Thematically what's the best melee weapon for killing giants?

[Mud Puppy]

My group and I just completed session zero of Storm King's Thunder and I'm playing a homebrew Battlemedic, (you may remember my questions in another post about using a tower shield as a stretcher) and I have proficiency with Simple and Martial weapons. I am currently running with a longsword and the shield...but I was wondering if there were any better (read higher damage) weapons I could look for that would fit better into the RP of trying to kill a giant? Bear in mind I can read the PHB weapon damage tables and I'm not necessarily looking for most the optimal weapon/combo here, more, I'd like to hear your opinions about what set up you'd use for a martial type character that's going to close with and kill a giant.

My reasoning is that if I'm going after a 15+ foot tall creature with a longsword....it feels like going after a brown bear with a pocket knife...

[stoutstien]

I think blow placement is a bigger factor

A maul to the ankle works well, stabbing the back of the knee, flail to the wrist and so on. Even the lowly dagger could be go if you put it between the shoulder blades.

[nickl_2000]

AFAK dwarves are considered the biggest PC racial enemy of giants. So, I would go with more typical dwarven weapons (battleaxe or warhammer).

The magical item Dwarven Thrower (does more damage against giants) is a warhammer.
The Giant Slayer magical item is any axe or sword.


I believe Jack and the beanstalk jack has a dagger. Mickey Mouse wields scissors and ropes to defeat a giant. Thor uses a warhammer against giants.

[Mr_Fixler]

Use a SHORTsword....

Goodnight everybody!

[loki_ragnarock]

Thematic and unoptimized?

The Pike.

You can actually reach all their bits, as a piercing weapon you can push it as far as you need to through layers of subcutaneous tissue to the vital organs beneath, lends the ability to mitigate the enormous reach of something with a 7-9ft arms length, and it's just terrible. It's a terrible weapon... that I would use to compensate for all the disadvantages that come with fighting someone 4-5 times my size in reality, but otherwise is just terrible.


Slightly less unoptimized?

The Lance.

Coupled with a mount it increases your mobility and your effective height and mass, lends greater penetrating force, some of the same visual reach as the pike, and slightly better game mechanics.


My answer is basically going to consist of something sharp at the end of something very, very long.

[saucerhead]

Our barbarian rocked a two-handed sword giant slayer,
4d6(vs.giants) +rage +10(GWM) +str, with advantage from reckless attack.
He also took a beating every fight since giants have something like +8 on the return stroke.
I stood next to him with my tempest cleric, doing spirit guardian damage, and trying to keep him from falling down. My dwarf used a warhammer as a follower of Thor.

Realistically, you aren't going to hit him above the ankle without a missile weapon or spell.

[darknite]

CHAINSAW! Tiiiiibbbbberrr!:smallbiggrin:

[Yora]

I would go with spears. You want to be able to reach their vitals, and when you get a hit, you want to stab really deep to do more than surface scratches.

But then, I would go with spears for almost everything except tunnel fighting.

[Corran]

A sling? Because of David vs Goliath?
Bows and spears seem appropriate if you want a more realistic approach.
ps: Two katanas. Yeah, that's always appropriate.

[NRSASD]

Halberd or glaive. You aren't trying to block giant sized weapons, and there's something pleasing about dodging about underfoot of a giant while wielding a polearm

[Mith]

I would go with spears. You want to be able to reach their vitals, and when you get a hit, you want to stab really deep to do more than surface scratches.

But then, I would go with spears for almost everything except tunnel fighting.

Stupid question: But why not tunnel fighting? Stabbing weapons were key in trench warfare, and tunnels are trenches with a roof.

[Hytheter]

I would go with spears. You want to be able to reach their vitals, and when you get a hit, you want to stab really deep to do more than surface scratches.

But then, I would go with spears for almost everything except tunnel fighting.

Wouldn't a spear be pretty good for tunnel-fighting? Just holding one out in front of you makes you pretty unnaproachable when there's solid rock on either side, and a thrust spear isn't going to clang against the walls and ceiling like a swung sword might.

[nickl_2000]

Stupid question: But why not tunnel fighting? Stabbing weapons were key in trench warfare, and tunnels are trenches with a roof.


Wouldn't a spear be pretty good for tunnel-fighting? Just holding one out in front of you makes you pretty unnaproachable when there's solid rock on either side, and a thrust spear isn't going to clang against the walls and ceiling like a swung sword might.

