfquest" in issue #66, by Karl Merris.

<Source column was added>

C16/F14 = Rifkind
C27/F9 = Ayesha

P13 = Durathor
P14 = Holger
P15 = Tros

F3 = Snively
F4 = Mark
F5 = Hugi
F6 = Ellide
F7 = Harold
F7 = John
F7 = Reepicheep
F7 = Vanye
F9 = Edward
F9 = Richard
F9 = Sir Geros
F9+ = Welleran
F10 = Belit
F10 = Camilla
F10 = Sir Roger
F11 = Gaveral
F11/T9 = Dark Agnes
F12/T12 = Tiana
F14 = Jirel
F14/MU14 = Egil
F15 = Heidrek
F15/MU14 = Juss
F15 = Umslopogaas
F16 = Bodvar
F16 = Professor Challenger
F16 = Spitfire
F16/T16 = The Gray Mouser
F17/MU3 = Morgaine
F17/T9 = Valeria
F17/T10/C8 = Captain Blood
F18 = Brandoch
F18/C10 = Deucalion
F20 = Goldry
F20 = Tarl
F20/T8 = Fafhrd
F20/MU12/C8 = Sigurd
F20/M14 = Sol
F21 = Ovar-Odd
F23 = Starkad
F25 = Ganelon
F30 = John Carter of Mars
F30/MU20/A14 = Kane

Bar15 = Eric John Stark

R7 = Dossouye
R8 = Tauno
R10/T7 = Anthony
R15 = Finn
R15/P13 = Silver Bells

MU14 = Prospero
MU18 = Circe
MU18 = Medea
MU20 = Iucounu
MU20 = Maal
MU23 = Zorayas

I21/MU20/D14 = Sparrowhawk

T14 = Cugel
T25/F9(18)/MU9(18) = Shadowjack

B9/F5/T8 = Myal
B16/F7/T8 = Muirtagh

0 level/10-HD monster) = James Eckert/Gorbash

GIANTS IN THE EARTH
by Tom Moldvay
 

Dragon

-

Dragon 46

-

1st Edition AD&D

Contributions for the Giants in the Earth feature in Dragon
magazine are now being accepted from readers. The following
information will be of use to persons who intend to write one or
more articles for consideration.

All contributions should be typed, double-spaced and in a
legible fashion. For particular information on physical requirements of a manuscript, send a SASE to Dragon Publishing with
a request for writers’ guidelines.

To qualify for inclusion in Giants in the Earth, the contribution should depict a character from legendary sagas, classical
literature, or modern fantasy literature. It should follow the
traditional Giants in the Earth format (detailed below) as closely
as possible. It should include the name of the author and a
bibliography of the book(s) the character appeared in, or a
traditional source material where the reader can find out more
about the legends the character comes from. Lastly, the article
should depict a character which can be useful in the playing of a
D&D® or AD&D™ campaign.

Individuals who write the contributions will receive full credit
for authorship of the articles. Authors will also receive payment
at the normal rate for written contributions, with the understanding that payment may be adjusted downward to account
for a great amount of editing and/or revising which may be
necessary to bring the contribution into publishable condition.

Contributions should not be depictions of PCs,
monsters, mythological creatures, or heroes from an individual’s
D&D or AD&D campaign. Characters who appear in sources to
which Dragon readers have easy access will be preferred over
those from more obscure sources.

A general format follows:

Author’s name
Character’s name
Level and Class
ALIGNMENT
HIT POINTS
ARMOR CLASS
NO. OF ATTACKS
DAMAGE/ATTACK
HIT BONUS
MOVE
PSIONIC ABILITY
PSIONIC STRENGTH (if any)
STRENGTH
INTELLIGENCE
WISDOM
DEXTERITY
CONSTITUTION
CHARISMA
<COMELINESS>
<PERCEPTION>

The body of the contribution should include at least a physical description of the character, a short history of the character,
any special abilities the character possesses, an outline of the
character’s personality, and tips for the DM which will help
him/her run the character as a NPC. Whenever possible,
instructions should give specific details rather than generalizations: For example, “the character does 3-30 points of damage,”
not “the character does a lot of damage.”

The body of the article is followed by the author’s credit, then
the bibliography.

“Giants in the Earth” is my all-time favorite
feature in TD. There are still scores of characters to
cover from fiction and literature. The Hobbit and
Rings books will require careful planning and some
time. “Sword of Shanarra” and “Urshurak” are
two distinct possibilities. The many books of E. R.
Burroughs have many mighty and well-known
warriors. Conan is not the only famous fighter to be
presented by R. E. Howard. Red Sonja, Belit, and <link>
even Thoth Amon should be attempted. What of <link>
Ivan Hoe, or Sinbad?

As I do not have every issue of The Dragon,
there is no way I can know what characters have
been dealt with in “Giants in the Earth.” I, for one,
would like to see some of the heroes and villains
from myth and legend attempted in this manner.
Robin Hood and companions, King Arthur, Lancelot,
Merlin, Galahad, and Modred [sic] await encounters
in ancient Britain. Chu Chulain, Nuada, and others
do battle in Celtic Ireland. The Norse sagas contain
countless heroes such as Siegfried, and countless
villains such as Fafnir the giant/dragon. The myths
of the Mediterranean area are perhaps the most
populous when it comes to mighty heroes. The
Argonauts (including Jason, Heracles, Theseus,
and the witch Medea), Bellerophon, Perseus, Atalanta. <link, link>
Orion, and the many heroes of the Trojan
War (Achilles, Odysseus, Diomedes, Hector, big
and little Aias, Paris, and hundreds more). Heroes
abound everywhere you look and most
deserve more than mention here.

Mark White
Kodiak, Alaska
(Dragon #41)