Firbolg

Firbolgs are a race of giant-kin -- that is, giants who aren't big enough to be "proper" giants, but still bigger than ogres -- introduced in the Monster Manual 2 for the very first edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and have managed to sneak into every edition since. They have the distinct honor of being one of the few giant-kin races that have actually been traditionally playable, if always hindered by the rules -- for example, the 3.5 Firbolg had a Level Adjustment of +18, showcasing just how ridiculous that mechanic could get.

In general, they're described as neutral-with-good leanings, being a reclusive and fairly reasonable race of giants. They look very human, essentially appearing as 10ft tall Irish Celts, probably because their name is taken from a race of mythical, magical giants in Irish Celtic folklore. Perhaps because of this, 4th edition tweaked them into a race of fae giants who worship a Maiden/Mother/Crone trinity (Sehanine, Melora and The Raven Queen respectively) and who engage in the Wild Hunt.

Playable versions of the Firbolg appeared in the Book of Monstrous Humanoids (AD&D), the Monster Manual 2 (3.5) and Volo's Guide to Monsters (5e).

2e Stats

+2 Strength, -2 Charisma

Minimum Strength 14, Dexterity 12, Charisma 3

Maximum Strength 19, Dexterity 15, Charisma 14

Can only be a Fighter (max level 12) or a Shaman (max level 7)

+13 hit points at 1st level

Natural AC of 3

Gain spell like abilities in response to levelling up. All Firbolgs gain Detect Magic at 3rd level, Diminution at 5th level, Fool's Good at 7th level and Alter Self at 9th level. Firbolg Shamans also get 2 random Illusion spells as SLAs each level; 1st level spells at levels 1-5 and 2nd level spells on levels 6 and 7.

Can wield two-handed human weapons in one hand

Can wield Large-scaled two-handed weapons

So long as they have at least one hand free, they can try to deflect incoming missiles by rolling a D20; a 6+ harmlessly deflects the missile. A firbolg can deflect two missiles per round.

Large missiles like thrown boulders or catapult shots ca be caught and then thrown back with a -2 attack roll penalty.

15% Magic Resistance, even against benevolent spells.

Cannot wear armor or use shields

Firbolg Fighters double the XP needed to gain a level, whilst Firbolg shamans triple the requisite XP.

Weapon Proficiencies: Club, Halberd (Human and Giant-Kin), Two-Handed Sword (Human and Giant-Kin)

Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Agriculture, animal handling, animal training, blacksmithing, cooking, eating, gaming, herbalism, hunting, intimidation, reading/writing, set snares, weaponsmithing, weather sense.

3.5 Stats

As mentioned above, these Firbolgs got an absolutely insane Level Adjustment, mostly due to their ridiculously high stat boosts.

Ability Score Modifiers: +26 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +12 Constitution, +4 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom, +4 Charisma

Size: Large

Racial Type: Giant

Rock Throwing (Ex): +1 racial bonus to attack rolls with rocks.

Spell-Like Abilities: Alter Self, Detect Magic, Feeblmind, Know Direction, all 1/day

Trample (Ex)

Fast Healing (Ex): 3 hitpoints regained each round.

Rock Catching (Ex): Once per round, a firbolg that is aware of an attack being made against it by throwing a rock or similar projectile can attempt to catch it by making a Dexterity save based on the projectile's size (Small: 15, Medium: 20, Large: 25) plus any enchantment bonus to the attack roll. On a successful roll, the firbolg catches the rock.

5e Stats

They got shrunken down from 10ft tall to only 8-9ft tall in this edition, which has already led to the traditional grognard RAGEfests. Many argue that they now more closely resemble the Voadkyn in terms of abilities.

Ability Score Modifier: +2 Wisdom, +1 Strength

Size: Medium

Speed: 30 feet

Vision: Normal

Firbolg Magic: Can cast Detect Magic and Alter Self once per short rest. Alter Self can make the firbolg look up to 3 feet shorter.

Hidden Step: Can become invisible as a bonus action once per short rest. Invisibility ends if you attack, make a damage roll or force someone to make a saving throw.

Powerful Build: Treat size as 1 step larger for carrying, pushing, dragging and lifting.

Speech of Beast and Leaf: Can talk to animals and plants.

Gallery

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  The original playable giant viking!

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  3e's take on the classic image; a little less polished, but you can see where it's coming from.

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  Mythic-Punk NeoPagan Monster-Hunting Giants... and they say 4e had no cool ideas!

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  Seriously, how did we go from the 4e version to this?!