Monstrous Lair #37: Hill Giants’ Steading by Steve Hood is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press. The supplement is stated to be system neutral, but also compatible with any version of Dungeons & Dragons, and is therefore covered by the Open Game License with some parts considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available for $1.65 from DriveThruRPG but was purchased at a reduced price thanks to a special offer. The supplement comes in two versions, a plaintext file and a PDF. The PDF has eight pages, with two pages being the front and rear covers, two pages are ads, about half a page the front matter and Contents and one page the Open Game License.
Using this Monstrous Lair is a standard piece of text for the series and explains what the tables are and that the supplement makes two assumptions; the GM has a map of the lair and stats for monsters and details of any treasure.
After a brief paragraph on hill giants, the d10 tables follow.
1: Outside the Lair has some dressing for the exterior.
2: What’s Going On? has various activities the giants are doing.
3: Major Lair Features has descriptions of larger points of interest or construction features.
4: Minor Lair Features is similar, but smaller.
5: Hill Giant’s Appearance has distinctive features for giants.
6: Treasure has a number of items that can only be borderline described as treasure in some cases.
7: Trinkets & Trash would perhaps be better described as random junk.
Monstrous Lair #37: Hill Giants’ Steading in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, with major and minor sections linked. The Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. Navigation is good. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be almost free of errors; in one place it was called Hill Giant’s Steading. There is a single stock black and white illustration. Presentation is okay.
Hill giants are often depicted as messy and filthy beings with little concern for personal hygiene or cleanliness, and this supplement certainly keeps to that portrayal. That doesn’t mean they can’t be a worrying site, too; when those traits are coupled with large and strong, the result can be quite worrisome. Monstrous Lair #37: Hill Giants’ Steading is a decent entry in the series and it can be found by clicking here.
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