If the tunnel is close to straight or if you don't need to move often it's an amazing weapon. However when you are navigating around tight turns a long weapon is nearly useless. You have to raise the weapon up to a position that will leave you open for attack and unable to defend yourself to make those turns. A shorter weapon, on the other hand, doesn't have that issue.

[ImproperJustice]

A good piercing weapon (anyone ever play Shadow of the Collossus?), seems ideal to get in deep and do some harm.

A pick of all things carried by someone strong could really do some intense tissue damage.


Mechanically, we played this campaign with a Dwarven Champion armed with a Thrower and he was devastating against the giants. He often attacked from cover, had a high AC and hit points and those crits were monstrous. It was as if he were some kind of encounter clock, inflicting steady damage every round until the enemies were gone.
Equally devastating was the Wizard armed with Hypnotic Pattern, Wall of Force, and Eyebite.

[JackPhoenix]

A polearm is the best choice to reach and damage vital areas. Pike would be best at that job. Another good pick would be something that causes deep bleeding wounds, like an axe, not to kill the giant immediately, but to get him through blood loss. Halberd would be good at both jobs, but not the most effective option for either... pike would be better for trying to stab vital spot and big two-handed axe would be better for bleeding the giant out.

Blunt weapons are next to useless, as with giant size, you won't break bones or damage any internal organs, just give them some bruises, as would be anything small and short.

At range, crossbows and bows won't kill the giant quickly, but again, it will cause it to bleed out eventually, and can reach vulnerable spots like eyes. If you want something that take the giant down quick, find a ballista.

[jaappleton]

A hammer / maul so big it can only be referred to as a '**** off weapon'.

[deljzc]

Even Giants have Achilles tendons....

[noob]

smash the giant by swinging at it another bigger giant?

[Laserlight]

Longbow, by preference. Getting hit by a giant-thrown boulder can hurt, so keep your distance.

Pike or lance make sense, but I'd personally lean towards battleaxe.

[Vogie]

Tridents. They're essentially Spears, but heavier and leaves more holes.
Enterprising DMs may rule that this makes tridents potentially dealing additional damage when they're removed from the target, and increasing the viability of using them with a rope attached to it - Hauling whale carcasses, climbing up giants, et cetera

[Mad_Saulot]

Pike for sure, if i had time to prep I'd bring a siege wepon, ballista or some sort of giant bolas launcher, bring it down, maybe big nets, how about a whip? I'd let a player create a whip master feat that allows a trip attack.

Flask of oil and grease, with oil fire spreads fast, and grease the floor to bring it down.

Giant caltrops, too big for your guys to accidentally step on bit still tiny enough from the giants perspective that they step on spiked barbs.

Captur swarms of crawling venomous insects, launch them into the giants clothing.

Dont use a catapult tho, they can catch boulder type missiles, if you have cats use small objects, preferably firey ones, like tiny balls of pitch set on fire and lob these things at the giant, instant giant flaming man.

Two horsemen with a 60ft rope or chain stretched out between them...

[Rukelnikov]

A sling is the more thematic IMO, and with SS you can deal good damage, it's not melee though...

[JackPhoenix]

A sling is the more thematic IMO, and with SS you can deal good damage, it's not melee though...

It's also, thematically, next to useless against anything of that size. Biblical Goliath was something between 6'9" (a big human) to 9'9" (an average ogre) tall, depending on sources, according to wiki. True giants in D&D start at 16' tall. And stone giants are good at catching rocks or similar objects.

[Man_Over_Game]

AFAK dwarves are considered the biggest PC racial enemy of giants. So, I would go with more typical dwarven weapons (battleaxe or warhammer).

The magical item Dwarven Thrower (does more damage against giants) is a warhammer.
The Giant Slayer magical item is any axe or sword.


I believe Jack and the beanstalk jack has a dagger. Mickey Mouse wields scissors and ropes to defeat a giant. Thor uses a warhammer against giants.

This is the most "thematic" answer, for the sake of DnD lore. The problem is, the idea of beating up something 3x your size with a hammer really bugs me. Realistically, you'll want something that punctures through to hit something that'll matter. You'll need a LOT of force to break a giant's bones with a hammer.

It's the difference between a child holding a hammer and a child holding a knife. The hammer might hurt, but the knife is deadly.

