I have been running my family (wife and three eldest kids) through a 5e conversion of Revenge of the Giants which finished today. The big bad of the campaign is Piranoth a primordial who apparently created the fire, frost and earth (hill giants). The characters eventually had to face off against a diminished version of the primordial when he was released from his deific prison. Though I did a lot of conversion work for this adventure Piranoth is probably the most important piece of that conversion and so I present him below. The four-player party (barbarian (rage), druid (shapechanger), fighter (archery) and ranger (beast master) faced off against Piranoth at level 15
The four-player party (barbarian (rage), druid (shapechanger), fighter (archery) and ranger (beast master) faced off against Piranoth at level 15 and had to go through a serious of lead in fights with only two short rests between them and still managed to kill this CR 23 monster. As a DM, never underestimate the power of 5e characters to kill your best monster designs!
For those who maybe wondering why I am running Revenge of the Giants campaign with all the conversion overhead when a perfectly good 5e giant adventure is out (Storm King’s Thunder) the reason is two-fold.
- My wife plays in this adventure but the other 3 players are 8, 11 and 13 and they specifically asked for a combat heavy adventure. So I was able to make use of the many tactical maps and tactical battles found in Revenge of the Giants.
- Revenge of the Giants thematically fits my campaign world much better as I have a “points of light” setup and I use the 4e D&D cosmology as opposed to the 3e or older setup.
Without further ado… Piranoth.
PIRANOTH
Huge primordial (titan), chaotic evil
Armour Class 22 (natural)
Hit Points 313/213/113 (Bloodied 156)
Speed 30 ft. (see chaos jump and earth shift)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 30 (+10) | 21 (+5) | 30 (+10) | 14 (+2) | 22 (+6) | 19 (+4) |
Saving Throws Str +17, lnt +9, Wis +13, Cha +11
Skills Insight +13, Persuasion +15
Damage Immunities cold, fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages all
Challenge 23 (32,500 XP)
TRAITS
Aura: Cloud of Elemental Chaos. Each enemy that starts its turn within 15-feet of Piranoth takes damage; roll 1d6: 1-3, 10 fire damage; 4-5 10 cold damage; 6 15 cold and fire damage.
Diminished State. Due to the use of an imperfect Divine Engine when Piranoth is released he is in a diminished state. Not only is the normally immortal and invulnerable primordial killable by mortals, but he gets weaker the longer the battle goes. Each time he is reduced by 100 hit points the following negative effects occur:
- He loses an initiative count (see triple mind).
- He loses a legendary action.
- He loses 1 use of legendary resistance.
- He loses 1 unused spell randomly and does not currently have access to plane shift.
Innate Spellcasting. Piranoth’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: greater restoration, pass without trace, water breathing, water walk
1/day each: commune, dispel evil and good, earthquake, fire storm, plane shift (self only)
Chaos Jump. Piranoth teleports up to 300 feet. Any enemies adjacent to Piranoth when he teleports are dazed (DC 20 Con save ends).
Earth Shift. Piranoth moves up to 15 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity. Any enemies adjacent to Piranoth when he shifts are knocked prone.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Piranoth fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Piranoth has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. Piranoth ‘s weapon attacks are magical.
Triple Mind. Piranoth acts three times in a round, on initiative counts 35, 25, and 15. He cannot delay or ready actions. On each turn, he can use one action, one move and one bonus but legendary actions and reactions do not reset.
ACTIONS
Magma Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 10ft., one target.
Hit: 31 (6d6 + 10) bludgeoning and fire damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of Piranoth’s next turn.
Elemental Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +15 to hit, range 600ft., one target.
Hit: 24 (7d6) damage of one of the following types (Piranoth’s choice): bludgeoning (target is pushed back 15 feet on a failed DC 20 Strength saving throw), cold (target is slowed on a failed DC 20 Constitution saving throw) or fire.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Piranoth can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Piranoth regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
- Attack. Piranoth makes one attack.
- Trembling Strike (Costs 2 Actions). Piranoth stomps the ground with such force that it triggers an earth tremor. All other creatures on the ground within 60 feet of Piranoth must succeed on a DC 25 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
- Elemental Torrent (Costs 3 actions). Piranoth chooses a point within 100-feet and the ground erupts in a torrent of fire and ice. Creatures in the area-of-effect take 25 (4d8+7) cold and fire damage and are pushed/pulled 10 feet in a direction determined by Piranoth and are immobilised. On a successful DC 20 Dexterity saving throw, the damage is halved, the target is only moved 5 feet and is not immobilised.
REACTION
Icefire Slash. When an attack misses Piranoth he may use this attack option:
Icefire Slash. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 10ft., one target.
Hit: 21 (6d6) cold and fire damage.
LOOT
Once killed/imprisoned Erathis and Morradin reward the party with one magic item – including artifacts – of their choice.
DESCRIPTION
Even in a diminished state, Piranoth is a force to be reckoned with but at least he is killable.