Overview
At a glance
- Size
- Medium
- Speed
- 35 ft
- Darkvision
- None
- Best ancestry
- Cloud or Stone
FrontlinerGrapplerSkirmisher
The 2024 goliath is a giant's descendant with three big traits: a Giant Ancestry power you can use several times per Long Rest, Large Form from level 5, and Powerful Build for escaping grapples and carrying. It also walks 35 feet, a speed only the Wood Elf matches.
Your background sets your ability scores, so a goliath is no longer locked into Strength classes. In practice most giant ancestries reward hitting things, so martial classes still get the most out of it.
Thrain's take
A goliath walks into a room and the room gets smaller. That is the point. Pick Cloud if you like to be somewhere else at the right moment, Stone if you like being hit and not caring. Just remember there is no Darkvision, so bring a torch and a friend who can see.
Strengths
- 35-foot speed, matched only by the Wood Elf
- Giant Ancestry: a teleport, extra damage, a knockdown or damage reduction, several times per Long Rest
- Large Form at level 5: Advantage on Strength checks and +10 feet of speed
- Powerful Build: Advantage on checks to escape a grapple, and double carrying capacity
Weaknesses
- No Darkvision
- No skill proficiency or spells
- Large Form is once per Long Rest and needs room to grow
Goliath Traits
Speed
35 feet, 5 feet more than most species.
Giant Ancestry
Choose one giant's gift (see the ratings below). You can use it a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.
Large Form
From level 5, a Bonus Action makes you Large for 10 minutes if there is room. While Large you have Advantage on Strength checks and your Speed rises by 10 feet. Once per Long Rest.
Powerful Build
Advantage on ability checks to end the Grappled condition, and you count as one size larger for carrying capacity.
Giant Ancestries, Rated
Legendary: build around it
Epic: excellent
Rare: good
Uncommon: works
Common: weak fit
Cloud's Jaunt (Cloud Giant)
As a Bonus Action, teleport up to 30 feet to a space you can see. Escape a grapple, cross a chasm, or appear behind the archer. The most flexible gift.
Legendary
Stone's Endurance (Stone Giant)
When you take damage, use your Reaction to reduce it by 1d12 + your Constitution modifier. The tank's pick, and it stacks with Rage resistance.
Epic
Hill's Tumble (Hill Giant)
When you hit a Large or smaller creature, knock it Prone. Attacks from within 5 feet then have Advantage until it stands up. Great on a fighter with several attacks.
Epic
Fire's Burn (Fire Giant)
When you hit with an attack roll, add 1d10 Fire damage. Simple and reliable, works with spell attacks too. Fire-resistant monsters blunt it.
Epic
Frost's Chill (Frost Giant)
When you hit with an attack roll, add 1d6 Cold damage and cut the target's Speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. Good for an archer keeping things away.
Rare
Storm's Thunder (Storm Giant)
When a creature within 60 feet damages you, use your Reaction to deal 1d8 Thunder damage back. Works at range, but the damage is small and it eats your Reaction.
Rare
Best Classes for a Goliath
Barbarian
Large Form lets you grapple and shove Huge creatures, the speed gets you into the fight, and Stone's Endurance plus Rage makes you very hard to drop.
Legendary
Fighter
The most attacks in the game means the most chances to use Hill's Tumble or Fire's Burn. Action Surge plus a Prone target is a short fight.
Legendary
Paladin
Extra speed gets the paladin to the target, and Cloud's Jaunt closes the gap when speed is not enough. Fire's Burn adds 1d10 to a hit several times a day.
Epic
Monk
35-foot speed stacks with Unarmored Movement, and many quick attacks give Hill's Tumble lots of chances. Cloud's Jaunt is a free escape.
Epic
Ranger
Frost's Chill on an archer keeps melee enemies from reaching you. The speed helps any ranger.
Rare
Rogue
Cloud's Jaunt is a teleport into flanking position. Rogues make one attack a turn, so the on-hit gifts do less.
Rare
Cleric
A front-line cleric uses Stone's Endurance well. Spellcasting turns get little from the rest.
Rare
Warlock
Fire's Burn or Frost's Chill works on spell attack rolls like
Eldritch BlastEldritch BlastEvocation cantripCastingActionRange120 feetDurationInstantaneousDamage1d10 ForceYou hurl a beam of crackling energy. Make a ranged spell attack against one creature or object in range. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 Force damage., but the uses run out fast.
Uncommon
Druid
Stone's Endurance helps a druid who holds Concentration in melee. Little else applies.
Uncommon
Bard
A big, loud bard is fun to play. Nothing in the traits helps bard spells.
Uncommon
Sorcerer
Fire's Burn works with spell attacks, but a sorcerer gets far more from a species with spells or better senses.
Common
Wizard
Playable, and the speed is nice. You will miss Darkvision and a free spell more than you use Large Form.
Common
Goliath Builds
TankThe Mountain That Walks
- Ancestry
- Stone's Endurance
- Class
- Barbarian (Path of the Berserker)
- Background
- Soldier (Savage AttackerSavage AttackerOrigin featYou've trained to deal particularly damaging strikes. Once per turn when you hit a target with a weapon, you can roll the weapon's damage dice twice and use either roll against the target.)
17STR
13DEX
15CON
8INT
12WIS
10CHA
Rage halves weapon damage, Stone's Endurance takes another chunk off, and Large Form at level 5 lets you grapple creatures up to Huge. The enemy runs out of turns before you run out of hit points.
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DamageThe Giant's Hammer
- Ancestry
- Hill's Tumble
- Class
- Fighter (Champion)
- Background
- Soldier (Savage AttackerSavage AttackerOrigin featYou've trained to deal particularly damaging strikes. Once per turn when you hit a target with a weapon, you can roll the weapon's damage dice twice and use either roll against the target.)
17STR
13DEX
15CON
8INT
12WIS
10CHA
Hit, knock it Prone, then make the rest of your attacks with Advantage. Champion crits on a 19 from level 3, and Advantage gives you two dice to roll it on.
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Goliath FAQ
Is the goliath good in D&D 2024?
Yes, especially for martial classes. It has a 35-foot speed, a Giant Ancestry power usable several times per Long Rest, Large Form from level 5, and Powerful Build. Its main weakness is no Darkvision.
What is the best goliath giant ancestry?
Cloud's Jaunt for most characters, because a Bonus Action teleport solves many problems. Stone's Endurance is best for tanks, and Hill's Tumble is best for fighters and other classes with several attacks.
Do goliaths have Darkvision in D&D 2024?
No. The goliath is one of the few 2024 species without Darkvision, so plan on a light source or a party member who can see in the dark.
Can a goliath become Large in D&D 2024?
Yes. From character level 5, Large Form lets you become Large as a Bonus Action for 10 minutes, once per Long Rest. You gain Advantage on Strength checks and 10 feet of extra speed.
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This guide includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2
by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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