Giff
    The Giff are a race of powerfully muscled mercenaries. They are civilized, though due to their non-magical nature, spellcasters are rare amongst them. Giff regularly hire themselves with various groups as mercenaries, bodyguards, enforcers, and general legbreakers. The Mercane do a small business in Giff mercenaries, but usually local contractors do the task.
    Personality: The Giff typically conduct themselves as soldiers. Asking little beyond what is their due, and priding themselves on their weapon skill, and past victories. They are generally a straightforward and honest race, usually willing to let others do the thinking, and leave the fighting to the Giff. Giff adore war stories of all kinds, and often engage in soulful retellings of past glories. They collect weapons as others might collect fine wines, attaching a vast storehouse of honors to the keeping of fine weapons.
    Within the giff military society male and female giff are considered equals in every way, and once the children are on to solid foods, there is no such thing as "woman's work". Marriage customs are similar to humans, but skewed with the military lifestyle, and sense of loyalty. A giff family is known as a Platoon, and usually contains the various relations of a leading married couple.
    Physical Description: The Giff is Humanoid, with stocky, flat, cylindrical legs a barrel chested torso, muscular arms and thick fingers. The head is the most striking feature, as it greatly resembles that of a Hippopotamus with a natural helmet of flexible, chitinous plates. Giff come in colors ranging from black to gray to gold, and many have colorful tattoos that leave their bodies a patchwork record of past deeds.
    Juvenile Giff average between 7¼ to 7 ¾ feet in height with weight around 540+ pounds. While an Adult Giff is around 8 to 9 feet in height and can weigh as much as 1000 pounds! A Giff reaches physical maturity at around 16 years of age. Male Giff are slightly larger, and heavier than the females. Female Giff hold a slightly greater percentage of the population, with only one out of every three births being male. Female giff come into season twice a year if they have not become pregnant from a previous season. The gestation period is roughly twelve months, single births are the most common.
    Much to the surprise of many folks, the Giff are almost exclusively vegetarian. In fact, except for the eating of an occasional fish, Giff consider the concept of eating "carrion" to be appalling. Giff can eat many plants that are far too course for most humanoids systems such as grasses, leaves, and the shells and seeds of nuts. Many Giff believe that the deficiency of physical strength amongst other races is due to the lack of "proper" foods. A famous Giff "stew" called Yaneesh, (boiled spiced grass) is a favorite. And while the yellow peppery broth is edible to humans the grass and shoots in it are not. Other Giff cooking should be considered similarly hazardous.
    Relations: The Giff get along well with the more military minded races. The Giff in particular, appreciates the Dwarves, both for their fighting skills, and structured lives, as well as their weapon making skills. The Giff appreciates the structured and elegant Elven Fleet, however few friendships exist between the races, as the Elves frown upon mercenaries. The Mercane and Humans have the best overall relationships with the Giff, as Mercenaries are always needed, and human innovation keeps the Giff in good supply with smoke powder, while the Mercane supply transportation and frequent job opportunities.
    Alignment: Giff are nearly Lawful in alignment, as their military upbringing is extremely structured, though there are those who rebel. The mercenary emotional detachment generally breeds a Neutral leaning to their alignment as well.
    Giff Lands: The Giffs have no lands, wandering the spheres in the service of one race or another. The Giff homeworld is the stuff of legend, as no living Giff has seen it. Some tales say that the Giff, who were rescued by the Mercane, destroyed this homeworld. Others say that the Giff sold their planet and their lives for spelljamming helms that the Giff couldn't use. Still others say that the Giff world is just beyond the range of ones ship, in a land where such warrior races are common, and the losers are exiled to the known worlds. Whatever the truth, The Giff describe their world in legendary terms, a thick verdant jungle, covered with swamps, mangrove trees, and fruit plants. The few mountains are rich in metals, and gunpowder.
    Religion: The Giff are not a religious people, not to say that they are atheists. They just believe in busying themselves with structured, and worthwhile endeavors. As they see it, an honorable military career.
    Language: The Giff possess their own rumbling language, called simply Giff, though few young Giff actively speak it. Most Giff generally speak common, to better make deals with other races.
    Names: Giff names are blunt, and uncomplicated. Often originating in the Giff language.
    Male Names: Pomj, Dromb, Lewmur, Hurst, Ularn.
    Female Names: Ulyrn, Weelso, Hrusta, Beluarr, Yuralsha.
    Adventurers: All Giff are fascinated with tales of valor, and such tales often attract young Giff to pursue their own adventures. Other Giff, join adventuring parties as a fellow mercenary, while others still seek to escape the regimented lifestyle so prevalent among the Giff. Whatever the reason, the Giff can and do make excellent adventurers.

