open/close all folders
Skreed
Skreed Gorewillow
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Alchemist
Alignment Neutral Evil
An half-orc infiltrator that serves Grenseldek and is trying to sabotage Trunau and recover the artifacts from Uskroth's tomb.
- The Dog Bites Back: Bullied by orc children for his relative weakness, he learned to brew poisons and used them to get back at his tormentors.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Had he never murdered Rodrik, his plans would have gone off without a hitch, with no one being the wiser to Volstus' ambitions.
- Starter Villain: The main opponent to be fought in the first adventure of the Giantslayer series, his actions and their consequences end up being the catalyst for the entire quest.
- Teen Genius: Apparently, he was only 16 when he was appointed witch doctor in the Twisted Hearts tribe.
- Unholy Matrimony: He's in a loving relationship with a human woman named Melira.
Grenseldek
Grenseldek
Race: Hill Giant
Class: Ranger
Alignment Chaotic Evil
Chieftain of the Twisted Hearts tribe of orcs, ogres, and hill giants, Grenseldek dreams of becoming the Storm Tyrant's bride. To that end she launches an attack on the player character's hometown in order to recover treasure from her ancestor's cairn and use it for a dowry.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Volstus is disgusted by her interest in him, and not only rejects her, but threatens her with death.
- Ambition Is Evil: Wanting to marry a powerful warlord might seem fairly normal to a human, but for a hill giant it's very ambitious. Said ambition is, of course, a cause of misery to everyone within her tribe's sphere of influence.
- Brawn Hilda: She's a hill giant chieftain, which makes her ten feet of muscle, flab, and thuggish mindset.
- Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Like all hill giants, she's huge and strong but not very bright, and she carries twin axes as her weapons of choice.
- Dark Action Girl: She's a noticeably female brute who is perfectly capable of killing the players in single combat if given the chance.
- Dual Wielding: Fights with an axe in each hand.
- Fat Bastard: Like most hill giants she's quite hefty and quite brutishly evil.
- It's Personal: If Grenseldek somehow survives the battle with the players at the end of "The Hill Giant's Pledge," she declares them to be her archenemies and returns to harass them with her own small army of giants and additional class levels. The guide recommends having her drive home how personal her hatred of them has become by having her kidnap the loved ones of the players, and sack towns that they have visited.
- Love Makes You Evil: Downplayed. Grenseldek was already evil, but her crush on Volstus encouraged her to be a lot more active about it, setting in motion the events of the game.
- Praetorian Guard: She's accompanied by a pair of giant female orcs who possess hill giant ancestry and act as her bodyguards. Unlike the rest of the orcs, these two are genuinely loyal to Grenseldek and will fight to the death to defend her.
- Sanity Slippage: If she survives what is meant to be her last battle with the players, she comes back far crazier than before.
- Small Name, Big Ego: She's reasonably intelligent and capable for a hill giant, but grossly overestimates her influence or importance to Volstus.
- Starter Villain: She's the Arc Villain of the first two Adventure Paths, and up until her defeat, the players may not even know Volstus the Storm Tyrant exists.
- Stout Strength: As is the norm for her race, she's very fat, but very strong.
Etena
Etena
Race: Slag Giant
Class: Oracle
Alignment Chaotic Evil
The current guardian of the sacred forge of Minderhal, the stone giant god of law and crafts. She will stop at nothing to reignite the forge and see her god rise to prominence once again.
- Evil Old Folks: She's about as old as a slag giant can get, and a shameless backstabber who will betray the PCs as soon as she doesn't need them anymore.
- Fantastic Racism: Considers all "small folk" as an army of pernicious vermin.
- The Fundamentalist: Etena is a religious fanatic with zero compunctions against committing terrible acts in the name of her dying god.
- The Mentally Ill: Centuries of following the dictates of a fading god, with little to no company, have left Etena quite mad. She seems to live in the past, and tends to speak in unclear prophecies.
- Never Mess with Granny: Don't underestimate her because of her age - she's still a giant, after all, and still stronger than most humans.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Etena will try to sway the PCs to her side with promises and offers of cooperation. However, she will only help for as long as it serves her purpose - after which, the party will have to go.
The Storm Tyrant
Volstus
Race: Storm Giant
Class: Fighter
Alignment: Neutral Evil
The offspring of a noble storm giant family, Volstus was never able to accept the idea of treating smaller beings as equals. Loathing the idea of being thought of as a "benevolent colossus", Volstus set out to gather an army of evil giants and conquer humanity in the name of giantkind.
- Ambition Is Evil: His campaign of conquest would cause death and suffering on a frightening scale. He doesn't care.
- Big Bad: The ultimate villain of Giantslayer, with all the others being henchmen or pawns of his.
- Black Sheep: Storm giants are normally kind and tolerant. Volstus... isn't.
- Dragon Rider: Has an enslaved red dragon who serves as his mount.
- Fantastic Racism: Volstus sees non-giants as slaves, and non-storm giants as inferiors.
- Final Boss: He and his dragon mount will be the final adversaries the player characters face.
- Freudian Excuse: Averted. There is nothing in Volstus' past that really explains how he turned out like that, especially since his family seems to be good, peaceful people. Volstus is just a bad egg.
- The Man Behind the Man: To Grenseldek, the Path's Starter Villain.
- No True Scotsman: Volstus believes that giants who are on peaceful, or worse friendly, terms with the "lesser races" are a disgrace to giant-kind.
