Giant (race)

Giants are a race of gigantic humanoid beings that reside in Gielinor. They are mostly aggressive, unintelligent, mute beings with mysterious origins. Five subgroups of giants are known to exist: hill giants, moss giants, ice giants, fire giants, and cloud giants. The one-eyed cyclopes form another potential subgroup. A few giants are referred to as 'titans', such as the Cloud Titan, the Royal Titans, Obor "the Hill Titan", and the Black Knight Titan.

It is not known whether the subgroups of giants have a common heritage, or whether they have separate histories. All giant subgroups seem to at least have some basic knowledge of using tools, weapons and armour, and they live in groups together, but there is very little indication that they currently form any kind of civilised society amongst themselves. Most giants also have little to no magical ability.^[1] They can be found in almost all kingdoms and continents.

Very little is known about the history of giants. Several distinct groups are known to exist, though their origins and relationships to one another remain unclear.

In the quest Sleeping Giants, the player encounters Kovac, a giant blacksmith who has the seemingly exceptional ability to speak the common tongue, albeit crudely. In the quest, it is revealed that the Giants' Foundry was built by ancestors of Kovac,^[2] meaning that at some point in history, giants possessed knowledge of blacksmithing techniques and had the ability to create machinery. This is further supported by the book Imcandoria's fall, which mentions a "Forge of Giants" active on Acheron during the Second Age. Its inhabitants are described as allowing outsiders to stay into their domain, interpreting omens in their forges, and crafting fiery jewels, suggesting a community capable of communication, sheltering others, and practising its own forms of craft and ritual knowledge.^[3]

Kovac's ability to speak also shows that giants are not categorically unable to speak, though it is unclear whether this ability has become rare, diminished over time, or is simply not commonly displayed around humans. Kovac also tells the player that Obor is a friend of his, and that Obor is generally friendly unless someone enters his residence without permission.^[4]

While giants in general do not follow a specific religion, Bryophyta suggests that giants may have worshipped the gods in the past.^[5] At least a tribe of cyclopes is known to follow Bandos, as they are found fighting for the Bandosian faction in the God Wars Dungeon.

There are five known subgroups of giants.

Hill giants are a subgroup of humanoid giants. Hill giants are typically weaker than other giant subgroups. They mostly resemble large, bulky humans and can be found across the entire realm of Gielinor, both on the surface and underground. Despite their name including the word 'hill', they do not necessarily live in hilly areas, with their name being attributed to the fact their muscular arms resemble hills.^[6]

Hill giants are the most populous group of giants, and while being weaker than other groups in general, they also seem to have the most semblance of intelligence and resourcefulness. They can be seen wearing fitted clothes, properly sized metal armour, and huge weapons of different types. The most common Hill giants often only wear clothes and a blunt metal or stone weapon, or a club, but the giants of the Giants' Plateau, those in Varlamore and those in certain areas in Kourend can be seen wearing metal plate armour, swords, shields, helmets, and even macuahuitls. One giant can be found in Mr. Mordauts classroom, apparently with the wish to become more knowledgable, further suggesting that some hill giants possess more intelligence or curiosity than their aggressive demeanor suggests.

Obor, the Hill Titan, is the a hill giant boss residing in his lair in the Edgeville Dungeon. He is significantly stronger than other hill giants.

Kovac is a hill giant smith residing in the Giants' Foundry beneath the Giants' Plateau. He is encountered during the Sleeping Giants quest. He seems to have a significantly higher level of intelligence than most hill giants, as he is able to speak and has an advanced understanding of Smithing. He also seems to be a peaceful individual. He is a friend of Obor. In the quest Sleeping Giants, it is revealed that the ancestors of Kovac were more advanced blacksmiths, which would also explain how the current tribe of more 'primitive' hill giants on the plateau have access to advanced weaponry, as these might simply be relics of their ancestral blacksmithing past. It is possible that the giants that were mentioned in the book Imcandoria's fall were also hill giants, as they are described to be encountered in a 'forge'.

The Giant Champion is a relatively powerful hill giant that can be fought after receiving the giant champion scroll as part of the Champion's Challenge minigame.

The Black Knight Titan is also a hill giant. He is encountered during the Holy Grail quest. It is not clear how he is connected to the black knights, as he lives in another realm. Like Kovac, he is able to speak, in full sentences no less.

Reanimated giants always seem to resemble hill giants. They are reanimated giants' souls, summoned with an ensouled giant head and the Adept Reanimation spell. Ensouled giant heads can be dropped by all other types of giants too, suggesting that maybe all giants are hill giants at their cores, or at least share a common heritage.