Giff Racial Traits:
Random Height and Weight Table for Giff
  Base Height Base Weight
Gender Height Modifier Weight Modifier
male 7'2”   +2d6 460 lb x (2d10) lb
female 7'4”   +2d6 470 lb x (2d10) lb

Aging Effects Table for Giff
Middle Age* Old** Venerable Maximum Age
28 years 42 years 55 years +2d10 years

Random Starting Ages Table for Giff
    Bard Cleric
  Barbarian Fighter Druid
  Rogue Paladin Monk
Adulthood Sorcerer Ranger Wizard
14 +1d4 +1d8 +2d8


Giff Monster Class
    Most races have the good fortune of being medium sized and can start out at first level in character class, but not so with the giff. These warriors spend much more time developing before achieving any levels in a class or prestige class. The following is the giff monster class and it shows the development of the giff when he is still young and very much medium sized to the point the gains both in height and mass.

Game Rule Information
Giff have the following game statistics.
    Abilities: Strength and mass to back it up is what the giff are best known for, as this sheer brute is a force that few can withstand. Constitution allows the giff to withstand greats amount of punishment.
    Alignment: Any (usually lawful).
    Hit Die: d8

Class Skills
    The giff's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int, armor/weapon smithing), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Int, military, wildspace lore), Profession (Chr, soldier), Search (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str)

    Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x 4
    Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features
    The Giff Monster Player Class offers an interesting degree of options specific to the Giff race, and related to their interesting physiology.
    Weapons and Armor: The Giff is proficient with all simple and Martial weapons and Firearms, excluding bows and slings (being considered exotic to the Giff) and light armor and no shields.
    Buoyancy: Spaced throughout the Giff's mighty frame, are fatty deposits that aid the creature considerably in swimming. The Giff may add its Giff class levels to any swim check.
    Growth Spurt: At 3rd level the Giff experience a growth spurt, becoming large sized creatures and his strength score increases by 4. (This is not an enhancement bonus; it is an ability score increase like any character normally gains every 4 levels. The increase in size also increases the Giffs head butt attack to the next die (i.e., 1d6). An additional 4d6 inches in height is added to the Giffs height, which in turn is multiplied by weight modifier to give the amount of additional weight gained by the Giff.
    Tough hide: The Giffs naturally tough skin becomes even tougher as it matures, increasing by +2 at 4th level. This toughening seems to be a "settling" of their bodies into their maturing body.
    Spell Resistance: 10 + Giff levels after the first, This extraordinary ability is in operation at all times, and must be overcome by even beneficial magic, such as healing. A Giff spellcaster must overcome this resistance to cast any spells with personal range. See DMG page 71 for details on Spell Resistance. The Giffs increasing spell resistance is part nature, and part the regimented mindset of the Giff, and thus escalates only with additional levels in this class.
    Improved Unarmed Combat: At 3rd level, a Giff gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat (see page 83 of the PHB).

Table 2-2: The Giff
  Base Fort Ref Will  
Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special
1
 +0 +2 +0 +2 Buoyancy, Spell Resistance
2
 +1 +3 +0 +3 Improved Unarmed Combat
3
 +2 +3 +1 +3 Growth Spurt
4
 +3 +4 +1 +4 Tough Hide, Pursue other classes


Giff, SPELLJAMMER, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, the D&D logo, the AD&D logo, the d20 System logo and d20 are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used with permission. All titles, and all proper nouns, including character names, locations, and named items are considered Product Identity per Section 1 of the Open Game License v1.0a and are exclusively owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
©2002 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Compliance of Conversion Policy, Open Game License and the d20 System Trademark License:
Use of WIZARDS OF THE COAST® Product Identity including proper names and product titles is hereby permitted exclusively via this ESD Conversion Agreement. A current version of this policy can be obtained at: http://www.wizards.com/d20/conversionpolicy.asp

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To obtain a digital copy of the original source material this conversion is derived from, please link to: http://www.wizards.com/whatevertherightlinkshouldbe.asp."
Giff, © 1990 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
d20™ System, Conversion of Giff ©2002, Aaron Siddall
Original Source: Lorebook of the Void & The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook


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