Of course, we don't know the structure of giants' bones. There could be something about them and how brittle they are that makes them susceptible to brute force.

[JackPhoenix]

This is the most "thematic" answer, for the sake of DnD lore. The problem is, the idea of beating up something 3x your size with a hammer really bugs me. Realistically, you'll want something that punctures through to hit something that'll matter. You'll need a LOT of force to break a giant's bones with a hammer.

It's the difference between a child holding a hammer and a child holding a knife. The hammer might hurt, but the knife is deadly.

Of course, we don't know the structure of giants' bones. There could be something about them and how brittle they are that makes them susceptible to brute force.

If they are strong enough to keep the giant from collapsing under its own weight, they are strong enough to withstand few blows.

Realistically, the best weapon against giants is square-cube law.

[nickl_2000]

If they are strong enough to keep the giant from collapsing under its own weight, they are strong enough to withstand few blows.

Realistically, the best weapon against giants is square-cube law.

LOL, physics that is definitely the best weapon. I agree.

[Sigreid]

A warhammer with the small flaw of a too short handle, natch.

[Kane0]

A pair of light picks, for climbing.

[TheExplosiveRog]

Anything that is bludgeoning or a polearm. Volos Guide to Monsters says that Dwarves developed and gave other races a tactic to fight giants, which is aim for the legs. A bludgeon to the knee would knock it down, and a hooked polearm can be used to trip the giant.

[Naanomi]

My concern with the pike, and to a lesser degree (thematically, not mechanically) is how easy the Giant is going to swipe that wooden haft into splinters. A weapon sturdy enough to survive a swat is important

Maybe... a heavy crossbow somehow seems to be the right mix of range and penetration power to me

[GreyBlack]

If Dark Souls has taught me anything, it's that the best weapon for killing bosses is a halberd. Preferably one from Black Knights, but all halberd work well.

This is followed closely by a spiked club.

[Wizard_Lizard]

kill te giant with a beanstalk

[Mith]

If the tunnel is close to straight or if you don't need to move often it's an amazing weapon. However when you are navigating around tight turns a long weapon is nearly useless. You have to raise the weapon up to a position that will leave you open for attack and unable to defend yourself to make those turns. A shorter weapon, on the other hand, doesn't have that issue.

Touche. I wasn't thinking about short tunnel lengths.

I guess in my head, I was picturing essentially a ylkwa.

[Witty Username]

I think a spiked hammer or a pole-axe would be the ticket. So, maul, greataxe, and halberd in d&d terms. Then again if thematic is the goal anything in monster hunter should work fine.

[Potato_Priest]

Anything that is bludgeoning or a polearm. Volos Guide to Monsters says that Dwarves developed and gave other races a tactic to fight giants, which is aim for the legs. A bludgeon to the knee would knock it down, and a hooked polearm can be used to trip the giant.

Seems kind of strange that other races wouldn’t figure that out for themselves, since the legs are the only thing they can reach.

[Rukelnikov]

It's also, thematically, next to useless against anything of that size. Biblical Goliath was something between 6'9" (a big human) to 9'9" (an average ogre) tall, depending on sources, according to wiki. True giants in D&D start at 16' tall. And stone giants are good at catching rocks or similar objects.

You may mean mechanically its next to useless, thematically you named why it is.

[JackPhoenix]

You may mean mechanically its next to useless, thematically you named why it is.

No, I mean thematically next to useless. Mechanically, it's worse than bows, but not by much. Thematically, you aren't killing something the size of D&D giant with a sling. David vs Goliath worked because it was still two humans fighting each other.

[swamp_slug]

My favourite weapon is a Wizard with Hold Monster.


Realistically, you aren't going to hit him above the ankle without a missile weapon or spell.

The DMG size chart begs to differ: Linked due to image size (https://i.stack.imgur.com/ShAtd.jpg). Also found on page 248 of the DMG.
That 20ft tall giant has knees at around 6ft, just in range of a high strike from a sword or axe, although a halberd or glaive may be a better choice.


Even Giants have Achilles tendons....
While true, depending on the type of giant faced, they may be well protected by boots. I would expect Fire, Frost, Storm and possibly Cloud Giants to wear protective gear around their ankles. However, for movement purposes the backs of knees have to be relatively unprotected and severing the muscles/tendons there can also prevent them from standing.