Moss giants are a subgroup of plant-like giants. They are slightly weaker than ice giants. They are often found in areas with a deeper connection to nature, but not always. They live both above and below ground, in different climates. Regular moss giants are more powerful than hill giants, but seem to lack the ability or interest in the manufacturing of weaponry and armour, as they are exclusively found to be wielding large pieces of wood as weapons. They do seem to have some knowledge of Firemaking and Cooking, as fires and cooking pots are occasionally found in their habitats.

Moss giants also seem to have more magical abilities than other giants, as moss guardians and the moss giants found in the Iorwerth Dungeon, as well as Bryophyta, have magical attack capabilities.

Bryophyta, the Moss Giantess, is a moss giant boss who can be found in her lair in the Varrock Sewers. She can summon growthlings and has magical abilities.

Ice giants are a group of powerful giants, who seem to be completely made out of ice. They reside exclusively in cold areas and are very weak to fire. They are stronger than moss giants, but weaker than fire giants. They do not appear to have much knowledge of practical skills, and do not coexist with any of the other giants. They are also absent in the Giant's Den.

Eldric the Ice King, one of the giants fought in Royal Titans boss encounter, along with Branda the Fire Queen. They are the rulers over their domains in the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon and beneath the Karamja Volcano respectively. Branda is set on expanding her territory and has begun clashing with Eldric. Both titans possess the ability to speak, as they shout various phrases during the encounter.

Fire giants are the most powerful group of giants that are commonly found in Gielinor. They are found in hot environments and their bodies are composed of smouldering substances, magma and fiery blazes. They are weak to water, and only appear in underground areas with predominantly hot environments.

Branda the Fire Queen is one of the two giants fought in Royal Titans boss encounter, along with Eldric the Ice King.

Cloud giants form a hypothetical, lesser-known group of titans. They may be a subgroup of hill giants, though little is known about their origin. Two cloud giants are currently known to exist or have existed: Glod and the Cloud Titan. Both are associated with aerial environments: Glod lives on a cloud, where he is fought during Grim Tales, while the Cloud Titan inhabited the islands of Tempest Bay, now the floating city of Tempestus, around 900 years ago.^[7]

Glod can speak, albeit crudely, and calls upon some "gods" during his encounter with the player,^[8] suggesting that he follows some religion. The Cloud Titan led a band of hill giants before being defeated by a united force of Pericans and Talkasti, whose settlement of the islands led to the founding of Varlamore. Its armour, later recovered and displayed in the Grand Museum, may suggest smithing capabilities beyond those typically associated with hill giants, though its origin is unknown.^[9]

Cyclopes are a one-eyed race of giants from the far east.^[10] They strongly resemble hill giants apart from their monocular visages. While they are significantly stronger than hill giants, they are far less numerous, and most of them live in captivity or underground. The cyclopes fighting in the God Wars Dungeon are the only known giants to be affiliated with a specific god, namely Bandos. Their examine texts suggest that their preferred diet consists primarily of humans. It is not known how they are related to other giants, and whether they share heritage with hill giants, despite them counting as hill giants on slayer tasks, and the cyclops in the Ardougne Zoo dropping a giant champion scroll. While a link between the other groups of giants seems to be supported by multiple shared characteristics such as their linked habitats such as the Giant's Den, their physical similarities, and shared ability to drop a giant champion scroll, cyclopes might only be associated with the 'race' of giants by the fact that they are also of large stature, and that they appear to be physically similar to hill giants. They might however be of a different race. Because giants seem to have little communicative abilities and a limited corpus of historical references describing their pasts, cyclopes might simply be contingentially associated with the proper giant 'race', rather than factually part of it. As the exact origin of both giants and cyclopes is unknown, it can only be speculated about at this point.

As mentioned before, it is unknown what the exact relationships between the groups are, but it is known that cyclopes are a further subgroup of hill giants, and that a cloud giant referred to as the Cloud Titan once led a group of hill giants. In the Giant's Den, hill giants, moss giants and fire giants are found living together, albeit in separate chambers, suggesting that different groups of giants amongst themselves can coexist in relative harmony. Groups of these giants can also be found in the Deep Wilderness Dungeon, the Catacombs of Kourend and the Brimhaven Dungeon.

The Royal Titans, Eldric and Branda, seem to be in conflict over their respective territories, suggesting that between the subgroups of giants, at least the fire and ice giants, not everything is peaceful. It is possible that ice giants cannot get along with other giants, while hill giants, moss giants and fire giants are more peaceful towards eachother. The relationship between these giants and cloud giants, is not known.

v t e Giants
Monsters	Hill Giant (Giants' Plateau, Kourend, Varlamore) Moss giant Ice giant Cyclops Fire giant
Bosses	Giant Champion Obor Bryophyta Eldric the Ice King Branda the Fire Queen
Quest monsters	Moss Guardian Black Knight Titan Glod
Other	Cloud Titan Giant (Surprise Exam) Kovac