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Goliath

Goliath

( Races of Stone, p. 53)

Attributes

Size: Medium
Base speed: Land 30
Strength: +4
Intelligence: +0
Dexterity: −2
Wisdom: +0
Constitution: +2
Charisma: +0
Level adjustment: +1
Space: 5 feet
Reach: 5 feet
Automatic languages: Common , Gol-Kaa
Bonus Languages: Dwarven , Giant , Gnoll , Terran

Description

A typical goliath is larger than the largest half-orc. Most stand between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Unlike with most other races, there is no appreciable difference in height or weight between male and female goliaths. Goliaths have gray skin, mottled with dark and light patches that goliath shamans say hint at a particular goliath's fate. Lithoderms—coin-sized bone-and-skin growths as hard as pebbles—speckle their arms, shoulders, and torso. Their skulls have a jutting eyebrow ridge, wide jaw, and occasional lithoderms as well. Female goliaths have dark hair on their heads, grown to great length and always kept braided. Male goliaths generally have hair only on their limbs. Goliaths' eyes are a brilliant blue or green, and they often seem to glow a little from underneath their furrowed brows.

Because their skin mottling has cultural significance, goliaths generally dress as lightly as possible, displaying their skin patterns for all to see. For the same reason, few goliaths would willingly get a tattoo—to draw on one's skin is tantamount to trying to rewrite one's fate. Goliaths instead decorate themselves with jewelry, often sporting ear, nose, or brow rings. A goliath's lithoderms are also common places to embed a gem or two, since they have few nerve endings and stand out on the goliath's body already.

Combat

Racial Traits

  • Monstrous Humanoid: As monstrous humanoids, goliaths are proficient with all simple weapons, but they have no proficiency with any armor or shield.
  • Powerful Build: The physical stature of a goliath lets him function in many ways as if he were one size category larger. Whenever a goliath is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the goliath is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A goliath is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature's special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A goliath can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.
  • Mountain Movement: Because goliaths practically live on the ledges and cliffs of the most forbidding mountains, they are particularly adept at negotiating mountain hazards. Goliaths can make standing long jumps and high jumps as if they were running long jumps and high jumps. A goliath can engage in accelerated climbing (climbing half his speed as a move action) without taking the —5 penalty on the Climb check.
  • Acclimated: Goliaths are automatically acclimated to life at high altitude. They don't take the penalties for altitude described in the Mountain Travel section on page 90 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Unlike other denizens of the mountains, goliaths don't lose their acclimation to high altitude even if they spend a long time at a lower elevation.
  • +2 bonus on Sense Motive checks: When speaking to one another, goliaths tend to augment their verbal communication with subtle body language. They are likewise able to "read" the unintentional body language of others.
  • Favored Class: Barbarian . A multiclass goliath's barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty (see the XP for Multiclass Characters section, page 60 of the Player's Handbook). The tribal life of the goliaths produces many barbarians.
  • Level adjustment +1.

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