[Sparky McDibben]

Speaking of physics, what about falling damage? See if your DM will let you homebrew a net that might let trip up a giant (like a big bola?) Also, go full Ewok and get a hanglider with alchemists fire! Or giant swinging logs! Or a big grease spill! Go nuts!
But also, any reach weapon would seem a solid tactical choice. Thematically, you'd want warhammers and mauls.

[Bannan_mantis]

all things considered fighting giants are similar to how our ancestors fought mammoths. With that considered melee weapons aren't as effective as compared to keeping a good range. Keeping at range at out of a giant's melee attacks would be preferable but if the giant has ranged weapons or options of their own this loses it's advantages. Plus our fleshy normal human ancestors needed to keep a distance, dnd characters who probably have the ability to tank ballista shots and swing a greataxe hard enough to break armour would be different.

[Naanomi]

all things considered fighting giants are similar to how our ancestors fought mammoths. With that considered melee weapons aren't as effective as compared to keeping a good range. Keeping at range at out of a giant's melee attacks would be preferable but if the giant has ranged weapons or options of their own this loses it's advantages. Plus our fleshy normal human ancestors needed to keep a distance, dnd characters who probably have the ability to tank ballista shots and swing a greataxe hard enough to break armour would be different.
It is likely our ancestors hunted megafauna by harassing and exhausting them, not through anything resembling combat

[No brains]

You could use a sickle and Zeus/Chronos their Chronos/Ouranos.

[Vogie]

It is likely our ancestors hunted megafauna by harassing and exhausting them, not through anything resembling combat

This is true - From an evolutionary standpoint, Humans' special ability is inevitability - we can walk basically indefinitely, relative to the rest of the animal kingdom, following our prey Jason-Voorhees-style, and hitting it while it's down. The rest of the hunter megafauna basically lounges around and sprints to take down their prey - Cheetahs, for example, can go from 0-70 in 4 seconds, but they only have a max of about 30 seconds to catch their prey before they're tuckered out.

It also explains why we have a very specific type of fear that manifests in serial killer or Zombie movies - even though we don't use it, it's our main advantage being used against us.

[Sigreid]

This is true - From an evolutionary standpoint, Humans' special ability is inevitability - we can walk basically indefinitely, relative to the rest of the animal kingdom, following our prey Jason-Voorhees-style, and hitting it while it's down. The rest of the hunter megafauna basically lounges around and sprints to take down their prey - Cheetahs, for example, can go from 0-70 in 4 seconds, but they only have a max of about 30 seconds to catch their prey before they're tuckered out.

It also explains why we have a very specific type of fear that manifests in serial killer or Zombie movies - even though we don't use it, it's our main advantage being used against us.

Well, we also have the best bio-mechanics for throwing things. So there's that as well. But yes, I was surprised when I learned that a healthy human can walk or run/walk any animal into the ground. Covering more ground in a day than anything that doesn't fly.

[Naanomi]

Well, we also have the best bio-mechanics for throwing things. So there's that as well. But yes, I was surprised when I learned that a healthy human can walk or run/walk any animal into the ground. Covering more ground in a day than anything that doesn't fly.
Our detail-vision is also rarely matched in then animal kingdom

[Aussiehams]

Lance, with the proviso you are riding a hasted Pegasus.

[Arkhios]

A high level wizard standing as far as possible under greater invisibility, flinging massive fireballs at them.

[Quoz]

Two great options that use their strengths against them:

Take a fragile container like a large clay pot. Fill with alchemist fire, acid, or any other volatile concoction. Disguise as a boulder and use catapult (either the spell or the siege weapon). The giant's natural inclination to catch and return will make them jump into the shot.

Most large and larger creatures are stronger than any humanoid without magic, but very few have taken the time to train in how to use it. Any adventurer who has expertise in athletics is likely to be on par with a giant in terms of grappling. A high strength character with expertise and a source of advantage - in this case enlarge, since you need the size increase to even try - has a distinct edge. And when the puny half orc barbarian calls out the chief of the giants to a wrestling match, what's he going to do?

[JackPhoenix]

A high level wizard standing as far as possible under greater invisibility, flinging massive fireballs at them.

Fire Giants say "Bring it!"

[paladinn]

Is a Hammer of Thunderbolts still an option? I remember the combo with a Belt of Giant Strength and Gauntlets of Ogre Power. Fun times..

Everyone wants to be Thor Jr.. lol